Hello - New User here, and hoping to find someone with some knowledge and experience to help me out. I have tried Google to no avail, so hopefully someone here knows something!

I am moving from Wisconsin to Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be unavoidably traveling through the Rocky Mountains. I have a 2002 Ford Ranger XLT, RWD, V6 3.0L. I have upgraded from the factory "bumper hitch" to a axle-mounted receiver hitch, rated up to 4,000 lbs, which is within my Ranger's towing capacity.

The trailer we are looking at pulling is UHaul's 8 foot trailer (5' high, 5' wide), which (according to UHaul's website) is acceptable for my vehicle's hitch rating and curb weight. However, my concern is that these ratings are (probably) based on level ground.

The problem is 750-900 miles (depending on what route we take... looking for advice there, too, if anyone has comments) from Denver to Las Vegas, which is a lot of mountain driving.

Can my V6 handle that with a trailer? According to UHaul, a hitch of 3,500 lbs (mine is 4,000) can pull the trailer plus 1,800 lbs of cargo.

I am not anticipating loading the trailer anywhere near 1,800 lbs -- I'm looking at hauling a bed (mattress/box spring), a two-seat couch, TV, and a few boxes of clothes.

Can I do this without frying my transmission or engine or brakes? Brakes are brand new, and I intend on changing the oil before the trip, and having extra radiator fluid on hand during the trip just in case. I also intend on making extra stops, keeping an eye on the temperature gauge, and just taking it slow. Any other tips? Or is this a big no-no?

I'm worried about killing my truck, and am looking for tips, peace of mind, or someone to tell me that "no this will not work" -- any thoughts?

 

Given the lack of response to your post I am guessing most of us do not have much or any experience towing with a Ranger and I am in that pool. I will share a few thoughts, but can not offer a definitive answer.

First of all, most manufacturer tow ratings have seemed to me to be on the conservative side. Not suggesting they should be ignored, just an observation that things normally don't fall apart until you get pretty crazy.

Secondly, I think a lot will depend on the overall condition of your vehicle. For example, I lived in Minnesota while in college and we used to ski Colorado in the winter. One year we loaded up my very well worn van with eight people and their stuff and went skiing and when I got home I had to put in a reman. engine (God what a nightmare that was). The engine was on its last legs when we started out and I knew it.

Third , slow mountain travel is going to emphasis weight rather that wind resistance and it sounds to me like you will be traveling really light. I am thinking 750 pounds or less cargo so you should really be under your trucks tow rating, a plus. If you are good in physics, you could actually calculate resistances due to wind on the flat compare it to pulling a grade with this trailer, but I bet they are close to the same (provided the grade slows you down).

Fourth, I would consider a transmission temperature gage and would have the transmission fluid changed before beginning my quest.

Maybe others have some thoughts here, but I am guessing you don't have enough to move to justify renting a U-Haul large enough to tow your Ranger.

Taking your time and using commonsense, I think your approach is reasonable. Sometimes in life, you plan as best you can to reduce risk, then you just roll the dice.

Best of luck,

Steve

 

RV_Tech touched on most of the high points and I would like to add a couple of my own. That transmission temp is extremely important as the life of that 'gadget' is in direct proportion to how hot it gets. An after market cooler, especially now getting into summer is an absolute necessity if you will be towing across Texas, Arizona and Nevada to Las Vegas. That little one in the bottom of the truck radiator just wont do the job when ambient temps are 100 plus and the reflected road temps are much higher. Then the tires - tread wear and date of manufacture. The tires need to be fairly recent and in good shape plus increasing the air pressure to the sidewall max wont hurt a thing (except your posterior) plus reduce rolling resistance, lowering their temperature and possibly helping a bit with gas mileage (needed when pulling something with the aerodynamics of a barn door). Then, when you do pick up that U-Haul, make sure the lights and brakes work and it has decent tires. Those trailers don't get much TLC between trips and with so many folks flogging the @#$% out of someone elses property. U-haul will give you a guide on loading, but 60/40 front to rear weight bias is about right for one of their trailers

Have a safe trip

 

You can do it. I have towed with some rangers in the past with V6's. In fact I had one. I was a 94.

Most of the route you will be taken is good roads. Don't be afraid to gear down during the climbs.

Take along a gallon of prestone just in case, but doubt you will need it.

Remember uhaul says 55 mph is max. I'd run 60 or so.

Practice a bit once you are hooked up before loading. Everything will handle a little different.

 

If I was going to make that trip from WI to Vegas pulling a trailer with a small truck I would take I-80 to Salt lake City and then head south on I-15 to Vegas. You will miss all the high passes on I-70 that way, it would be a lot less wear and tear on you and your truck. Taking I-80 through WY you only get up to 9K where I-70 in CO you get up to 11K with a very hard pull first thing going west out of Denver, I think they call it Glenwood Hill or grade, it's a very long hard pull and then you have Eisenhower that is also a killer. If you still want to take I-70 I would that 58 out of Denver to 6 to Idaho Springs and that will eliminate that first long grade out of Denver. I have traveled I-70 many times with our trailer because we fish up there but if it was my first time I would do it without a trailer

Denny

 

Absolutely agree with I 80. Not a very scenic drive across the high desert of Cheyene and Laramie but a much better chance you'll get to Las Vegas in one piece.

 

I would certainly recommend I 80 is the best route. I have taken both.

Take I70 with more experience or unloaded and lots of time. The drive through Glenwood Canyon is amazing.

 

good points so far and welcome to FTE - come back when u get settled...

I would avoid 'extremes' in anything...
not too high rpm or too low, not too high weight, not too fast or too slow
use your gears and don't be afraid of downshifting to keep speed up going uphill and down when going downhill...
use your gearing to slow down and save the brakes for when they are needed - i.e. just hit them, slow down, and get off them to cool...

on level ground, measure your front and rear wheel well height...
then as you load you can measure to see how it's doing...
too much weight on the trailer tongue and your truck will squat and point the headlights up to where they are useless (and not the least of which is how bad it will handle your trailer)

consider premium fuel for the trip - necessary !?! No, but just a bit of 'help' for the climbs

Know that you must swing out a bit with a trailer when turning, know it WILL make your truck handle MUCH differently - especially stopping... take it easy for the first few 100 miles...

good luck....

oh - consider a cat scale - the $10 you spend may well save you if your rawr is WAY overloaded and your cargo needs some rearranging....

limit the stuff in the truck if you can, share the load with the trailer...

 

Thanks all for the tips and suggestions! Still not sure exactly what we'll do... gotten a wide variety of answers from everyone we know, and these responses here, so not sure what we will ultimately decide. Thank you very much!

 

Also -- when you talk about downshifting... Since it's an auto transmission, do you just mean killing the overdrive?

Or, do you mean actually shifting the lever from "D" to 2 (or even 1)? I would think at freeway speeds, you would NOT want to shift that lever to 2, but then again I know very little about towing or cars in general, so not sure if that's what you are supposed to do. I've always thought the 1 and 2 are for starting from a stopped position, not shifting down while driving, especially at freeway speeds....

 

rule of thumb for a couple of things. Dropping down a gear (from D to 2) may help if your tranny wants to do a lot of shifting. Keeping in the lower gear if needed will help to keep tranny temps lower.

Another rule is to go down the other side in the gears you used to climb the mountain.

 

Kill the overdrive going down - for sure. Save the brakes. The steepness of the roadway will determine if you have to downshift to "2". If you do have to, be sure your speed is lowered prior. You'll get the feel for it. Some of those mountain passes are long and fast. Going up, your push on the go pedal will shift down for you.... If you keep going in and out of OD, turn it off. If you do not have an aux tranny cooler, put one on. The bigger, the better.

 

Also know the state laws about towing when mapping your trip. For example, here in Calif, you can only legally drive at 55 max with a trailer. You also must drive in only the two outside lanes when there are 3 or more lanes going the same direction, if trailer has a gvw over 1500#'s, it must have trailer brakes, etc. most require a safety chain and breakaway switch for trailers with brakes.
I'm sure u haul checks but there are 3 basic size ***** and it needs to be correct for that trailer. 1 3/4"' 2"' and 2 5/16".
When buying your ball and hitch assembly, make sure you buy the ball with the same size thread diameter as the hole in the hitch. Most commonly 2" ball comes in shanks of 3/4 and 1".
Some will go cheap and put a smaller threaded shank on a larger sized hole. It doesn't take long for that ball to loosen up, when it can potentially move around. Not a good thing.
Be safe..

 

I too am going to vote for I-80 routing. You could also drop down thru KS, OK and TX and pick up I-40. It is longer going that way and for a lot of it probably as boring as the stretch thru WY.

I-70 west out of Denver can be intimidating even to those of us that live in CO and are used to mountain driving.

 

I towed a lot of weight (5000 lbs.) for a lot of years (13 season's) with a Mazda B4000. This is what I can offer for tips.

Your owner's manual say you can tow ~4000 lbs with the 3.0 and Auto trans. ( 3680 in super cab 4x4-4180 for regular cab long bed 4x2) It doesn't mention anything about making sure you add a transmission oil cooler to do so, so I think it probably has the cooler from the factory.

You definitely need to check for a factory transmission cooler. It looks like a 12"x 14" radiator behind the grille, offset to the passenger side of your ranger. If it's there, that's enough cooling for that load. Spend the money to have a dealer do a flush and filter change on that transmission about a week before you go. Expect it to cost a good $200. They can do it at the same time as the oil change you mentioned. If there is NO factory transmission cooler, its fine to have the Uhaul center install one of theirs, it's good practice in these parts to check there hose fittings after install. You'll probably want this done before the Trans flush. Your truck requires Mercon V fluid, not ATF.

Please remember the truck is rated to tow the weight it's rated for, however that doesn't mean it is supposed to do it up hill at intersate speeds. On long climbs settle in aroun 50 MPH and let the truck pull where it was made to in the power band. Expect the steeper grades (0ver 5%) to be turning around 3000 RPM on your tachometer.

Try to avoid using A/C at all costs. A/C with a trailer behind you just builds under hood heat. Heat is your enemy when towing. If you must use A/C for periods, at least shut it off for all hill climbs.

I had better luck climbing hills in D ( OD off) than manually locking out 2nd gear. In manually locking 2nd gear, the Torque converter tended to lock up too soon and then bog the truck down and force a hard downshift to build up engine speed again. So leave it in drive, OD off. OD off provides engine braking (instead of coasting) whenever you let off the gas. On long relatively flat stretches of highway, regular drive is ok, unless it starts shifting up and down frequently.

The 3.0 is a far different animal than the old pushrod 4.0 that I towed with. You probably won't be at all impressed with its towing performance. That's not what it was made to do. But it can tow the load in question safely, and sufficiently if you let it do it on its own terms.

Consider ceramic brake pads. I ran them on mine just in case and it paid off in spades. I had my wiring harness fray and fry my brake controller and was able to tow that 5000 lb trailer down a 3 mile 6% grade without trailer brakes and without brake pedal fade.