The 2000 Ford Ranger is a pretty small truck, especially compared to some of the larger trucks that we're used to seeing today, but I was quite surprised to see the towing capacity that these little trucks were capable of and after doing my research and gathering all the information, I think a lot of other people out there might be just as surprised as I was.
I found all of the data online via the owner's manual, brochure and the tow guide that Ford offers for their vehicles and organized it in the best way I could, which is what this article is all about!
Always read your owner's manual and follow all of Ford's recommendations when you plan on pulling a trailer or anything else regarding your vehicle.
2000 Ranger Overview
Overall Towing Capacity:
The overall towing capacity for the 2000 Ford Rangers ranged from 1,360-6,060 lbs., depending on which engine you had equipped in your truck and whether you had an automatic or manual transmission. These were the two main factors they contributed to the highest trailer weight ratings that I saw in the charts.
Engine Options: For the year 2000, you have three different engine options for this truck and these were stolen a 2.5 L engine, a 3.0 L engine and a 4.0 L engine. This seemed to be a huge factor in your maximum trailer weight capacity, especially if you compare the data for the three different engines.
- If you had the 2.5 liter engine equipped in your truck, then you could expect to see a maximum trailer weight rating of between 1,360-2,180 lbs.
- If you had the 3.0 L engine equipped, then you could expect to see a much higher maximum trailer weight rating range, coming in between 2200-4360 lbs.
- The biggest performer in the charts was the 4.0 liter engine, which had a maximum trailer weight rating that ranged between 3,160-6,060 lbs.
Trim Levels: There were only two different trim levels available for these model year Rangers and these were either the XL or the XLT models. After conducting my research and looking at the data, the maximum trailer weight ratings were not affected by the trim level that you had on your truck.
Assumed Weight: I was able to find a note that states that the maximum trailer weight ratings do assume the weight for the driver, which was set at a mere 150 lbs., but it is pretty typical of most manufacturers to have this weight figure as an assumed weight, since there needs to be a driver present in the vehicle to operate it.
Automatic & Manual Transmission Charts:
There were two separate towing charts for the 2000 Ford Rangers and these were divided up into automatic transmission and manual transmission models, as you can see from the two charts I have posted below.
Looking at the charts, we can see that you will need to know what engine that you had equipped in your vehicle, your axle ratio, what cab style you had and whether you had a two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive model in order to get an accurate figure from the chart.
Chart For AT Models
Chart For MT Models
Tongue Weight Rating:
The maximum tongue weight rating specifications were a little bit different than I see with most manufacturers so, as it is a kind of sliding scale type of model depending on the weight you have in your trailer.
I take a screenshot below of what I found in the towing guide and it states that if your trailer weighs 2,000 lbs. or less then you are not to exceed a 200 lb. maximum tongue weight, which would be 10% of the trailer weight. If your trailer weighs over two thousand pounds, then you'll want to have 10 to 15% of that weight on your tongue of your vehicle. There's also another note for fifth wheel hitches, if you are using those.
Trailer Brakes:
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Engine Options By Trim Levels:
On a side note, I was able to find this convenient chart listed below that shows the different engine options and transmission configurations that are available for the 2000 Rangers, and it also shows the cab styles that were available, two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models and the trim level.
You are able to see what was a standard option and what were optional configurations for certain vehicles.
Trim Levels:
There were only two different trim levels for these trucks, which makes things very simple, and these trim levels were referred to as the XL and XLT trims. There did not seem to be any direct correlation between the maximum trailer weight ratings and which trim level you had equipped on your vehicle.
GCWR, GVWR and GAWR Figures:
GCWR: The gross combined weight rating for the truck were listed in the farts that are posted at the top of this article, along with the maximum trailer weight ratings and it makes it very convenient to look at both numbers and to get an accurate weight ratings for not only your vehicle but your trailer as well.
GVWR and GAWRs: The gross vehicle weight rating and gross axle weight ratings were not listed anywhere in the owner's manual or the brochure I found online, but these are listed on the vehicle, for those of you out there is it want to see these figures. You can find these figures on the safety certification label that is located on your vehicle, which I will go into more detail about below.
Certification Label: The Certification label is a label that contains different information about your vehicle, including the gross vehicle weight rating and the gross axle weight ratings for the front axle, as well as the rear axle.
Below is a screenshot of what one of these certification labels look like, and outlined in red is where you'll find the gross vehicle weight rating and gross axle weight ratings. You can also find the VIN, tire pressure, tire sizes, paint codes and what your axle code is for your vehicle, along with other useful information.
Highlander Certification Label Location
Required and Recommended Equipment...
I did find a couple of notes in the tow guide that talked a little bit about the required equipment and recommended equipment when planning on towing with your 2000 Ford Ranger. I posted screenshots below of what I found, but I couldn't find any more information on the required equipment, specifically the air conditioning and payload package number two.
When I find out more information I will update this article and post it here, but until then you could always go to your dealer to see if they can verify whether you had the air conditioning and payload package installed on your vehicle.
The lower image shows some of the recommended equipment from Ford, although I would label one of these items as required equipment instead, like the hitch receiver.
Required Equipment
Other Notes I Found:
I was also able to find other additional notes that might come in handy for some of you out there, including a high altitude adjustment for your gross combined weight rating, which can be pretty significant if you're in very high altitude areas. The other note I found was on the step bumper hitch, which has a significantly lower maximum weight capacity of 2,000 lbs.
This is a good example of why you should read through your owner's manual in order to get all of the information Ford recommends.
Bumper Hitch Rating
Altitude Adjustments
Helpful Links:
There were three main sources I used in the research for this article and these were the owner's manual, the 2000 Ranger brochure and Ford's towing guide for the 2000 model years. I wanted to post links here for those of you out there that want to do a little bit more research and in order to provide you a quick way of checking out those resources.
Last updated on April 27th, 2022 at 07:25 pm