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Diesel 2019 Ford Ranger caught testing in Michigan


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I do see your points.

I have F150's and a Ranger with a 3.slow that I tow my smaller camper with. It is about 4500 pounds loaded. Gets 13 mpg doing it, also. Hasn't got passed half temp gauge towing on a hot Arkansas summer day. Only things I have added are Hellwig sway bars, trailer brake controller, 7-pin wiring, and I use a large Anti-sway/Leveling hitch.
 


stmitch

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So, Let me get my facts straight here. GM offers a 2.8L, DOHC, direct injected, turbocharged inline 4 cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder that peaks at 181hp@ 3400 rpm, and 369 ft-lbs@ 2000rpm.

Ford comes with a standard 2.3L, DOHC, direct injected, turbocharged, inline 4 cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder that will probably peak around 280-300hp @4000 or so rpm, and 310-330ft-lbs @ 3000 rpm.

The GM engine costs several thousand more up front, and has higher ownership and maintenance costs. But it's more desirable, and thought to be more durable because of the type of fuel it burns?

I know that torque is king while towing, but the Ford engine's 100+hp advantage will make up for a bunch of the deficit in torque. The ford engine weighs under 350lbs in every application. In some cases it's less than 330lbs. The GM engine alone weighs 520lbs, + the weight of the aftertreatment and DEf tank with fluid. That extra couple of hundred pounds of engine system weight means less weight that can be towed. Why is the Ford engine so much less desirable?
 
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85_Ranger4x4

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Why is the Ford engine so much less desirable?
Because it burns slightly more of a slightly cheaper fuel and catalytic converters nearly last forever...

Pulling a camper cross country that isn’t a big pop up, it would be much relaxing to lean back and set the cruise on a F-150 and go over hill and dale with ease than run a midsize at its limit. Just sneaking 20 miles to the local state park is a little different though.
 
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I do see your points.

I have F150's and a Ranger with a 3.slow that I tow my smaller camper with. It is about 4500 pounds loaded. Gets 13 mpg doing it, also. Hasn't got passed half temp gauge towing on a hot Arkansas summer day. Only things I have added are Hellwig sway bars, trailer brake controller, 7-pin wiring, and I use a large Anti-sway/Leveling hitch.
Nice camping in Arkansas. I used to go camping up in the ozarks near hardy back in the 70s.

Yeah, I figured the mpg would drop in half. I got 23 mpg driving from Atlanta to b'ham AL Thursday with no load and no passenger. I know that my 96 3.0 v6 will probably do the job but I think it's on the edge. Since I don't own the camper yet I'm having to estimate the load. The escape 5 is a very light and very small 5th wheel. I think escape used to deliver their trailers with a ranger - empty.

The pin load and truck payload is the one thing that would be right at the limit.
 

98v70dad

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So, Let me get my facts straight here. GM offers a 2.8L, DOHC, direct injected, turbocharged inline 4 cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder that peaks at 181hp@ 3400 rpm, and 369 ft-lbs@ 2000rpm.

Ford comes with a standard 2.3L, DOHC, direct injected, turbocharged, inline 4 cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder that will probably peak around 280-300hp @4000 or so rpm, and 310-330ft-lbs @ 3000 rpm.

The GM engine costs several thousand more up front, and has higher ownership and maintenance costs. But it's more desirable, and thought to be more durable because of the type of fuel it burns?

I know that torque is king while towing, but the Ford engine's 100+hp advantage will make up for a bunch of the deficit in torque. The ford engine weighs under 350lbs in every application. In some cases it's less than 330lbs. The GM engine alone weighs 520lbs, + the weight of the aftertreatment and DEf tank with fluid. That extra couple of hundred pounds of engine system weight means less weight that can be towed. Why is the Ford engine so much less desirable?
The ford engine might be ok but I'm not willing to risk my money on it for towing. First of al. I'm sure ford would not have put it out there if they weren't confident in it. BUT many many of the people in my camper forum with eco boost engines don't like them at all. Their complaint is that they do not make their mileage claims even without a trailer on. There were also some complaints about reliability. Some people using them to tow at the same camper forum like them. EVERY comment I've found about towing a camper withe the diesel Colorado is extremely positive.

Most of my cars in recent years have had 4 bangers. I'm not against them - they get great gas mileage. However, most of them vibrate too much for me at idle when they get some age on them. They also get noisy as they age and when you push them you can tell they're being pushed.

I buy my vehicles and keep them until they die. I do the mechanic work. My Volvo lasted 20 years - it had an in line 5 and was underpowered. My ranger is 21 years old and going strong.

I'm not ready to spend the cash (lots of it) on a new ranger when other people - many of them - have said the Eco boost technology doesn't work for them towing a camper all day. The same group (other people) sing praises to the duramax in the Colorado. I'm not sold on the duramax either - that's why I haven't already bought one.

My problem is that I can't afford to own a bunch of trucks. My truck has to double as my commuter car. I drive 100 miles each day in metro Atlanta. A full sized truck is tough to maneuver and park in town. Gas in Atlanta is taxed and its also a special antismog blend so it's expensive. So, the obvious towing solution - an old school V8 - would kill me in fuel cost driving it 100 miles every day. A mid sized diesel solves all of those problems for me. The 2.3 liter Eco 4 solves those problems in theory but my gut tells me that it won't make a very good all day tow vehicle. I believe that it will be maxed out all the time towing a trailer which would be OK if you were hauling home a trailer full of firewood and only needed it for a few hours at a time. Operating at the edge of a performance envelope all day long with a camper is not a good way to go in my opinion.
 
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85_Ranger4x4

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One thing people don’t get is there is no such thing as a free lunch. When you race from stoplight to stoplight it is going to take fuel to look like you are important and in a hurry. If you need power it takes fuel to make that power. Everybody will deny doing that but it is really common. I think I am about the only one that doesn’t do this because I don’t like flogging my truck. It gets bad enough mileage in the city without doing that.

So keep that in mind too.

With 4.10’s my brother is over 20 on the highway empty. Better than my 16 (or 11 has n my Ranger)
 

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One thing people don’t get is there is no such thing as a free lunch. When you race from stoplight to stoplight it is going to take fuel to look like you are important and in a hurry. If you need power it takes fuel to make that power. Everybody will deny doing that but it is really common. I think I am about the only one that doesn’t do this because I don’t like flogging my truck. It gets bad enough mileage in the city without doing that.

So keep that in mind too.

With 4.10’s my brother is over 20 on the highway empty. Better than my 16 (or 11 has n my Ranger)
A lot of people don't get it, but I do. I usually beat the epa mpg claims for any car I've owned. The people who race from light to light amaze me in their stupidity. They beat me to the next light but we both end up waiting for the same next light.
 

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Just take that into consideration. Most of the guys that complain about the Ecoboost mileage are the same that complain about brake and tire life.
 

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I repeat, the truck I want would be a mid-size crew cab 4x4 with a 10-speed auto and a small displacement (2.7L min to 3.3L max) INLINE six cylinder GAS turbo.

Not interested in the initial price, higher fuel cost or maintenance of a modern diesel.

The EcoBoost technology is fine but it should not be combined with an engine so small in displacement that it HAS to be under boost just to move the weight of a nearly 5000 lb unloaded truck on less than flat terrain.

An inline six is also a better design for a truck application than a four or five cylinder inline. An inline six is less prone to natural vibration frequencies. It is also better than a V6 because it produces better torque at lower rpm's.

So far, nobody builds a truck like that.
 

stmitch

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I repeat, the truck I want would be a mid-size crew cab 4x4 with a 10-speed auto and a small displacement (2.7L min to 3.3L max) INLINE six cylinder GAS turbo.

Not interested in the initial price, higher fuel cost or maintenance of a modern diesel.

The EcoBoost technology is fine but it should not be combined with an engine so small in displacement that it HAS to be under boost just to move the weight of a nearly 5000 lb unloaded truck on less than flat terrain.

An inline six is also a better design for a truck application than a four or five cylinder inline. An inline six is less prone to natural vibration frequencies. It is also better than a V6 because it produces better torque at lower rpm's.

So far, nobody builds a truck like that.
So what are you doing then? We all agree that nobody makes what you want. It's unlikely that anybody will in the next 5 years. Are you just here to vent that you can't get what you want? What good does it do to repeatedly complain to strangers on the Internet?
 

stmitch

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The ford engine might be ok but I'm not willing to risk my money on it for towing. First of al. I'm sure ford would not have put it out there if they weren't confident in it. BUT many many of the people in my camper forum with eco boost engines don't like them at all. Their complaint is that they do not make their mileage claims even without a trailer on. There were also some complaints about reliability. Some people using them to tow at the same camper forum like them. EVERY comment I've found about towing a camper withe the diesel Colorado is extremely positive.

Most of my cars in recent years have had 4 bangers. I'm not against them - they get great gas mileage. However, most of them vibrate too much for me at idle when they get some age on them. They also get noisy as they age and when you push them you can tell they're being pushed.

I buy my vehicles and keep them until they die. I do the mechanic work. My Volvo lasted 20 years - it had an in line 5 and was underpowered. My ranger is 21 years old and going strong.

I'm not ready to spend the cash (lots of it) on a new ranger when other people - many of them - have said the Eco boost technology doesn't work for them towing a camper all day. The same group (other people) sing praises to the duramax in the Colorado. I'm not sold on the duramax either - that's why I haven't already bought one.

My problem is that I can't afford to own a bunch of trucks. My truck has to double as my commuter car. I drive 100 miles each day in metro Atlanta. A full sized truck is tough to maneuver and park in town. Gas in Atlanta is taxed and its also a special antismog blend so it's expensive. So, the obvious towing solution - an old school V8 - would kill me in fuel cost driving it 100 miles every day. A mid sized diesel solves all of those problems for me. The 2.3 liter Eco 4 solves those problems in theory but my gut tells me that it won't make a very good all day tow vehicle. I believe that it will be maxed out all the time towing a trailer which would be OK if you were hauling home a trailer full of firewood and only needed it for a few hours at a time. Operating at the edge of a performance envelope all day long with a camper is not a good way to go in my opinion.
I guess if I were in your shoes, I'd sit down and do some math. Figure out how many miles you'd drive unladen, and then determine how many miles you'd be towing. It makes the most sense to me to get the vehicle that performs better in the duty cycle that you put it through the most. Put another way, if you commute 25,000 miles per year (100 miles per day, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year) and only tow 5,000 miles per year why are you prioritizing the towing?

It's highly likely that the cheaper upfront costs along with fuel and maintenance savings that the gas engine offer would more than pay for some additional fuel used while towing.
 

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Most of my cars in recent years have had 4 bangers. I'm not against them - they get great gas mileage. However, most of them vibrate too much for me at idle when they get some age on them. They also get noisy as they age and when you push them you can tell they're being pushed.
My newest 4 cyl is a 1953 model. :icon_rofl:

The EcoBoost technology is fine but it should not be combined with an engine so small in displacement that it HAS to be under boost just to move the weight of a nearly 5000 lb unloaded truck on less than flat terrain.
It has to be under boost to move an empty Ranger? That is a juicy bit of news.

So what are you doing then? We all agree that nobody makes what you want. It's unlikely that anybody will in the next 5 years. Are you just here to vent that you can't get what you want? What good does it do to repeatedly complain to strangers on the Internet?
Ford very well may monitor this kind of thing, complaining is how we got them to bring the Ranger back in the first place. :icon_thumby:
 
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98v70dad

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Well, the point off this thread was not so much to publicly complain but to let the ford folks know that there are at least some people who aren't real happy with the engine they've picked for the new ranger. Maybe there will be more choices. That would be nice. I'm sure that there are many people who will want the 2.3 L. I'm not one of them.
 

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Cost will be a factor they are probably considering. Put a diesel in the ranger and have a $40,000 price tag, or will the buyer go out and buy a year old F-150 equally equipped with less than 20,000 miles on it for the same price, have a larger truck, and a more power than the diesel ranger.
 

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Cost will be a factor they are probably considering. Put a diesel in the ranger and have a $40,000 price tag, or will the buyer go out and buy a year old F-150 equally equipped with less than 20,000 miles on it for the same price, have a larger truck, and a more power than the diesel ranger.
Not sure how but high end midsize gas trucks are already over $40k.
 

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