Ford Ranger: A Weight Police Conundrum?

[markcee]

A buddy of mine has the following truck:

2021 Ford Ranger Lariat, equipped with the '53R' tow package. The vehicle is a 4x4 crewcab with a (meaningless?) 7,500 lb tow rating. It has the following vehicle specific specs:

GVWR: 6,050
rGAWR: 3,130
fGAWR: 3,370
Payload: 1,433
Wheelbase: 126.8
GCVWR: 12,500

So....he is interested in a travel trailer. I'm used to working out these kind of numbers for a 1/2 ton. How does having a mid-size pickup such as this impact towability and trailer size, specifically length and weight? I realize all the truck's ratings are smaller than a 1/2 ton....with the exception of payload. A 1,433 lb payload in a 1/2 ton would indicate the potential to tow a 6K-7K TT with a couple of passengers, hitch and a modest load of gear in the truck. Not so sure I'd tow the same size trailer with a Ranger!

Obviously he has less GVWR/GCVWR and axle ratings to work with, so how do you quantify this with the usual formulas?

[LHaven]

I'd tell him to go straight to the calcu-la-rator:

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-...eight-tt.shtml

Better safe than sorry.

[Gegrad]

Doesn't really impact it at all: you still need to meet all the numbers, just in this case they are more likely to exceed an axle rating before exceeding payload, whereas with a 1/2 ton you typically exceed payload first.

[Ken / Claudia]

I have been waiting to see the new Rangers and Broncos towing full size RVs.
But, have not yet.

[jfk69]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

I have been waiting to see the new Rangers and Broncos towing full size RVs.
But, have not yet.

Wait for it. You’ll see it soon enough. The dealer said “it’s a Lite model, you have plenty of truck for this coach”.

[NMRandy]

I saw a Ford Ranger pulling a tandem axle bumper pull RV in the wind. It was "waggin' the dog" if know what I mean. Just because "it meets the numbers", doesn't mean it is safe!! I see a lot of bashing over 3/4 tons pulling fifth wheels, but feel that is way safer than 1/2 tons pulling travel trailers. I don't think it is safe for any 1/2 ton to pull over 5000lbs. The main concern is brakes. A 1/2 ton is VERY dependent on the trailer brakes working well.