Towing Uhaul Cross-Country

[willy]

I pull my boat with my 5.0 swaped ranger 4.10 gears and its not happy going up the hills in southern indiana i dont think the ranger will make it over the rockies just not enough gearing and to much weight

 

[willy]

If it were me i would ship my stuff with a pod or upack and just drive the ranger empty shiping your stuff isnt much more expensive than a uhaul 1 way being in the military i moved across country a few times.

 

[Hitchner2009]

Didnt mean to offend anybody, just wasnt sure if I was understood correctly. I can always go around the rockies then. Take I5 down through cali and across the bottom portion of the us.

I appreciate all input that has been given thus far, and will take it into consideration. Just looked at a 4x8 trailer which is 850ibs empty. i know for a fact i do not have 800ibs worth of belongings and will probably end up parting with some things before i leave. With the bike in there i will be around 1225, that gives me an extra 100ibs to play around with, which granted, is not much. But i dont plan on bringing some things i originally thought now. Just have to take it slow an safe through the mountains and then im home free, if something breaks, then i will fix it on the way, i will have all my automotive tools with me. So i can fix whatever comes my way, benefits of being a Master Tech

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Have a safe trip

 

[Hitchner2009]

thanks man! got a little while before i leave

 

[gw33gp]

The only mountain range im passing through is the rocky Rocky mountains, which if I remember correctly is not too bad.

I have towed my race car on a trailer with my Ranger over the Rockies on I-70. Believe me it is not easy and some areas are quite the tow. The combined weight on my trailer is around 3500 lbs and I also carry about 800 lbs or so on the bed. With that I was down to second gear at least a couple times and third gear a lot. I have done it more that once and would still do it again. Even though you should have the power to get over the Rockies with only a moderate strain at your load, the rest of the drivetrain component have not been upgraded to the level of the engine.

You may be better off going over to I-40. There are some places where you will downshift but should be much easier on your drivetrain.

I switched to 4.56 differential gears because I went to 33" tires for my off-road adventures. I still run 31" tires around town and on pavement trips. For the most part, I don't like the 4.56 gears with the 31" tires because the engine revs higher than I like at highway speeds but that combination works really well when towing my race car.

 

[Hitchner2009]

yeah i know i can do it. I just wanted opinions, was curious. When i moved to Florida before i took I-84 and then merged onto I-80. I-84 is where all the mountain driving will occur, but if i remember correctly, its not all that bad. I know Oregon has some mountains i have to climb, but like i said, i will not be over my payload so the truck will do just fine. Not over thinking it. Just like when people said i could not get a 4.0 engine swap done in a weekend, i did it in a weekend

 

[AllanD]

I've had my '87 supercab for 20 years this past February and never actually broke the original transmission, though I did have to replace the input bearing... but it was noisy when I replaced it with a Mazda trans... then replaced the engine several times before swapping a 4.0 and another Mazda into it...

I've never personally run an FM145, but back around 2005 my brother brought me a present... a NEW (not a rebuilt) FM!45 transmission that had been found buried in the back of the stockroom at the ford dealer where he worked...
When my uncles truck finally broke it's factory FM145 I helped him swap it in over thanksgiving weekend...

IT was smooth and quiet and shifted perfectly... then heading out from Tannersville, PA to his Mother-In-laws place in Illinois over Christmas it made it to
Clarion, PA where one of the gears inside this NEW, never previously run crate transmission that had been lost in a stockroom since 1986 split 5th gear in half locked up and looked like it's innards had been in a supersonic collision.


I would trust an FM145 only as far as I can throw one and not an inch farther...

I will say DO NOT under and circumstances use 5th gear, the owners manual says not to use 5th while towing, I've just told you why...

I'm reasonably sure that I could break 5th gear in an FM145 without trying if it was bolted to a 4.0, but then again I have my own custom made Two-piece (broken) main-shaft from a Mazda trans that I broke with the 4.0 in my truck in 2009.

One of these days I'll post PICs of it and the destruction of the T-case that resulted
(it broke the front bearing retainer)


I've done some crazy towing with my 4.0 4.10 geared super-cab, probably the ugliest tow was a 2002 explorer
I towed back from Ft. Drum, NY.. Straight down I-81... it was a heavy bitch and I destroyed the tires on my Dolly...


As a note I've run a 4.0 clutch and flywheel on a 2.9, in fact I've grenaded two of them...

the 4.0 clutch doesn't like being spun to 6500rpm....
(Downshifting from 3rd to second and getting 1st instead will blow them every time)
AD

 

[gw33gp]

I concur on the 5th gear problem with the FM145. I can't say the FM145 is a bad transmission because I ran almost 200K miles on my 89 STX with a 2.9L engine before I sold it to a coworker. It towed my race car all over the country, did some heavy off-road trips and was my daily driver. The transmission never required any work other then gear lube change. That truck has well over 250K miles on it now and the transmission is still doing well.

There is a weak part of that transmission though and it is 5th gear. I always towed in 4th gear mainly because the engine didn't have the power to tow in 5th. One time going across the Arizona dessert on a long flat section, I decide to shift into 5th. It was doing well so I continued on for about a 1/2 hour. I came to a rest area and decided to pull off. That is when I discovered the transmission would not shift into any gear. I rolled into the rest stop and crawled under the truck to check the transmission. It was so hot it almost burned my hand.

I stayed there awhile until the transmission cooled to a normal temperature. I was then able to put it in gear and it shifted normally. I continued my trip with no more problems and I never towed in 5th gear again for even a short distance. I considered myself very lucky to have pulled of the Interstate when I did or I am sure that transmission would have grenaded or at least caused some permanent damage if I kept it in 5th.

I am sure a 4.0L engine could overpower an FM145 5th gear even without towing.

 

[AllanD]

After my uncle blew up that FM145 we spent new years swapping in the TK trans that I took out of my Bronco2...

That truck sits in his yard waiting for me to pick it up with that trans and his original 2.9 engine still in it..

The difference between his truck and mine is his is a factory 4x4 STX in Canyon Red, mine was a 2wd (Converted to 4x4 in '07) STX in charcoal grey

 

[Hitchner2009]

yeah i have never towed in 5th gear, there is a reason they tell you not to tow in 5th gear because the gear ratio is slower than that of the engine.

i use 5th gear in my 4.0, i have the update kit when i rebuilt my trans so it doesnt break 5th gear off. because i did have that happen a few years back when i had my 2.9.

but the truck will do it just fine, im towing with a max of 1800ibs. and my trucks GVWR is right at that or a little under, either way, the truck will be able to manage it. Those ratings are for the 2.9 with the fm145 behind it from 1987. So those are the ratings im going off of. So i should be fine. just physching myself out.

 

[1993rangerxl]

Should be just fine if you use simple common sense. 5X8 enclosed U-haul is 900lbs empty (have pulled many with my 2.3L w/ 5spd manual all over the country. Biggest thing will be wind drag. Secondly will be stopping distance. Will use very much more fuel so be sure to figure in about a 7mpg drop in fuel economy. I'm still running at 370K miles with around 250K towing or loaded down (typically beyond manufactures specs) and still going. Be safe and happy travels.

 

[Bandit96]

Apologies for dredging up an old thread, but how did the go bud? I'm gearing up for a long distance move with a similar payload in the near future; 5x8 trailer with belongings, and a motorcycle down I-15 from Canada to Arizona. The truck is an '08 4.0 with the Mazda 5spd, and I'm thinking of loading the bike in the box, and the boxes in the trailer. No doubts in the truck and also have a heap of OTR experience, would love to hear how it went for you though?