Vehicle to Pull a Ranger 620

[bvogelzang2002]

I'm thinking of selling my 2016 Alaskan 2000 and getting a Ranger 620. I've been using a Tahoe for my towing vehicle. Any thoughts on whether that would sufficient to pull the Ranger without weight or braking issues? My wife's not big on pickups, but . . .

[Snowking]

Tahoe should be plenty fine to tow a 620 with. The Min towing is 6400. My guess is you have a 4x4. So you would not have any slippery ramp issues. I think max towing with the 5.3 is over 8000 lbs. when properly equipped. I am sure you will notice it back there. It’s not quite like towing with a 3/4 ton superduty.

[Texcl2]

I’ve pulled a pull behind combine on a 25’ flatbed trailer with a suburban, Iowa to ND. I think your Tahoe will handle it. My wife’s Nissan Armada is actually a really good tow suv, pretty swanky looking too. Think it’s rated for 8500 lbs and self levels.

[Kouki7]

Depending what year 620 as I don’t know a lot prior to early 2000’s is that your Ranger will have trailer brakes and good trailer brakes.

Your big issues is going to be pulling it, I can say that half ton’s with standard mirrors are pretty terrible to see around the boat. You will know the 620 is behind you as the 5.3l that I had in a Silverado was pretty gutless towing IMO. How far do you tow on average will give you an idea of what is acceptable to you.

[Texcl2]

Also depends on the terrain, I live in ND so it’s pretty flat, it allows you to get away with a lot more. That said for most of us it’s silly to run out and buy a 3/4 or one ton truck just to pull your boat. People do it because they want one, not because it makes financial sense typically. Get the weight of the boat, make sure your truck is rated for that weight plus a good bit of buffer, make sure the trailer brakes are good and off you go. Don’t throw more money down the boat hole than you have too, lol.

The one thing that would make me get a different vehicle is a lack of 4 wheel drive. I’ve been to too many slippery ramps not to have it and it would be embarrassing to have to have someone pull you and your shiny new boat out, lol.

[kswalleyer]

my guess is it will be fine, not great. if you pull 5 miles to the ramp, great. if you pull 1000 miles through hilly country not so much. I pull my 621 with a 3/4 ton Silverado(GAS) and its cake. It has so much command in all kind of situations including very rough "ramps" on places like lake Oahe, etc. I don't know its back there. I take 1-2 trips a year that are 600-1000 miles 1 way. a 3/4 ton is really great for that. I don't get any fatigue pulling my boat all day. Its quick and responsive in heavy traffic while towing as well.

If you could find someone close by who would let you hook up their boat of equal weight and pull it around a bit, that would be great. get on some hills, highway, ramps etc., then you'd know

[bvogelzang2002]

Originally Posted by kswalleyer

my guess is it will be fine, not great. if you pull 5 miles to the ramp, great. if you pull 1000 miles through hilly country not so much. I pull my 621 with a 3/4 ton Silverado(GAS) and its cake. It has so much command in all kind of situations including very rough "ramps" on places like lake Oahe, etc. I don't know its back there. I take 1-2 trips a year that are 600-1000 miles 1 way. a 3/4 ton is really great for that. I don't get any fatigue pulling my boat all day. Its quick and responsive in heavy traffic while towing as well.

If you could find someone close by who would let you hook up their boat of equal weight and pull it around a bit, that would be great. get on some hills, highway, ramps etc., then you'd know

Thanks, Most of my trips are less than 500 miles round trip and on pretty level, flat roads and expressway. Mostly around Saginaw Bay and Lake Erie. I'd probably start with my Tahoe and see how it goes. I've noticed that a lot of the Rangers on WC are now getting sold or have been recently sold.

[Net_Man]

What year and what engine do you have in this Tahoe?

The Chevrolet 5.3 engine has seen a lot of changes over the years. In my 2017 Chevrolet 1/2 ton with 5.3 it has a tow haul button. For the most part it pulls the 620 around with ease except on the occasional large hill which are far and few in sections of Minnesota. With a steep incline on the freeway with the tow haul on and cruise control on it can drop more than one gear and the RPMs race up. This has only happened to me once and I usually take cruise control off in hilly regions.

With my vehicle and a non-aggressive driving style you barely know the 620 is back there. This also has to do with the dual axle trailer compared to most of my previous experiences were with a single axle. The dual axle just tows more smoothly. Barely know that it is back there - that is assuming that the trailer breaks are in working order.

Gearing - I am not sure of what the gearing is on your specific vehicle and I am no expert on this but that should also be reviewed. I normally do not look at gearing but with my last purchase I almost bought a Chevrolet 1/2 ton that evidently they upgraded the motor to a 5.3 but it had the higher gearing for better fuel mileage but it had a lower towing capacity then a standard 5.3 offering. I only stumbled on to this information and I ran away from this vehicle.

But if you are all about muscle as some will express then it is hard to be a diesel.

[frozen fish]

I've owned 6 trucks and the best is my current 2017 GMC Sierra with the 6.2l/8 speed trans.
Tows anything and gets great fuel mileage doing it. It has the tow package with the big mirrors and HD rear diff. Rated to tow 11,200 lbs.

[goldman]

You can find your rear axle ratio by googling. What I found was 3.08, which will work just fine, however, the Silverado I had with 3.08 gears was a little bit doggy. The 3.42 ratio is better. The 3/4 ton Silverado’s go clear down to 4.11’s, which is very good towing for such as your scenario, but isn’t quite as good every day economy. It is all relative to how you drive and what your expectations are. I will say that my Silverado with the 3.08’s towed my Impact just fine. If you like a snappy throttle response, you will want something with the 3:42’s or 4:11’s.

I’m not sure what Ford offers, I know they did have a F150 with 3:55’s, which would be very good all around. Hope this is useful for you.