Towing with an older 1991 2.3 5 speed...

[mmz77]

Hi, Just curious to how well the 2.3 tows a light load. I am looking at putting two dirt bikes in the bed of the truck (7 foot bed) and about 75lbs of gear. In total this should weight about 520lbs in the bed of the truck. There will be two people in the single cab that wight about 200lbs each. The trip is quite a haul as the one way distance is 212 miles. Freeway has climbs as I will be traveling through some uneven terrain. Should I be fine for the most part?

Truck is a 1991 Ranger 2.3 5 speed 90k miles.

 

[Explorin94]

You may notice the weight there and may have to down shift more than normal. You should be fine.

 

[Sour Grapes]

my 95 with a 2.3L was suprisingly great at towing. I hauled my 10' single axle trailer loaded with construction debris, lawn mower, and even dirt and mulch. Pulled like a champ. When it came to loading the bed, I had it squatting quite low, and the only noticable thing that I can tell you is you will have to let the RPM climb higher while accelerating. You're hauling more weight, so obviously more time is needed for braking distance, etc. You will probably find that your truck is serverly underrated haha! Good luck!

 

[gjm4l]

yep should be fine. I tossed my race atv, spare parts, cooler, associated gear and typically a buddy in my reg cab and drove to plenty of tracks just fine, You'll hit 3rd going up long grades but it'll do just fine. I suppose 180 for me at the time, 180 for my buddy, 370ish for race quad, at least 150 in gear and a full tank of gas. Close to 1000lbs in the truck and yes it was FULL and everything was strapped heavily.

PS: totally jealous of the 90k 91', my 92's passing 160k like a champ

 

[Original_Ranger84]

I imagine you'll feel it somewhat, but will still be driveable. You will just need to adjust your driving habits as they said