Bronco towing vs Ranger, why the difference?

[Lakelife36]

You want Bronco to be something it cannot be because it's been designed to do something else, and do that other thing well. That has nothing to do with my personal preferences.

Just go get a Gladiator, then you can have a vehicle that can do a lot of different things poorly.


Some see the glass as half full.

Others see the glass as half empty.

An engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be.

Only if the governing parameter is the volume of liquid in the glass. If it's not, then I'll tell you that you're under-utilizing the glass that you already paid for.

Not sure would like being in a short wheel base vehicle with a trailer and the load behind the axle. Sway control came out because people don't know how to load a trailer correctly. Not enough/too much tongue weight and you gonna get whipped all over the road, no thanks.

There are many off-road oriented vehicles with similar wheelbase - or even shorter in the case of the 4-door - that tow more. This has been covered before.

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[pakrat]

Just for comparison, a 4Runner has a wheelbase of 109.8" and a towing capacity of 5000 lbs. The rear suspension is very similar to the Bronco in that it is a solid rear axle and no leaf springs. In fact, it has a 5 speed automatic transmission and only 270 hp. I can't imagine towing 5000 lbs. up mountains in my 4Runner though.

 

[mpeugeot]

Sorry, but don't really understand this. It's an unnecessary fear.
As Lakelife said, it's pretty simple to add a Max Tow package that won't affect the current options.

Personally I haven't seen anyone ask Ford to cancel the Sasq package and change the Bronco completely to reduce it's off-road capability for everyone, just so we can get a better tow rating.

All I want is an Max Tow OPTION. If that OPTION reduces the off-road capability for MY Bronco, then I am ok with that.

That would have been totally doable on the Bronco and it would have been able to easily hit the 7500# mark just like the ranger, as the only serious difference is spring rate and shocks. Everything else that matters is heavy duty enough to make it work and certainly overkill to hit the 5000# mark especially with a trailer brake controller.

That said, the Max Tow Bronco would be really funny with a DRW option. LMFAO.

 

[mpeugeot]

this is not even remotely legal or should ever be recommended to anyone. Tow capacities are not up for anyone to decide. The rating the manufacturers give is what you are allowed legally to tow. Nothing you do will increase it. It’s not just you on roads.

Clearly they are up to someone to decide, because otherwise, where did the rating come from??? I would argue that the manufacturers didn't tell you the tow rating, some engineering association told them what was acceptable... at the end of the day, someone made the final call. Do you feel that the Ford F-150 should be able to legally tow 11,300 pounds at speeds approaching 100 MPH (82 MPH average with stops) for 24 hours straight???

In not, explain this:

 

[wedemmoez]

That's where we differ. I truly believe the Bronco could tow more despite being designed to be an off road vehicle. IMO, for it to tow more, it only requires Ford to make some easy part changes, which could be an Option.
I see the glass as half full. The Bronco could be both what you want, and what I want.

"easy part changes" = many hours of engineering and dev work, depending on what's changed Ford might even need to do crash tests on the new version. They also have to make tooling to produce whatever the updated or changed parts are, update the assembly line protocols, and train assembly line workers on the new process.

that's at least 3-6 months of work and probably a couple million dollars worth of man hours and process changes.

 

[Mattwings]

After having my Badlands for a month, there is no question in my mind, the rear suspension is not well suited to towing. It is much softer than the Ranger. It is specifically designed for articulation and travel. It was actually a little unsettling to drive at first, because it sort of takes a "set" in a turn, like an off road "trophy truck", dipping the rear corner and lifting the nose. I gambled that I would be able to put a more stout bumper and hitch on and then tow occasionally over the rated limit (my 5k lb. boat, 50 miles one way, twice a year from the barn to lake and back). Now I am just putting a factory hitch and 4 conductor connector on. I have no interest in towing anything over the rated weight. Just my two cents based on my past towing and towing modifications.

 

[Bikeric]

#1 incorrect statement is the Ranger and Bronco have the same transmission. They do not share that. Ranger is 10R80 while Bronco is lesser 10R60 (less torque capacity).
#2 is the silly/cheap way Ford designed the receiver hitch. If you pull too much weight there, the crossmember will bend and triangulate and bring the frame rails closer together then explode your MIC top into 1,000 pieces.

 

[Lakelife36]

After having my Badlands for a month, there is no question in my mind, the rear suspension is not well suited to towing. It is much softer than the Ranger. It is specifically designed for articulation and travel. It was actually a little unsettling to drive at first, because it sort of takes a "set" in a turn, like an off road "trophy truck", dipping the rear corner and lifting the nose. I gambled that I would be able to put a more stout bumper and hitch on and then tow occasionally over the rated limit (my 5k lb. boat, 50 miles one way, twice a year from the barn to lake and back). Now I am just putting a factory hitch and 4 conductor connector on. I have no interest in towing anything over the rated weight. Just my two cents based on my past towing and towing modifications.

That's the Badlands with the upgraded suspension, which I wouldn't expect to tow well. To me that should be part of the whole difference between the base and the upgraded suspensions. I test drove a BD and a Base in the last few days and didn't feel any of that, so perhaps there actually is that much difference.

 

[Mattwings]

That's the Badlands with the upgraded suspension, which I wouldn't expect to tow well. To me that should be part of the whole difference between the base and the upgraded suspensions. I test drove a BD and a Base in the last few days and didn't feel any of that, so perhaps there actually is that much difference.

Could be, I have only driven the BL and SQ BB. It’s only my impression and opinion too. I am usually pretty flexible and have modified and used past Broncos (and other vehicles) for towing. This Bronco doesn’t seem like the right candidate to tow more for me.

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