Towing a tent trailer?

[Xploda]

I have an 87 4x4 with a 2.3 soon to be turbo, anyone think it's possible for tent trailer and or cab over? wana take the truck hunting but wana make sure I can use it with a camper or trailer.

 

[Xploda]

I did tow a chevy 1500 with a ranger once so it should be able to handle it right? and it was with a car dolly.

 

[Fordisthebest30]

no problem. i could tow a tent trailor with my old honda civic. most weigh 500-1000lbs. with the 2.3L it might slow you down, but as long as your breaks are good youll be fine

 

[Jasper_S]

I haven't tried it, but I think it is safe to tow tent trailer using your 87 4x4 vehicle. Yet, you still need to determine the total weight of the trailer you want to tow. Let's say, your vehicle's towing capacity is 2500 pounds and the trailer and cargo weighs 2700 pounds, it's still safe.

 

[Galloway6]

I just took my Jayco Eagle 8 camping for the first time and it was a breeze.
My 97 2.3 auto did just fine. The camper weighs 1140 pounds dry and I had about 300lbs in the bed and 500 in the cab. It had no trouble with the weight but my trip was short in distance(about 20 miles each way) and no steep inclines.

My question is would I be able to tow my camper in the mountains of Tennessee? I would love to spend a week camping in the Smokies.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Surrey]

The 2.3 will have no problems pulling a little trailer. You might be interested in lower gears depending how hilly you are...

I am actually looking at getting a tent trailer myself, was planning on pulling it with my '98 Caravan with a 3.0l mostly, with the occasional trip behind my b2.

If you have an automatic, make sure your tranny cooler is in good working order. Might not be a bad idea to get a new one regardless.

edit - a camper is probably the better option for hunting, because a tent trailer can't really go anywhere but paved or gravel roads...

 

[LIMA BEAN]

I just took my Jayco Eagle 8 camping for the first time and it was a breeze.
My 97 2.3 auto did just fine. The camper weighs 1140 pounds dry and I had about 300lbs in the bed and 500 in the cab. It had no trouble with the weight but my trip was short in distance(about 20 miles each way) and no steep inclines.

My question is would I be able to tow my camper in the mountains of Tennessee? I would love to spend a week camping in the Smokies.

Thanks for any input.

I think towing a decent load like that in the smokies I would have a trans cooler and put brakes on the trailer, getting it going is easy but stopping fast or coming down a steep grade is another. Say hi to ol Popcorn Sutton's spirit and have a sip of his recipe.

 

[wildbill23c]

I'm sure it will do fine, just remember you are towing a trailer to plan slowing down/stopping sooner than you normally would otherwise, the trailer may not seem to weigh a lot but it adds a lot of push when you are trying to slow down, I'd really get trailer brakes even if your state don't require them on the smaller trailer, it would be well worth the safety, not to mention not having to worry about overheating the brakes on your truck, and definitely get a transmission cooler if you have an automatic transmision. Never knew they ever put 4WD in the 4 cylinder rangers that's pretty rare isn't it?

 

[LIMA BEAN]

I'm sure it will do fine, just remember you are towing a trailer to plan slowing down/stopping sooner than you normally would otherwise, the trailer may not seem to weigh a lot but it adds a lot of push when you are trying to slow down, I'd really get trailer brakes even if your state don't require them on the smaller trailer, it would be well worth the safety, not to mention not having to worry about overheating the brakes on your truck, and definitely get a transmission cooler if you have an automatic transmision. Never knew they ever put 4WD in the 4 cylinder rangers that's pretty rare isn't it?

My 88, std cab, long bed, 4X4 came with a 2.3 LIMA FI and a 5 speed.

 

[wildbill23c]

My 88, std cab, long bed, 4X4 came with a 2.3 LIMA FI and a 5 speed.

Maybe just in certain areas it was available? Never seen a 4x4 2.3L here in Idaho. Don't know why because in the older Toyota Trucks they were very common to find them with the 4cyl/4x4. Never understood why so many manufacturers required that you had to get a 6 or 8 cylinder to get 4WD.

Now I wanna go look around for a 4 cylinder 4WD ranger.

 

[Galloway6]

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[MetalDeerSolid]

Here's mine!

The trailer weighs around 1500 lbs (It's an 82 I think), towed no problem with my 2.3. Flooring it in 5th at 3000 rpm kept a steady 70mph for me. Go slower if you want to keep your fuel economy. I'm used to really expensive canadian gas so when I went camping in WA I burned gas like it was free! I even hit the speed limiter at 92mph (speedo's a bit off) going downhill in 4th at 5000 rpm. These speeds were all on fast open sections of the I5.

Uphill you'll need to downshift, don't be afraid to rev the crap out of it! These engines may be gutless but they're tough.