Towing Vehicle

[sparky]

Hope this topic isn't already hiding somewhere...

What are you all using to tow your Ranger 25? (and I don't mean the trailer!)
We did not purchase the trailer last year, as we plan on keeping the tug in the water, but a recent move to a new marina has us thinking of our escape strategy for Hurricane season. So if we buy the trailer we need a new vehicle. Not a bad time to purchase a gas guzzler.

Sparky
Starry Night R-25
Virginia Beach

 

[j&lgray]

We tow ours all the time and last fall towed it from Seattle to Iowa and from Mobile Bay, Alabama back to Seattle. We use a Dodge, Quad Cab, 4 by 4, 1500 (1/2 ton) that we added rear air pillows to stiffen up the suspension (a recommendation from our mechanic) and the truck has the 5.7 L Hemi. On our trip we got 9.5 MPG. We have a 8,400 pound towing capacity and the boat and trailer when loaded for a trip is right there, I know, because I check it at the truck scales.

If I was a buying a truck today, I would get the Toyota Tundra. My boating and diving buddy has a 26 Foot Rosborough that is heavier than the Ranger and he pulls that boat easily and with decent mileage.

 

[tuggin aweigh]

We tow Ranger with a 3/4 ton Dodge Ram 4x4 quad cab with a 6.7 cummins diesel and a 4.10 rear end. We purchased the boat in Florida and towed it back to Illinois. Last Summer, 09- towed to Sandusky, Ohio for a Lake Erie trip. We averaged 10 +/- MPG at 65/70 miles an hour both times. Could hardly tell we had anything behind us. Couldn't ask for a better towing rig, very stable--could ask for better milage though. We felt comfortable knowing that the tow vehicle was not undersized. If I were to buy again I would have gotten a 3.73 rear end. Everything else would stay the same.

Tuggin Aweigh

 

[bluebayou]

Well. I tow my R-25 with a Ford F-350 diesel (2008) with Tow/Haul capability. Even though the F-350 is rated to pull 13,000 pounds, it comes equipped with a towing frame that maxed out at 7500. So, I had installed a towing rack attached to the mainframe, that can pull 13,000 lbs. on a single tongue. Which means, no sway bars, no compensating, nothing but the single ball.
The only difference between the F-250 and F-350 diesel Fords that I can discover, is that the F-350 has several extra leaf springs on the rear axle. In other words, drop an extra ton in the pickup bed, and it doesn't flinch. Also, my F-350 has 20 inch wheels and 4 wheel drive---very useful on mossy launch ramps.
My brother, who runs a construction company in San Francisco ( big hills) that uses Ford diesels exclusively to off-load construction materials at sites, had his fleet supervisor speak with me. That guy convinced me that you never want to be under-powered, or under-framed. Result: the Ford F-350 diesel, which tows a Ranger 25 like it's "no problem."
Now, I believe my R-25, with a half-tank of diesel and some fresh water, weighs around 10,000 pounds, not the 5700 claimed in the publicity release, still, I want the cushion, the safety factor, of knowing that my diesel truck will easily handle the boat and trailer with room to spare. 13,000 lbs. You want the Safety Margin, not just barely meeting the truck's capacity. I have never felt that my boat was too much for my truck, and I never want to......

 

[walldog]

Hi Blue, You are so right. As a person who has towed heavy loads for many years as a contractor, I have seen too many folks using "adequate" tow vehicles that did not hold up under stress. Once I saw a suburban towing an Airstream go tumbling like in the movies from a light tap by a sportscar. Both Suburban and Airstream of course were totally destroyed. Luckily the driver and his wife had only minor injuries.

My point, please give yourselves a cushion and be careful out there.

 

[Tom Ray]

It depends how far and fast you want to go. Many of you have seen our dealership's Ranger 25 video, in which an R-25 is launched using a Pontiac Bravada, a mid-sized SUV. We towed it 3 blocks at speeds under 20 mph to the ramp. We did not use the Bravada to get it back out of the water. The young man who works in our shop has a 3/4 ton 4wd diesel truck that is essentially beefed up to be a 1-ton. Even with that, the mechanics advised him not to exceed 65 mph towing the R-25 on the highway due to the strain it was putting on his transmission.

I think that you should have a 10,000 pound tow rating to routinely trailer an R-25, and more is better.

 

[commander bill]

I tow LENABELL with a 2000 F250 Ford Powerstroke 7.3. The diesel has never been a problem & I have towed a much heavier dozer & trailer without problems. Depending on model year the towing rating for F250 & F350 will be about equal. The real difference with a F350 will be what you can carry rather than tow. One exception is a F350 dually will avoid sway better. However, I have never had an issue with sway on my single rear wheels. A single wheel F350 is really just a F250 with helper spring to raise carry capacity. Brakes & gearing are the same for both single rear wheel models at least for my model year they were. However, I have noticed that specs for the same truck will change with model years. Unloaded, I get 24 mpg with my truck when I drive 55-60 & 21 mpg if I push it to 75-80 on interstate. Pulling my boat it will get about 14 mpg. These numbers have been carefully measured. Before you other Ford owners start complaining my truck is a standard cab, 6 speed, 2WD, 3.73 rear so I have advantages many of you do not. If you live near mountains you would need lower speed gearing. Also I have to be careful selecting ramp since I do not have 4WD (my next heavy truck will be 4WD). But I may never see another truck as I only have 60K on mine. My contractor friend has 2 Ford (both 7.3 diesels) and has over 500K on each.

I also have a F150. I would never pull LENABELL with it. I pulled a 16 foot tandom trailor with 2 golf carts a few years back. The truck pulled it great but I had to make a rapid stop & it did a poor job of it - scared me. My F250 would pull & stop the much larger trailor/dozer better that F150 handled the smaller load. The dozer trailer had surge brakes also (rental).

 

[norbhat]

My Ford service manager says I can tow 9000 pounds with my Ford 450 v-10 30' motorhome. The owners manual says there is a 22,000 pound tow capacity, minus weight of motorhome (13,000 full of fuel but otherwise relatively empty). I don't think I want to back into the water with the RV. Would hire someone to put the Ranger into the water (and out). Your opinions? Thanks.

Norb

 

[Tom Ray]

My father in law used to trailer the family boat with his RV. He put a hitch on the front of the RV so he could see what he was doing when launching/recovering. If you're worried about getting the RV wet in the process, a trailer tongue extension would solve that problem.

 

[commander bill]

I would not pull LENABELL with my 23 foot motor home. It is built on a E350 chassis & is rated to tow about the same amount as yours. The big problem with motorhomes is most do not allow much tongue weight (my R25 on an Easyload trailer has 800+ lbs at tounge). This is no problem on my F250 with class 4 hitch but would overload my motorhome. Many motorhomes are already heavily overloaded at rear before you hook up to a trailer. Your 450 chassis should do better but you need to check tonuge weight limit

 

[bert]

I am using a 2008 Ford F250. It is a crew cab with a gasoline V-10 6.8L engine. Seems to have plenty of power and drives very nicely even pulling the R-25 and all my gear. Very stable on the road. The trailer has hydraulic brakes and the rig stops safely enough. The truck is very, very comfortable and my "crew" rides better here than in my communter.
Milage is another topic. 13-14 mpg on the road without the R-25 and 8.0 with the boat behind. Not great so we just use the truck for boat and dump runs.