On Oct 30, 10:18*am, Nick S wrote:
So how much bearing do I need to put on the tow rating of a vehicle? I
would like a new Ford Ranger with the 2.3L 4 cyl and a manual
transmission. The tow rating for that vehicle is only 1,540 lbs.

Nick, in my case, I had to put a good bit of bearing on the tow rating
of the vehicle. My old homebuilt trailer was very light. Now, that,
and the fact that it towed easily, were the ONLY things good about
it. My old 1988 Honda Accord 2.0 liter 5-speed manual towed it quite
easily. When I got an Accord V-6 with automatic transmission, it
towed it even better.

Then, I got a new trailer. Boy is it nice, but boy is it heavy, as
compared to the old home-built trailer. Unknown to me at the time, it
was too heavy for the Accord. The tow rating for the Accord was 1,000
lbs with a 100 lb max tongue weight. Turns out that 180 lb tongue
weight of the new trailer came very close to ripping the hitch off of
the bottom of the Accord's trunk. There was really not much steel in
the Honda to bolt a hitch to, and the strain imposed by the trailer
was ripping the bottom of the trunk away from the car. Thus the need
to find a different tow vehicle. And thus, my reason for first
weighing the loaded trailer, then secondly looking for a tow vehicle.
Now after a few thousand miles of towing the trailer with the Subaru,
there haven't been any problems.

Of course, Your Mileage May Vary...

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA