towing with a BII

[therieldeal]

anyone tow with one of these? what kind of capacity do they have? i'm looking at one with the 2.9, 4wd, automatic trans.

 

[Hahnsb2]

How much do you want to tow?

 

[therieldeal]

a ford escort on a dolly. the car weighs 2300 pounds, the dolly weighs... whatever a dolly weighs, lol.

because my ranger is a 2.3 AND a 5 speed it looks like it cant legally tow that much. the crappy rear end gear they put in there doesnt help either. either way i was looking for a auto v6 ranger when i came across a couple BII's for sale.

 

[Hahnsb2]

I personally wouldn't tow over 1500 with a B2 over a long distance and certainly not 2500Lbs with an auto.

 

[therieldeal]

hmm

the issue i found with the rangers is the autos are rated to tow WAY more than the manuals. i cant find anything for tow ratings on the BII's

 

[Jspafford]

How far you towing? I've towed a Celica on a dolly a couple miles no problem. I have 3.45 gears, but I have a 5-speed.

 

[therieldeal]

its about 100 miles each way, 90% highway. taking the escort back and forth to the drag strip.

i want something that can handle it safely and also legally, without being a v8 gas guzzling/annoying to park full size pickup. i was going to put a 2.3t and an 8.8 3.73 in my ranger, but it would still technically be "overweight" legally.

 

[86ford]

get a explorer.

86

 

[therieldeal]

but those are no fun

ah well, i'll start looking i guess.

this BII is CHEAP though. its not gonna cut it for towing? its basically a 4wd 2.9 ranger, right?

 

[Jspafford]

It would do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[86ford]

It would do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

jspafford knows i would do it, its just a bad idea to tempt fate every time you hook that car to a vehicle with a wheel base that is under 100 inches.......

86

 

[therieldeal]

didn't realize the wheelbase on the bronco was that short... damn. the wheelbase on my escort is 98" ... LOL

 

[jobar]

Look on ebay, or craigslist for a cheap 1/2 ton pickup. Use the pickup just for towing. Thats what id do.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the problem your going to run into with RBV autos is they all suck. they may be rated for more towing, but they will be less likely to survive...making it difficult for you to accomplish your task of actually making it to your destination and doing it legally.

look for an older (mid 80's) f-150 (ohh! get the I-6 if you can!). if you can find a standard cab and short bed, they are fairly short and easy to manuver.

 

[therieldeal]

i gave my buddy a ride home from work today, his dad has a couple old f150's parked in the yard that werent there the last time i gave him a ride. he says they are "for parts" but he doesnt know anything about them or cars in general... he is finding out whats up with them for me.

in other news, i only got 19mpg my first tank... taking it easy with at least 75% highway driving. maybe this engine really DOES have 268k miles on it lol