Gear swap for towing

[mastermechanic5]

Hi guys,
I want to tow a 5000 lb trailer with my ranger. I have a 1996 STX short cab, 4.0, manuel trans & 3.27 gears. I know I wont be able to tow 5000 lbs with that gear ratio but the question is if I decide to do a gear swap should I go with 3.73s or 4.10s? Right now I have 31s on the truck, but if I start towing I may put the stock tires back on for better mileage. What sort of gas milage should I expect to get if Im towing at 65-70 mph?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

What was stock size tire for your truck? Based on my own truck I would go 4.10. I went from stock to 31" and immediately figured out I needed gears. I bought and put in used axles with 4.10 and my speedo is correct +- 4kph. I have no problems towing with the 4.0 in my b-II.

Richard

 

[brinker88]

Definitely 4.10s. It would be extremely beneficial if you tow a lot.

 

[mastermechanic5]

Alright 4.10s it is then My stock tire size was 235/75-15 (or at least that's what came on the truck when I bought it.) My next question, is this really the truck for the job? My friends keep on trying to convince me that the ranger isn't a big enough truck for what I want to tow. Btw im planning on towing a car trailer which I figure is about 2000lbs and my race car which I figure is about 2700lbs. My trips are going to be about 100-130 miles each way.

 

[brinker88]

IMHO, you'd be better off with a fullsize. That's almost 2.5 TONS of weight.

 

[mastermechanic5]

What would be the biggest issue? The powertrain/drivetrain or is it more of a control issue? To buy a fullsize I would need to sell my ranger, which I don't really want to do.

 

[brinker88]

Hauling that much weight frequently with a ranger would put a large strain on your drivetrain (transmission/engine, axle bearings) not to mention massive amounts of strain on your suspension ( balljoints, hub assys, T.R.E.s ).

If you invested in a vehicle (larger truck) that was suited to carry these loads, it would greatly minimalize the maintanance intervals needed.

 

[mastermechanic5]

I'm not too concerned about shortening the life of my components. If I blow up a motor or trans I will probably do a v8 swap, and my suspension is apart fairly often to replace components due to hard wheeling. My main concern is can the ranger safely control a trailer of this weight? I will of course be using trailer brakes.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

I towed a 5000 lbs 24 ft travel trailer behind my 05 sport trac for a bit. It had the 4.0L SOHC, 31" tires and 4.10 gears. It handled it ok. Don't expect to win any races. Stopped fine with the brake controller.

 

[4x4junkie]

5000lbs shouldn't strain the drivetrain at all if you have 4.10 gears & 235/75R15 tires (or how about 4.56 gears and keep the 31s?)

As for keeping it under control, I would strongly suggest a weight distribution type hitch for it (a light-duty single-bar one should be fine which are rated for 5000lbs IIRC), and maybe one of those friction-bar sway control units also (and yeah, you'll need good trailer brakes too).
Like Sasquatch said, your 4.0L won't get your trailer up to 60 MPH as fast as a late-model fullsize V8 will, but unless you got some huge non-aerodynamic frontal surface area on your trailer, you should be fine.

 

[adsm08]

Hauling that much weight frequently with a ranger would put a large strain on your drivetrain (transmission/engine, axle bearings) not to mention massive amounts of strain on your suspension ( balljoints, hub assys, T.R.E.s ).

If you invested in a vehicle (larger truck) that was suited to carry these loads, it would greatly minimalize the maintanance intervals needed.

I'd think levering that much load over the rear axle (the axle being a fulcrum here) would actually reduce strain on the front suspension components since they will be getting lifted off the ground.

 

[mastermechanic5]

Alright I would say that answers my questions pretty well. I'm most likely going to be putting 4.10 gears, a better hitch, stock tires and a brake controller in. I know that I would be better off towing with a larger truck. In a few more years when I can afford it I would like to buy a F250 7.3 powerstroke. But right now selling my ranger and spending a few thousand on a is not a good option for me.

 

[Will]

I think 5,000# is a stunt with a Ranger. You could do it, but it would get old fast. You are talking a couple hours each way, not sneaking a stack of wall board back from Home Depot.