Hey guys,

I'm considering trading in my BMW for a Ranger FX4, currently I don't have anything noteworthy of towing but I'm thinking of adding a few toys to the stable. sled / quad / ??

What I am concerned with at this point is the tow ratings, I have read on this board in other posts that the manual transmission is just as strong as the automatic and that ford is performing a little rear end covering by giving lower ratings. Anyone care to comment on this?

I really don't have anything large to pull on a regular basis...I could see me borrowing one of my family members 2 axel trailer to move stuff but that wouldn't put me over, maybe I might find myself pulling a car trailer? That's highly unlikely but I have dragged home a vehicle on one before when I had my F-150.

And one other thing...does anyone know of a good Ford dealership in southern ontario? Preferably haldimand / hamilton area? I had a very bad incident with the one in Caledonia and I don't want to find myself in that situation again. The chevrolet dealership in town has been great to me with my other cars but the price premium on the Colorado isn't worth it...I like the Ranger better in more ways then one.

Oh and on an aside, does anyone know of a roll up (preferably automatic) tonneau cover that doesn't cover the bed rails? I want to use the yakima cargo rack so I can carry my kayak and bikes on my 'roof rack' that goes over the bed but it needs the bed tie downs available...and I need the bed for 'clean' stuff (I own an IT company and will be using this for doing deployments, part of my reasoning for getting rid of my 2-door bmw).

Thanks in advance,
Chad


ps. Hey to anyone who is trolling here from the 73-79 truck forum...long time no talk

 

Where the heck have you been? I haven't seen you here in years. Couldn't really help you with your questions though, as I don't have an FX-4. I'm sure somebody will be along shortly.

 

i had a 94 stx, 31" tires, 3.73 gears, 5 speed manual/4.0. probably pretty close to what your looking at. even with the 3.73's, IMHO, it was still geared way way to tall. i could bury the speedometer(85) in thrid gear. which may be why they have the lower rating. But, i did do some towing with it and up to say 2000,2500 pounds it really did ok. i tried towing our tractor on our flat bed(about 4000lbs) and it was a real struggle for it. the new ones may be little it better, more power and ussually 4.10's in those, but i would stick to under 3000lbs or so with a standard, as long as you use a brake controller and trailer brakes, the chassis will handle it pretty good.

 

The newer 4x4 rangers are pretty much all 4:10's that I've seen. The heavier the load, the more you need to know what your doing when taking off and what not. Ford covers thier selves incase you don't know what your doing and burn out the clutch. A lot of us has pulled 5,000 pounds if not more with a manual ranger.

 

It will tow about all the small stuff to include small campers and utility trailers. Good choice!

 

Bigrigfixer: Usually when someone says they haven't seen you in years it's a bit of a stretch, but in my case I think it's legit It has been years...haven't been in the market for a truck for some time, and after the number the stealership in town pulled on a family member I have been recommending family members go to the chev dealership (most honest service center I've ever been to...anywhere). Good to see everyone who is still around none the less, and hopefully things work out with this for me and I'll be around here more. I don't know if I can show my face at one of the ontario chapter meet ups driving my BMW lol.

phatfarm: Thanks for the info, mine would have 4.10 gears but the offroad suspension might affect things, suppose bigger tires wouldn't help either. As I said I don't have anything to regularly pull that's big. I'm expecting sleds / quads maybe in an enclosed trailer at most. I could see the possibility of a dual axel car trailer with the brakes though and some sort of car on it but nothing big and that would be a one time thing. I'm just thinking out loud you know? Or even a camper...but I figure if I start collecting more of that sort of stuff I'll consider a bigger truck next time around. This will be a good daily driver.

Wendell: I generally don't drive anything that isn't stick, as for hauling with standard I figured since semi's are manual it was the better option for towing anyway. All my hauling has been done primarily in my old 79 F-150 and I towed a 6500LBish dry weight circa 1960's camper a few times and a dual axle car trailer with a 4x4 blazer on the back. But my truck was auto, was having trouble locating a 79 in decent condition back then.

If anyone else has anything to add it would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Chad

 

No problem, I tow those amounts with my 2.5L 5speed and am over 100K miles.

 

No problem, the tires will be a negative, the suspension might be a small plus tho. The only real difference is better shocks and maybe higher rated rear springs(i know there was an option). Like I said tho, as long as what your towing isn't too long, the ranger chassis is a decent chassis to tow from, I just wish they weren't geared quit so tall.

I had built stake sides for mine and one load of firewood i had was just about at the top of the cab, handled it great, only dropped a couple inches in the back. Another instance, we had to get my parents camper(about 6000lbs) out of our back yard, except it was real wet and somewhat muddy so we were worried my dads street tired dodge would just sink, so we used my little ranger, and in low range, i didn't even know it was there. sunk a little in the mud but it pulled it right thru.

 

I beleive the lower tow rating on manuals is due to the smaller clutches used today. The Autos have trans coolers and better clutch packs. I noticed the other day checking something my owners manual that the only difference in tow rating was Auto or stick, cab/bed and engine size. You would be better off towing with an auto.

 

I have had numerous issues on a 2003 FX-4 5 speed with the clutch making noise... theres a TSB on it. After driving the 5speed manual and 5 spd auto, I would get the auto. I usually prefer manual, but the auto seems to pull better especially for stock... If you do get an FX-4, get the Torsen rear differential. It is much better off road and in slick conditions than the regular limited slip...

 

Ford recommends an automatic for towing because they are concerned about shock loads in the drive train possible with a manual trans. Gears don't like shock.

 

To be honest, and im going to get a bunch of flack for this, but in my opinion, the M5OD (5 sp manual) trans in the Ranger is very light duty too much so for my liking.... but thats my opinion...take it as you will...

 

No argument from that, but if treated decent (driven by a driver who knows how to drive stick) and regular fluid changes they will last many 1000's of miles.

I have the 2.5L four in my 99 and pull more than twice the rated capacity about 2000 miles a year with no issues at 110,000 miles so far.
I changed the fluid to Royal Purple Symcromax and it is holding up real well. I have been able to go two years on a drain (about 25,000 miles)

 

I have to disagree on the strength of the stick v. automatic. Those of us who have boosted the 4.0 are putting way more than stock power through it, and nearly all of the guys who have automatics have had to rebuild them because they just don't stand up to boosted power. However, none of us with the stick have had transmission problems. Yes, you can toast the clutch if you aren't careful, but there are higher capacity replacement clutches available, and no one that I know of has toasted one of those, even w/ a blown 4.0

I would not put a car hauler behind a Ranger, whether it had a stick or automatic doesn't matter - the Ranger isn't heavy enough to control a car hauler, imho. I've pulled a couple of my SHOs on a car hauler behind a 5.4 F150, and that was a pretty good load for it - too much for a Ranger, imo.

I have a rollup toneau that fits between the sides - I think its a Lund. Here's a picture rolled up: (I can't seem to find a photo of it rolled out...)

 

I am with Ruby on this one. While I have not tried a car hauler, I pulled my old Grand Am from Jacksonville, Fl to Charlotte, NC and the only time I felt it behind me was when I had to panic brake. I have obviously had smaller loads such as lawn mowers too, but I moved my entire house 90 miles in a 6 x 12 Uhaul trailer. And I have had to remove my familys old Blazer from the driveway in the snow with my 5-sp Ranger.
The only trouble my stick has ever given me was a pilot bushing that used to chirp at me on cold mornings, but I was able to run it until the clutch got tired at 150K.
As for shock loads, I have the factory trailer hitch on mine, and have on numerous occasions taken my 3/8" chain and pulled up small stumps and shrubs with it.
Can't go wrong with a stick. I love rowing through the gears on mine!