Ford Ranger Towing Capacity: What To Know
Ford Ranger by Kevauto — CC-BY-SA-4.0
Although towing capacity can be overlooked by many people when evaluating a new car purchase, it’s the most important thing for some. If you’re interested in hauling a lot of equipment from place to place, you need to know the towing capacity of your vehicle before doing so. You don’t want to walk away from the lot with a car that can barely tow any weight if that’s something you’re interested in, so it’s essential to do research first. However, this can get confusing to do on your own. Luckily, CoPilot is here to tell you all you need to know about Ford Ranger towing capacity!
What is Towing Capacity?
Towing capacity is essentially what decides how much weight your vehicle can safely pull with a trailer without causing any damage to your trailer or equipment. We strongly recommend taking all precautions to avoid exceeding the maximum towing capacity as stated in your owner’s manual.
You can find out the towing capacity of your vehicle in a few different ways: by flipping through the owner’s manual, locating the sticker on the driver’s side door jamb that has the number printed on it, or calculating it on your own. To do so, you have to take the gross combined weight of your vehicle (which includes the weight of everything loaded on it and the weight of the trailer) and subtract the curb weight, which is your vehicle’s average weight when it has nothing in it or attached to it. Regardless, the easiest way to find your vehicle’s towing capacity is always by finding the manufacturer’s number.
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How Much Can the Ford Ranger Tow?
The Ford Ranger is a massive name in the midsize pickup truck game, and a large part of this is due to its impressive towing capabilities. You can expect to tow about 3,500 pounds with a basic 2021 Ford Ranger, but this doesn’t even begin to tap into the full power of the pickup truck. When fully equipped with the Trailer Tow Package, the 2021 Ford Ranger towing capacity reaches up to 7,500 pounds.
Not only is this an incredibly impressive amount of weight to haul for a midsize pickup, but this towing capacity is consistent for the Ford Ranger as well. The same measurements are accurate for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 Ford Rangers. If Ford Ranger towing capacity is something you really care about and want to maximize, make sure to get that Trailer Tow Package because it’ll set you up nicely.
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How Does This Compare to Competitors?
In comparison to similar midsize pickup trucks, the 2021 Ford Ranger does well to stand on its own above much of the competition’s towing capacity. While it isn’t the absolute end-all-be-all of midsize pickups in terms of hauling huge weights, it is pretty high up on the list. With a towing capacity of 3,500 to 7,500 pounds (if you get the Trailer Tow Package), the 2021 Ford Ranger is a solid competitor. This is more powerful than, say, the 2021 Honda Ridgeline with its towing capacity of 3,500 to 5,000 pounds, or the 2021 Chevrolet Colorado, which can tow 3,500 to 7,000 pounds. The 2021 Nissan Frontier has a towing capacity of 6,250 to 6,720 pounds, and the 2021 Toyota Tacoma can haul a maximum weight of 3,500 to 6,800 pounds. The 2021 Ford Ranger beats out all of these when it comes to sheer towing power.
It doesn’t beat all of its competitors, however. The 2021 Ford F-150 can tow 5,000 to 11,300 pounds, placing it at the top of the pack. Given that this is another Ford truck, though, you might have already evaluated it in your buying journey and decided that the Ford Ranger is the better option for you. Either way, the Ford Ranger has a very impressive towing capacity with the ability to haul more weight than most people will ever need to!
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Other Towing Features of the Ford Ranger
First, we have to mention that you should absolutely get the Trailer Tow Package to max out your Ford Ranger towing capacity if this is something you plan to use. It adds 4,000 pounds worth of towing capacity, which makes a huge difference! Beyond this, the Ford Ranger has a nice suite of safety features to help make your towing experience all the more comfortable. For example, if you get the Ford Ranger XL trim, you can expect to enjoy features like forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and a finely optimized interior designed to provide its passengers the utmost comfort.
Everything Else You Need to Know
In case you want to load up the Ford Ranger’s truck bed, we can talk briefly about the truck’s payload capacity. In addition to being able to tow so much weight, the 2021 Ford Ranger also has a payload capacity of up to 1,800 pounds, meaning you can carry that much weight in the truck bed. This can be useful information if you want to load up some equipment, but it isn’t heavy enough to justify going through the whole process of attaching a trailer and towing it.
Of course, we have to end by saying how vital it is that you use safe towing practices out on the road. For one, you have to make sure that you’re using a trailer that works well with your vehicle and properly attaches to it before you set it up and start driving. Take care to properly balance all of the equipment you’re towing and strap it in well. You don’t want anything flying away or sliding into the road. Last but certainly not least, do not ever exceed the Ford Ranger towing capacity! You could risk injury to yourself, your passengers, your trailer, and your equipment, so take the necessary precautions and know how much your Ranger can tow versus how much you’ll actually be towing.
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