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Towing Limitations
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 11:55 am
by Boydie
Not so much on this site but on many Ranger and Mazda sites I'm bemused by the complaints and moans regarding maximum towing limits and that the standard maximum CVM of a Ford ranger is 6000 kg. That's made up of 3200 kg, the tare weight of the Ranger so that's a total maximum legal weight of a caravan/trailer of 2800 kg.
Why they don't just buy a RAM, GM or Ranger Rover that have CVM of 8000 kg is beyond me.
On our recent odyssey to WA just before entering Katherine the NT police and the traffic authority were checking the weights of 90% of trailer combos that were passing through and issueing on-the-spot fines for overweight combo's, they were taking no excuses such as "I've just filled the water tanks". When we camped up at Manbulloo Station there were a lot of very unhappy campers !
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 1:29 pm
by RossPat
Boydie wrote: ↑Sat Nov 27, 2021 11:55 am
Why they don't just buy a RAM, GM or Ranger Rover
Because they don't want to spend or haven't got the money needed to get the correct & safe vehicle
Try to make a pig out of a sows ear.
Because the law allows then to upgrade the vehicle an extra1000kg with the same chassis and brakes
My guess 70% of car/van set ups would be illegal
I have a solution that is simple, cheaper & safe.
Buy a smaller/lighter van
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 6:11 pm
by GerryP
RossPat wrote: ↑Sat Nov 27, 2021 1:29 pm
......
I have a solution that is simple, cheaper & safe.
Buy a smaller/lighter van
Which is what I did. Yet still the dealer was still trying to sell me a van with a 3.1t ATM (same as our old van) telling me quite adamantly that my Ranger can tow 3.5t. I told him if that was the case, what the heck am I doing there then?
Most sales people have no idea...
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:48 pm
by Boydie
I fully agree with all the points both of you make. I bought my Wildtrak outright (cash) but I also understand that most owners either use HP finance or Lease packages and some even with a Novated Lease rolling them over for a new model every 3-4 years.
That being the case the monthly cost given current lending rated wouldn't be that much more for a base model RAM against a new Wildtrak or fully optioned XLS.
I certainly agree about getting a lighter trailer. If you can legally tow 3000 kg I wouldn't go more than 2750 - that is a ATM weight of 2500 kg plus the additional stuff one ends up putting into it.
The other thing is - for example - my Signature Elite X off-road camper trailer is quoted on its rating plate at
Tare weight of 1720 kg,
ATM is 2320 kg,
GTM 2160 kg
The Axle Group is 2500 kg. ( it has 12" diameter electric brakes fitted. )
So from this it is supposed to have a tow ball loading on the Wildtrak of 160 kg. ( 2320-2160 = 160 )
None of these are accurate. Unloaded it weighs in with a tare of 1830 kg. filled up with the two water tanks - 200 litres - its up to 2035 kg and with the two spare wheels and tyres supplied with it all our gear, 2 x 9 kg filled LPG bottles, 40 litres of diesel in the two Gerry cans, a full 85 litre fridge/freezer and food drawers fully stacked for a month, camper toilet, solar panel and annex canvass's on the road its 2350 kg add to that the measured tow ball weight of 175 kg and its 2475 kg just 25 kg under its axle load maximum of 2500 and 30 kg over its ATM of 2320 !
I'm wondering just how many people take the weights listed on VIN plates as verbatim without actually having them checked and weighed ? I agree with Ross, I think a lot of trailers out there on the roads are illegal and given ( IMO) the very average braking of the Ranger, possibly very dangerous.
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:11 pm
by PLWildtrak
I agree. I'd argue that even a lot of the tow combo's out there that are still legal are arguably unsafe.
Our van is 2.9T fully loaded.
I used to tow it with a 200 Series, of which I really was't a fan, hence the change to the Wildtrak we now have.
I feel the Wildtrak is a better vehicle in 90% of cases, at least for me, and love it, but the difference in towing stability surprised me.
I knew the Wildtrak was lighter than the 200 Series but figured the longer wheelbase would increase stability.
I could tow our van through near gale force winds winds at 100kph with the 200 Series and never felt it moving behind the car.
With the Wildtrak, you feel it. The Wildtrak gives up around 500Kg to my old 200 Series, most of which is off the rear axle, and that is very noticeable. I feel the van moving a lot, and often need to back down to 80kph to keep it stable in the wind.
It's not that it's not a good tow vehicle, but in the end physics wins and the tail starts to wag the dog.
I wouldn't want to tow a 3.5T van with the Wildtrak.
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2021 4:24 pm
by RossPat
Doesn't matter if you drive an XLS, XLT or WT, they were all the same except for bling and payload..
The other difference is the payload of the WT is 50kg less than the others
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:08 am
by Scaffy
Boydie wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:48 pm
I fully agree with all the points both of you make. I bought my Wildtrak outright (cash) but I also understand that most owners either use HP finance or Lease packages and some even with a Novated Lease rolling them over for a new model every 3-4 years.
That being the case the monthly cost given current lending rated wouldn't be that much more for a base model RAM against a new Wildtrak or fully optioned XLS.
I certainly agree about getting a lighter trailer. If you can legally tow 3000 kg I wouldn't go more than 2750 - that is a ATM weight of 2500 kg plus the additional stuff one ends up putting into it.
The other thing is - for example - my Signature Elite X off-road camper trailer is quoted on its rating plate at
Tare weight of 1720 kg,
ATM is 2320 kg,
GTM 2160 kg
The Axle Group is 2500 kg. ( it has 12" diameter electric brakes fitted. )
So from this it is supposed to have a tow ball loading on the Wildtrak of 160 kg. ( 2320-2160 = 160 )
None of these are accurate. Unloaded it weighs in with a tare of 1830 kg. filled up with the two water tanks - 200 litres - its up to 2035 kg and with the two spare wheels and tyres supplied with it all our gear, 2 x 9 kg filled LPG bottles, 40 litres of diesel in the two Gerry cans, a full 85 litre fridge/freezer and food drawers fully stacked for a month, camper toilet, solar panel and annex canvass's on the road its 2350 kg add to that the measured tow ball weight of 175 kg and its 2475 kg just 25 kg under its axle load maximum of 2500 and 30 kg over its ATM of 2320 !
I'm wondering just how many people take the weights listed on VIN plates as verbatim without actually having them checked and weighed ? I agree with Ross, I think a lot of trailers out there on the roads are illegal and given ( IMO) the very average braking of the Ranger, possibly very dangerous.
Bringing this one back to life quickly, as I'm looking to buy a van in the near future. My intention is to keep it under 2700kg ATM. Just looking at your maths up there and you've added the ball weight to the weight of the van to calculate ATM and axle load. Is this correct? I thought ball weight was added to the vehicle load? With so many weights/loads to consider it can be tough to get my head around.
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:13 am
by CC Steve
Yes, the towball load gets added to the vehicle load.
ATM is the maximum the van is allowed to weigh when disconnected. TARE is what it weighed when leaving the factory empty and the same for the towball weight if printed on the compliance plate. Any dealer fitted accessories or addons would not usually be included in the TARE. It is often understated. The towball weight is for information only and will always be different when loaded for travel.
A good guideline is for the towball load to be 10% of the loaded van weight. So, ideally a van loaded to its maximum 2700kg ATM would have around 270kg towball weight, and 2430kg on the van wheels. Avoid putting weight towards the back of the van otherwise the towball weight gets too low and the van becomes unstable. So positioning of water tanks is pretty important.
An often overlooked limit is the tow vehicle rear axle load. Due to the leverage effect of the distance the towball is from the rear axle, the load on the rear axle will typically be 50% greater than the towball load. So a 270kg towball load probably adds over 400kg to the rear axle. With a full fuel tank and rear end loaded with tools, luggage etc, it's easy to blow this limit.
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:41 pm
by TieNN89
GerryP wrote: ↑Sat Nov 27, 2021 6:11 pm
Most sales people have no idea...
And that's wrong, they should out of duty of care that they don't sell something that isn't legal to the purchaser.
Not saying that the purchaser doesn't have any responsibility. They do too, to make sure their rig is legal.
Re: Towing Limitations
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:57 pm
by RossPat
And car advertising should be more honest.
Can tow 3.5ton providing your vehicle weight which includes assessories, luggage, passengers etc doesn't exceed 2,800kg for a Ranger