V10 and towing

[Hank85713]

just got a winnebago on E450 chassis with the 6.8. Going to need a towed car and we are considering using my 94 ranger. Weighed it today and its around 37-3800 lbs. So my question is, are you running a v10 and pulling this weight? How is the tow vehicle handling the weight and is it really bad in hills or in winds?

We are getting 9-10 without a tow on our initial voyage, but was kinda doggy on long pulls. RPMS went into high 3's to 4 on some just to maintian 45 or so. Dont know if this is typical for this engine set up or not.

Any help appreciated.

Hank

[rjkfsm]

rvten wrote:
We have a Flex at 4200# have pulled it out west.
The V10 handled it just fine.
Just do not use the cruse control. Going up grade.

I have to concur about the cruise.

I had a frightening experience climbing the east side of Black Mountain in NC. I was driving a pickup pulling a car on a dolly in the rain. The rear tires broke traction and I ended up going down I-40 sideways. Somehow I kept sense of mind and did not jam the brakes. I simply tapped the brakes to shut off the cruise and steered into the skid. Miraculously, I recovered and did not go off the road despite a massive fishtail by the towed car. I only had to change my shorts.

The loss of traction was caused by the cruise applying too much throttle in slick conditions. If I had not been using the cruise, I may have still lost traction, but I would not have nearly spun out as the throttle would have been closed much sooner.

rk

[Robocop]

Things I have learned since towing my CR-V the last two months. I defintely know it is back there. It has slowed me down both as a concientious driver and certainly from a weight/stopping distance point of view. The Brake Buddy rarely engages which surprised me as well. I am always by myself with a lot of "full-time" cargo. I no longer exceed a steady speed over 70, nor do I want to. It is a good tow at 65-70. However, I am disappointed when I am 'crawling' up the steeper inclines but let the engine do it's thing. The adjustment to all that is relative to having a toad has been good.

[tatest]

My 2001 Ranger is somewhat under that (fairly plain regular cab). When I pull out the street I live on, I immediately climb a short 9% grade. The V10 gets to 20 mph and shifts to second gear, holding that speed to the top. Not towing, it might accelerate to 25, so the extra 20-30% weight does make a difference.

Is this something "really bad?" I don't think so. 14,000 to 20,000 pound vehicle combinations with at best 300 HP aren't going to accelerate and climb grades like 3000-4000 pound mid-size sedans or SUVs with 160-250 HP.

At 3500-4000 RPM, your V-10 is less than 3/4 away from peak HP, so you are working with 200-240 for climbing grades. To get max power you need to be in the 4500-5000 range, but likely you don't have enough gears to get there. These speeds are normal for climbing and accelerating with this engine family, it is a modern high-speed gas engine. You could run 4000 rpm all day, if you found a 6% grade to last all day long.

Performance expectations? You get what you are going to get, it is a heavy vehicle and it does not have power-to-weight to behave like a passenger car. Even a 90-120 HP subcompact has more power available for climbing, relative to the weight it is pulling, but might be cranking 5000-6000 rpm to do it.

On those long grades, you are better off than those 80,000 pound rigs pulling the grade with only 450-550 HP. You'll be passing those, if you don't get stuck behind them, but you might get in the way of the folks who have pedal to the floor on their V-6 Camry and want to go up the hill at 70 mph.

Back to towing the Ranger, if you think the Winnebago is doggy, with the tow behind it, expect about 35-25% doggier.

[j-d]

Hank, Ours is the 4R110. I've driven a rental Class C with 5R115, as well as an F350 with Bigfoot Truck Camper on it. My impression is that the 5R isn't superior because of one more gear choice on its menu. Even without using Tow/Haul, it simply makes better shifting choices. Ours drops out of OD at the slightest provocation, especially on cruise control. The 5R is more likely to use throttle when it needs more power, instead of immediately shifting like the 4R.
There may be another reason - our chassis is 2002. Later models apparently have a different engine control module and with that no doubt different strategies programmed in.
But back to your original question - If you have a V10 with 5R110 and of course aren't running overloaded - I would not anticipate toad towing problems.

[Grumpy374]

We just got back from our initial 9 day "break in trip" pulling a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek (about 3200 lbs) with our 2012 Forrest River Lexington 283ts on a E450 V-10 chassies. Put a bit over 1000 miles towing thru mountains of N. Carolina and Tenn. Never had an issue with the set-up. Roadmaster Stearling bars and Blue Ox base plate, Ready Brake brake system.
Had no problem with interstate speeds, seemed to have a "sweet spot" between 60 to 65 mph on the flats running about 2600 rpm. Up grades it will rev up but it was no problem holding speed. Going down the tow-haul kicks in and you really don't have to touch the brakes. Back roads where speed limit is lower, it was a pleasure to drive. Only thing I want to do is replace the steering damper with a heavier unit like the Roadmaster.
Haven't weighed it as it's just wife and I, one dog, and we tend to travel light.
Grumpy

[Hank85713]

j-d will do, but I have the late model 5R110 I think it is transmission. Its just like the one in my F350 with the tow haul in the button not the overdrive on/off.

[j-d]

If you go with a Five-Star Tune, please let us know how the vehicle changes. Particularly if you have the Four-Speed Electronic Shift transmission 4R100.

[Hank85713]

PUcamper, I know what you are saying. I drove this ranger 150miles a day RT, and it has proven to be pretty much unstoppable. Currently has about 320K on it only problems ever were the trans which was bad from original owner. Normal maintenance is required on all vehicles. I installed elec windows, seats and mirrors, went to 15 inch wheels. Just did head gaskets (thought I had blown one) which it turns out it did not need, it was the water pump manifold to block gasket gone bad! Anyhow its a great truck, and I dont want to get another vehicle in the yard. 4 MC's and 4 cars trucks plus 2 TTs is a bit much already. all are lic and ready to go (mc's will take a little more but they are all ride able).


BTW got a reply from 5 star tuning already, will give him a try in near future. Supposed to help with mileage but improve throttle response and transmission shift points. we will see.

[rjstractor]

You mentioned that it's a little doggy in the hills. Adding the Ranger will slow it down, but not drastically so. Like others have said, most of the time you won't know it's there.

[rvten]

The tow assembly may be 6000#. But check the rec. conn. On the MH. See what it is rated at.

[PUCampin]

Hank85713 wrote:
pucamping, its a 4.0, 5 speed manual 2WD, crew cab. max GW is around 4700 lbs I think it says, so as a 1/2T rated vehicle it will be up there. The 93 on rangers were/are heavier than the models before them.

The guy I got the MH from gave me the 6000lb tow assy, is having the braking assy removed from his tow vehicle and is going to send to me in a couple of days.

My 95 was a 3.0 5spd 2WD reg cab long bed. Had a color matched snug top (cayman pearl) and carpet kit in it. Doesn't seem like it was that heavy, oh well. It was my first "rv" in that I went camping and slept in it. I owned it for 13 years and put 275k trouble free miles on it, it was a good truck. Finally got rid of it when my needs changed, I needed something that would reliably get me 105mi RT to work with good gas mileage. Several thousand worth of work was stacking up and it just did not seem prudent to make a major investment in it. (new cat converter, rear end, seats, seat belts, gauges, possible engine work, clutch, etc). I wish I had room to keep it here, but my house and property are small, and with 3 kids I have no time to tinker.

[gotsmart]

I had a 1997 Ranger, but I traded it in for a 2009 smart car when I started RVing. A 2-seater for a 2-seater. The difference for me was weight.

The smart car has a curb weight of 1,806 lbs (US). Less weight = less workload for the motorhome.

[Hank85713]

pucamping, its a 4.0, 5 speed manual 2WD, crew cab. max GW is around 4700 lbs I think it says, so as a 1/2T rated vehicle it will be up there. The 93 on rangers were/are heavier than the models before them.

The guy I got the MH from gave me the 6000lb tow assy, is having the braking assy removed from his tow vehicle and is going to send to me in a couple of days.

[j-d]

Gross COMBINED Weight Rating (GCWR) is 20,000 if this V10 is in an E450 (wuth a Four) chassis. Ours is and we tow a Nissan Frontier that's a little heavier than a Ranger. The Frontier weighs about 1000 more than the Mitsu Mighty Max (like a Dodge D50) that it replaced and we can feel the difference. But that weight in no way incapacitates that V10.
Toad is an "odd" weight, because there's no tongue load but it can still try to "wag" the back of the RV. It's carrying all its own weight, but should have a braking system. To use our coach (signature) as an example, its brakes are rated at its Gross Vehicle Weight (GVWR) which is 14500, NOT the CCWR of 20000.
If your chassis is E350, the gearing's a little taller. Since tires are same as E450, the E350 will labor more and bog a little sooner (wanting to downshift) on a grade/with more load.
Also, if you don't have TorqShift (the 5-speed with Tow/Haul not simply OD Off), it'll probably want to downshift more often than the 5-speed (known as TorqShift).