Is Ford Ranger Raptor worse at towing than a Wildtrak?

QUESTION

Hi John,

I've recently began versing myself with vehicle specific knowledge like tyre sizing and towing limits and how they impact GCM.

Though I don't tow, we do have a 7 seat SUV we have filled with adults before, so even the matter of axle limits are piquing my knowledge, though often it’s like pulling hens teeth to find out axle limits, let alone kerb weights.

When it comes to towing we get given a maximum towing capacity, but I have no idea how manufacturers calculate this. I would suspect that this may be through templating a typical trailer setup (pig trailer), and how a loaded trailer would exert force on the towbar and chassis of the tow vehicle, when diving under brakes, or smashing through a washout.

Although no legal grounds exist, but would any vehicle be able to tow more weight if towing an articulated trailer (dog trailer). Putting aside the stupidity of towing more weight than the tow vehicle, a dog trailer would surely reduce wear and tear on the tow vehicle, by exerting less load. Again, putting aside the competencies of your average "Stray'an" weekend warrior, is a dog trailer setup not only better for the tow vehicle, but also safer?

See, if I want one of those new Ford Rangers, I can buy anything from XL to Wildtrak and get a 3500kg towing capacity, and those leaf springs are clearly designed to handle those forces of a 3.5t caravan bearing down on the back of the vehicle. However, a new Raptor has coil springs and is designed to do "Baja" stuff and jump and just in general, be more compliant off road. Those preferred characteristics lead Ford to use coil springs, but the characteristics of coil springs are less optimal to the load distribution of leaf springs.

Can I assume then, that in a purely mathematical and hypothetical world, that there is no difference in the chassis between a Ranger XLT and Ranger Raptor, and that the only limiting factor to towing the extra tonne of weight is the ability of the respective suspension setups - something that would be completely null-and-void if you towed a dog trailer setup, since the trailer could not dive under braking, and the only weight acting through the Y-axis of the vehicle chassis would be the short tow bar.

Thanks,

Damien

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ANSWER

Hi Damien,

They start with a design brief for everything: required performance, towing capacity, etc., and then they design the components for that. They build prototypes (several iterations) and test the reliability, stability, etc., in proving grounds type situations and then refine the design until they sign off on it as being successful (or until the money runs out).

One of the main limitations of the pig type trailer is its instability in pitch and yaw. The inertia of the vehicle is used to control the trailer in these planes of rotation. Obviously the bigger the trailer, the greater its ability to push the tow vehicle off the road. The powertrain limitation (how much it can pull uphill, or something) is not as bit a factor (although transmission heat management can be an issue). With a dog-type setup, the trailer is more stable in pitch and yaw, so hypothetically a greater load could be towed. 

It’s a safe bet the Raptor and Wildtrak are the same underneath. Engineering a bespoke chassis for the Raptor would be too expensive. They’d start with a brief for the Raptor and the non-Raptor Rangers, and design a base chassis that was compatible with both designs. (Obviously it is a bit different in terms of brackets for springs and dampers, etc., but fitting it under the body and carrying the loads - most of the structure would be the same.

I hope this helps fill in some blanks.

JC

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