Towing flat bed trailer 4300lbs. with a Raptor?

[Road<Traveled]

Looking to get a Ranger here in the next 8 months or so. Common sense and safety says to get a 2026 XLT (want a sun roof, wish they were coming out with a 6ft bed ). 1900 lb. 16ft flat bed trailer with about 2400 lbs. compact tractor onboard or maybe building materials here and there.
I would really like to get a Raptor (I know that I lose the sunroof in this case). I will only be towing this setup 3 or 4 times a year. But I know max towing capacity will drop from theoretical 7500 down to 5000 lbs.

Thoughts or is/has anyone towing a similar setup? I see people doing travel trailers (love it).

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[entoptics]

FWIW...



Loaded right to the brim at 5500 lbs, and it handled it with ease.

In your scenario, with a 1350 lb payload and 10% tongue weight of ~500 lbs, you're left with ~850 lbs for people and stuff in the truck.

For what you're describing, I personally wouldn't hesitate for a second to haul that anywhere and everywhere with my truck.

 

[Road<Traveled]

I love that channel, but obviously missed that test. Forgot it has 5500 lbs max towing. Being at about 4400 combined payload and trailer weight for my situation, 80% of capacity will be good.

Thanks for the quick reply. Have a good weekend everyone!

 

[D.J. Swanson]

Another flat tow question from a newbie to this forum:
I bought my '25 Ranger Raptor because I was told only that trim/engine combination could flat tow. I had a few challenges at first, but I'm flat towing now and it's working out great.
But today I was at an RV park in Arizona and saw this Ranger being flat-towed with a Blue Ox system. I wasn't able to catch the owner to ask him about it. Clearly this is not a Raptor. It's a "Sport" trim. What year Ranger is this?

Thanks!

 

[Bill Hippel]

Looking to get a Ranger here in the next 8 months or so. Common sense and safety says to get a 2026 XLT (want a sun roof, wish they were coming out with a 6ft bed ). 1900 lb. 16ft flat bed trailer with about 2400 lbs. compact tractor onboard or maybe building materials here and there.
I would really like to get a Raptor (I know that I lose the sunroof in this case). I will only be towing this setup 3 or 4 times a year. But I know max towing capacity will drop from theoretical 7500 down to 5000 lbs.

Thoughts or is/has anyone towing a similar setup? I see people doing travel trailers (love it).

I tow my boat and trailer, totalling 6,400 lbs and also only tow a few times a year. My 24stx Ranger does well with that weight. The Ranger Raptor is a great looking,faster and better off road truck but less capable towing truck. My needs are towing and every day driver with not much off roading. Consider a 2.7 v6 with the fx4 package and keep the 7500lbs towing.

I

 

[fordtrks4ever]

Another flat tow question from a newbie to this forum:
I bought my '25 Ranger Raptor because I was told only that trim/engine combination could flat tow. I had a few challenges at first, but I'm flat towing now and it's working out great.
But today I was at an RV park in Arizona and saw this Ranger being flat-towed with a Blue Ox system. I wasn't able to catch the owner to ask him about it. Clearly this is not a Raptor. It's a "Sport" trim. What year Ranger is this?

Thanks!

2019 to 2023

 

[GiJoesGT]

Towed my #5400 rig with ease. Coming from an F150 it aint no F150. It has plenty of power and around town it was great. I would like to see more braking power. On the interstate it has a little slight nose bounce and could benefit from some ride stability features for-towing like the F 150. This is surely from the live shocks. That said it is not an f150 and probably an unfair comparison but thats all Ive had for 20 years. Overall it did just fine and I would not hesitate to take it on the road nextctime.

 

[superj]

Another flat tow question from a newbie to this forum:
I bought my '25 Ranger Raptor because I was told only that trim/engine combination could flat tow. I had a few challenges at first, but I'm flat towing now and it's working out great.
But today I was at an RV park in Arizona and saw this Ranger being flat-towed with a Blue Ox system. I wasn't able to catch the owner to ask him about it. Clearly this is not a Raptor. It's a "Sport" trim. What year Ranger is this?

Thanks!

thats a gen5 ranger, 19-23. its the 2.3 and 10r80 trans. since it has a different trans, maybe that allows them to flat tow? i don't know and am just guessing that is why but i know they have that other transmission.

 

[stemplar]

Another flat tow question from a newbie to this forum:
I bought my '25 Ranger Raptor because I was told only that trim/engine combination could flat tow. I had a few challenges at first, but I'm flat towing now and it's working out great.
But today I was at an RV park in Arizona and saw this Ranger being flat-towed with a Blue Ox system. I wasn't able to catch the owner to ask him about it. Clearly this is not a Raptor. It's a "Sport" trim. What year Ranger is this?

Thanks!

The short answer is that the only ranger that canNOT be flat towed is the 2024 model year ranger. Whoever told you that only the raptor could be flat towed is either seriously misinformed or simply dishonest; either way, I wouldn’t trust anything they say.

 

[Divemaster]

thats a gen5 ranger, 19-23. its the 2.3 and 10r80 trans. since it has a different trans, maybe that allows them to flat tow? i don't know and am just guessing that is why but i know they have that other transmission.

In the 2024 if the battery voltage drops to under 12 volts the software would reconnect the transfer case causing catastrophic damage. In 2025 the software was changed to look to see if the shafts and wheels are turning , if so don't do anything.

 

[AssolMarandy]

If your trailer plus load is about 4300 lbs, a 2026 Ranger XLT can tow that no problem. The XLT towing capacity is higher than your setup.

A Ranger Raptor has lower towing capacity. Some Raptor owners say it tows OK, but it is not as strong for heavy loads. If you plan to tow only a few times a year and stay under the Raptor’s limit, it can work. Just know you have less towing capacity.

Since your total is around 4300 lbs, the XLT is closer to the rating you need. The Raptor will have less reserve and is more for off road.

If towing is the main goal, the XLT is the safer choice for your trailer and tractor. If you want off road and you stay under the Raptor limits, that is OK too.

Many people tow similar weights with both trims. Just make sure you stay below the max tow numbers for whichever truck you choose.

 

[Lion77]

Looking to get a Ranger here in the next 8 months or so. Common sense and safety says to get a 2026 XLT (want a sun roof, wish they were coming out with a 6ft bed ). 1900 lb. 16ft flat bed trailer with about 2400 lbs. compact tractor onboard or maybe building materials here and there.
I would really like to get a Raptor (I know that I lose the sunroof in this case). I will only be towing this setup 3 or 4 times a year. But I know max towing capacity will drop from theoretical 7500 down to 5000 lbs.

Thoughts or is/has anyone towing a similar setup? I see people doing travel trailers (love it).

Max towing on the RR is 5,510lbs. Payload is in the 1,350 lbs range. The lower towing limit of the off-road truck variants (any brand, Toyota, Chevy, Ford) has nothing to do with the power train (engine, transmission, axles) as they the off-road variants either share the same powertrain as the more work-oriented versions or have even better powertrain.

It's really all about vehicle stability and the added mass of the off-road hardware, there's no getting around the fact that large squishy off-road tires and coil over shocks out back are simply NOT as stable as leaf springs with road-oriented all-season truck tires in a lower aspect ratio.

That's really where the limitation comes in, but with that being said, I did have to tow a 2,700lb car on a car dolly (about 750lbs for the dolly), so with a ~3,500lbs of towing weight, 4 passengers and luggage totaling about ~850lbs, my Pro Cal tuned RR was managing about 4,290lbs of additional weight and it towed it like a champ. I had to tow up a steep 20 degree grade that was several hundred yards long and barely had to give it any gas, it just went right up without any issue. I think I saw maybe a couple PSI boost and that was it, held gear at about 3k RPM, so it was just "whatever dude" to the hill.

Sure, braking was the biggest thing, leaving lots of distance, but as far as acceleration, I probably got up to 60 mpg in about ~8 seconds (TFL did about 9 seconds to 60 at max tow on their Pro Cal tuned RR on the IKE run, I had a little less weight), but I can say that for a versatile truck that is off-road oriented, it tows just fine within its limit and I have no reservations towing periodically. I would not recommend towing with 35" tires and a lift though, that really ruins vehicle stability for "utility" applications, which is why I'm keeping my tires / suspension stock (some other reasons for my applications too like acceleration, braking and handling dynamics).

Now as others have stated, if it's a monthly basis that your towing, you're better off with an XLT or Lariat, but it is only 3-4 times a year and the rest of the time you want to enjoy the off-road capability or just have a tall riding, cool looking back road warrior that's sporty, the RR will do just fine.

Your NOT stressing the powertrain, it's the same 10R60 transmission thats in the standard rangers, so you can't even push that transmission past 65% of it's capability since the suspension is too soft to allow more weight in the Raptor configuration. So, your always 2/3 derated on the what the powertrain could actually handle if the suspension could match up = high reliability.

Just be a little extra cautious on braking distances due to the extra weight of the off-road equipment and I would also recommend 1 upgrade, get a set of Method 705 or other lightweight wheels in +35 off-set. That lower rotating mass over the bead-locks really helps with braking.

I dropped 43lbs of rotating mass from the OEM bead locks to the Method 705's (37lbs per wheel vs. 25.2lbs per wheel) and it made a significant difference in overall braking, turning and even acceleration (mine is Pro cal tuned, even with 455HP I can tell).

OEM alloys aren't bad, they are 29lbs, so if you can find one without the OEM bead locks, that's your better bet, otherwise a wheel upgrade is helpful. I wanted the Methods for a variety of reasons in my case, not just weight, but also the bead grip for off-roading in the dunes where you need to run 15 PSI, I wanted to make sure I could still push in turns without de-beading, and I also hated the look of the OEM bead locks as they stick out and make the tire / wheel look odd.

 

[cc1999]

TFL did several towing test with their RR .
‘Here is a few more .

 

[Johnny 5]

Max towing on the RR is 5,510lbs. Payload is in the 1,350 lbs range. The lower towing limit of the off-road truck variants (any brand, Toyota, Chevy, Ford) has nothing to do with the power train (engine, transmission, axles) as they the off-road variants either share the same powertrain as the more work-oriented versions or have even better powertrain.

It's really all about vehicle stability and the added mass of the off-road hardware, there's no getting around the fact that large squishy off-road tires and coil over shocks out back are simply NOT as stable as leaf springs with road-oriented all-season truck tires in a lower aspect ratio.

That's really where the limitation comes in, but with that being said, I did have to tow a 2,700lb car on a car dolly (about 750lbs for the dolly), so with a ~3,500lbs of towing weight, 4 passengers and luggage totaling about ~850lbs, my Pro Cal tuned RR was managing about 4,290lbs of additional weight and it towed it like a champ. I had to tow up a steep 20 degree grade that was several hundred yards long and barely had to give it any gas, it just went right up without any issue. I think I saw maybe a couple PSI boost and that was it, held gear at about 3k RPM, so it was just "whatever dude" to the hill.

Sure, braking was the biggest thing, leaving lots of distance, but as far as acceleration, I probably got up to 60 mpg in about ~8 seconds (TFL did about 9 seconds to 60 at max tow on their Pro Cal tuned RR on the IKE run, I had a little less weight), but I can say that for a versatile truck that is off-road oriented, it tows just fine within its limit and I have no reservations towing periodically. I would not recommend towing with 35" tires and a lift though, that really ruins vehicle stability for "utility" applications, which is why I'm keeping my tires / suspension stock (some other reasons for my applications too like acceleration, braking and handling dynamics).

Now as others have stated, if it's a monthly basis that your towing, you're better off with an XLT or Lariat, but it is only 3-4 times a year and the rest of the time you want to enjoy the off-road capability or just have a tall riding, cool looking back road warrior that's sporty, the RR will do just fine.

Your NOT stressing the powertrain, it's the same 10R60 transmission thats in the standard rangers, so you can't even push that transmission past 65% of it's capability since the suspension is too soft to allow more weight in the Raptor configuration. So, your always 2/3 derated on the what the powertrain could actually handle if the suspension could match up = high reliability.

Just be a little extra cautious on braking distances due to the extra weight of the off-road equipment and I would also recommend 1 upgrade, get a set of Method 705 or other lightweight wheels in +35 off-set. That lower rotating mass over the bead-locks really helps with braking.

I dropped 43lbs of rotating mass from the OEM bead locks to the Method 705's (37lbs per wheel vs. 25.2lbs per wheel) and it made a significant difference in overall braking, turning and even acceleration (mine is Pro cal tuned, even with 455HP I can tell).

OEM alloys aren't bad, they are 29lbs, so if you can find one without the OEM bead locks, that's your better bet, otherwise a wheel upgrade is helpful. I wanted the Methods for a variety of reasons in my case, not just weight, but also the bead grip for off-roading in the dunes where you need to run 15 PSI, I wanted to make sure I could still push in turns without de-beading, and I also hated the look of the OEM bead locks as they stick out and make the tire / wheel look odd.

Will a 5" drop hitch work for the RR ? I heard a 6" is desirable. I'm going to be towing a 16' aluminum fishing boat. Boat, motor, and trailer are ~ 1500lbs.

 

[GiJoesGT]

I use a 4” drop on mine with 5000 boat @500 tongue weight

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