Towing. Am I nuts?

[sgtsandman]

I wouldn't do it. Maybe be with my 2019 Ranger, I would consider it. With my 2011, not a chance. It's easy to get moving. Stopping is the problem. A long down hill and hot brakes are a bad combination.

Then there is the issue with too much cross wind and not enough truck (not heavy enough) to deal with it. People with long travel trailers and their new Rangers are discovering this problem. They were within tow limits but the cross wind catching the side of the trailer gave them a wild ride.

 

[bobbywalter]

I wouldn't do it. Maybe be with my 2019 Ranger, I would consider it. With my 2011, not a chance. It's easy to get moving. Stopping is the problem. A long down hill and hot brakes are a bad combination.

Then there is the issue with too much cross wind and not enough truck (not heavy enough) to deal with it. People with long travel trailers and their new Rangers are discovering this problem. They were within tow limits but the cross wind catching the side of the trailer gave them a wild ride.

i dont know .... a 4.0 ranger that runs good i wouldnt think twice about the short bed 1500. this assumes at least 355 gears and normal tires.

i used to flat tow my 73 challenger and eagle/spirit cars with a 2.9 and a4ld in 3rd gear.


with the v8 and big 8.8 brakes and trailer brakes i towed a 150 2000 miles at open country Nebraska and Kansas speeds.

my 2.9 did better then my 81 300 six van did. i figured it was safer to use the 3/4 ton van.. but was wrong.. ranger did better.

 

[Brain75]

I think that right there says something it's not all specs on paper it is the condition of the vehicle /brakes /trans... I would tow my '48 with my 2.9L '90, but no way would I tow anything with the 4.0L '07 family vehicle... why that? 90 is in tip top shape, good brakes, good rubber less than 2 years old maybe 350 miles, trans purs like a kitten, clutch is pretty new (between 3 and 4 years with less than maybe 500 miles).... the '07 we have owned for exactly 1 minute and know nothing about - not ready to trust it to anything... plus it is an auto and I am not impressed with towing with an auto.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

If you can....

Find a decent used tow dolly on marketplace for 400 bucks, yank the driveshaft on the chevy and roll with it.

When youre done just resell the dolly for what you paid.

 

[dashhho]

Thanks for the feedback all.
My 2nd option was to rent a f250. Home depot will rent it with unlimited kilometers for $119/day. So maybe that is a safer option.

 

[Brain75]

Something has been nagging at me and I decided finally I would throw it out.... I've been in a crapload of accidents all but 1 was not my fault. (The one that was was a 5mph "following too close" ticket when some gal with a giant new SUV mashed her brakes 5 seconds after leaving the stoplight cause she didn't see the bus. I ducked under her ass and I had no idea there even was a bus (driving a little econo box that I couldn't see anything past the big slab of vehicle in front of me.... she had ABS and discs, I had a 1995 Mercury ?Tracer? Trio - no ABS, drum.) anyhow I digress...

I'd rent the HD vehicle and use it, why because when someone else causes an accident and you get tied up in it. Even when it is not your fault, the insurance might scream at you for "an unsafe towing configuration" and leave your ass hanging out in the breeze, especially if you have State Fraud or the guy who hits you has em.

 

[901wd#2]

If it was 100km away, sure use the ranger, 9hrs? Nah.

 

[Curious Hound]

I like the tow dolly idea. I would probably still be nervous about it. But, if I had to get it home, that would be the way to do it. My reason is this. It is less overall weight to tow. I would prefer having more tongue weight on the rear truck axle. But, adding the weight of a trailer would make me nervous. I'd rather use the dolly and keep the overall mass and momentum as low as possible. Might be the wrong call. But that's how I would do it.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I like the tow dolly idea. I would probably still be nervous about it. But, if I had to get it home, that would be the way to do it. My reason is this. It is less overall weight to tow. I would prefer having more tongue weight on the rear truck axle. But, adding the weight of a trailer would make me nervous. I'd rather use the dolly and keep the overall mass and momentum as low as possible. Might be the wrong call. But that's how I would do it.

Not the same situation but i was nervous when i towed my B2 home on a dolly (3hrs) behind my grand cherokee. It went very well.

Obviously not the same as towing a 1/2 ton chevy behind a ranger, but personally...id give it a whirl

 

[superj]

Thanks for the feedback all.
My 2nd option was to rent a f250. Home depot will rent it with unlimited kilometers for $119/day. So maybe that is a safer option.

119 a day with unlimited miles means i would already have a plan laid out with that truck. thats cheap for unlimited miles. for me, leaving corpus christi texas and driving till i feel tired means i can make it to atlanta in less than a days drive. thats 1k miles of driving. so with that 119 dollar unlimited miles, i can go 500 miles and back. that is very hard to beat using my own small vehicle to tow a large vehicle. i would do that in a second compared to towing a fullsize truck with my midsize ranger. you will probably get better gas mileage with the f250 pulling too

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I like the tow dolly idea. I would probably still be nervous about it. But, if I had to get it home, that would be the way to do it. My reason is this. It is less overall weight to tow. I would prefer having more tongue weight on the rear truck axle. But, adding the weight of a trailer would make me nervous. I'd rather use the dolly and keep the overall mass and momentum as low as possible. Might be the wrong call. But that's how I would do it.

I love a trailer… with working electric brakes…

But that’s not always practical, especially when approaching legal weight limits. I’ve used a tow bar (more on that in a minute) and I’ve used a tow dolly. Actually have both still. I like the dolly a lot. Backing up with it just plain doesn’t really work (a tow bar it can work if you have someone to work the steering wheel in the vehicle you’re towing). Dollys (especially with the pivoting deck) turn better than using a tow bar though and dollys tend to ride better. Dollys do suck dragging empty because it sounds like dragging a car upside-down through the Baja 1000 at full throttle when you’re doing only 35 on pavement. A tow bar you can just throw in the bed and go. If you want to get a feel for the noise an empty tow dolly will make, go drag your floor jack down the street and magnify that noise by at least a thousand…

All that said, my choices rank:
1st - trailer with brakes
2nd - tow dolly
3rd - tow bar

Because of the situation, I usually end up picking whatever fits the bill. Putting a full-size truck on a trailer behind a Ranger will not work. A dolly still adds the weight of the dolly, but if the dolly has brakes that would change the equation a bit. So would choosing a bigger tow vehicle. If there’s a real bumper on what needs towed, that keeps weight down more than a dolly. I have an old adjustable tow bar, so it’s kinda heavy, but it doesn’t require mounts to be added to whatever you’re towing with it.

Now, just yesterday I towed a 70’s Dodge 2500 PowerWagon, on my tow bar, behind my F-150. Legally, I was towards the top end of my tow rating, although my F-150 isn’t quite stock and with ladder rack and toolboxes loaded with gear (two long side boxes and a cross box for a Ranger between them at the front of the bed) plus some random stuff in the bed, I wasn’t exactly lightly loaded. That Dodge still pushed the back of my F-150 all over the road (bad shocks and all 4 tires had flat spotted on the Dodge which didn’t help). I was only going a few miles and most of it was back roads which was good because it got too sketchy over 30 mph. It’s an uncomfortable feeling when the back end of a truck is being pushed sideways across the road… and you weren’t trying to do it on purpose…

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I love a trailer… with working electric brakes…

But that’s not always practical, especially when approaching legal weight limits. I’ve used a tow bar (more on that in a minute) and I’ve used a tow dolly. Actually have both still. I like the dolly a lot. Backing up with it just plain doesn’t really work (a tow bar it can work if you have someone to work the steering wheel in the vehicle you’re towing). Dollys (especially with the pivoting deck) turn better than using a tow bar though and dollys tend to ride better. Dollys do suck dragging empty because it sounds like dragging a car upside-down through the Baja 1000 at full throttle when you’re doing only 35 on pavement. A tow bar you can just throw in the bed and go. If you want to get a feel for the noise an empty tow dolly will make, go drag your floor jack down the street and magnify that noise by at least a thousand…

All that said, my choices rank:
1st - trailer with brakes
2nd - tow dolly
3rd - tow bar

Because of the situation, I usually end up picking whatever fits the bill. Putting a full-size truck on a trailer behind a Ranger will not work. A dolly still adds the weight of the dolly, but if the dolly has brakes that would change the equation a bit. So would choosing a bigger tow vehicle. If there’s a real bumper on what needs towed, that keeps weight down more than a dolly. I have an old adjustable tow bar, so it’s kinda heavy, but it doesn’t require mounts to be added to whatever you’re towing with it.

Now, just yesterday I towed a 70’s Dodge 2500 PowerWagon, on my tow bar, behind my F-150. Legally, I was towards the top end of my tow rating, although my F-150 isn’t quite stock and with ladder rack and toolboxes loaded with gear (two long side boxes and a cross box for a Ranger between them at the front of the bed) plus some random stuff in the bed, I wasn’t exactly lightly loaded. That Dodge still pushed the back of my F-150 all over the road (bad shocks and all 4 tires had flat spotted on the Dodge which didn’t help). I was only going a few miles and most of it was back roads which was good because it got too sketchy over 30 mph. It’s an uncomfortable feeling when the back end of a truck is being pushed sideways across the road… and you weren’t trying to do it on purpose…

That u haul dolly i rented made the biggest most annoying racket i ever heard empty

It was funny though...i hit a pothole with it doing like 45 through a town (speed limit) and it got probably 5 feet of air. Guy on the sidewalk was like wtf

 

[don4331]

We will note from a previous discussion; that the Cdn U-haul tow dolly's have surge brakes - they are next to impossible to back up.

What I might do, and what I recommend doing in this forum are completely different.

I have 10s of 1k of km towing trailers (Ottawa to Regina, 3-4 times a year for a decade with S10, then Ranger; Calgary to Houston and back, on top of lots of short hauls). So, I won't be asking on this forum if what I am doing is nuts or not - I already know.​

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So, I'm assuming if the individual is asking, it's because they don't have that level of experience. And I provide recommendations that are safe for individual with limited experience.​

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May be its conservative, but its within legal limits.​

​

I don't want someone sueing Jim, because someone on the forum recommended something illegal.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That u haul dolly i rented made the biggest most annoying racket i ever heard empty

It was funny though...i hit a pothole with it doing like 45 through a town (speed limit) and it got probably 5 feet of air. Guy on the sidewalk was like wtf

I’ve also found that empty and somewhere around 70mph or so, they will eventually hit a bump and just kind of levitate back there until you slow down…

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I’ve also found that empty and somewhere around 70mph or so, they will eventually hit a bump and just kind of levitate back there until you slow down…

i seen the axle out my back window...

I did stop and check it for damage.

After i quit laughing.