Ranger looses power up hill

I am assuming you have the 2.3 liter 4cylinder engine.. This is common in all rangers straight out of the factory with that motor. Your asking alot out of a 4 cylinder truck that also get good gas mileage. they just do not have the capacity to gain speed up a hill. There are a few solutions for you that you could try. If it is a 5 speed manual transmission try to speed up before the hill and when you start losing speed go to 4th gear. this is also good for using as a passing gear as im sure you have noticed you lack power when trying to rapidly accelerate at highway speed to pass. an aftermarket cold air intake combined with a less restrictive exuast will give you anywhere from 5-20 hp gain AND give you more MPG's

Or you can buy a light truck with a v6 or v8 in it. rangers can be equipped with v6 as can chevy s10's. dodge dakotas have the availability of small block v8. this is of course will cost you alot in gas (based on experience) I am a 10 yr mechanic and have owned 2- 4 cylinder rangers a 93 and a 94 my dakota which i still own is a 01