Getting Ranger Ready for Touring

[SammyXLT]

Hey all,

I am preparing my Ford Ranger 2018 XLT for touring Aus. Towing a caravan around 2.8T.

Adding a number of things to the vehicle such as
- Trans cooler
-Pre Fuel Filter
-Winch
-Long-range tank
-Snorkel

I would love to know if it is worth upgrading the Torque converter on these models, I have had mixed answers about the OEM model being good enough on the PX3s.

Also would like to know if the following is a MUST for a long touring trip.

-Heavy Duty Valve body
-Catch Can

Would love to hear any other suggestions, I want to keep the vehicle as reliable and light as possible.

[Trublu]

I have had my 2012 XLT auto since new, only mods I had is snorkel, fuel pre filter and some overload helper springs, rest of ranger is stock standard; I have towed my caravan (1.8T) all over Australia roughly doing about 60,000ks in the 11 years of ownership, ranger has not missed a beat.
Just drive to conditions and don't push it, you should be ok as they are an ideal vehicle for towing.

[SammyXLT]

Thanks mate. That's nice to know.
Some mechanics are pushing the whole 9 yards with all these upgrades and I understand they're probably preventive mods.

The Ford Ranger surely deserves some credit from factory as they're quite solid.

[Grant L1]

Sammy, I am not quite sure what you are going to do touring Australia, whether that means mostly bitumen and he odd dirt road or harder roads,

If it is only blacktop and a few dirt roads the only couple of mods I would do with the weight you are pulling is a suspension upgrade, remember the van is 2.8t and I reckon the Ranger will probably come in not much short of 3 tonne. Another thing is a scangauge or similar so you know exactly what the engine and trans are doing.

I have towed 2.5t with my Ranger for the last 11 years and I do get off road a fair bit but without the van. I have never had or needed a winch and the only think I do carry and have used a few times are some maxtrax.

I do have a pre filter and with the catch can you have a choice, leave the system as per manufacturer, which will mean the inlet manifold will have to be removed and cleaned at some time or have the egr mapped out and blanked, it will depend how long you intend keeping the Ranger for.

As for the trans, early px1 ranges had some torque converter problems which mine has never suffered and the later ones had a flex plate problem, guess it is just a roll of the dice.

Mine is tuned and I have never considered any change to the auto trans. When it was tuned the trans staiyed locked up on the dyno all the time.

Happy travels and have faith in the vehicle.

[SammyXLT]

Thanks for your input Grant.

Yes, I have purchased one of those Hybrid off-road caravans so I'd imagine I want to take it everywhere and anywhere possible.

I have the tough dogg suspension with from memory a 40 mm Lift and a 0-300kg spring on the back.

I might actually go with the catch can to keep it cleaner, and a great tip with the Scanguage might pick one up with a tyre pretty sensor.

Thank you

[jstanovic]

As above, will depend on where you are planning on going and how long you plan on keeping the Ranger (time and km). If you are sticking to the main routes you won't really need any of that stuff. If you're the type of person that likes to be super prepared and cover all bases then go for it.

In saying that I would be getting the long range tank as a minimum, not unusual for roadhouses to run out of fuel or have technical issues so you need to be able to make it to the next town/servo. Towing a 2.8T van will see you with a range of 400km on the standard tank, probably much less if there is a strong headwind or hilly terrain.
Good quality AT tyres will also be a worthwhile investment.

[SammyXLT]

Thank you.
Yes long range tank. Brown Davis make one that's quite light I hear.

I'll be keeping it as safe as I can especially when it comes to weight and recovery gear.

But good call on the fuel I done a bit of travelling last year when the floods hit and I struggled to find a servo in town due to power outage.

I'll be keeping the Ranger for as long as it serves me, so I do want to look after it with all the appropriate upgrades.

[jstanovic]

Also check out the ARB poly tanks. They have a great reputation, light, not too expensive and very robust. Haven't heard of anyone that has had a leak, unlike the metal style ones that seem to have the odd leak along a weld.

[Grant L1]

As above, will depend on where you are planning on going and how long you plan on keeping the Ranger (time and km). If you are sticking to the main routes you won't really need any of that stuff. If you're the type of person that likes to be super prepared and cover all bases then go for it.

In saying that I would be getting the long range tank as a minimum, not unusual for roadhouses to run out of fuel or have technical issues so you need to be able to make it to the next town/servo. Towing a 2.8T van will see you with a range of 400km on the standard tank, probably much less if there is a strong headwind or hilly terrain.
Good quality AT tyres will also be a worthwhile investment.

Yes a long rang tank is very useful, a few years back Halls Creek ran out of fuel trough a couple of incidents with tankers and they were out for a few days, we had the range to go from Fitzroy Crossing to Kununurra towing with a long-range tank, have also had the same at Fitzroy crossing where the eftpos was down and many were stranded.

As jstanovic said have a very hard look at a poly tank, I would have installed one if they made them for the ranger back in 2012.

[Rbjet]

Sounds like you've got most boxes ticked. A trans cooler is must towing a big van.
I'd also say a decent set of all terrains would be well worth it.

Other than that the ranger is pretty decent standard.

[Freelancer1956]

Good advices by others !

Have done about 70 000kms towing in 2016 PX2 XLT over 6 or so years
2.2 tonne caravan and as others note, the Ranger probably comes up close to 3 tonne, with accessories, long range fuel, Engel and a couple of passengers.
In your case you'll be getting close to the 6 tonne CVM sp operating at the top end of its operating limits - and legality

So my advice would be not to push it too hard. Some people like to tow at 100km/hr or higher ! in 40C heat and a headwind pulling a 3 tonne caravan , in top/overdrive gear - no surprise that their vehicle has problems.

Take it safe easy and enjoy the countryside

Footnote: One suggestion not provided was re dust filtering on your engine air intake. If you're going to get into red dirt country, where there's other traffic or driving in convoy, think about a snorkel filter sock.They wont choke your intake air supply if you take some rubber gloves, Turps and filter oil to clean them when there's build up - which can be everyday on roads like Gibb or Cape York and some of the other bone-shakers on inland Oz - the amount of dirt and bugs they keep away from your paper filter is incredible.

[SammyXLT]

Yes. Good reminder. I was looking at those but forgot to purchase them,

Thank you. I'm definitely keeping an eye on the weight factor.

The caravan at 2.8T is ATM. Tare is only 2,330 so hopefully with all the essential accessories. We should stay under.

You have also reminded me to look at a dust-positive pressure fan for the van and the bulldust.

[Freelancer1956]

Yes. Good reminder. I was looking at those but forgot to purchase them,

Thank you. I'm definitely keeping an eye on the weight factor.

The caravan at 2.8T is ATM. Tare is only 2,330 so hopefully with all the essential accessories. We should stay under.

You have also reminded me to look at a dust-positive pressure fan for the van and the bulldust.

Cheers Sammy.
Just a thought, you've only got 470kg to 2.8T. Might be worth looking into a GVM upgrade - a lot of caravans dont have to have any mods to achieve this. But if you're over GVM as shown on the compliance plate, you have no insurance on both vehicle or caravan in the event of an accident. I upgraded my van from 2050kg to 2500kg GVM (Tare 1600kg) simply by replacing the 2T hitch with a 3.5T McHitch and getting it inspected.

PS: re the dust. The positive pressure solutions help, but sometimes the only way to keep most of the dust out is to make up some vinyl pads and gaffer tape them over vents.

[Freelancer1956]

Sammy, sorry to come back with another comment, but hopefully it helps

A lot of vehicle capability upgrades involve getting the vehicle and its towed load down the road more easily eg power/torque/temperature control.

Braking is often not thought about.
That said 98% of the time the Ranger brakes are fine and designed for a vehicle with a stock standard Ranger kerb weight of about 2.3T.

But when you add to vehicle caravan(or boat or horse float etc etc) and you get to between 5T and 6T suddenly your brakes are being asked to do a whole lot more

Still no problem though with the Ranger on the flat, for normal braking of a minute or two sustained
UNTIL
You go down a sustained, long descent with a towed load and you have to keep braking on and off over maybe 15 to 30 minutes.

I can only say that I nearly came unstuck a few years back coming down the Talbingo Hill in NSW. 6oo metre drop over 6 kms. 1 in 10 average, much steeper and winding in sections. Couldn't "tune" the caravan brakes(twin axle so 4 drums) to act in concert with the Ranger braking, caravan either locking up or not enough.Engine braking near on useless. nowhere to pull over. I wont bore with the details but basically got to the bottom with next to no brakes, bad cooking smell half way down and brakes literally red hot glowing. Absolutely s.... myself !

When I got home to Perth replaced front pasd and rotors and rear shoes with Peddars brakes. Signiifcantly better braking performance and on future trips with some big declines, no further problems.

Its worth thinking about with your combined vehicle mass heading up towards 6 tonne if you're going to do any steep descents. Some descents like Talabingo, if you dont know the area, and before you know it you're on it and you cant get off it.

Footnote: Don't take my statement about Peddars brakes as suitable for any other applications. They made a big improvement for me, but others may recommend other brands or even to stay with Ford brakes - just saying, be careful on long drawn out descents with 3T behind you.

[CC Steve]

Yes Talbingo is a steep one, and as you say very limited opportunity to pull over. I hope you sorted out the van brakes as well when you got home.

When going down long steep descents I like to adjust the van brakes to apply just a little more braking than the Ranger. That way, the more capable brakes in the Ranger have enough left in reserve to avoid cooking them. When I can feel the van is pushing rather than pulling I know its brakes are starting to get too hot.

If I could not get a sweet spot with the van brakes and the Ranger brakes were getting uncomfortably hot, I would stop while I still could, blocking the road for a few seconds if needed, and engage 4WD low range. From memory there are only a couple of places where the curves are tight enough to be troubled by drive lockup. If a curve was ahead, even a respite for a couple of hundred metres would help. Never felt the need to do it myself but that would provide much more engine braking. On a hot day you would need to watch the auto temperature, particularly if you have a transmission cooler (fan models excepted), because the crawl speed will mean limited airflow to cool it. This is the rare situation where the standard cooler would perform better, because the engine coolant temperature would have dropped and work better.

[Freelancer1956]

Yes Talbingo is a steep one, and as you say very limited opportunity to pull over. I hope you sorted out the van brakes as well when you got home.

When going down long steep descents I like to adjust the van brakes to apply just a little more braking than the Ranger. That way, the more capable brakes in the Ranger have enough left in reserve to avoid cooking them. When I can feel the van is pushing rather than pulling I know its brakes are starting to get too hot.

If I could not get a sweet spot with the van brakes and the Ranger brakes were getting uncomfortably hot, I would stop while I still could, blocking the road for a few seconds if needed, and engage 4WD low range. From memory there are only a couple of places where the curves are tight enough to be troubled by drive lockup. If a curve was ahead, even a respite for a couple of hundred metres would help. Never felt the need to do it myself but that would provide much more engine braking. On a hot day you would need to watch the auto temperature, particularly if you have a transmission cooler (fan models excepted), because the crawl speed will mean limited airflow to cool it. This is the rare situation where the standard cooler would perform better, because the engine coolant temperature would have dropped and work better.

Cheers Steve
A problem we West Australians have is we dont know what a hill is Dead flat over here with the longest steep incline maybe 5 minutes duration dropping into the Perth coastal plain.

Nothing like the challenges of some places on the Great Dividing Range

Not making it easy was that a shower of rain had come through just before making the caravan brakes lock up on the slippery blacktop, making the sweetspot very hard to find. The very slightest tweak on the REDARC knob/button caused the van to stop pushing and instead tyre skidding. The brakes were OK I think, just not enough traction rubber to road. That said the drums were red hot at the bottom of the hill also.

Being totally unfamiliar with the road/descent, I just didnt know when it was going to level out in 1km or 5kms. Turned out to be the latter. some lessons learnt for sure

[Trublu]

Yes Talbingo is a steep one, and as you say very limited opportunity to pull over. I hope you sorted out the van brakes as well when you got home.

When going down long steep descents I like to adjust the van brakes to apply just a little more braking than the Ranger. That way, the more capable brakes in the Ranger have enough left in reserve to avoid cooking them. When I can feel the van is pushing rather than pulling I know its brakes are starting to get too hot.

If I could not get a sweet spot with the van brakes and the Ranger brakes were getting uncomfortably hot, I would stop while I still could, blocking the road for a few seconds if needed, and engage 4WD low range. From memory there are only a couple of places where the curves are tight enough to be troubled by drive lockup. If a curve was ahead, even a respite for a couple of hundred metres would help. Never felt the need to do it myself but that would provide much more engine braking. On a hot day you would need to watch the auto temperature, particularly if you have a transmission cooler (fan models excepted), because the crawl speed will mean limited airflow to cool it. This is the rare situation where the standard cooler would perform better, because the engine coolant temperature would have dropped and work better.

Cheers Steve
A problem we West Australians have is we dont know what a hill is Dead flat over here with the longest steep incline maybe 5 minutes duration dropping into the Perth coastal plain.

Nothing like the challenges of some places on the Great Dividing Range

Not making it easy was that a shower of rain had come through just before making the caravan brakes lock up on the slippery blacktop, making the sweetspot very hard to find. The very slightest tweak on the REDARC knob/button caused the van to stop pushing and instead tyre skidding. The brakes were OK I think, just not enough traction rubber to road. That said the drums were red hot at the bottom of the hill also.

Being totally unfamiliar with the road/descent, I just didnt know when it was going to level out in 1km or 5kms. Turned out to be the latter. some lessons learnt for sure

Maybe its time to have your vans brake shoes/pads replaced, new maganets and the drums/discs machined, do yourself a favour and get them serviced.
I just did my van recently and what a pleasure to have proper braking again, I suffered similar to you.

Cheers

[Freelancer1956]

Gday Trublu
Yes that was all done a few years ago prior to doing a few trips around Oz.
My 2005 Jayco was a reno project when I was just into retirement back in 2016 when I bought the new Ranger

Early on I noticed the caravan tyres were scalloping - there was slack in the tandem leaf springs mounting points and bushes etc
This was prior to the trip through the Snowys

So I had them and the mounting plates totally removed and new ones welded on with complete new leafs by a proper caravan maintenance company

At the same time got the bearings and brakes checked out
Replaced shoes and drums and all the electromagnets mechanisms etc

I hadn't upgraded to Peddars on the Ranger though at that stage - hadn't really experienced any long sustained inclines at that stage on previous trips

I totally agree, the towed vehicle(caravan) brakes have to be in tip top condition and "tuneable" if you're going to tackle a Talabingo or similar. I think a lot of people expect the towing vehicle brakes, and/or engine braking will be more than adequate if the trailer brakes arent so good- not so once you go more than about 10 minutes of frequent or sustained braking.

My main concern for Sammy was that he' would be trying to pull up nearly 6 tonne CVM on a downhill with his rig. That's really pushing it and needs a multi part "descent strategy". Part of that might involve thinking about after market brakes that might have better heat dispersion and brake pad materials and rotor design (not recommending any particular brand) One thing is for sure though, is that high performance vehicles screaming round a race track dont use OEM brakes. But yes, if your caravan brakes arent spot on, you're in trouble from the start.

[Freelancer1956]

Just seeking a bit of advice on an issue mentioned in previous posts

When I was on that Talbingo descent I was trying to use engine braking.
Pretty much ineffective as the Ranger and rig would just pull away and the revs spin higher
I dont think I ever got down to 1st gear (maybe for a few seconds), but certainly 2nd and 3rd.
Only in 2H not 4H.

Once I got to over 3000 rpm, with next to no engine braking, on went the brakes to avoid running into a guardrail at the end of the road a short distance ahead

Its just me, but I get real uncomfortable feeling with a big clunky diesel like the 3.2 when it gets over 3000rpm - and never over 3500 rpm.
I generally never get over about 2500rpm - when dropping back a gear or two to get up a steep highway with caravan behind. the Ranger can generally do all it has to (power/torque) - on the flat - at around 2000 rpm

That said Red Line on the tacho is 5000rpm - but I think Ford would say that's an instantaneous figure, not to be sustained for more than a few seconds.


What do people think ?
What RPM would you be comfortable running your diesel at, to achieve engine braking, in either 2H or 4H (as some suggest to provide more drive train resistance) - and importantly over half to three quarters of an hour to get to the bottom of a hill.

I guess some of the answer to this depends upon whether or not you have a transmission cooler. If you hit the top of the hill with transmission temperature already at or a bit over 100C - which I'm pretty sure I would have been at the top of Talabingo - there's really nowhere to go with further heat input from engine braking

[Trublu]

Just seeking a bit of advice on an issue mentioned in previous posts

When I was on that Talbingo descent I was trying to use engine braking.
Pretty much ineffective as the Ranger and rig would just pull away and the revs spin higher
I dont think I ever got down to 1st gear (maybe for a few seconds), but certainly 2nd and 3rd.
Only in 2H not 4H.

Once I got to over 3000 rpm, with next to no engine braking, on went the brakes to avoid running into a guardrail at the end of the road a short distance ahead

Its just me, but I get real uncomfortable feeling with a big clunky diesel like the 3.2 when it gets over 3000rpm - and never over 3500 rpm.
I generally never get over about 2500rpm - when dropping back a gear or two to get up a steep highway with caravan behind. the Ranger can generally do all it has to (power/torque) - on the flat - at around 2000 rpm

That said Red Line on the tacho is 5000rpm - but I think Ford would say that's an instantaneous figure, not to be sustained for more than a few seconds.


What do people think ?
What RPM would you be comfortable running your diesel at, to achieve engine braking, in either 2H or 4H (as some suggest to provide more drive train resistance) - and importantly over half to three quarters of an hour to get to the bottom of a hill.

I guess some of the answer to this depends upon whether or not you have a transmission cooler. If you hit the top of the hill with transmission temperature already at or a bit over 100C - which I'm pretty sure I would have been at the top of Talabingo - there's really nowhere to go with further heat input from engine braking

I have descended down some steep gradients in my time, have always found the engine braking with correct gearing and brake applications I never really experienced overheating brake issues.
What I will say though, I select a slow speed & gear before I start the decent as this ensures I'm not going too fast in the first place, as for rpm I've had my ranger up to 3500rpm or higher. (probably higher at times for short duration)
I never worry or care about vehicles behind me when I'm going slow down hills, I just concentrate on my own safety of getting down in one piece.

PS: I only have a XLT auto 2wd Hi Rider.

Cheers

[Freelancer1956]

That's also an interesting issue about having the sense of mind to concentrate on what needs to be done to get down safely - have a plan and stick to it One thing I did notice on the Talbingo hill was the number of normal, non towing cars (and some high powered motor bikes levelling their bikes to knee on road as they took the bends) racing both up and down the hill - real James Bond types going super fast and passing where they shouldn't - which is just about everywhere along that 6kms. My guess is they were locals who have done the road hundreds of times before and know every bend etc.

[Bala]

That's also an interesting issue about having the sense of mind to concentrate on what needs to be done to get down safely - have a plan and stick to it One thing I did notice on the Talbingo hill was the number of normal, non towing cars (and some high powered motor bikes levelling their bikes to knee on road as they took the bends) racing both up and down the hill - real James Bond types going super fast and passing where they shouldn't - which is just about everywhere along that 6kms. My guess is they were locals who have done the road hundreds of times before and know every bend etc.

What brake controller do you have? Redarc Towpro elite, and probably others can be set in proportional mode. They apply more braking as required.

I don't tow with the Ranger now but I found the rear drums need regular adjustment, you can tell by you park brake lever travel when they need it. It makes a big difference to braking. In 60k km of Ford services they were never done. When I read that people have had a particular type of shoe fitted and brakes are now better it was likely that a rear brake adjust wohave given tge same outcome.

Van drums also need regular blow out of dust and adjustment. I just did a 5k km trip and has 2 clicks of wear in the single axle can brakes.

[Rbjet]

I've never had an issue with breaking downhill, not that my van is all that heavy (1.7ton). The car is at GVM with the van on the back though.

I've the safest way, as Trublu stated, starting at a slow speed at the top and maintaining that speed on the way down.

If the decent is relatively straight I'll aim for 80km/h in 4th and if it's windy I'll stick to 3rd and whatever that will rev out to.

[CC Steve]

I dont think I ever got down to 1st gear (maybe for a few seconds), but certainly 2nd and 3rd.
Only in 2H not 4H.

There is your answer. I try to let the engine do the majority of braking. 3rd gear has minor braking effect for the speeds you should be doing ..... crawling. 2nd gear handles much of the steep sections, with occasional drop to 1st gear. Sometimes even that is not enough and that is when you become thankful you have reserved your brakes. As said earlier, start slow. If your speed builds up too much in 2nd, it won't go into 1st gear.

In that case, and you need that lower gear you MUST slow down. That will mean a quick hard application of brakes to slow down enough to get 1st to engage. The sooner you engage that lower gear the sooner your brakes can take a rest and cool off a little.

In my previous post I suggested 4L. I have never needed it, (and 4H would not help unless it was slippery), but it is there if needed. Again, you need to avoid letting the Ranger brakes cook so you CAN stop. But with sustained hard engine braking you really need to monitor transmission temperature.

For the record my rig with all stuff loaded pushes the 6000kg GCM so I run very close to the limit.

[Freelancer1956]

Thanks very much for the past 3 or 4 posts from different contributors.
Some good info in there to benefit not just Sammy who originally posted but all. A bad downhill experience is something noone wants

The one about the REDARC sparked some thinking
- I've got a Tow Pro Elite

As I understand it they work by an intertia sensor that "learns" what the combined vehicle mass needs for effective braking - each vehicle will be different
Typically this can take 20 or 30 firm braking cycles when the system initialises (for some reason mine has lost a initilaisation just a few times in the past when I havent towed for a few months. The knob flashes different colour lights while it relearns.

It does make me wonder whether after having cruised undulating country at the top of the Snowys at 90-95km/hr and then suddenly hit the steep decline with runaways and sharp bends whether the TowPro hadn't caught up with very different momentum and inertia.

Re the engine braking, I did a small test this morning using manual gear control without towing, on the flat in suburbia. To get any sense of drive train resistance I needed to go into 1st gear and get up over 3000rpm. 35km/hr equated with roughly 3500 rpm. I dont think I'd want to push the revs anymore than that. And 35km/hr is about as fast as you'd want to come down that hill with 5-6T of combined rig - much less on the bends hence the need for good braking.

[Bala]

Thanks very much for the past 3 or 4 posts from different contributors.
Some good info in there to benefit not just Sammy who originally posted but all. A bad downhill experience is something noone wants

The one about the REDARC sparked some thinking
- I've got a Tow Pro Elite

As I understand it they work by an intertia sensor that "learns" what the combined vehicle mass needs for effective braking - each vehicle will be different
Typically this can take 20 or 30 firm braking cycles when the system initialises (for some reason mine has lost a initilaisation just a few times in the past when I havent towed for a few months. The knob flashes different colour lights while it relearns.

It does make me wonder whether after having cruised undulating country at the top of the Snowys at 90-95km/hr and then suddenly hit the steep decline with runaways and sharp bends whether the TowPro hadn't caught up with very different momentum and inertia.

Re the engine braking, I did a small test this morning using manual gear control without towing, on the flat in suburbia. To get any sense of drive train resistance I needed to go into 1st gear and get up over 3000rpm. 35km/hr equated with roughly 3500 rpm. I dont think I'd want to push the revs anymore than that. And 35km/hr is about as fast as you'd want to come down that hill with 5-6T of combined rig - much less on the bends hence the need for good braking.

The learning for the tow pro if for direction not braking effort. If the battery is disconnected it needs to relearn direction.

In proportional mode it is applying brake effort to the trailer to match the braking of the car.

You set the initial setting then it does its thing.

I travel the Palmerston in FNQ often. It helps that I know it but in the Ranger and now manual landcruiser I get the gear I want for the down hill and use engine braking only. Once the revs get up I apply very firm braking and slow right down, then fully release the brakes and repeat as needed.

The firm shorter braking ensures the controller senses the inertia and apply trailer braking, and allows for cooling between braking.

Steeper longer hill would require a lower gear but same technique. Travelling east on the Palmerston trucks may stop at the top to let brakes cool then they go in at very slowly.

[Freelancer1956]

Thanks very much Bala
A battery disconnect would explain why my TowPro has had to relearn on occasion

Thinking back on the Talabingo experience I almost certainly was too frequently lightly applying the brakes to prevent the caravan brakes from skidding on the wet surface – relentless heat build up

The Ranger is a very good tow vehicle, but as many posts here have said driver skill and knowledge of the area come into their own when the limits of the vehicle are being pushed. This West Australian was a rookie in steep descents

PS I remember coming down an “interesting” highway up in QLD somewhere- maybe the Palmerston, I think it was near the Atherton somewhere– cant recall it was pre COVID and a few years ago now

I reckon if someone was to publish a guide book on the top 20 descents in Australia it would be a good seller

[Bala]

Thanks very much Bala
A battery disconnect would explain why my TowPro has had to relearn on occasion

Thinking back on the Talabingo experience I almost certainly was too frequently lightly applying the brakes to prevent the caravan brakes from skidding on the wet surface – relentless heat build up

The Ranger is a very good tow vehicle, but as many posts here have said driver skill and knowledge of the area come into their own when the limits of the vehicle are being pushed. This West Australian was a rookie in steep descents

PS I remember coming down an “interesting” highway up in QLD somewhere- maybe the Palmerston, I think it was near the Atherton somewhere– cant recall it was pre COVID and a few years ago now

I reckon if someone was to publish a guide book on the top 20 descents in Australia it would be a good seller

Palmerston is Atherton to Innisfail, it's not to bad but care needed.

Gillies is Atherton to Gordonvale. I would never take a van on the Gillies.

[Freelancer1956]

Know what you mean about the Gillies

We did a day trip leaving the van at Cairns
Kuranda, Mareeba, Atherton then down the Gillies - its just went for ever and ever

Half way down there was a sizeable van stopped dead, right on a tight bend causing all kinds of problems for traffic coming up and down trying to get around
We guessed his brakes were the problem _ I just dont know what you'd do in those circumstances if the brakes were truly cooked - big headache

by the time we got to the bottom I said to my wife I'm literally tired of turning the steering wheel (263 bends of something like that i believe)
Always take my hat off to the original workers who made these roads

[Trublu]

Know what you mean about the Gillies

We did a day trip leaving the van at Cairns
Kuranda, Mareeba, Atherton then down the Gillies - its just went for ever and ever

Half way down there was a sizeable van stopped dead, right on a tight bend causing all kinds of problems for traffic coming up and down trying to get around
We guessed his brakes were the problem _ I just dont know what you'd do in those circumstances if the brakes were truly cooked - big headache

by the time we got to the bottom I said to my wife I'm literally tired of turning the steering wheel (263 bends of something like that i believe)
Always take my hat off to the original workers who made these roads

Just wait until you visit Tasmania, then you will know for sure with some of the mountainous winding roads, sharing with some heavy vehicles.

[Freelancer1956]

We did Tassie in hire sedan a few years back - the cost of the ferry put me off a bit when we went back with a van
Beautiful place
Must get back there one day - not sure about towing though hard to pull over/stop/turn around

Just googled and found this link - funny, they talk about "Brake Burners"

https://www.fulltimecaravanning.com.au/ ... -tasmania/

At the very end of the article is an interesting item on brake controllers intertia vs smart electronics which detects downhill slopes - not sure if the REDARC product has that

[Trublu]

We did Tassie in hire sedan a few years back - the cost of the ferry put me off a bit when we went back with a van
Beautiful place
Must get back there one day - not sure about towing though hard to pull over/stop/turn around

Just googled and found this link - funny, they talk about "Brake Burners"

https://www.fulltimecaravanning.com.au/ ... -tasmania/

At the very end of the article is an interesting item on brake controllers intertia vs smart electronics which detects downhill slopes - not sure if the REDARC product has that

I found it was easier to tour without the van as there is many alternate accommodation available, found it enjoyable driving the Ranger over there.
Certainly will go back again.

Your Redarc towpro Elite is one of the best on the market, I have one and found it very good and easy to use.

[CC Steve]

Another tip. If the disks and drums are really hot they are in danger of warping as they cool. That will give a jerking feel particularly with drum brakes and will more easily lock the wheels.

To reduce the chance of that warping, when you come to a stop, roll forwards a few inches every few seconds. If you don't move like this, the drums will cool unevenly where the hot brake shoes are. So by rolling forwards, the brake shoes do not rest very long on the same spot, allowing more even cooling.

[Freelancer1956]

Another tip. If the disks and drums are really hot they are in danger of warping as they cool. That will give a jerking feel particularly with drum brakes and will more easily lock the wheels.

To reduce the chance of that warping, when you come to a stop, roll forwards a few inches every few seconds. If you don't move like this, the drums will cool unevenly where the hot brake shoes are. So by rolling forwards, the brake shoes do not rest very long on the same spot, allowing more even cooling.

Good tip !