Pulling a Camper/Trailer with a 2.3T 7-speed 2-door

[Metal_Horses]

^This. Plus I would expect the C on the stick to take away some of that slip on takeoff.

That's an interesting take. I haven't heard of anyone saying you can/should use the "C" in non-rock crawling takeoffs.

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[Walrus]

I plan to tow a 2000lbs teardrop with my bronco. I definitely am going to get the automatic, and maybe upgrade to the 2.7 if its not ridiculously expensive, because I live in Washington state and go through mountain passes regularly.

 

[Cookieck]

Aside from the general published weight limit, I'd be mainly concerned about premature engine wear (e.g. 100k miles or less) if you tow all the time on a 4 cylinder engine (not sure about the transmission though).

Don’t think engine wear should be a concern at all, the same engine tows more than double the broncos rating in the ranger already. The manual transmission is new, but 3500 really ain’t that much so aside from driver slipping the clutch too much I’d think it could handle it fine. Tacoma’s can tow 6k with the manual trans, and getrags specs even say the new trans can be capable of up to 10000kg max gross trailer mass, which is 22000lbs.

 

[Rick Astley]

Personally, I would not care to tow a $22,000 (starting price, without any options) trailer behind the Bronco. You could get a LOT of gear to camp comfortably for about $3,000, then when the wife complains she had to sleep on the floor, you get better fuel economy and greater comfort by leaving her at home for the second trip.

TetonX hybrid pricing (the trailer pictured in the OP's post)

Now, you could get a smaller trailer for your stuff, such as their "Jake" model that comes in at a svelt 700 lbs (depending on the type of girls you get with) and it is easily towed so you don't have to worry about the 3,500 towing capacity.

TetonX Jake trailer

Now, back to towing with a manual: With the low tow rating, you probably won't even need to add a transmission cooler. You could do some easy testing by installing a splint in one of the radiator hoses with a water temp gauge and monitor it so you know where you're going with that. I'm genuinely not sure if modern blocks even have ports for oil temp probes, going to assume it's in there somewhere.

We really won't know until somebody starts towing to see what weaknesses there are with Bronco towing, and specifically manual transmission for you (and me!). Frankly, with the class 2 rating, i'm not anticipating any issues aside from installing a transmission cooler (and the problem of where to mount it low, yet protected on a off-road vehicle).... I like to drive in desert environments and use my vehicle as an emergency pull for sometimes large and heavy objects, but only over short distances and on nearly flat ground.

 

[Metal_Horses]

then when the wife complains she had to sleep on the floor, you get better fuel economy and greater comfort by leaving her at home for the second trip.

(depending on the type of girls you get with)

Rick, 33 years ago it was "Together Forever", now... a much different tune

 

[Garbone]

Having towed with both a stick and automatic I can say with a stick you may actually have more control and it is easier to judge the weight behind you from the way it acts on acceleration.

The real issue with a trailer, in my opinion, is not the going, it is the stopping.

For me when considering trans types towing is not an issue, the issue is do you want to work that clutch in traffic, trailer or no..

 

[NurseDan]

I’ve been daydreaming about something from dinoot.com for a while now.

 

[BroncoJosh]

That's an interesting take. I haven't heard of anyone saying you can/should use the "C" in non-rock crawling takeoffs.

I thought that's what the people around here used to use the "granny gear" in the '80s trucks for. You sure don't stay in it long (1-1.5 car lengths?). Also, it's good for teaching people how to use a stick. It's much more forgiving.

 

[Randy92Fox]

I thought that's what the people around here used to use the "granny gear" in the '80s trucks for. You sure don't stay in it long (1-1.5 car lengths?). Also, it's good for teaching people how to use a stick. It's much more forgiving.

Yepp! The ZF-6 had it as "low" and that's what my Grandpa's 1999 7.3 Powerstroke had and he used it to haul a 35 ft 5th wheel. That gear wasn't always used but definitely comes in handy when starting on a hill with a trailer behind you.

 

[ndumlao72]

We plan to tow with 2 door with 2.3, right now we tow our camper behind wife’s 5th gen 4Runner (mostly) and sometimes behind my Tacoma 6MT, her 4.0 newer than mine & has higher hp/tq (both less than 2.3 EB) than mine but camper is really stable behind both. Wife’s being cool sprung rear I did upgrade shocks and installed Timbren SES, the Taco has upgraded suspension all around but has rear drum brakes and longer wheelbase, so we have compromises with both rigs and I’m sure we will when we use Bronco, will never really know until we hook it up

 

[rkj__]

The real issue with a trailer, in my opinion, is not the going, it is the stopping.

The Teton X hybrid trailer pictured comes equipped with electric drum brakes. As long as a brake controller is installed in the Bronco, you should be able to stop without issue.

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

The biggest concern I would have is wheelbase & mass, or the lack thereof on the 2-door.

Point of reference: I have a Winnebago Micro Minnie camper, which is about 22' long, tandem axle, about 4000lb loaded. When I bought it, I had a V8 Grand Cherokee. The Jeep had no trouble toting it down the road (at least not till it suffered Hemi lifter syndrome), but it would get pushed around a lot on the highway. And the Micro Minnie is a pretty smooth trailer to pull.

Fast forward a couple years, and I now tow the same trailer with a 2013 F150. Now, keep in mind my truck is SCSB, so it is as short as F150s come. But is still has 16" greater wheelbase than the Jeep did. It also has a few hundred pounds more mass to it. The difference is night and day. I won't get into the nuances of towing with the GC, suffice it to say that the F150 is much less susceptible to being sucked in/pushed out by passing semis, and almost never pushed around in cross winds.

The mass is important too. Taken together, these two factors are a big part of what resists the trailer trying to wag the dog. By the same token, inserting an extra set of doors and back seat into my truck (going to SCrew cab) adds enough stability that the tow rating is bumped by almost 4000 additional pounds.

All of that assumes trailer brakes and a good controller. I haven't seen if Ford will offer an integrated BTC like they do on pickups. Even compared to a high end aftermarket unit, the OEM integrated BTC has a functionality and can do things that the aftermarket can't match. In my experience, they are an order of magnitude better performing.

 

[Metal_Horses]

The biggest concern I would have is wheelbase & mass, or the lack thereof on the 2-door.

Point of reference: I have a Winnebago Micro Minnie camper, which is about 22' long, tandem axle, about 4000lb loaded. When I bought it, I had a V8 Grand Cherokee. The Jeep had no trouble toting it down the road (at least not till it suffered Hemi lifter syndrome), but it would get pushed around a lot on the highway. And the Micro Minnie is a pretty smooth trailer to pull.

Fast forward a couple years, and I now tow the same trailer with a 2013 F150. Now, keep in mind my truck is SCSB, so it is as short as F150s come. But is still has 16" greater wheelbase than the Jeep did. It also has a few hundred pounds more mass to it. The difference is night and day. I won't get into the nuances of towing with the GC, suffice it to say that the F150 is much less susceptible to being sucked in/pushed out by passing semis, and almost never pushed around in cross winds.

The mass is important too. Taken together, these two factors are a big part of what resists the trailer trying to wag the dog. By the same token, inserting an extra set of doors and back seat into my truck (going to SCrew cab) adds enough stability that the tow rating is bumped by almost 4000 additional pounds.

All of that assumes trailer brakes and a good controller. I haven't seen if Ford will offer an integrated BTC like they do on pickups. Even compared to a high end aftermarket unit, the OEM integrated BTC has a functionality and can do things that the aftermarket can't match. In my experience, they are an order of magnitude better performing.

Thank you for your insight. I literally just discovered/looked in detail today on the Winny Micro mini. That trailer seems to come in a few hundred pounds heavier than the Lance and Escape Mini that are in that 2,800-2,900 dry weight range. I hope there's an integrated brake controller on the Bronco, but I doubt it. I plan on getting a load stabilizer setup to help if I'm creeping up on the 3,500 limit loaded up.

Original thought was to get an off road tear drop style and pull it with a 2 door as my first camper. I still might get one close to the tow limit and fall back on the wife's Explorer if it's crazy unsafe.

 

[Mac n Nevada]

I have just some one off towing experience, so I don't know much, but I'd like to get a trailer that definitely fits under the 3,500 limit. Hopefully a few hundred pounds under. So my purchase will be driven by advice like yours and others.

I watched a 4 door Wrangler video of a under 3,500 pounds trailer but he still bought hitch supports (Not sure what they're called) to help distribute the weight. I'm just trying to absorb as much info as possible. Thanks.

The only thing I would add from what you have been told is: When buying a new trailer, remember that that is dry weight, you can easily add another five hundred pounds in gear and accessories. May seem dumb, but I have seen others make the mistake.

Have fun

 

[Metal_Horses]

The only thing I would add from what you have been told is: When buying a new trailer, remember that that is dry weight, you can easily add another five hundred pounds in gear and accessories. May seem dumb, but I have seen others make the mistake.

Have fun

Great point. I'm going by the rule of thumb being 250 pounds per person.

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