Tow Vehicle Ranger 21 EC

W

Wilkie

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 20, 2011
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46
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Hunter 336
I am planning to tow are 21EC to FL from our Home in MA next year...

Curious what vehicles might people be using? Thinking about a Honda Pilot or Jeep Grand Cherokee!!

Thanks..

Wilkie
 
When I purchased my R21 last summer I traded my Toyota Tacoma in on a V8 Toyota Tundra. Did not think the little Tacoma would get the job done. There are some fair sized hills between the lake and where I wintered the boat.
Towing the boat was no problem with the Tundra. It was a bit older than my Tacoma but had a towing package including a push button selector for TOW. Changes the computers shifting pattern.
I was very comfortable at highway speeds and there was no power issue so the hills caused no slowdown. Only issue is as consumption all the other time!
Rick Fogal
 
I recommend you research the towing capability of each vehicle - the capabilities change so much. We have a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the V-8 and a 2" 10,000 lbs. receiver and it can handle our R21-EC fine. The standard receiver for the Jeep is 1 1/4" which is way too small. You have to check the capabilities of the vehicle with it's engine and transmission, and the trailer hitch, then compare it to the load you want to haul.
 
I used a 2002 Tundra for two years with LG and now a newer tundra with the bigger 5.7 litre engine. Both are fine. Though, fuel consumption is dramatic . I found they can struggle a bit on grade because of the (tall) profile of the 21, especially with headwinds. With 4 years towing experience now, frankly, I would go with a bigger diesel (250 or 2500), especially If you are planning on long distance trailering or do a lot of towing. I think any strong 6 cycling will work, but it will have to work quite a bit. The boat tops out between 4500 lbs, with fuel, trailer, gear, etc. It's not a lot of weight, but over time I think it is. Just my opinion. Good luck with your search.
 
I use a 2006 Nissan Frontier with a 4 litre V6 automatic and have no problems at all.

Dave
 
We tow our 2006 R21-EC with a 2011 Suburban with 5.3L Vortec V8 and Heavy-Duty Trailering. Before that we towed with 2001 Suburban LS with V8 engine. We aren't in the mountains but the Suburban doesn't even know the boat is back there!
 
I have been around commercial vehicles & trailers for more years than I want to mention here. I can tell you that just because on paper a vehicle looks like it is up to the task of towing a certain weight doesn't always make it so. Frontal and side area of the trailer, weight of the gear and passengers, brake capacity of the tow vehicle and weather conditions all have an impact on the safety of any given combination. This link gets you to a great PDF file containing information on making informed decisions about determining the suitability of a tow vehicle for its intended task http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/equi ... towing.pdf.

Just because a given vehicle can pull a trailer doesn't always mean it should. Always keep in mind that your life and the lives of those who ride with you as well as the other folks who share the highway depend on your decision to have the right vehicle for the task at hand.

Eric
 
I towed my EC 21 from Pa. to Yupper MI. :lol: About 800 miles or so. I have a Chevy Silverado 1500. No problems at all. A very nice behaved package. I got around 11 MPG with headwinds and 65 MPH running. A little better when slower without headwinds but not more than 1 MPG. Im still in the Yupper waiting for better weather heh heh. 😉 Today is blowing like crazy and raining.
Eric Hughes Central Pa (EC21 Gentle Lady)
 
I towed my R21EC with a Toyota LandCruiser; it has a 6500 lb. towing capacity. Could hardly tell the boat was back there, except for the mileage reduction. On a trip to FL I towed the boat on the factory trailer, coming back it was on an aluminum FloatOn trailer. Mileage improved about 10% with aluminum trailer.

gene
 
IMO, the trailer is as much a part of the equation as the capability of the tow vehicle.
The positioning of the boat, the tongue weight, and most importantly the efficiency of the trailer brakes, all play their part.
I don't know what your trailer has, but electric/hydraulic brakes where an electric brake controller in the truck operates an electrically driven hydraulic pump on the trailer to activate conventional hydraulic disc brakes, just has to be experienced to appreciate the feeling of security it gives you.
When the controller is correctly set, the trailer brakes work smoothly in tandem with those on the tow vehicle, whether you're in stop-go traffic, descending a steep hill, or making an emergency stop.

Something else that might be considered is the use of an equalizer or equalization hitch, which effectively transfers some of the trailer weight to the vehicle chassis.

However, that's probably a topic deserving a thread of its own! 😉
 
I have a 2010 Tacoma with a tow package. I barely know the R-21Tugs behind me.
Unfortunately it drops my 20mpg to about 13. Now most of my towing is in the
SE so I have no idea what would happen in higher elevations. We also tow a travel trailer that
weighs in at about 3500 lbs and the Tacoma works fine. With the tow package the tacoma is
rated for 6000 lb.I thought of a Tundra but for what I have it would be overkill. When I was looking
at trucks what I heard over and over is not the power to pull it, but do you have the brakes to stop
it. The Tacoma has the same disc/brakes as the Tundra.
 
I used a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab w/ 4.7L v-8. No problems at all. About 10 mpg. I have also used my car (albeit only when absolutely necessary) - a Dodge Charger with a 5.7 L Hemi. It does not struggle from a power standpoint, even into a stiff wind, but you gotta be careful in planning your stops.
 
tlkenyon":4gyfnhkl said:
I used a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab w/ 4.7L v-8.............. It does not struggle from a power standpoint, even into a stiff wind, but you gotta be careful in planning your stops.
Click to expand...

So what's the braking system on a trailer for the 21EC?
 
Mine has surge brakes installed by the previous owner. They work pretty well.
 
On the Ezloader trailer I have it is a surge brake system
 
Ok, surge brakes are probably appropriate for the lighter 21, and properly set up should be safe.
However, surge brakes will always transfer the load of the trailer to the tow vehicle fractionally before they operate.
Converting to electric over hydraulic as used on the trailers for the heavier boats in the lineup, would make a huge difference (the tow vehicle brakes work with no greater pedal pressure than when there is no trailer attached), but there's a cost factor involved that may make the adoption unattractive.

The difference though, as they say where I come from, is "chalk and cheese"! 😉
 
The surge brakes used on the Ezloader trailer are more than sufficient for the R21-EC. The trailer pulls fine. I never even know it is back there - even on rough roads. I never feel any pushing when braking, even during emergency stops.

I have used surge brakes on various trailers over the last 40 years, including very heavy bomb trailers, and the the brakes on the Ezloader are the best I have seen. I am very pleased with them.
 
Bomb trailers?
 
Yes, Navy bomb trailers. They carried thousands of pounds of bombs on them and were all terrain trailers, and we could tow three of them at a time. Talk about some "push" when you hit the brakes ... But that is another story - a "sea story".
 
Could make a nasty rear-end chain reaction...
 
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