Towing. Am I nuts?

[dashhho]

I have a 98 k1500 reg cab short box truck I want to pickup. It is about an 9hr drive away. Because the truck is short I think I can fit it on a tandem uhaul trailer. My friend said the uhauls have automatic brakes that are fairly good. So I plan to pull it with my 2005 B4000 4X4. Am I nuts here?

The previous owner painted the hitch up. So I am not sure what it is rated as. Can anyone maybe help how I could figure it out? Here is a picture. picture

 

[Roert42]

Looks like a factory hitch. I think it’s rated for about 5k lbs.

I’ve towed cars with mine on long trips, but I have a trailer brake controller and electric brakes on my trailer. I would recommend against it, after a few long trips with my trailer I bought a larger truck because it just beats the crap out of the ranger.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

U-Haul won't rent a trailer to do that.

I would rather tow the Ranger with the 1500.

 

[dashhho]

U-Haul won't rent a trailer to do that.

I would rather tow the Ranger with the 1500.

If the 1500 ran I would definitely do that.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If the 1500 ran I would definitely do that.

What's wrong with it?

 

[Ranger850]

What's wrong with it?

it's got a bow tie on the grill

 

[don4331]

I have a 98 k1500 reg cab short box truck I want to pickup. It is about an 9hr drive away. Because the truck is short I think I can fit it on a tandem uhaul trailer. My friend said the uhauls have automatic brakes that are fairly good. So I plan to pull it with my 2005 B4000 4X4. Am I nuts here?

The previous owner painted the hitch up. So I am not sure what it is rated as. Can anyone maybe help how I could figure it out? Here is a picture. picture

You need to rent a U-Haul truck to tow the U-Haul trailer:

U-Haul's limit is 80% of towing vehicle weight​

'98 K1500 RCSB is roughly 4,500lbs​

U-Haul auto transport is roughly 2,200lbs​

6,700lbs/.8 is roughly 8,400lbs; F-350 CrewCab Longbox diesel 4x4 is only 7,700lbs.​

​

So, while an F-350 would laugh at the load, U-Haul wants you to have something bigger.

 

[bobbywalter]

You need to rent a U-Haul truck to tow the U-Haul trailer:

U-Haul's limit is 80% of towing vehicle weight​

'98 K1500 RCSB is roughly 4,500lbs​

U-Haul auto transport is roughly 2,200lbs​

6,700lbs/.8 is roughly 8,400lbs; F-350 CrewCab Longbox diesel 4x4 is only 7,700lbs.​

​

So, while an F-350 would laugh at the load, U-Haul wants you to have something bigger.

on that math with u haul...and i use them alot...

you would roughly need a 5k vehicle that is 80 percent of the load.

my ranger weighs 6k road ready.

the big uhaul on ft street in detroit lets me tow car trailer with my truck. its a salvage assembled vehicle over and over 5250 pound vehicle. they have a way they put it. and i buy insurance.

 

[bobbywalter]

i

I have a 98 k1500 reg cab short box truck I want to pickup. It is about an 9hr drive away. Because the truck is short I think I can fit it on a tandem uhaul trailer. My friend said the uhauls have automatic brakes that are fairly good. So I plan to pull it with my 2005 B4000 4X4. Am I nuts here?

The previous owner painted the hitch up. So I am not sure what it is rated as. Can anyone maybe help how I could figure it out? Here is a picture. picture

I have a 98 k1500 reg cab short box truck I want to pickup. It is about an 9hr drive away. Because the truck is short I think I can fit it on a tandem uhaul trailer. My friend said the uhauls have automatic brakes that are fairly good. So I plan to pull it with my 2005 B4000 4X4. Am I nuts here?

The previous owner painted the hitch up. So I am not sure what it is rated as. Can anyone maybe help how I could figure it out? Here is a picture. picture

if it has a 4.0 and runs good i would get a dolly instead and drive slow.

 

[Brain75]

Is that 9 hours of 75-85mph on the interstate or 55mph and under on your choice of roads?
I did the uhaul thing to get my 1948 F1 from Denver to Austin (909 mi - about 16 hr nonstop no interstate after Limon, I split it in 2 days).
The thing that pisses me off to no end about Uhaul is they will "upgrade" you to a bigger truck with no warning. So instead of 12mpg in the big guzzler they gave me a "6-8mpg" thing damn near as long as a semi once I hooked up the dolly and truck. And then had the nerve to tell me they changed my pickup location to a place 2 hours across Denver metro traffic (I was on the far east end and they picked a place almost in the mountains past Arvada headed into Golden). They promised me a $100 refund for the inconvenience - never got it. And I spent around $1000 in gas because of the guzzler - Turns out it was closer to 5-6mpg. I knew they big truck was gonna hurt but the big BIG truck was ridiculous. I had put in notice on my storage and lined up all the ducks to go, I had no choice - couldn't tell uhaul to piss off.( I held a Class A back in the day, so the length did not bother me one bit. )

I am ALL for telling someone to develop a plan on their own they are comfortable with and NOT relying on companies or other people. If you have to rent something, rent a dolly, unhook the driveshaft and bale wire it up really well. Never go over 55, watch the gauges like a hawk, go slow and be patient. Pull off after the first hundred miles and check the temp on the side of the tranny, etc etc. Use your smarts and drive smart - don't go 90 cause "it seems to be handling ok", even if it is dark, late, and you just want to be there tonight. Drive for 2 hours, get gas and take a half hour break with it, stop for lunch and have that slice of pie, let the truck rest a few times rather than drive 9 hr straight - take you all day but cost you 1/5th what you end up spending if they "upgrade" you and you have to fill the tank in that monster.

For the record, if you can get the 1500 running, I would tow the ranger with the 1500, or fly there and only drive the 1500, etc - but you know your skill set and know the condition of the 1500 / if you can have a prayer of getting it running.
I would ALSO briefly prepare contingincy plan, take note of how far it is to the next uhaul places if you have to abandon plan A and scramble a new plan. Take a driving buddy who knows the difference between a piston and pissed on. Carry a pretty good set of tools, water, and a gas can (full).

 

[Brain75]

Edit, I see Canada not US so my question should be is that 120-135 kmh down the Coquihalla, or sideroads out nowhere west of Winnipeg?



You'll have to convert to liters and Cannuckistan buckskins. I couldn't even dream what it would cost.. I remember the drive around Vancouver was insane given the price of petrol in liters.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

i



if it has a 4.0 and runs good i would get a dolly instead and drive slow.

I remember Jim had a hard time getting U-Haul to let him have a dolly to tow TRS2 with The Loan Ranger...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I definitely would not be trying to tow that behind the Ranger if I could at all do something different. At least not on a U-haul trailer. Yes, those have brakes. Surge brakes, which means that as it’s pushing your tow vehicle down the road, theoretically it applies the brakes… if it’s working right. The downside is that you’re adding a lot of extra weight. The K1500 itself is towards the top end of legal towing weight for the Ranger. A tow bar or dolly would be much better to keep weight down.

If you have an automatic transmission in the Ranger, that sucker is gonna heat up. You’ll want a big transmission cooler and I recommend a shift kit for those.

Braking and long downhill or steep downhill slopes are going to suck. Even if you could use the trailer.

You will not be able to (or want to) go faster than about 55/60 mph. Also, when a large truck blows past you on the highway, it can put sway into the system and you won’t have the horsepower or weight to fix the problem quickly so it will take some careful corrections and throttle/brake work to calm it down while your butthole tries to eat the seat. It’s the wave of air that semis and other big trucks push off their fronts that’s the problem, so I would alway move towards the shoulder, slow a little and as the truck came to pass what I was towing, get on the throttle enough to keep everything tight and more resistant to other input (don’t mash the throttle, but make sure you’re slowly accelerating).

Even my F-150 can get pushed around towing. If I was in your situation, the F-150 and a dolly would be my choice, and that’s only because my dump truck needs fixed. That and the trailer would be the ideal because I could safely do highway speeds.

FWIW, I’ve towed a decent bit. My Choptop came home on a tow dolly behind my first Ranger (3.0, 5-speed, 2wd). It’s been towed behind my green Ranger and my F-150 on both a tow bar and tow dolly a number of times. My 88 B2 came from Long Island around 750 miles back behind my first Ranger on a dolly. Explorers have traveled on dollys behind my green Ranger (pre V8 swap) and my F-150. I’ve actually started to lose count of how much I’ve towed with my rigs…

Depending on your abilities and what the K1500 needs to go down the road, I’d be more inclined that if I couldn’t get a bigger truck to do the job, I’d find ideally a mechanically inclined buddy, load the Ranger/B-series with tools and stuff, and go fix the thing enough to drive back. Now you have a support rig and help if anything goes wrong.

 

[Brain75]

... A tow bar or dolly would be much better to keep weight down....

Ya know I was gonna comment I would never do this setup (ranger towing big weight) with a flatbed, it would be dolly only, but I couldn't articulate why. lil_blue right before me made that comment so I am gonna go ahead and put that addition out there.
And his suggestion would be my first choice:

I’d find ideally a mechanically inclined buddy, load the Ranger/B-series with tools and stuff, and go fix the thing enough to drive back. Now you have a support rig and help if anything goes wrong.

My laughing question about if this is down the Coquihalla or not is dead serious and would play the biggest role. I towed out across the eastern plains of Colorado and never had any mountains, the worst slopes I had to deal with was the Texas hill country north of Austin around Lago Vista. If I had to cross the Rockies I would not have done it I would have just hired a car carrier.

 

[Brain75]

I remember Jim had a hard time getting U-Haul to let him have a dolly to tow TRS2 with The Loan Ranger...

UHaul wouldn't allow me any of 6 or 7 different combinations I wanted to do instead of their big unit. They flat out refused. And I always suspect they "upgraded" me more to cover their ass assuming the worst skilled driver rather than a "that is technically ok" close to the line configuration.