Have you ever read “The Little Engine That Could?” Or any underdog story, really. Well, standby for a children’s book about a little Ford Ranger saving the day by pulling a semi-truck up a snow-packed hill. This time, however, it’ll be based on a true story. 

A 3,100-lb 1998 Ford Ranger helped to pull a hulking semi-truck up a hill in Wardsville, Missouri after snow covered the roads

In the first part of January, frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall hampered much of the United States, from Kansas to the East Coast. The winter storm buried roads and highways in snow, preventing personal vehicles, deliveries, and even semi-trucks from reaching their destinations. In many cases, vehicles ended up stuck in the snow and ice.

But not this semi-truck. Sure, a snowy Missouri hill seemed insurmountable for the weight-laden truck. However, in an almost “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” fashion, the large truck found help from an unlikely source. In this case, help arrived as a little red 1998 Ford Ranger pickup truck. 

The little red pickup truck used a tow strap attached to the front of the semi-truck. With a slow, methodical pull, the two vehicles worked together to get up the hill. Fortunately for the semi-truck driver, the added traction and torque of the little truck were enough to guide it up the hill without an issue.

Now, a fully-laden semi-truck can weigh upwards of 75,000 lbs. That’s a considerable amount of weight to tow. A 1998 Ford Ranger, on the other hand, weighs around 3,100 lbs. Further, with the 3.0L V6, the little Ranger is only rated to tow around 6,000 lbs with a frame-mounted hitch.

As such, you might expect the smallest of Ford’s 1990s stateside pickup trucks to struggle with a payload like that. However, with the semi-truck pushing and the Ranger pulling, the snowy hill was no match for the duo. Still, as awesome as it is to see a tiny truck overcome some serious weight, exercise caution when driving or towing in the snow.

Check out the news coverage of the “Little Ranger That Could” here!