Questions on Truck Engine Size - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 09-12-2007, 04:44 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Trailer: Jayco
Posts: 4
Hello, all. I am seriously considering purchasing a 5th wheel and am getting conflicting input on the size of the tow vehicles' engine. I have seen posts where they say they are using 3.0 liter and some that say 4.0 liter 4X4. I have looked at the towing info for the Ford Ranger 3.0 liter and it seems like it should do the job.

Right now I don't have a tow vehicle so I want the best info I can before I start shopping.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Rick
Rick Lloyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 04:58 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Chester Taje's Avatar
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 4,897
My first question to you is what type of 5th wheel.If its a FG unit then i would think any 6cly small truck would be ok,but check tow rating first.Others will chime in with there thoughts.
__________________
Retired Underground Coal Miner.
Served in Canadian Army (1PPCLI)
Chester Taje is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 06:01 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Trailer: Jayco
Posts: 4
Quote:
My first question to you is what type of 5th wheel.If its a FG unit then i would think any 6cly small truck would be ok,but check tow rating first.Others will chime in with there thoughts.
Chester, I should have added that in my initial post.

Scamp 19ft 5th wheel.
Rick Lloyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 06:37 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
John Perry's Avatar
 
Trailer: 1996 13 ft Scamp
Posts: 471
Send a message via AIM to John Perry
Quote:
Hello, all. I am seriously considering purchasing a 5th wheel and am getting conflicting input on the size of the tow vehicles' engine. I have seen posts where they say they are using 3.0 liter and some that say 4.0 liter 4X4. I have looked at the towing info for the Ford Ranger 3.0 liter and it seems like it should do the job.

Right now I don't have a tow vehicle so I want the best info I can before I start shopping.

Any advice

Thanks,?
A friend and myself each bought a new Ford pickup at the same time back in 1990. At the time we both had self contained slidein campers.
Bud bought the big V-8 and spent about $3000.00 more than I did. I bought a 6 cylinder and got about 8 mpg better than he did all year long. His ONLY advantage was when we went camping in the MTs together about 6 or 7 times a year he could go up the long grades at about 60 mph while I was restricted to about 50 mph.

My advice is to not forget what you will be using your rig for MOST of the time. Is 60 mph up a long grade a few time a year worth the extra fuel and initial cost?
One last peice of advice. Consider a Toyota.

Good luck,
John
John Perry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 06:45 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Alf S.'s Avatar
 
Trailer: 2007 19 ft Escape 5.0 / 2002 GMC (1973 Boler project)
Posts: 4,148
Registry
Send a message via Yahoo to Alf S.
Hi: My choice would be the Ford Ranger 4.0 ltr. V6 4X2 pickup. 4X4's just take more gas $$$$'s to fix and more to go wrong. The price diff. btween Ranger and Toyota is also significant!!! My two cents worth
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
Alf S. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 07:21 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Brian B-P's Avatar
 
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
There's no right answer in general to how large the engine needs to be, because individual engine designs of the same displacement vary greatly, and even installation of the same engine in different vehicles have very different abilities to handle heavy loads.

For the 2007 Ford Ranger specifically, a 3.0L in any configuration only has a Gross Combined Weight Rating of 6000 lb, according to Ford's online specs. I'm surprised by how light the truck is, but it still weighs enough that according to Ford the remaining capacity (GCWR minus truck and an average driver) leaves only 2280 lb to 2600 lb (depending on truck version) in which you need to fit:
  • passengers
  • cargo
  • trailer
  • everything in the trailer
Scamp says a bare Scamp 19' with no options (and probably no water or propane) weighs 2000 lb, leaving 300 to 600 lb for everything else. I can't believe that's enough for an average user of a 19' trailer. My guess is that some Scamp 19's will hit the limit for a 3.0 Ranger with no passengers, no luggage, no food, and not even sheets for the beds.

Even my front-wheel-drive Toyota minivan has a far higher GCWR than a 3.0L Ranger; in a Ranger, I would certainly choose the 4.0L, with a vastly higher GCWR (9500 lb), and EPA fuel consumption ratings within 1 mpg of the 3.0L. While not towing, the real economy seems unlikely to be much worse than the 3.0, and while towing the 4.0 might even be better.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 07:46 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Jeanne and Steve's Avatar
 
Trailer: Casita 16 ft 1984 and U-Haul CT13 1985
Posts: 456
Registry
Quote:
... in a Ranger, I would certainly choose the 4.0L, with a vastly higher GCWR (9500 lb)...
That's the GCWR for an automatic transmission. Why would the GCWR be 2,500 lb less with a manual transmission?

Jeanne
Jeanne and Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 08:42 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Doug Mager's Avatar
 
Trailer: 1975 13 ft Trillium
Posts: 2,535
Registry
Reace @ Escape designed his 5.0 to be drug behing a 4.0L Muzda/Ford 2 whd! Works well too, from what I am led to believe...
Doug Mager is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 08:53 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Roger H's Avatar
 
Trailer: Y2K6 Bigfoot 25 ft (25B25RQ) & Y2K3 Scamp 16 ft Side Dinette
Posts: 5,040
I towed a Scamp 19' Custom Deluxe with an '01 Chevy S10 4DR 4WD with the 4.3L V6, and an automatic trans. They were a very good match.

Roger
Roger H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 08:57 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Byron Kinnaman's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 7,056
Registry
I ran across a guy fulltiming in Scamp 5 towing with a Toyota Tacoma 4 cylinder.
__________________
Byron & Anne enjoying the everyday Saturday thing.
Byron Kinnaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 09:08 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Roger H's Avatar
 
Trailer: Y2K6 Bigfoot 25 ft (25B25RQ) & Y2K3 Scamp 16 ft Side Dinette
Posts: 5,040
Quote:
That's the GCWR for an automatic transmission. Why would the GCWR be 2,500 lb less with a manual transmission?

Jeanne
The clutch is the weak spot in the small trucks with manual transmissions. They're little bitty things. I had an '87 Bronco with a Mazda 5 spd manual transmission. It had a 1500 lb tow rating. The same V6 Bronco with an automatic was rated at 5,000 lbs or some equally outrageous amount.

Roger
Roger H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2007, 10:58 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Doug Mager's Avatar
 
Trailer: 1975 13 ft Trillium
Posts: 2,535
Registry
But L K at this, its a four cylinder Pinto powered (auto trannied) model A replica that regularily tows a 17ft. Escape here in B.C.
Attached Thumbnails
Shay_Replica.jpg  
Doug Mager is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2007, 01:02 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
peterh's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2005 19 ft Scamp 19 ft 5th Wheel
Posts: 1,555
Registry
Quote:
There's no right answer in general to how large the engine needs to be, because individual engine designs of the same displacement vary greatly, and even installation of the same engine in different vehicles have very different abilities to handle heavy loads.

For the 2007 Ford Ranger specifically, a 3.0L in any configuration only has a Gross Combined Weight Rating of 6000 lb, according to Ford's online specs.
We tow our Scamp 5er -- which weighs around 3000lbs ready to roll, gross combined weight with truck, trailer, gas, gear, wife and a dog around 7000lbs -- with our 3.0L Ford Ranger without any real problems. We're a little slow up the steeper hills is all.

One thing to be aware of is axle ratios. Trucks with the same model, body, transmission and engine may have different axles that affect the vehicle's towing capacity and gas mileage. There are four different axles available on the Year 2000 Ford Ranger we bought, and two different options for the same body, engine, and transmission combination we purchased, and each engine/axle/body style has a different tow rating. The truck and axle combination we bought is rated for 3940lbs towing, GCVW of 7500lbs.

Most salesmen, and particularly used car sales guys, have absolutely no clue when it comes to axle ratios and towing capacity. The best they can do is look it up online, which gets them the rating for the lowest-capacity combination. We had to know our stuff in advance, and it turned out that the Ford VIN number could be decoded to reveal both the exact engine (we wanted an E-85 "Flex-Fuel" capable engine) and the axle ratio. We had to keep all of this in mind while we were looking for a used truck for towing our trailer, and would always call ahead to get a candidate vehicle's VIN number before driving out to look at a promising-sounding candidate.

In our case it turned out that many "fleet" trucks shipped with the body, axle and engine combo we were looking for, and (lucky us) Fleet trucks are even white to match our Scamp.

--P
peterh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2007, 01:07 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Brian B-P's Avatar
 
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
Roger nailed the manual-versus-automatic issue in general. In the 2007 Ford Ranger specifically, as published by Ford, there is a difference (yes, 7000 lb manual versus 9500 lb auto, or 2500 lb) only with the 4.0 L. I suspect that the same transmission comes with both V6 engines, and its clutch can only withstand the stress of getting 7000 lb moving; that's not an issue with the 3.0 (the engine is good for only 6000 lb anyway), but becomes the limiting factor with the 4.0.

Sorry, I assumed an automatic, because almost everyone would choose that for this service. Personally, I prefer manual transmissions for most driving, so I should have thought to mention that. Even an manual 4.0 Ranger is rated 1000 lb higher GCWR than any 3.0.

Peter has a good point regarding final drive (axle) ratios; however, in the current published Ranger specs there are no GCWR changes with ratio (given the same engine). The payload/trailer capacities vary slightly by ratio, just because those different ratios come in differently equipped trucks, which weigh different amounts. Anyone who is seriously interested could take Peter's approach, or look at the actual owners manual, or both.

I don't doubt that Peter's 3.0 has served well. I do expect that given current specifications, a 3.0 will be substantially less reliable under this loading than a 4.0, and I would not consider it reasonable to expect a 2007 3.0L Ranger to be reliable in the long run when towing a loaded Scamp 19'.

Peter, thanks for the weight reality check!
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2007, 02:55 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Jeanne and Steve's Avatar
 
Trailer: Casita 16 ft 1984 and U-Haul CT13 1985
Posts: 456
Registry
Quote:
Roger nailed the [b]manual-versus-automatic issue in general. In the 2007 Ford Ranger specifically, as published by Ford, there is a difference (yes, 7000 lb manual versus 9500 lb auto, or 2500 lb) only with the 4.0 L. I suspect that the same transmission comes with both V6 engines, and its clutch can only withstand the stress of getting 7000 lb moving; that's not an issue with the 3.0 (the engine is good for only 6000 lb anyway), but becomes the limiting factor with the 4.0.
Thanks Roger and Brian for the explanation! The question has been plaguing me since seeing the difference printed up in the owner's manual of our - you guessed it - manual trans 4.0 L Ranger. We did lots of research before buying it, but somehow never realized the manual trans would make a difference in load capacity. The good news for us is that we are within our GCWR with our loaded Casita (just barely!), and the good news for me (but not Steve) is it offers a solid reason why we shouldn't bring so much stuff!

Jeanne
less stuff, more fun
Jeanne and Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2007, 05:40 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Brian B-P's Avatar
 
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
More good news: once you're moving, and no longer slipping the clutch, the weak link the drivetrain is no longer an issue. If you are careful about how you use the clutch, maybe being right at the rated GCW is not such a concern, since you know the rest of the truck is good for 9500 lb.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2007, 11:24 AM   #17
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 84 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 725
For pleasant towing I prefer to stick with GM, i.e., generous motors.

Also, if you've never tried one, diesel engines just love to pull.
Loren G. Hedahl is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
TV - Pickup Truck, SUV, or even a Full Size Van? Karalyn Towing, Hitching, Axles and Running Gear 27 11-12-2009 08:16 AM
Tacoma 2.7 4cyl. engine Paddy Morris General Chat 15 04-21-2008 10:45 PM
TRUCK SIZE? billpool General Chat 16 05-01-2007 04:37 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:32 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.