Just a quickie.... And No I wasnt drinking or smoking that day...

A friend of mine and I drove to Milford CT, and brougt back a 28ft Prowler
trailer with his f-150 4.6L I think the towing capacity was about 5500
pounds.. ANYWAYS Brave little ranger to the rescue I was stuck back at
his house and had to move this thing to get some things out of the garage,
SO i dropped the trailer on the ball of my 90 ranger, Pulled the trailer out
of the driveway about 15 ft or so, and backed it back in... Oh Yah the
trailer weight was 5100# unloaded.... and I have a 2.3L
I wouldnt go pullin it to a campground or anything like that, but was
impressed with it for sure...


LitlJoe


I think you know what I though i said but are you sure what you heard is
what i intended?

<NubbsMcFarkle (AT) webtv (DOT) net> wrote

=============================
and they say the spirit of adventure is loss in America...

did you have any smoke, beer, or a girl with ya?

nubbsmcfarkle
..................

Re: towing with Ranger 2.5L engine/5speed manual

Group: alt.trucks.ford Date: Sat, May 3, 2003, 2:15pm (CDT+5) From:
omgb (AT) earthlink (DOT) net (Reece Talley)
I had a 94 Ranger with the little 4 banger for over 180,000 miles. In
that time I towed a number of heavy loads between Montana and Calif.
Most were in the winter but a couple were in August. I never experienced
any over heating or difficulty with the clutch. In fact, I never had to
replace it the whole time. What you do need to be aware of is that you
will have no power on hills at all and very little on the level. Figure
that 50-55 mph will be tops on the level and 30 or so will be it on any
real grade. There is a long haul on the way to Vegas that tops out at a
place called Holleran Springs. This is a steep grade that goes on for
several miles and rises from a few hundred feet above sea level to more
that 4,000'. I towed a car dolly loaded with an 81 Ford Escort up that
grade in August of 96. I kept the speed down to 35, used third gear and
shut off the AC. It started to get warm about a mile short of the top so
I turned on the heater. It was uncomfortable but I made it without
having to stop. When I got into Idaho I had to pull that rig up a much
steeper but shorter grade into the Targee national forest and then
through West Yellowstone and into Bozeman. Some of this, especially the
part through island Park was over 7,000 feet. Again, I made it but it
was slow going with ZERO reserve power. I had to pull over a couple of
times to let others pass. So, can you pull that trailer? Yes. is it
going to be easy? No. Will it hurt the truck? Not likely if you use your
head and don't take insane chances or push things to the limit. I sold
the truck last May and it was still running fine, original tranny and
all. The brakes though were a whole other matter. I went through several
sets of pads, a change in both rotors and drums and more than three
resurfacings.
--
R. J. Talley
Teacher/James Madison Fellow
NAR #69594
NRA #133073736
"Romeo Raabe" <rraabe (AT) netnet (DOT) net> wrote

Even bigger concern would be stopping, but that weight you mentioned
should not be dangerous. Just realize the stopping distance will be
greater, and plan farther ahead.
"thomas" <nospamforme (AT) nicetry (DOT) com> wrote

Does anybody have any experience towing for long distances with the 2.5L
engine/5speed manual combo?
I know this isn't the most powerful setup, but when I bought my truck I
was interested in fuel efficiency, too, as my last car was a gashog.
Anyway, I'm contemplating moving with a Uhaul trailer (900lbs) and the
truck bed. The move would be 1000 miles, mostly along I-5 in California,
which for the most part is pretty flat.
The owner's manual rates the towing capacity at 1600lbs for this truck.
Assuming I stay at or below that, will I be OK? Or am I asking for
trouble doing this?
My assumption is that it would be very slow going up any hills but I'd
make it without damage. Good assumption???
Any advice/experience would be appreciated.