Future Ranger owner

[85_Ranger4x4]

& then watch the gas needle move my old turbo outback was such a bitchin car... but damn.. pass everything but a gas station. Especially the way I drove it haha.

I could drive it however I wanted to going to college 2.5hrs away, I couldn't get it below 20mpg, driving normal hwy/internstate is would almost get 30mpg regularly.

Ate me out of house and home on insurance but sipped fuel even in afterburner.

 

[Blmpkn]

I could drive it however I wanted to going to college 2.5hrs away, I couldn't get it below 20mpg, driving normal hwy/internstate is would almost get 30mpg regularly.

Ate me out of house and home on insurance but sipped fuel even in afterburner.

Thats not bad. My best weeks with that outback.. driving like complete grandma.. would net me 21 at BEST. Weeks I had fun with it... ooh boy.. big block fuel economy those weeks lol.

Glad I've grown up a bit

 

[Snoranger]

Trailer height and frontage plays a big part in how big of a trailer you can tow. If your trailer is a big brick wall, you’re going to use more fuel and really work the truck. If you get a shorter or more aerodynamic shaped trailer, it will be easier to tow.

 

[Shadowrider6661]

Welcome to the club.

 

[Canoegrrl]

I understand what you are stating. Looking for others opinions on a topic like this is going to be biased honestly. Just like the salesman is going to praise his product and not the others.

I don't want to rain on your parade, I apologize if you think that. But the purchase of a new vehicle these days is big deal, sometimes the price of a home to others.

If you have come across the Ranger as being your best choice, decide then on your options you want, don't take what they have on the lot and settle. You won't be happy in the long run. You are the one buying it not them.

Next find out which dealer (if you are in or near a large city) that is high volume, (sells a lot of vehicles each month) you will get the best deal. i.e. high price dealer sells 100-200 vehicles a month, high volume will sell 750-1000 a month. Yes I worked for a dealer years ago.

Thank you for your answer...
I am paying cash, my brother-in-law can get me plan A for best avaliable deal, I usually have done more research and know more about the vehicle I am interested in than the average salesperson. Ford Ranger 2.3 Ecoboost on paper, should be enough to safely and efficiently pull a 5000 pound travel trailer and/or the 5x10 single axle trailer I use to haul my 7 kayaks and one canoe. Previous hauling vehicles...Early 70s F-150, Jeep CJ7, Jeep pickup truck, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and for the past 20 years, a 6cyl Ford Sport-trac...if they still made a Sport-trac, I'd buy a Sport-trac. I have pulled boats and a SeaDoo trailer, but never a RV trailer.
So...I am still stuck wondering IF a 2021 Ford Ranger will safely and efficiently haul a 5000 pound RV trailer...and stop...stopping is important too. Ford says it will...several articles from the truck raters have said it will. I want to find someone who has that exact experience...
Ford is a decent company...BUT...the brakes on the Sport-trac have ALWAYS sucked and I will never forgive them for the Power Shift transmission that I had on a Focus, which I traded in after 2 years, cause it was a POS.

 

[MikeG]

Best have brakes on the travel trailer, because 5,000 pounds will outweigh the Ranger, and there's nothing you can do about that. Brakes on the trailer = problem solved. No brakes on trailer, jackknife / wreck waiting to happen IMO.

Depending on the shape of the travel trailer, a camper shell / topper (whatever you want to call it) on the truck might help air flow around the trailer, depends how tall the trailer is. Have you bought the trailer yet? Where exactly are you going to drag it? I could pull one from where I live to Florida, no problem, mostly flat. Or Big Bend. Visit Rocky Mountain National Park? Uh.... much different terrain. If there's going to be climbing lanes on the highway on the uphills, and run-off areas on the downhills..... that's pretty a pretty serious place to be towing something that weighs more than the vehicle.

"Efficient"..... well, that's in the eye of the beholder. It takes power to drag that might weight around, gonna use more gas, no two ways about it. The little stuff, you'll probably never know it's there.

Weight-distributing hitch helps make heavy loads behave better, according to people I know that have used them. Not sure if that's an option for the Ranger. Think some of them are incorporated into the drawbar, might look into it.

Know someone else with the "power-shit" transmission in a Focus, you nailed that one......

 

[Canoegrrl]

There you go! That's what I was talking about!
I have not bought ANYTHING yet.
All the trailers I have looked at have their own brakes.
And I know that gas mileage is going to SUCK.
And yes...headed to the Rockies. But...I won't be on a time schedule, so I DON'T have to push the truck.
LOL...I like the Power-shit transmission...my sister has one and I even warned her!
Thank you for more things to consider.

 

[MikeG]

The "pop-up" style trailers ought to tow with a bit less wind resistance, just a thought.

With trailers, going lighter (for the same internal size) costs MORE. The prices on restored Airstreams are mind-boggling, some friends rebuilt one from a shell, and I think it's worth more now than I paid for my house.....

So anyway if you can get the weight down on the trailer, that will be a big help.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Some like hardside campers for bear country... although if you actually look at them they are not much more secure than a pop-up, just crunchier.

During problems with bears national parks do ban the use of pop-ups and tents though so if you are on vacation there with a pop-up and something comes up you could get booted.

Hard-sided Only Camping in Many Glacier - Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

That said I have a popup

 

[Canoegrrl]

Some like hardside campers for bear country... although if you actually look at them they are not much more secure than a pop-up, just crunchier.

During problems with bears national parks do ban the use of pop-ups and tents though so if you are on vacation there with a pop-up and something comes up you could get booted.

Hard-sided Only Camping in Many Glacier - Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

That said I have a popup

Having camped in Yellowstone in a tent...I am going with something a little sturdier...and warmer. It snowed on me in June.
I felt even more exposed when I have camped in a pop-up, for some reason....all the mesh maybe.

 

[Canoegrrl]

The "pop-up" style trailers ought to tow with a bit less wind resistance, just a thought.

With trailers, going lighter (for the same internal size) costs MORE. The prices on restored Airstreams are mind-boggling, some friends rebuilt one from a shell, and I think it's worth more now than I paid for my house.....

So anyway if you can get the weight down on the trailer, that will be a big help.

Thank you Mike!
Yeah...the Airstream is out of my price range.
Having been a backpacker and canoe camper, I am used to weighing everything. I even cut my toothbrush handle down and trimmed my plastic spatula (not kidding). The TT highest on my list can carry 1945lbs of cargo, but I plan to keep that number much lower.
I found this video which really made me feel like I have made the right decision with the Ranger with the Factory Installed Tow Package and the Dealer Installed Integrated Trailer Brake Controller which comes on a F-150. I am only 5'3" and I am overwhelmed by the size of the F-150. Thus...my choice of the Ranger.