Towing a vehical
Thread Starter
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,726
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From: down south
Towing a vehical
I was going to tow my classic mustang. Called up Uhaul and rent either a full trailer or a tow dolly. Was told my ranger is not enough for either of these? Does that sound right? I see stuff hauled all over the place with trailers and tow dollys and no issues. Is this guy steering me right? Any way around this?
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 23,849
Likes: 20
From: McKenzie River
They are worried about liability issues if something bad happens. I have towed really heavy loads with my old ranger for short distances, but if you are going any real distance, warm up the F-250........Not worth taking a chance.
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 566
Likes: 1
I was going to tow my classic mustang. Called up Uhaul and rent either a full trailer or a tow dolly. Was told my ranger is not enough for either of these? Does that sound right? I see stuff hauled all over the place with trailers and tow dollys and no issues. Is this guy steering me right? Any way around this?
with the U haul counterguy that they would not rent a tow dolly to him because his S10 was not a 1/2 ton truck. The U haul guy made the mistake of not telling him the truck was not a full sizer was the reason, instead he argued with him that his S10 was not a 1/2 ton truck
Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,115
Likes: 13
From: west plains spokane,wa
You can also check on their website. You select what trailer/dolly that you want to rent and then input your vehicle. It will say if the vehicle is ok to tow the trailer, at least according to them. I've rented their 6x12 enclosed trailer recently with my Ranger and had no problem.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,242
Likes: 0
From: Kiev, Ukraine
I think 3.0 is enought to tow 1000-1700 kg vehicle. but if you load front axe in dolly remove DS from mustang. I used to tow Aerostar with ranger 4.0 SOHC and with taurus. But I towed it with cabel and I had second driver to stear aero and to press brake pedal....
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,242
Likes: 0
From: Kiev, Ukraine
+
if you have some doupts about weight distribution I reccomend you to put sime ballast to bed, about 200-400 kg.
if you have some doupts about weight distribution I reccomend you to put sime ballast to bed, about 200-400 kg.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: down south
What do you all think about the brakes? I have the 10 inch rear drums.
Also, they did not come with steering wheel locks in 67. I would just have to strap the steering wheel in place. Using the seatbelts or something similar is what I would have to do.
Also, they did not come with steering wheel locks in 67. I would just have to strap the steering wheel in place. Using the seatbelts or something similar is what I would have to do.
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 318
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From: Huntsville, AL
Its not that they wont let you use the dolly with the ranger, its the fact that the mustang is one heavy old car. I needed a car dolly one time to pull my '91 infiniti m30 vert. The tow vehicle was my '91 ranger 2wd 4.0 auto. They said that the car was too heavy of a load. So I told them I also needed it to tow my '92 geo metro. Cant get much lighter than a metro. The uhaul guy gave me the dolly and I was on my way. The ranger pulled it just fine. Braking requires some close attention but all in all it wasnt too bad. Im not saying to lie to uhaul but when you are out of options, rules tend to get bent a little bit.
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,851
Likes: 111
From: SW Va
Well a number of things need to be considered here.
Your engine, tranny, differential gear ratio, tire size, weight to be towed & method of towing, distance & terrain.
Pulling the load is only part of the equation, stopping it should be considered too, as has been said.
Your owners manual will give max tow weight guidelines.
If your going any distance at highway speeds, a larger tow vehicle sure would be a better & safer idea.
Your engine, tranny, differential gear ratio, tire size, weight to be towed & method of towing, distance & terrain.
Pulling the load is only part of the equation, stopping it should be considered too, as has been said.
Your owners manual will give max tow weight guidelines.
If your going any distance at highway speeds, a larger tow vehicle sure would be a better & safer idea.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,242
Likes: 0
From: Kiev, Ukraine
the main thing you should to consider. At coasting trailer must press on hitch, but not raise it, else....
uper picture shows the most dangerouse situation. at coasting will rais rear axe and make it skid. My fiend got roll over crash driving down a hill. fortunatky speed was about 35-40 MPH and nobody was injured.
well, read here http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12.htm
http://www.truckspring.com/about_684.html
http://www.hitchsource.com/hitch_guide.php
uper picture shows the most dangerouse situation. at coasting will rais rear axe and make it skid. My fiend got roll over crash driving down a hill. fortunatky speed was about 35-40 MPH and nobody was injured.
well, read here http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12.htm
http://www.truckspring.com/about_684.html
http://www.hitchsource.com/hitch_guide.php
Thread Starter
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,726
Likes: 10
From: down south
I dont know about your roads in the ukraine, but from my experience the roads around here are steller in comparison to what I saw several years ago in italy. So I have decent roads. Also, being in florida there are NO hills. Almost all of this would be on highways, but would be going rather slow.
Dont remember gears, tires are stock, have a very large passive tranny cooler (no fan)
this is what I expect the dolly to look like:
Dont remember gears, tires are stock, have a very large passive tranny cooler (no fan)
this is what I expect the dolly to look like:
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 46
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From: Agawam, MA
I have had the same problem with U-Haul... I towed an S-10 ZR2 (stripped) with another S-10 ZR2. U-haul refused to rent me a trailer because of the load weight. They use a calculator (on their website) for everything. There is no way to deduct weight if you have stripped anything off of it. Their calculator uses the GVW of the base model truck.
Instead we went around the corner to Taylor Rental & rented a flatbed for $75 no questions asked.
Instead we went around the corner to Taylor Rental & rented a flatbed for $75 no questions asked.
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,851
Likes: 111
From: SW Va
The axle code is on the door sticker & you can look up the tow info in your owners manual, or if you don't have one, it can be down loaded from
https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenan...ls/default.asp
If you've changed the Rangers tire size, that'll figure in too.
Make sure ALL of your fluids & systems are in good condition, if in doubt, change the fluid/s & maybe consider synthetic crankcase, tranny & power steering fluids & be sure to flush the brake system with some Motorcraft PM-1 Dot-3 brake fluid.
The fact that you have the 3.0L Vulcan in a 4X4 extra cab, means it's lugging around lots of extra weight, so that'll cut down on what you can tow or haul.
The chart I have says that the 99 Ranger Super Cab, with a 3.0L Vulcan engine & 4X4 with auto tranny, has a max trailer weight is 4200 lbs with the 4.10 rear differential & 3700 lbs with the 3.73 differential.
If you have the tow package with heavier rear springs, that would be good, as it'll help with handling.
The tranny cooler is a very good thing, because you'll be working it plenty hard in hot weather & heat kills auto trannies.
I assume you plan to tow the vehicle with two wheels up, so if the drive wheels are down, maybe consider taking the driveshaft off, so the tranny output shaft isn't turning.
More tow thoughts for pondering.
Will be interesting to hear what you do & how it goes.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenan...ls/default.asp
If you've changed the Rangers tire size, that'll figure in too.
Make sure ALL of your fluids & systems are in good condition, if in doubt, change the fluid/s & maybe consider synthetic crankcase, tranny & power steering fluids & be sure to flush the brake system with some Motorcraft PM-1 Dot-3 brake fluid.
The fact that you have the 3.0L Vulcan in a 4X4 extra cab, means it's lugging around lots of extra weight, so that'll cut down on what you can tow or haul.
The chart I have says that the 99 Ranger Super Cab, with a 3.0L Vulcan engine & 4X4 with auto tranny, has a max trailer weight is 4200 lbs with the 4.10 rear differential & 3700 lbs with the 3.73 differential.
If you have the tow package with heavier rear springs, that would be good, as it'll help with handling.
The tranny cooler is a very good thing, because you'll be working it plenty hard in hot weather & heat kills auto trannies.
I assume you plan to tow the vehicle with two wheels up, so if the drive wheels are down, maybe consider taking the driveshaft off, so the tranny output shaft isn't turning.
More tow thoughts for pondering.
Will be interesting to hear what you do & how it goes.