85 XLT 4x4 2.8L towing capacity?

[990rick]

I'd like to know what I can safely tow with my '85 4x4 Ranger XLT. It's a manual transmission the the 2.8L V6. I've looked far and wide on the internet, but every site that promises this info turns out to be just a come-on for buying a vehicle. If anyone could point me to a site that really does have this info I'd sure appreciate it. I'm hankering for an Airstream or Argosy trailer and would really like to use my Ranger to tow it. Thanks.

 

[strvger]

i wouldn't. first, your engine and drive train is over 25 years old. factory new, the engine put out about 115 hp and 150 fp torque. second, if you're using stock gearing, you won't have enough power to pull it. third, even if you change your gearing, anything over 2k lbs will be probably more than what your truck can handle safely even with a frame mounted hitch and trailer brakes, even though you will probably hear of guys doing that much weight and more. don't forget, you have to add in the weight of passengers, fuel, and everything you'll be carrying in the bed of your truck and all the food, clothes, etc. you'll be adding to the base weight of your camper.
i'm running your setup, but with 4.56 gears. here is the camper site i went to because of their quality of construction, light weight, and good prices, imho.

http://www.livinlite.com/

check out all their models and see if one won't fit your needs. i hate the thought of you trashing either a nice camper or your ranger by trying to do more than it is capable of, not to mention the potential for an accident.
just my $.02.

 

[strvger]

here is the data for a 1984 model and i'm sure there is no difference to the 1985 model year.
front axle wt: 2250 lbs. it could have the snow plow pkg with 2750 lbs, but i doubt it as those are relatively rare.
rear axle wt: 2598 lbs
now i know that totals 4848 lbs gross, however the Ford Specifications Book i'm quoting from lists the GVWR at 4480 lbs. don't know why the difference, but there it is, and that is the maximum weight rating for your truck. if you wiegh your truck at a local weigh station, you'll probably get a weight of around 3400-3600 lbs or so leaving you with about 800-900 lbs for you, passengers, fuels, and stuff in the back PLUS the weight on the hitch ball. your step bumper is rated for 2k lbs with a ball on it, but i sure wouldn't try it. using the frame mounted hitch, i would still keep the trailer to no more than 2500 lbs and feel much safer. that means that 250 lbs should be on the ball (10% of the towed weight on the ball for correct towing). i don't know how much the trailers you referenced weigh, but i'm guessing more than 2,500 lbs.
additionally, look real hard at the frontal area of those trailers and see how much wind resistance they are going to give you. if you live in Kansas, ie: no hills-really flat, then you might be ok if the winds aren't too strong. most anywhere else in the country where there are hills, mountains, etc. and you're going to have problems i believe. no offense to Kansas as i used to live there.
so, on a long trip pulling one of those trailers, i'm guessing you'll get somewhere around 8-12 mpg's, maybe. with the 17.5 gal tank, you'll be refueling roughly every 175 miles or so. every 150 miles or so if you only have the 15 gal tank. man, that would make for a long trip in my book, but that's just me.
hope i answered your questions to your satisfaction. good luck and welcome to TRS.

 

[990rick]

This is really helping! I am thinking about getting a Livin' Lite, 13RDG, dry weight 1800 lbs, GVWR 2500. I'll check out the specs on my '85 Ranger V6 4x4, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be close. I hope this will work out. We're retiring soon and really want to take off for a while, sleep in our own bed, eat our own food. etc.

 

[adsm08]

You could also 5.0 swap it. Just a thought.

 

[strvger]

glad i could help! if you go to the tech library on this site, it will give you hp and torque specs as well as a wealth of additional information on your truck. it is essectially the same as mine as there weren't any real changes until the 1989 model i believe.
we have one of the tent campers from them that has the rear deck. just the wife, me, and the dog and we're happy pulling the under 1,000# (loaded) Livin' Lite from Minnesota to Nevada and back. plan on taking it to Alaska and back late next summer. hope you're able to have as much fun in yours. enjoy and, again, welcome to TRS!!

 

[adsm08]

glad i could help! if you go to the tech library on this site, it will give you hp and torque specs as well as a wealth of additional information on your truck. it is essectially the same as mine as there weren't any real changes until the 1989 model i believe.
we have one of the tent campers from them that has the rear deck. just the wife, me, and the dog and we're happy pulling the under 1,000# (loaded) Livin' Lite from Minnesota to Nevada and back. plan on taking it to Alaska and back late next summer. hope you're able to have as much fun in yours. enjoy and, again, welcome to TRS!!

86 model year. They stopped the 2.8 and started the 2.9. Couple transmissions option changes that year too.

 

[990rick]

Here's what I think I know about our '85 Ranger 4x4, 2.8L V6 so far. Its GVWR is 4480 lb. The front axle GAWR is 2300, the rear 2598. Figuring the vehicle weighs about 3500, and allowing 350 lbs for two passengers, I figure that means we could handle a tongue weight of no more than 630 lbs. If the vehicle weighs 3600, we could handle a tongue weight of no more than 530 lbs. But as the heaviest hitch weight I found for a 13' CampLite is 180 lbs. it looks like we're in like flint! If any of this figuring is suspect, please let me know. I'm not real reliable when I'm excited. Thanks.

 

[strvger]

of course you'll never want to put 500-600# on that hitch. most hitches for your size truck are limited to around 2500# really and that would be about 250# on the hitch. 180# sounds pretty good really. still leaves you with a little left over for stuff in the bed and the camper packed with food and clothes.
did you check to see what gears you have? there is a tag on the rear axle as well as the code in door sticker. you can check them both in the tech library and it will tell you exactly what you have. if it's the 3.45, you'll wanting to go to 4.10's at least. i picked the 4.65's because of the varied terrain and the head winds as i travel west. real happy with them as i get 21 mpg on the freeway with them, without the trailer. drops to about 18 with the trailer and that isn't bad in my book.
good luck with all this and post up some pics when you can!

 

[The_Dealer]

jeez mine weighs in at 4800 lbs with everything in my sig, plus tools, and me my gf and my son. and no my gf isnt huge lol

i really like the cl11 offroad and quicksilver 6.0

 

[strvger]

we have the 6.0. great light weight camper for a couple. ours has the rear deck like the blue one in their pics. no regrets getting it as it will hold it's value for many, many years with nothing on it to rust or rot.

 

[wildbill23c]

My grandparents pulled around a 16' travel trailer (~2500lbs) behind their '84 2WD ranger all over the country and never had a problem with it, only thing my grandfather did was have an auxiliary transmission cooler added. They gave me the truck in 2001 and I drove it around for another 4 years and sold it to buy a commuter car and it was still running fine 187k later. The old rangers would haul and tow more than people like to give them credit for. I also towed a 2 horse trailer with 2 horses in it a few times with no problems.