Has anyone towed 6000lbs with a 4L ranger?

[lifted 4bye]

i need to tow a car hauler with a 97 Tbird on it. combined weight is about 6000lbs has anyone done this befor?

[ranger101]

How far will you be going?

[bcghosttowns]

No up hill,down hill,sudden stops or head winds and you will be fine for a short distance but your not legal.

[Botta Ranger]

Originally Posted by bcghosttowns

No up hill,down hill,sudden stops or head winds and you will be fine for a short distance but your not legal.

"...no sudden stops or headwinds..."
How do you plan ahead for that?

Check your owner's manual (available on this website)
If the manual OK's it, use a trailer with good working brakes.
Otherwise you're just committing to kill or maim anyone in front of you in an emergency.
Plus you, your Ranger, trailer and load get trashed too.

[FireRanger]

You definitely need a trailer with brakes. I don't know what the tow capacity is on your truck, only you do. The trailer and tongue weights need to be within the limits.

You plan ahead for sudden stops by not towing an overweight trailer.

[DieHard4rd]

Just borrow or rent a F-250

[richarddhoward]

Originally Posted by DieHard4rd

Just borrow or rent a F-250

x2...you should not tow 6000 lbs with a Ranger, you could end up causing a lot of damage! Your truck is going to squat pretty bad, putting no weight on the front end possibly making steering dangerous. Get a bigger truck.

[Twisty]

My max trailer weight rating is about 5800 lbs.
My camp trailer weighs about 3000 lbs loaded.
I would never tow a trailer that weighs more than about 3500 lbs - it would just be too dangerous.

[TerrenceStuart]

the SOHC 4.0 is rated around 5500lbs so you should be ok. deffinetely need trailer brakes.

[Clinton]

I think the concern would be more about the transmission than the engine

[Gumcrew2]

Originally Posted by Clinton

I think the concern would be more about the transmission than the engine

Quoted for Truth!

As long as YOU aren't an idiot, drive school-bus-slow etc, you "should" not damage your rear leaf springs/etc from tongue weight.
Assuming you literally go 10mph (seriously, I've done it). You'll be able to stop/turn just fine.

BUTTTT!!!!!!!

If you have an auto you BETTER have a tranny cooler. If it's a stick keep it low and stop often.

I would seriously be getting out at red lights and touching the tranny pan to make sure you don't overheat/destroy a $1000 piece of metal.

[darkstar_420]

i wouldnt feel comfortable towing 6000 lbs with my f150...5000 is the limit i would go with my 1/2 ton, i know its rated to tow alot more then that but im with clinton its all about the transmission and i dont trust autos to tow alot of weight

[bcghosttowns]

Originally Posted by Botta Ranger

"...no sudden stops or headwinds..."
How do you plan ahead for that?

Check your owner's manual (available on this website)
If the manual OK's it, use a trailer with good working brakes.
Otherwise you're just committing to kill or maim anyone in front of you in an emergency.
Plus you, your Ranger, trailer and load get trashed too.

you dont

[FX4OR]

autos are rated to tow about twice what manuals are rated at.

a torque converter can slip all day long without damage (given that it can dissipate the generated heat effectively), but slipping a dry clutch will burn it up in no time, as they're not designed to handle that much heat. in a towing situation, the converter or clutch has to slip a lot more to get moving than in a normal driving situation.

[darkstar_420]

true but todays automatics arnt built as good as the older transmission imo, you see alot more trannys having to get rebuilt now adays then ever before