What are you towing with your 6th Gen Ranger?

[SLJ]

Do you have the 2.3L or the 2.7L? The 2.7L seems to not really struggle even in the mountains (TN Smokeys) while towing.

I had no problem pulling with the Maverick 2.0/8 speed w/4K tow package in the Smokeys so the 2.3 Ranger w/tow package should be fine.

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[Thunder175]

Just bought a new 2026 Lariat with Adv Towing Package to pull our Geo Pro G19RL.

 

[rikairving]

Have towed a 6x12 x 4k lb box several thousand miles last summer with the 2.3MPC motor; absolutely not starved for power or stability. The early torque onset, as well as the gearing and transmission do their job well. Did runs from Florida to Maine, and back through Kentucky and Tennessee, and my only observance was the oil temp gets elevated when the motor is in boost for extended lengths of time, such as a mountain climb. And of note, power is not free, mileage was around 15 or less mpg at highway speeds with that boxy sail behind me. I am normally hovering around 25 mpg with regular driving. I also tow a small teardrop camper, and the truck doesn’t even know it’s there, with maybe a 1 mpg loss in fuel economy.
Have the non-advanced tow package, and use a Curt echo as a TBC, and it works well. You don’t need the phone running once it is set up. It is limited however that you need your phone app open to run just the trailer brakes manually. Have just changed to a hardwired plug and play TBC solution from Amazon. Will post on my setup and testing later.
Photo is my dad’s camper with my truck a few weeks ago. His truck was down waiting on parts, so used mine to get his camper to and from the reserved weekend getaway, 65 miles each way. Trailer is 21’, and used a Husky WDH that he normally uses on his F150. No changes on setup, just put his hitch directly into my receiver. Camper is about 6K lbs loaded, and had three adults and a dog in the truck.
No power issues, or stability problems with passing trucks. Setup is solid, as is the truck.
Kept the rig at 60 mph or below on the highway, most of the time in 8th gear, with occasional 9th runs on flat ground at 60 mph. There was plenty of headroom to go faster, but fuel consumption goes up exponentially as speed increases! Frontal area and a flat trailer back end make highway speeds expensive. That little gas tank empties quick! 60 mph was between 11 and 12 mpg.
Around town and back roads truck was much more economical; 18 to 20 mpg, with a light foot.
This was a one time thing, and if I was going to do this all the time would go for the 2.7 v6 for the better power band, and maybe less work for the motor.
I have towed all kinds of rigs since the 70’s, bigger setups with much larger motors, but with not nearly the power these new motors and transmissions output. Mileage isn’t any better though, power isn’t free!
Also, these Rangers aren’t that small anymore. My mid 70’s full sized 3/4 ton trucks were about the same size. That said, the running gear was heavier, but the brakes weren’t!

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