Curtis said:Keep in mind as well... your 2.3L truck would likely have passenger tires and a much softer suspension. I wouldn't tow more than 2000-2500 with it if its anything like my buddy's 2.3L Ranger. Its squishy.
I don't think my Ranger has ever carried more than groceries and it my have an up rated suspension. Either that or I am becoming . . . squishy.
Knurled. said:Pedant nitpick: It's the Lima engine. The Pinto engine is a completely different engine. Altogether. It has smaller bore centers, smaller deck height, a different number of cam journals, and they never made them larger than 2000cc. It was the basis for the YBB engine in the Cossies Sierra and Escort.
The Lima engine is a kind of big block version of the Pinto engine that only ever saw use in America, in various American rear drive Fords and XR4Tis. And, just to be confusing, they also used it in the Pinto after 1974 or so. So Pintos got Lima engines while Capris got Pinto engines.
If I recall correctly the 2 engines share a lot of parts even some rotating items. I've raced both in the past. 2.0 "Pinto" engine in a . . . ITB Pinto. A 2.3 Lima" in a roundy round Mustang. I got fairly familiar with the 2.0 because I wanted to move up to Sports 2000 back then.
volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Curtis :
Thats interesting, did not know that. I've towed many dolly pulls that were not plated, driveable, etc. Never caught any heat.
Where did you do that? Here a non reg vehicle on the road is a $500 ticket. I think you may know how I know.
Just wanted to point out I shipped my miata from California to South Carolina for $800, so that should be the upper limit for whatever you consider.
That said - how are you planning to get it to the race track one you're back in AZ? The 112hp ranger can barely get itself up hills, never mind the tires and chassis not being up to it (as someone else mentioned). Towing a race car with that thing should not even be a consideration, even locally.
volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Knurled. :
So, since they used it in the Pinto, would it not be correct to refer to it as, at least, "a Pinto engine", if not, "the Pinto engine"?
It's standard procedure to never imply ownership in the event of a Pinto.
morello159 said:Just wanted to point out I shipped my miata from California to South Carolina for $800, so that should be the upper limit for whatever you consider.
That said - how are you planning to get it to the race track one you're back in AZ? The 112hp ranger can barely get itself up hills, never mind the tires and chassis not being up to it (as someone else mentioned). Towing a race car with that thing should not even be a consideration, even locally.
That $800 is a good reference thanks.
Once I commit to and get a car to race the Ranger and another small pick up I have will get sold. With that I'll be looking for a Suburban or Tahoe.
Knurled. said:volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Knurled. :
So, since they used it in the Pinto, would it not be correct to refer to it as, at least, "a Pinto engine", if not, "the Pinto engine"?
It's standard procedure to never imply ownership in the event of a Pinto.
So you're saying I should refrain from mentioning I eventually had . . . 3.
In reply to L5wolvesf :
Why not save yourself the trouble and do that swap right now? Then you can drive the Suburban out to pick the car up and bring it back...
L5wolvesf said:volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Curtis :
Thats interesting, did not know that. I've towed many dolly pulls that were not plated, driveable, etc. Never caught any heat.
Where did you do that? Here a non reg vehicle on the road is a $500 ticket. I think you may know how I know.
All over the place. New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia...it never occurred to me that the towed vehicle had to be registered. But then, I guess the dolly doesn't have plates on it....except maybe some states do?
I've rented dollies from Uhaul and don't recall reading anywhere in the rental docs that the vehicle being towed had to be registered, plated and insured.
Pulled a 22 ft sailboat with my 2.0 4 cyl ranger. Once. Had to slow to 20 on the hills, screaming in 2nd gear. Never again.
The other question to ask is how to get the whole rig home when the ranger dies going up a hill.
I'd like to reiterate for the kids in the back. The motor is only a fairly small part of the equation when towing something big. Much more important is transmission/chassis/tires/brakes/cooling system. Also towing at maximum capacity is stressful on the driver and (potentially) dangerous to other motorists.
Nobody is advocating for a brand new dually to tow 5,000 lbs, but Rangers and their like just aren't built to pull much weight.
In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) :
Truth. I think this is why compact pickups just never really took off in this country. Full sizers are a significant step up in capability, without too much of a cost or MPG penalty. My brother has a '97 Chevy 1/2 ton 2WD, with the Vortec V6 and 4L60E automatic, and he's towed 4000 lbs cross country with that without any trouble. And knocks down 20 mpg when not towing.
You can't tow with a Ranger.
If you don't have an F350 or equivalent, you WILL die trying to tow. I know, because I've read it on the internet.
KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:I'd like to reiterate for the kids in the back. The motor is only a fairly small part of the equation when towing something big. Much more important is transmission/chassis/tires/brakes/cooling system. Also towing at maximum capacity is stressful on the driver and (potentially) dangerous to other motorists.
Nobody is advocating for a brand new dually to tow 5,000 lbs, but Rangers and their like just aren't built to pull much weight.
You mean other than those of us who have towed thousands of miles without dying with a Ranger. The only problem I ever had was going up a steep hill in West Virginia, but I still made it. Other than that, towing with a 4.0l and 3.0l Ranger, even with a loaded bed along with it, was not a big deal. Brakes were fine, cooling was great, stability was a non issue.
I would not do that with a 4 cyl ranger, but I'd do it all day in a v6.
I had a 99 with 4.0 and it had NO issue with pulling. That whole stopping thing.....WELLLLL.............
I had 4500# behind it and it would do 90mph if you were dumb *I was much younger so, yea that dumb came with the territory*, but it wouldnt like to stop real good. If it had trailer brakes *no controller in the truck, see above* it would have been a lot better.
For the 2.3, itll do it, but I wouldnt on a normal basis.
Technically you should only tow what rating is, if you're over and in an accident, insurance won't necessarily cover you. Looks like you're talking max like 2300lbs with the right axle/trans/cooler options...
L5wolvesf said:volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Curtis :
Thats interesting, did not know that. I've towed many dolly pulls that were not plated, driveable, etc. Never caught any heat.
Where did you do that? Here a non reg vehicle on the road is a $500 ticket. I think you may know how I know.
Not to derail the conversation but what if one set of wheels is on the tow dolly and the other is on a set of those wheel assemblies that tow trucks use to jack up the rear axle? Would that count as not being directly on the road?
I've also seen statements that tow dollys do not need to be plated / registered. Is that also generally true?
I have verified that in Ohio, a tow dolly does not require plates.
Conversely, I have rented dollies from Uhaul and they have plates on them, but plates from other states.
L5wolvesf said:I am still looking for an IMCA Sport Compact race car and the most likely place I am going to find an already built one is far away. I am in AZ and most of the IMCA Sport Compacts are in the Midwest-ish area. So I’m looking at a possible 3000 mile round trip. I have no problem with that, but how would my Ranger handle it.
My Ranger is a 1996, 2.3, 5-speed with 210k miles on it. The miles sound like a lot but the truck looks and runs like it has less than half of that. It was babied by the original owner (w/records to prove it).
Given that my primary concern would be whether the 2.3 could pull the car and trailer up any hills I would encounter. I figure the car would weigh roughly 2000 lbs (hopefully less) and add another 2-300 lbs in parts. I’m not sure what I will be doing re a trailer but my Carson California Car Hauler supposedly weights 1600 lbs. So I’ll have about 4k lbs to haul up hills.
My route home would most likely be via I40. There is one long pull I can think of headed west out of Albuquerque. I believe from Alb east to the Mississippi River is fairly flat in most directions.
So my question is, has anyone pulled a similar load with a similar Ranger?
Thank you for your input.
I used to tow a tandem axle enclosed trailer all over the country with my S10 Blazer powered by a 2.8 V6 automatic. Never had a lick of trouble.
In the trailer was the Black Jack Soecial about 2000 pounds plus a big rolling Snap on tool box. Plus spares and camping gear. Realistically I'd say 5000 pounds total.
You can't be a meat head. You have to look ahead and anticipate. Gain speed downhill to sustain your speed going uphill. I seldom dropped below 50 and went over 65.
Have you ever driven a team of horses pulling a wagon with some weight? Ease the horses into the load, let them get comfortable pulling before you start working them. They'll do it, but on their terms not yours, not if you really want the best out of them.
That's how you drive. You need to relax into the load. Both You and your truck will be better for it.
L5wolvesf said:volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Curtis :
Thats interesting, did not know that. I've towed many dolly pulls that were not plated, driveable, etc. Never caught any heat.
Where did you do that? Here a non reg vehicle on the road is a $500 ticket. I think you may know how I know.
Some states are pretty permissive. In WV, you can often tow just about anything without tags if it says "Farm Use" on it. Somewhere I used to live (Lousiana? NV?) anything under 1000 GVWR didn't need tags.
Here in PA, I know that trailers must have registration. Under 1001 gvwr doesn't need an inspection. In PA, the tow dolly itself must have tags. Of course, if the whole car is up on a trailer and not touching the road, it doesn't need tags.
exST165 said:L5wolvesf said:volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Curtis :
Thats interesting, did not know that. I've towed many dolly pulls that were not plated, driveable, etc. Never caught any heat.
Where did you do that? Here a non reg vehicle on the road is a $500 ticket. I think you may know how I know.
Not to derail the conversation but what if one set of wheels is on the tow dolly and the other is on a set of those wheel assemblies that tow trucks use to jack up the rear axle? Would that count as not being directly on the road?
I've also seen statements that tow dollys do not need to be plated / registered. Is that also generally true?
All states are different, but think of it this way.... if it is touching the road, chances are it needs registration. I know if I'm flat-towing a "toad" behind an RV, the car must have registration. If I put it up on a flatbed, the car can be unregistered, but the trailer has to be registered.
This is the same reason why registration fees are higher based on the GVWR of the vehicle; more weight on the road and more tires means more damage and liability. The state charges you more for the privilege of carrying that extra weight on their roads. Same goes for toll roads... the toll is their version of registration. The more axles/weight you have, the more money they'll charge.
So, in your scenario, the part touching the road has to be registered (with some possible state exceptions).
In PA, tow trucks get away with it because they are considered an emergency/assistance vehicle. I'm not sure if it is written into the vehicle code or if law enforcement just looks the other way, but tow trucks can get by with all kinds of stuff that we can't.
KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:I'd like to reiterate for the kids in the back. The motor is only a fairly small part of the equation when towing something big. Much more important is transmission/chassis/tires/brakes/cooling system. Also towing at maximum capacity is stressful on the driver and (potentially) dangerous to other motorists.
Nobody is advocating for a brand new dually to tow 5,000 lbs, but Rangers and their like just aren't built to pull much weight.
This is very true. I have driven a total combined weight of 38,000 lbs or more (box truck and a trailer) with a 160-hp Cummins. It was slow, but with careful selection of shift points I wasn't a danger to other traffic.
Snrub said:I ask out of complete ignorance - A lot of people have said towing with a ranger sucks. Some had said power is the problem, is that the only issue? If memory serves me correctly, I believe later 4.0L rangers were rated to tow up to 5600lbs.
My wife's 97 Explorer is rated at 5300lbs, so that seems likely
alfadriver said:KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:I'd like to reiterate for the kids in the back. The motor is only a fairly small part of the equation when towing something big. Much more important is transmission/chassis/tires/brakes/cooling system. Also towing at maximum capacity is stressful on the driver and (potentially) dangerous to other motorists.
Nobody is advocating for a brand new dually to tow 5,000 lbs, but Rangers and their like just aren't built to pull much weight.
You mean other than those of us who have towed thousands of miles without dying with a Ranger. The only problem I ever had was going up a steep hill in West Virginia, but I still made it. Other than that, towing with a 4.0l and 3.0l Ranger, even with a loaded bed along with it, was not a big deal. Brakes were fine, cooling was great, stability was a non issue.
I would not do that with a 4 cyl ranger, but I'd do it all day in a v6.
One of my friends towed a VW Quantum (think wagon halfway between Audi 4000 and Audi 5000 in size) home to Ohio from MD... with another Quantum. And later towed an XR4Ti from SC with the same Quantum. The 2.2l five cylinder engine made 115hp when new. It had the same 10.1" front rotors and rear disks as a 16v Jetta.
He made it home just fine, although for the SC trip, he said that he knew that he was technically accelerating uphill at 65mph because, if he watched long enough, he could notice the needle creeping ever so slightly higher than where it was. I'm assuming this was in 4th gear, as 3rd is beyond redline at 65mph.
Technically accelerating is the best kind of accelerating! (wait...)
You live in AZ? Buy a rust free one of these, or something similar.
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