Car Hauling

[Pants!]

Here's what I'm thinking:

V6 3 or 4 liter Ford Ranger to haul the MK1.
But on a dolly, as I have no storage for a large trailer.

Does that sound legit?

[John Patterson]

I have borrowed a dolly before and they sure dont tow very well. If I recall, its almost impossible to back up a vehicle that is on a dolly. I am not sure what a VW weighs, probably around 2200 lbs, until you get it stripped down. Towing with a dolly would be fine locally but I wouldnt want to tow out of town. I am sure its been done before tho.
A single axle trailer weighs around 800 lbs. so that would put tow weight close to 3000 lbs. The max towing capacity of a Ranger is probably around 2500-3000 lbs so you will be close to the limit. A Ranger weighs close to 3500 so thats a lot of weight following behind you and may get harry under extreme handling or braking.
Dalton tows his legend car (apprx 1000) on an aluminum single axle trailer with a ranger. He would be the guy to give you some advice using that particular vehicle for towing.

[Ricky Crow]

A 4L V6 ranger would do it mostly okay...  As John pointed out, though... Most trailer dollies probably won't have brakes of their own, and may tax the brakes of a Ranger quite a bit.  A Ranger is also a *very* outdated vehicle design (there is a reason why Ford killed it off this year), as it is basically a design from the '90s that was not updated much at all.  An '05+ V6 Tacoma would be a much more refined vehicle if you wanted a relatively small truck that could tow.

As John also mentioned, you can't back up a tow dolly with a car on it (at least not for any significant distance).  This can be a bad limitation, depending on where you end up at some point along your towing, such as gas stations, tight parking areas, etc.

You would almost be better off with a short single-axle 'utility trailer' with good tires (read: New and at least Load Range D) and brakes on it.  You can probably get one built for less than $1k, with brakes on the one axle.

Are you mainly wanting to tow because you're concerned about the car breaking on you?  Because with a dolly, you're still going to have to change tires at the events (unless you are running in a street tire class), and you're going to have to take the car on/off of the dolly when you get home (I'm guessing, since you said you don't have room to store a trailer)...  You would almost be better off driving it to the event on its own and if something breaks, there are enough of us with trailers that could probably help you get it back home (assuming you're not tooooo far away... haha)...  Just throwing ideas out there.

Talk to me at the next event about budget and what you're looking to do and I can make some recommendations.  I've towed with a lot of different tow vehicles at this point, and have towed quite a number of different trailers as well and can help you figure out what will work best for what you're trying to accomplish.

[Pants!]

If I buy a pick up, I want it to also be utilized as my daily.
So a Ranger is economical.  I've had two before.  A 96 Ext Cab with the 3.0 and a 99 Regular Cab with the 4.0. 
I liked both very much, but never hauled with either.
For a short time I owned a 96 Tacoma and didn't care for it much.  However that was an extended cab 4x2 4 Cylinder.

I want to tow the vehicle because I'd hate to subject my wife to the rigors of a road side break down.
Also driving this thing is going to be hell on my back.

Per the trailer, logistically owning one would be a terror.
I barely have the garage space for a dolly plus 2 cars.

For the time being I'll drive it to events, and risk having to thumb a ride home.

[dwall]

I've had several Rangers over the years. I towed the Pinto on a 14' steel trailer with a V-6. The Ranger I have now is a 2.3L which is an overhead cam version of a 70's Ford motor. My car is 1080 pounds and the trailer is 400 pounds so I'm well within the load range for the truck. I use it for daily transportation, including trips to Atlanta if I go alone. We use the Odyssey if we both go. It gets 25 mpg highway miles and towing the trailer and car to Corpus, it gets 19.3 mpg. It turned 100K miles on my last trip to Atlanta and it's had one complete brake rebuild and some minor stuff but very little real repair expense. Towing with a Ranger only requires that you get up early, plan your day so that you're not in a hurry and always be aware of your limitations. And keep up with scheduled maintenance!

[Ricky Crow]

For a short time I owned a 96 Tacoma and didn't care for it much.  However that was an extended cab 4x2 4 Cylinder.

A '96 (1st gen) 4cyl Taco vs. an '05+ V6 are lightyears apart from one another.  Try one, you might like it.

I would highly advise against ANYTHING with a 4cyl engine if you want to tow a real car... I noticed Dalton's truck would lose ~7-10mph on each hill on Hwy 21 once I caught up to him on the way back from College Station, even though he's not pulling much weight at all.  There were a couple of times I almost needed brakes going uphill to avoid running him over ;-)  I just wanted to maintain the speed limit!  haha.

[Pants!]

Its looks like a Ranger 4 Liter has about 5200lb towing capacity.
I think that is what I'll target.

But for Ricky's sake I will go drive a newer Tacoma, even though I hate them.

[Ricky Crow]

The V6 Tacoma is rated at 6500lbs, if I remember right.  I always like to have more margin, whenever possible.

If you're not doing any long distance towing, the V8 4Runners (2003 and newer) are *really* nice daily drivers, easy to park, very reliable, and torquey...  The short wheelbase, however, makes them more tiring if you plan to tow long distances.  They're also rated to tow up to 7300lbs in 2WD form.

[dwall]

For a short time I owned a 96 Tacoma and didn't care for it much.  However that was an extended cab 4x2 4 Cylinder.

 I noticed Dalton's truck would lose ~7-10mph on each hill on Hwy 21 once I caught up to him on the way back from College Station, even though he's not pulling much weight at all.  There were a couple of times I almost needed brakes going uphill to avoid running him over ;-)  I just wanted to maintain the speed limit!  haha.

 But I still beat you in PAX!!!!

[Ricky Crow]

 But I still beat you in PAX!!!!
[/quote]

Must have been a cold day in hell, because I don't remember that happening...  ;-)

[dwall]

Sure. Check it out. The 2.3L Ford Ranger has a Primary PAX factor of .7 with a Secondary (Towing Loaded Trailer) PAX Factor of .65, resulting in an overall PAX Factor of .455. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma both have a Primary PAX Factor of 1.70 and a Secondary PAX Factor of 1.1, resulting in an Overall PAX Factor of 1.87, even with the driver's side floor mat removed.

[Pants!]

ROFL

[Ricky Crow]

Sure. Check it out. The 2.3L Ford Ranger has a Primary PAX factor of .7 with a Secondary (Towing Loaded Trailer) PAX Factor of .65, resulting in an overall PAX Factor of .455. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma both have a Primary PAX Factor of 1.70 and a Secondary PAX Factor of 1.1, resulting in an Overall PAX Factor of 1.87, even with the driver's side floor mat removed.

lol...  *face palm*

I guess I could just use the S2000 as a tow vehicle, since it has 9 more ft/lbs of torque than the 2.3L Ranger...  http://www.edmunds.com/ford/ranger/2011/#fullreview

Want to calculate that PAX?  :-)