I was looking at specs in regards to a Ranger, F150, Tacoma, & Ridgeline. The Ranger has the same payload capabilities as the F150???? This was from Edmunds which I can believe is wrong. I couldn't find the specs for the Ranger on Ford.com. Even the Tacoma has around 1500lb payload. My question I guess would be what are the Ranger, Tacoma, Dakota considered? 1/2 ton trucks? I always though the 1/2, 3/4 ton, etc... referred to payload capacity.

 

Huh? IMO all 'toy' trucks are 1/4 ton. 150's half ton, super duties 3/4-1 ton. Keeps my simple mind from extraneous clutter. I'd look for another source of specs for those trucks if I were you.

I once towed a 70 Mach1 with a 97 F-150 reg cab, long bed, 4x2 4.6 and when I called the first U-haul place the lady got snotty with me and would NOT rent me a 2 wheeled dolly because her 'book' said my truck was only rated to pull some ridiculously stupid amount of weight (1,500 lbs?). No amount of conversation would change her mind. Not even my owners manual would convince her. The second place the guy said, come pick it up, nice car BTW.

 

When was the last time you heard a manufacturer refer to their truck as a 'half ton'? These terms are now only used by the public because we are used to the terms. So call them whatever you like, it doesn't affect the manufacturer's payload ratings.

 

A buddy of mine was looking at a 2001 Ranger witht eh 4.0l engine and i think 3.73 or 3.55. Either way the tow capacity was less than 2500, not enough to tow his boat. I can't imagine with a low tow capacity like that it would have a huge payload capability. I haven't heard any big hype about "the newly designed Ranger" so I would guess that it's still pretty close to the same capacities.

As far as the designations i'm no expert but I would think that at one time they were close to the actual capabilites of the trucks. Now you can buy an F-150 with a 3000lbs payload capacity, so I think they are a little obsolete as far as designating an actual capability.

 

Only little things have changed, for example they are much uglier looking now...

 

The last Ranger I had was an 03 4x4 long bed, payload pak #2 with 4.0 and auto and had a payload rating of 1540lbs and a tow rating of 5500 lbs. A "toy" truck, I think not. I routinely used it for hauling and towing construction equipment with no problem. That was one ba!!sy little pick-up. Cab's a bit tight though.

 

My Brother In Law has a 2000 V6 Ranger and prior to getting my F150 I was borrowing his for odd jobs.

That truck was one tough little beast....hauled weight, towed, etc like a champ. I wanted bigger but it handled everything our family threw at it without blinking. I'd have no problem buying a ranger if I wanted a smaller truck...

 

The only thing I don't like about the rangers compared to our trucks is the amount of seating in the extended cabs on Rangers... I love my back bench seat in my F-150. I have had a few friends with extended cab Rangers and that is my only problem with them, otherwise they are great trucks.

 

Here in Pennsylvania you have the option to licence ur truck on any GVW you want, you get these number stickers, like #1 fo1/2 ton and #4 for 12,000 GVW, and if ur hauling too heavy of a load without the correct weight class sticker, ur going to get fined, PennDot has portable weigh stations set up along exit ramps, you have to pull over , get weighed, if ur over weight, u get fined, along with the higher weight class it also costs much, much more for ur licence and registration every year. I know a guy that owns a F-250 he hauls coal with a load in his bed, and 3 to 4 tons in a 2 wheeled trailer he tows behind it, he has a #4 and he has been stopped and weighed twice and he never got a fine.

 

Glad I live in Texas, where they dont have all these weight classes and random weight checks.

To the original post- Sure the ranger may be able to handle almost the same amout of weight, but the 150 will handle it a lot better and be safer when handling it

 

Remember payload and towing capabilities are not solely based on the vehicles engine and transmission package (i.e. Range with a V6). Payload and towing capabilities are also directly related to the vehicles suspension and therefore even if you had the same motor and transmission in both the Ranger and F150 the F150 will be able to carry a bigger payload and tow more weight then the Ranger.

The Ranger does not have as beefy a suspension as does the F150. The Ranger is a stout truck and I had two of them and loved them but they will never be equal to an F150….