3.0 towing experience/advice

[Econoline 150]

I'm looking for a towing vehicle, it will be pulling a car trailer and a car from dealer auctions (retiree woking for cash under the table for a dealer buddy) I found 2 Ford vans with a 300 six and a 460 which would both do well, but I'll tell you what gas is getting so out of hand lately Im wondering if I could get by with a Ranger 3.0 to do the job, would a 5 speed with that combo pull 5,000 lbs ? I was told the Aerostars had fragile auto trannies do the Rangers have the same ? I live in flat Illinois in the boonies and hills wont be an issue. Any advo Id appreciate guys.

[floydguy]

my neighbor has an aerostar 3.0, he bought a windstar van, and pulled it home on a dolly with the aerostar 50 miles today, no problem and this is in the flats of eastern nc. and va. , i believe the 3.0 aerostar and 3.0 rangers have the same A4LD automatic.

[jokerforever]

Don’t do it! The 3.0 is a dog unloaded and I couldn’t imagine it trying to pull twice the weight they usually do. Some folks will tell you that they do but just because they haven’t killed somebody yet doesn’t mean that they won’t. At a minimal I would say you need a good ½ ton to safely pull a loaded car trailer regardless of the engine. Not only would you be dangerously slow, but a Ranger’s brakes would have to work their butts off to get that much weight stopped; even on level ground. Now 5k lbs isn’t that much but you have to remember that a Ranger only weights 4k to 5k lbs at the most. So you’re doubling or more what the chassis usually carries around. That can be done in properly setup heavy half or better but it’s not a good ideal with a light duty ¼ ton truck. I would suggest finding a F150 (or an E-series if you have your heart set on a van) with a 300 six or 351 from the late 80s to mid 90s. Stay away from the AOD and you should be fine. And full size trucks from those years are comparable in cost to Rangers. For the same price you get a lot more truck.

[riffer]

Good Idea but the truck just does not have enough weight and brakes to be safe. I was overloading mine all of the time with a bed full of firewood and a 5x8 trailer full behind it.

I had to use full throttle much of the time to stay going and stopping was not a quick affair. Also having to rev it out all of the time that kills the gas mileage.

I finally bought a bigger truck for bigger jobs.

But I kept the ranger for buzzin around town.

[bigjohn1895]

well if you want to tow (on flat land) with a ranger with a 3.0 you can do it safely if you change the rear end to a 3.73 or 4.11 gear and make sure your brake lines are good
i tow cars all the time with mine as long as there are no steep downgrades you wont have a problem

[Milwaukee1979F150]

ranger with 4.11 won't work you need 4.30 for this.

i suggested not use ranger because we have one at work broke gear in diff that cost much to replace

You better find 90's F150 with 300 plus 5 speed you be fine.

[joshc_guitar]

Originally Posted by jokerforever

Don’t do it! The 3.0 is a dog unloaded and I couldn’t imagine it trying to pull twice the weight they usually do. Some folks will tell you that they do but just because they haven’t killed somebody yet doesn’t mean that they won’t. At a minimal I would say you need a good ½ ton to safely pull a loaded car trailer regardless of the engine. Not only would you be dangerously slow, but a Ranger’s brakes would have to work their butts off to get that much weight stopped; even on level ground. Now 5k lbs isn’t that much but you have to remember that a Ranger only weights 4k to 5k lbs at the most. So you’re doubling or more what the chassis usually carries around. That can be done in properly setup heavy half or better but it’s not a good ideal with a light duty ¼ ton truck. I would suggest finding a F150 (or an E-series if you have your heart set on a van) with a 300 six or 351 from the late 80s to mid 90s. Stay away from the AOD and you should be fine. And full size trucks from those years are comparable in cost to Rangers. For the same price you get a lot more truck.

Now, I love my 3.0 and won't call it a dog. But, I have to agree with ihm on this. I pull my 18 foot Skeeter Bass Boat with mine quite often, but it IS hard to stop. I pulled my 72 f250 on a trailer with my dads '05 F150 and it was a b!tch I cant imagine pulling that with my Ranger.


IF you have GOOOOOOOD trailer brakes. Maybe. The engine can take it and the chassis would be OK-ish. But the braking power is what worries me. And you might ry to find a 4.0 just to be safe. A 4x4 4.0 Ranger with the beefier frame and suspention would be alright if you have trailer brakes. But even a 3.0 is going to get bad mpg pulling a trailer. I hauled computers around with a 15 foot trailer for awhile with mine and was alright but thats not comparible to 5000k worth of car.