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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Trucks / July 2005Will A Ranger Tow My Trailer?
After 211,123 miles, my Ford Aerostar is giving up the ghost - it's overheating and the air conditioner has given out. I use the Aerostar to pull a trailer. The weight of the trailer can go up to about 1500 pounds. Will a Ford Ranger with the 6 cylinder, 3.0 engine pull my trailer? (I'm looking at the XL version, 2WD.) Thanks, Dave with a BIG transmission cooler (assuming auto), in 3rd, not OD, at reasonable speed, with a trailer brake controller, yes > After 211,123 miles, my Ford Aerostar is giving up the ghost - it's > overheating and the air conditioner has given out. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Dave >with a BIG transmission cooler (assuming auto), in 3rd, not OD, at >reasonable speed, with a trailer brake controller, yes For 1500lbs you do not need a BIG tranny cooler like this guy says, (he has also been telling people to hook up aux coolers incorrectly and that Detriot has been doing their aux coolers wrong for years) a small one will work just fine as you can over cool the oil and the brake controller is debatable too unless you plan to tow in hills or your state requires it with that load. (some states it is 1000lbs)IF you get up to 2000lbs with that vehical I would go for trailer brakes either electric or surge brakes. > >with a BIG transmission cooler (assuming auto), in 3rd, not OD, at > >reasonable speed, with a trailer brake controller, yes > > For 1500lbs you do not need a BIG tranny cooler like this guy says, > (he has also been telling people to hook up aux coolers incorrectly > and that Detriot has been doing their aux coolers wrong for years) a yeah, well, over 250 satisfied customers say my method works just fine > small one will work just fine as you can over cool the oil and the you can't 'overcool' it no way > brake controller is debatable too unless you plan to tow in hills or > your state requires it with that load. (some states it is 1000lbs)IF > you get up to 2000lbs with that vehical I would go for trailer brakes 'surge brakes' ???? is there any end to your utterly idiotic advice ? >> >with a BIG transmission cooler (assuming auto), in 3rd, not OD, at >> >reasonable speed, with a trailer brake controller, yes [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > is there any end to your utterly idiotic advice ? What are you responding to? Did I miss something or is my news server screwed up?? Al >After 211,123 miles, my Ford Aerostar is giving up the ghost - >it’s [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Dave It should be okay but I would suggest a 4x4 version as they tend to have deeper gearing and better cooling too and the 2wd’s are generally built as lightweight commuters. My 1991 Ranger, 3.0L V6 with 5 speed OD transmission, hauls a 1200lb utility trailer quite easily. I've had my 250 Honda ATV on the trailer (500lbs with trailer) plus my buddies 250 Honda (400lbs by itself) on the bed of my truck, and the truck hauled it quite easily. My truck has no tranny cooler installed and there were no indications of it overheating, burning clutch or anything else. Mind you, this is all I ever plan on hauling with it, but it would probably handle a 1200lb load just as easily. Sharky > My 1991 Ranger, 3.0L V6 with 5 speed OD transmission, hauls a 1200lb utility > trailer quite easily. I've had my 250 Honda ATV on the trailer (500lbs with [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Sharky Ummm, transmission coolers are for AUTOMATIC transmissions.  SignatureDavid M (dmacchiarolo) http://home.triad.rr.com/redsled T/S 53 sled351 Linux 2.4.18-14 has been up 21 days 23:27 Where did I indicate that my transmission was automatic in that post? Because of the fact that my transmission is a 5 speed, it makes it easier to tow because I can manually select the gear as I need it. However, I only haul my trailer every so often, and when I do, it is not very far, so I am not concerned about damaging my transmission. Besides, if I need to haul a larger load, I have a half ton truck geared up for towing as well. SnoMan, I agree with you, but you'd be suprised how easy that little truck hauls a large load. Possibly it may be because of the rear axle gearing, I'm not sure. But when I had that load of just under 1000lbs on the truck, the engine was not struggling for power or lugging up any hills. For a 3.0L V6, it sure seems to have a fair amount of torque in the first 3 gears. Like I said earlier, if I towed with it every day, I would be more concerned about damage. But if that were the case, I would have a larger truck more suited for towing regularly. Getting back to the original post, depending on the amount of usage of the trailer, he may want to look at a different truck. Possibly a 4wd Ranger, with the 4.0L V6, which are known to have quite a bit more power than the 3.0L, but less reliability. Sharky > Where did I indicate that my transmission was automatic in that post? > Because of the fact that my transmission is a 5 speed, it makes it easier to > tow because I can manually select the gear as I need it. However, I only > haul my trailer every so often, and when I do, it is not very far, so I am > not concerned about damaging my transmission. be sure you check fluid level EVERY oil change the manual used in your truck has the shift rails in the top cover, with the rear openings closed by rubber plugs the plugs dry up and shrink, the gears throw oil up onto the shift rails, it runs backand out the holes that are poorly plugged every manual that comes in here with the 'all I have left is 4th (straight-thru)' has about a handdful of sludge and gear dust in the bottom of the case Transurgeon, thanx for the warning. Unfortunately, I learned about this problem 3 years ago, just after I bought the truck. By the time I was sitting on the highway with the rear output shaft snapped in two, it was too late. But that's what happened to it, fluid had not been checked since the original owner bought it new in 1991. Up until that point, it had been leaking out of those 3 rubber plugs that are known to leak. Sharky >SnoMan, I agree with you, but you’d be suprised how easy that >little truck [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >about damage. But if that were the case, I would have a larger truck >more suited for towing regularly. Stick shifts are usually geared deeper (not always) because the lack the avantage of a torque converter. My wife has a 2000 Cherokee with a 4cyl and 5 speed and it came with a factory 4.10 axle ratio. I have towed 2000 lbs with it with not much effort and it does surprizing well with it because of gearing and engines power curve which has good low speed and mid range torque. I would not want to go cross country with a lot of long hills to climb with that much weight with it but I am sure it would hold up as that thing appears well built. 1000 lbs behind it is no big deal and you can cruise on hiway with that amount too. ALso, I would not just check tranny fluid level in the gear box, I would change it too every 30 or 40 k miles because manual trannies are often neglected in that regard which can shorten there service life too. > Where did I indicate that my transmission was automatic in that post? You didn't. That's why I wondered why you thought not having a cooler was even relevant. SignatureDavid M (dmacchiarolo) http://home.triad.rr.com/redsled T/S 53 sled351 Linux 2.4.18-14 has been up 23 days 12:51 >My 1991 Ranger, 3.0L V6 with 5 speed OD transmission, hauls a 1200lb >utility [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Sharky I am sure it does okay towing the load but a small aux cooler is cheap insurance because I can promise you that tranny is running warmer towing and when the oil smells burnt it is to late and it can get warm enough to shorten life some without burning the oil. With current setup, when you tow the engine works hard so it make more heat so it cools tranny fluid a little less because coolant is warmer due to increased flow and tranny need cooling more because it is getting warmer to. You do not need to add a big cooler as in your case something around 5" x 10" or so would work fine. It will extend tranny life and give you piece of mind because even if engine gets hot, tranny will stay cooler because with current setup when engine gets hot, so does tranny. |
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