Can I pull it?

[dranger21]

I have a 99 ranger with a 3.0 and 4.10 gears. I'm going to need to move home from school in a few weeks and was wondering if I could pull a 5x10 utility trailer (no idea how much that weighs) with some random furniture on like a queen bed, a table and a few other odds and ends. It wont be anything too heavy. I'm wondering if this will be alright to tow about 100 miles with the ball on the bumper because i dont really have the cash to put a receiver on at the moment. Thanks in advance.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Auto or manual trans and have you ever pulled a trailer before?

The Ranger will probably do it, but I'd be concerned about putting that much stress on the stock bumper, those things are pretty flimsy. When I needed to use my Ranger for towing the first time, it was all I had and I was a bit short on cash, but I scraped up enough to get a hitch anyway because I figured that I'd rather spend the money and buy a hitch rather than have to replace my bumper if it got twisted up or torn off.

 

[srteach]

A frame hitch is always best if you can afford it. Having said that ...
Watch the tongue weight. There is a maximum tongue weight that the factory bumper can handle, don't go over that weight. Drive very smoothly and easily and you should be alright. Take turns slow and easy when towing. A 5x10 should be easy enough to pull your first time.

Weight distribution: 60% of trailer weight in front of the trailer axle (on the hitch), and most of the total weight in the bed of the truck.

 

[strvger]

you should be fine really. keep 10% of the loaded trailer weight on the hitch. if you have a step bumper most are rated at 200# max, so that would mean you could safely pull a 2000# trailer. sounds like yours will be quite a bit less than that. just my $.02.

 

[r1hatman]

Go to a JY and get a good hitch that fits right, and what kind of terrain is it? Check your brakes before to see what kind of shape they are in and adjust your back brakes. And like strvgr said, watch your weight distribution. Check your light laws in your state so the don't pull you over.

 

[adsm08]

I have a 99 ranger with a 3.0 and 4.10 gears. I'm going to need to move home from school in a few weeks and was wondering if I could pull a 5x10 utility trailer (no idea how much that weighs) with some random furniture on like a queen bed, a table and a few other odds and ends. It wont be anything too heavy. I'm wondering if this will be alright to tow about 100 miles with the ball on the bumper because i dont really have the cash to put a receiver on at the moment. Thanks in advance.

I think you will be ok.

Last week I threw my grandpa's 5x12 trailer on the bumper of my 87 and loaded it up with what sounds like a heavier load.

Like the others said, try to keep the heavier stuff towards the back, and even put some stuff in the bed if you can.

Just be careful, stay out of OD, and if you have an auto make sure you hit that OD cancel button.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I think you will be ok.

Last week I threw my grandpa's 5x12 trailer on the bumper of my 87 and loaded it up with what sounds like a heavier load.

Like the others said, try to keep the heavier stuff towards the back, and even put some stuff in the bed if you can.

Just be careful, stay out of OD, and if you have an auto make sure you hit that OD cancel button.

I think you're forgetting some important things...

The step bumper on your 87 is considerably stronger than the ones they put on the 98+ Rangers. These new Rangers, the bumpers look like they've been made entirely of really heavy gauge sheet metal bolted to the frame compared to the beefy metal that they used to use. I trust the bumpers on my BIIs a lot more than the bumper on my 00 Ranger and my F-150. And that is why both my Ranger and F-150 sport Class III and Class IV hitches (respectively).

Heavy stuff on a trailer should always be balanced over the axle unless that is either physically impossible (boats are notorious for this) or if it gives you too little tongue weight.

Experienced trailer haulers will often situate a load on a trailer to suit the particular needs. I heard of a trailride where everyone had parked their truck and trailer in a field... which got muddy during the day because of rain. Most inexperienced guys tried to load as far forward as possible on a trailer thinking that the increased tongue weight would give them traction, but instead the sank and had to use their trailrig to pull their tow rig out. But one guy who had hauled a lot of trailers (and grew up on a farm), loaded his trail rig up as far back on the trailer as possible and was able to drive right out (where he put the trail rig back where it needed to be on the trailer).

There is a lot of tricks to pulling a trailer.

And yes, stay out of OD. If it's an auto trans you'll want to put an aftermarket trans cooler on if you can afford it. If it's a manual, use your gears - don't be afraid to wind out a gear. Your rev limiter will kick in before you hit the redline (or it should) if you don't have a tach. If you do have a tach, you'll want to shift between 4,500 and 5,000 rpm.