Wondering if 410lb dry tongue weight too much for Ranger?

[Greys]

Hi all,
I have been looking at getting my first travel trailer to tow with the ranger. 2025 XLT, w/ advanced tow package, 2.7L 4x4. Out of all the brands available in my area, I have come up with two options. The floor plan that I really like the best and checks all my boxes is the Puma Ultra Lite 12FBX https://palominorv.com/puma-ultra-lite/12FBX/10817 - at 7' wide it should hit right around the max frontal 55 sq foot area, and the dry weight is under 3000, with GVWR under 4000 which I like. I am going to be flat towing as well as some ventures into the southwest Canadian rockies, the crowsnest pass, Rogers pass, etc. The only thing thats giving me pause is the 410lb tongue weight - once I throw on a pair of batteries (120lb) and a full tank of propane, thats getting close to 600lb. Also wouldn't mind a second tank as well. I really don't like pushing things too close to their engineering limits, what are the more experienced guys thoughts, would this be appropriate? Would a weight distribution hitch be absolutely required? Is it getting too close to the max? Where do fresh water tanks go on these things, are they really close to the axle or up front to add even more to the tongue, or do they put them behind axle to reduce from the tongue?

If this is too much my backup plan is the Coachmen Catalina 134RDX or something similar, a few brands have a similar floor plan. With hitch weight under 300 dry, this should be no problem for where I am going to go even without a distribution hitch https://coachmenrv.com/catalina-summit-series-7/134RDX/10063

Any experienced input or thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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[Roverhound]

Get lithium batteries and you'll save a ton of weight.

 

[stemplar]

The trailer isn't very heavy or anywhere close to the max towable weight so I wouldn't worry at all about that. As for tongue weight, I think the ranger's limit is around 750lbs, or 10% of the max tow weight, so dive into the details of how much the tongue really weighs for a trailer you're considering. See if the dealer can weigh it for you, and verify if the weight includes full propane or not. The ones I looked at stated it included batteries and propane, but the listed weights were wrong anyway. Lastly, if you use a weight distribution hitch know that they don't reduce the tongue weight at all, and being heavy they'll add a significant amount of tongue weight to your setup.

I'm not sure what you meant about flat towing (like behind an RV) or how it relates to towing or tongue weights.

 

[ADVNTURR]

Can't speak to the travel trailer and frontal area concerns, but I can speak to the tongue weight concern. I towed an 18' open car trailer behind my 2.7L XLT with my time attack car on it through mostly flat terrain in OH & KY. I have a Weigh Safe hitch with built in scale so I can see actual tongue weight and I have the ability to shift the car on the trailer to set as needed.

My car + trailer was right around 5000lb and I set my tongue around 600lb static weight (not sure if my car's wing helps me at speed ) which is a bit over the 10% typical target. I also had a couple hundred pounds of tools and tires in the bed so I was actually probably getting pretty close to max payload on the truck with my overweight butt in the seat. The truck handled it all in stride and had no trouble pulling the trailer, no sway, no real bounce to speak of (I obviously knew the trailer was back there).

In the future when I have my own trailer, I'll probably look to get a bit more stuff on the trailer and less in the truck and try to get a little less tongue, but I wouldn't think twice about running it the same way again.

 

[Cjfordvt]

What is the GVWR of your truck (sticker on the driver door). Most truck/trailer combo's max out the payload of the truck before the towing capacity. How many people in the cab, what are you planning to carry in the bed? + tongue weight...

I just replaced a 21 Tacoma (995 lb payload) with a 24 Ranger XLT 2.7 Sport (1495 lb payload) to get a "truckier" truck to tow out Vintage Cruiser 19TWD (3940 lb with 500lb tongue "empty" per CAT scales). I did tow this trailer with the taco 22618 miles over the last 3 years. I'm look forward to see how the Ranger handles towing across Wyoming (5k-6k elevation) next month.

 

[Satex]

The truck will handle the weight, including the tongue weight, EASILY. I haul a 3500 pound camper that has a loaded tongue weight of 450 pounds. I don't use and don't need a weight distribution hitch, but you might benefit.

As someone else said, ypu DO need to watch your payload. I have a Lariat with the 2.7 and FX4 ... my payload is just under 1400 lbs. The wife and me and the dog are about 450 lbs, so that and the tongue weight add up to 900 lbs and leave us with 500 pounds to load in the bed. We do carry some heavy stuff, but still easily stay within the payload.

You're almost certainly fine, but do pay attention to how much extra stuff you haul in the cab and bed.

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