Tow Capacity

[srisitt]

How much can a 4.0 haul exactly? Thinking of renting a trailer to pick up another ranger in my 4.0L, but haven't taken it on the highway with that kind of load yet.

 

[Ranger850]

Pay no attention to me, i have no idea what im doing here. sorry for the misinformation

 

[RonD]

No ^^^

GVWR = gross vehicle weight rating, this is the vehicle's load rating total: vehicle + passengers + load in the bed

GCWR = gross combined vehicle weight rating, would be the number that would be GVWR + trailer's total weight

So GCWR would be what the truck and trailer weighed if you pulled it on to a truck scale

Here is a 2003 Ranger spec guide: https://www.ford-trucks.com/specs/2003-2/2003-ford-ranger-specifications/

Scroll down to Base Curb Weight, under GVWR is that models base weight used to calculate max load in the vehicle, Total Weight is actual GVWR for that model, Rangers are all rated for 1260lbs load, 1/2 ton(1,000lbs) + passengers(260lbs)

Then down to Towing Weight, thats where you see GCWR
Automatic trans is much stronger than manual trans, so automatics have a higher tow capacity, no it has nothing to do with driver skills, lol, its just strength of the parts

So there are two towing capacities, with automatic and with manual
Also engine size and axle ratios, 2WD or 4x4

Basically you subtract Base weight from GCWR to get max trailer weight, assuming no load in the bed, as you add weight to the truck the trailer weight maximum must go down.

Trailer hitch also needs to be rated at at least 10% of trailers loaded weight, so if trailer and load weighs 4,500lbs then hitch needs to be rated for 450lbs

Lightest Ranger weights 3,000lbs, 4x4 extra cab 3,700lbs, so that plus the weight of the empty car trailer will the total weight.

Can your Ranger tow it?
Yes, shouldn't be a problem

May your Ranger tow it?
No probably not

"Can" is the ability to do something, most any Ranger can tow 5,000lbs, even 4cyl, although not very fast, lol.

"May" is the permission to do something, in this case is it Legal for you to tow that much weight on a public road behind your Ranger
The Ford towing guide for your Year Ranger will be the Legal limits used by police and insurance companies, so just a heads up

 

[wildbill23c]

No ^^^

GVWR = gross vehicle weight rating, this is the vehicle's load rating total: vehicle + passengers + load in the bed

GCWR = gross combined vehicle weight rating, would be the number that would be GVWR + trailer's total weight

So GCWR would be what the truck and trailer weighed if you pulled it on to a truck scale

Here is a 2003 Ranger spec guide: https://www.ford-trucks.com/specs/2003-2/2003-ford-ranger-specifications/

Scroll down to Base Curb Weight, under GVWR is that models base weight used to calculate max load in the vehicle, Total Weight is actual GVWR for that model, Rangers are all rated for 1260lbs load, 1/2 ton(1,000lbs) + passengers(260lbs)

Then down to Towing Weight, thats where you see GCWR
Automatic trans is much stronger than manual trans, so automatics have a higher tow capacity, no it has nothing to do with driver skills, lol, its just strength of the parts

So there are two towing capacities, with automatic and with manual
Also engine size and axle ratios, 2WD or 4x4

Basically you subtract Base weight from GCWR to get max trailer weight, assuming no load in the bed, as you add weight to the truck the trailer weight maximum must go down.

Trailer hitch also needs to be rated at at least 10% of trailers loaded weight, so if trailer and load weighs 4,500lbs then hitch needs to be rated for 450lbs

Lightest Ranger weights 3,000lbs, 4x4 extra cab 3,700lbs, so that plus the weight of the empty car trailer will the total weight.

Can your Ranger tow it?
Yes, shouldn't be a problem

May your Ranger tow it?
No probably not

"Can" is the ability to do something, most any Ranger can tow 5,000lbs, even 4cyl, although not very fast, lol.

"May" is the permission to do something, in this case is it Legal for you to tow that much weight on a public road behind your Ranger
The Ford towing guide for your Year Ranger will be the Legal limits used by police and insurance companies, so just a heads up

So according to the manual for my Bronco 2 it says 4500lbs...I say maybe half that safely LOL. Not sure how they came up with that number but that's what the manual says with automatic transmission and 3.73 gears...4.10 gears shows 5,000lbs.

I wouldn't want to tow at the max weight in the first place, I've heard some say up to 80% of the tow vehicle's capacity? I try to remain very conservative in towing capacity, better to be well under the limits than close to or over the limits. With the way people love to cut-off those pulling trailers both pickups/trailers as well as semi-truck/trailer combos its best to err on the side of caution and have trailer brakes whether your trailer is supposed to have them or not, the more stopping power you have the better off you'll be...you can get an overloaded truck/trailer moving its the stopping that is far more important.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Thinking of renting a trailer to pick up another ranger in my 4.0L

See that? Rangers become an addiction ??

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Just for the occasion.

 

[projectRanger93]

How much can a 4.0 haul exactly? Thinking of renting a trailer to pick up another ranger in my 4.0L, but haven't taken it on the highway with that kind of load yet.

There's no sticker indicating the capacity on the inside of the driver's door?

 

[RonD]

There's no sticker indicating the capacity on the inside of the driver's door?

There is GVWR weight on the driver's door sticker, but that's the vehicles maximum weight rating:
vehicle weight + passengers + load in the bed or any cargo area in the vehicle.

Most Rangers are rated as 1/2 ton, 1,000lbs, Ford often uses 260lbs as passenger weights
So if you subtract 1,260lbs from your labels GVWR you will get "Curb weight" of your model Ranger

GVWR doesn't include trailer weight

GCWR, gross Combined weight rating, is the number you need to see towing capacity and that's not on drivers door label, it can usually be found in Ford Towing guides where it lists all the Ford trucks towing capacities.

 

[Dirtman]

Bottom line, rangers where never made to tow much. The ohc 4.0 2wd automatics had the highest tow rating and that was only 3,000 lbs. Could it tow another ranger + trailer, absolutely. Should it, absolutely not.

 

[fastpakr]

Bottom line, rangers where never made to tow much. The ohc 4.0 2wd automatics had the highest tow rating and that was only 3,000 lbs. Could it tow another ranger + trailer, absolutely. Should it, absolutely not.

Depending on configuration, some Rangers went as high as nearly 6000 pounds. As an example, this is a page from the 2005 owners manual...

 

[Dirtman]

Those numbers aren't really the tow rating, they are what it can tow with zero load and in magic conditions. You still have to go by the gcwr minus vehicle weight, passengers and cargo to get tow load. But yea its probably around 4.5-5k when you sort all that out not 3k. But a 05 is also alot stronger than a 91.

 

[fastpakr]

Those numbers are quite literally the official tow rating, straight from the manufacturer. Yes, you need to adjust them based on payload (as referenced explicitly in the image I shared) but that applies to every towing situation and you're just trying to move the goalposts.

As to 2005? I went there because you referenced the OHC engine in the previous post. 1991 isn't available from Ford's website, but 1996 still represents the OHV 4.0:

 

[adsm08]

I know I'm late to the party, but a 4.0 Ranger will easily tow a 4.0 Ranger. I did it on a dolly, with the rear driveshaft out, but I barely noticed the other truck, aside from it looking like someone was tailgating me really bad the whole way home.

 

[racsan]

well not that I should have , but I did once rent a tow dolly (2 wheel “trailer” you put front end of vehicle on and tow a vehicle, the towed vehicle rides on its back wheels) and towed home a ‘97 3.0 2wd reg cab longbed with a ‘92 2.3 2wd reg cab longbed. Granted, I didnt go very far or fast (10 miles, 40 mph tops) but it did do it ok. When I got the ‘92 it was towed home on a dolly behind a S10 blazer, 35 miles, highway legal speed.