Towing from Illinois to Moab

I have a 01 ranger 4x4 supercab offroad package with 4.10 rears 4.0 sohc and stock 245/75/16 tires and looking to trailer my suzuki samurai to moab. The samurai is modified with rockers, steel bumpers, 31" tires ect so I estimate the curb weight of it around 2800lbs. The trailer is a 14' tandem open trailer with brakes on both axles that I just bought and its suppose to weigh around 1600lbs. My truck is in excellent condition and has had the tranny flushed and filter replaced just 1k ago. I have a hidden hitch installed which is rated at 5000/500 without weight distributing and more with as well as an electric brake controller. The truck also has a 200lb fiberglass cap on it. I previously had a 16ft car hauler trailer and truck hauled the sammy fine. That was mostly on flat lands with some hills. I am just wondering what kind of hills I'll go through and if I'm gonna murder the truck trying to get to moab. It does have a stock tranny cooler infront of the radiator that is only about 8"x6" so I will probably add another. What do yall think?

Here is a pic of the setup with the old trailer. I have my front keys cranked so the truck is fairly level unloaded so it looks like it sags a little when loaded but it was only about 2".

 

[crazyflights]

I just got back from Moab and Live in Missouri, so Im assuming you will end up on I70 across Missouri/Kansas/Colorado, your gonna be fine but there is some hills in Colorado after Denver that are more than likley gonna slow you down alot. Now if u take it easy i think you will be ok, but theres really no way around them, I was driving my quadcab f-350, with 7.3 diesel, 6spd truck pulling 24ft car hauling trailer, loaded down 4dr explorer and Polaris RZR and a a ton of gear. It did fine but we did get slowed down alot on the hills. Its a great time and highly recommend going, make sure u have plenty of time when u get there, i could only wish we had more time there 2 partial days and 1 full day wasnt enough for us.

 

[spyder0069]

I'd be taking i80 to i76 which then cuts into i70 in denver. The hills there in colorado are what I am worried about. Financially I'm going to have to make the trip next year with the extra money for gas for towing. I bought the wife an 2001 chevy tracker zr2 (we are a ford/suzuki family (tracker is made by suzuki)) four door with low miles and I am thinking of taking it out there this year and then tow the samurai the next. I just put a set of cooper discovery 225/75/15 on the tracker and have a 2" coil spacer lift on the way. The trackers got 4LO and from what I've been reading it should be capable enough to run white rim trail. I've never been to moab so it will all be new. Maybe by that time I'll chicken out and look for a f-150. (hopefully I won't give in and get a dakota crew cab with v8).

 

[gijoecam]

One question: Automatic or manual?

Also, as pictured in the image you posted, it looks to be a little tongue-heavy.... Have you scaled it set up that way? Off-hand, if it's a manual, it'll be bad-news in the long run for it. The manual trans in the Ranger isn't known for its longevity (hence the reason its rated for so little).

If it's an auto, odds are you'll be fine (but I haven't looked at the numbers yet). With the 4.10 rear end and a good brake controller installed (Tekonsha Prodigy can't be beat IMHO), it should be fine. It won't like to get going, but once it's moving, it'll be fine. You're not going to win any drag races, and it's gonna be humpin' going over the hills, but it should get it there just fine.

 

[spyder0069]

Its an automatic. The truck looks low in the rearend because its on uneven ground at my parents farm but also because I have my front torsion bar keys cranked. Which means when its unloaded the truck sits level. When loaded it looks like its sagging even though there is not alot of weight. I always measure before and after I load the trailer at the rear bumper and set it up so the rear only drops 2". So there is weight on the tongue but most is on the tandem axles.

I had to crank my keys so that my 265/75/16 winter/mud tires didn't rub. I had to remove the front mud flaps too. I bought them on rims new from 4wheel parts and made a mistake when I ordered them instead of going for the stock size which is 245/75/16. So I owned them and had to make it work. They are procomp extreme mud terrains and are unbelievable in the snow. Had a few good storms with a foot+ of snow with 2+ foot drifts and they just dug right through.

 

[Rick]

If you have a switch to lock out the overdrive I would do that when you get to the mountain grades. It will keep the tranny from hunting for the right gear.

 

[spyder0069]

When I tow I always turn off the overdrive. Even if the trailer is empty. Too many horror storys of ranger/explorer tranny problems. My buddy has a ranger and towed his 3500lb boat with it. One time he forgot to turn off the overdrive and that was it for the tranny. Took two shops later and $4k+ before he got a shifting truck again and even then the second rebuilt wasn't perfect and had a hard shift into third.