Raptor Towing Capacity

[zhuskers1]

Anyone know why the Raptor has a towing capacity of 5510 versus the Lariat at 7500? Assume it has to do with off road suspension.

Thanks in advance

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[goalieThreeOne]

Yes, most likely the the suspension changes. The other trim levels have leaf springs which are not great for handling but really good at carrying heavy loads and being cost effective to build. The Raptor has a Watts link rear suspension with coilovers. Better for racing but worse for towing and hauling.

 

[zhuskers1]

Yes, most likely the the suspension changes. The other trim levels have leaf springs which are not great for handling but really good at carrying heavy loads and being cost effective to build. The Raptor has a Watts link rear suspension with coilovers. Better for racing but worse for towing and hauling.

Thank you!!

 

[robertb]

Yeah, someone said you need to make the choice between hauling, or hauling ass... For me the Tremor is a better balance between the two.

 

[TimmyB]

Anyone know why the Raptor has a towing capacity of 5510 versus the Lariat at 7500? Assume it has to do with off road suspension.

Thanks in advance

In addition to the suspension, realize the Raptor itself weighs substantially more than just the base 4x4 Ranger. Towing capacity is lost on both ends: the GCWR is lower because of the suspension and the truck weighs more because of the extra components.

 

[Snkrjeff020]

I just need it to haul a Airstream Basecamp, so I should be set.

 

[zhuskers1]

I have access to other vehicles to pull my boat

 

[TimmyB]

I have access to other vehicles to pull my boat

I'm on the other end: I need it to be flat-towable which it will NOT be for 24. Not sure I can afford it anyway, tbh, but a guy can dream!

 

[CrustyNoodle]

It is not so much the use of coil vs leaf springs. Coils are perfectly capably of carrying and towing heavy loads, it is just that the Raptor is set up with soft rear springs to give it the handling they wanted.
Plenty of coil sprung utes have the full 3,500kg towing capacity and 1,000kg payload.

 

[Lion77]

Has to do with vehicle stability. Between the tires, ride height / width ratios and as many have mentioned, suspension setup.

I can say this, you can max tow with the RR frequently and it will outlast a regular ranger that is towing it's max in terms of powertrain, because it's like towing 2/3 load on a regular ranger.

The transmission is the same except a different transfer case that has 4A on the Raptor, obviously the 3.0L TT is even more capable than the 2.7L TT (3.0 has much beefier pistons and oil cooling galleys that the 2.7L pistons don't have). So, transmission is just as robust, engine is more robust, and the tow rating is less = less stress.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting the regular rangers aren't durable, but if you never towed more than 5,500 lbs in an XLT, it would last longer than regularly towing 7,500lbs. So that kinda of applies to the RR.

 

[YukonRanger]

You can purchase air bags for the rear and up towing capacity significantly

Several reputable Aussie companies sell them

Downside is you lose suspension travel on compression

https://www.bossairsuspension.com.a...rd-ranger-raptor-gen1-or-gen2-standard-height

 

[John E Davies]

I just need it to haul a Airstream Basecamp

Which model? There are now four, the bigger 20x is definitely too much for a RR fully loaded with water and all your personal stuff

And the tongue weight is pretty heavy on these, the 16X is 410 lbs, the 20x is 535 lb TW., these are “advertised” figures. The RR squats very badly with only moderate weight in back. You will probably need either airbags or replacement rear coil springs.

https://www.airforums.com/threads/basecamp-16x-tongue-weight.1436946/

Remember that TW counts as truck payload, you have to subtract it and the hitch weight from your allowed cargo figure. The base payload is just 1411 lbs. If you add a bed liner and topper, plus more than one passenger, you will not have much leftover payload for camping.

IMHO the RR is just adequate for ocassionally towing a boat to the lake and back, but it is not a good choice for long cross country trips with your family and all your play toys packed inside. The Laramie 2.7 would be a much better option.

John Davies
Spokane WA 99208

 

[stemplar]

It is not so much the use of coil vs leaf springs. Coils are perfectly capably of carrying and towing heavy loads, it is just that the Raptor is set up with soft rear springs to give it the handling they wanted.
Plenty of coil sprung utes have the full 3,500kg towing capacity and 1,000kg payload.

They *can*, but in my experience, leaf springs are noticeably better than coils when towing near the limit. Leafs tend to be more planted and more stable than coils that seem to like to sag and bounce around and scare the crap out of me.

 

[Lion77]

Leaf springs are better for towing because of the helper spring. As you compress the base set, the "helper" leaf is eventually engaged, really stiffening up the rear end when heavy loads are applied, but not ridiculous at lighter loads.

You could use progressive coil springs to somewhat mimic that, but they won't work quite the same as leaf spring + helper setups on utility-oriented trucks and that's really the gold standard for towing / payload.

Coil springs are substantially better for performance driving applications, but don't do as well bearing heavy loads even with stiffer springs. Likely one reason why the Taco's have a lower payload in their standard trims than the Rangers / Colorado's / Gladiators which are all mid to high 7k lbs range.

The base Taco's do use leaf springs, but the mid and higher trims use a coil spring 4-link + Panhard rod setup (or 5 link if you want to call it that). They did that ride quality, but I'm guessing to balance that out, they gave up a bit on stability over the competition resulting in a lower tow rating (could also be powertrain related too).

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