Hey, Y'all!

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Why would you want to lift a truck that you load? Lil Blue described his solution. 2 trucks. A worker and a toy The more off road capable you mod a rig for, the less road worthy it becomes. Even if the road is just a 2 track or a field. A toy is something you can have lotsa fun with and not worry about driving it to work on Monday morning .

Yea, that's pretty much where I ended up with it. I used my Ranger for a work truck until I outgrew it with my needs for a work truck, then I got an F-150 with the 4.9L.

That's not to say that I didn't mod my Ranger or F-150. Just the majority of the mods done to them were to improve performance in being used for work. I custom built leaf packs for both trucks to increase load handling capability and still provide a reasonable ride. Of course, that also had the benefit of lifting the truck a little when running empty or lightly loaded (my F-150 actually sits more to stock height when I have a ton and a half on it). Both of those got aggressive tires, because, well, I work construction and often have the need to get off the pavement. Good tires helps. The Ranger got a L/S rear (because it's what I found first) and the F-150 got a locker in the rear. And so forth. By building to my needs as a work truck, I also improved their performance off-road. My choptop will go places that neither work truck will, but it was built strictly as a toy, so that's to be expected. I can say that both work trucks will go places the same truck in stock form will likely not make it.

For the record.... my original build with my choptop had 5" of custom suspension lift and 33" tires. I managed to put it all together including the cost of the truck for around $1,650. Registration is $36 a year and insurance is cheap (now that my record is clean). So it's really not incredibly expensive for me to have a toy.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Why would you want to lift a truck that you load? Lil Blue described his solution. 2 trucks. A worker and a toy The more off road capable you mod a rig for, the less road worthy it becomes. Even if the road is just a 2 track or a field. A toy is something you can have lotsa fun with and not worry about driving it to work on Monday morning .

Kinda depends on where you go and what you are doing.

I have lifted my truck some, it is still my go to for a lot of hauling because it has a longer box than my dd.

 

[ericbphoto]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I may have misled you slightly mentioning using the truck around the farm. It's not really a working"farming" farm. I will be "bopping around" with chainsaws and brush trimmers and miscellaneous stuff. Anything big to be loaded can be loaded with a backhoe, skidsteer or electric hoists under the shop roof.

A co-worker has wisely reminded me that I need to drive the truck for a little while and truly find out what condition it is in. Which is turning out to be informative since the truck has barely been driven at all in the past 8+years.

I completely rebuilt the drum brakes this past weekend since both cylinders were leaking severely and the parts were all badly rusted. I replaced the air filter and poured some injector cleaner in the gas tank with a fill-up of 89octane. That fill-up showed me that there is a leak somewhere around the top of the tank. I found threads here talking about the cracked filler pipe. So a new filler pipe, fuel pump, fuel pump strainer and fuel filter are all on order from Rock Auto.

I was going to drive it to work this morning, but the headlights didn't work. So that will need some troubleshooting. Since high beams worked with the "flash to pass" switch, I expect the problem to be with the light switch or a fuse - hopefully the fuse.

I will continue to watch this thread for more comments. But I guess it's time to start a thread in a more appropriate part of the forum as I begin modifying the truck. I have more than a 50% interest in building a transfer case doubler in the future. I think the engine will stay for a while and I will concentrate on gearing options before working on the engine.

So, Thanks again and watch for my new thread in a few days when I can get some pictures to add.

 

[Mark_88]

Oh, well, I didn't think you were going to use it to haul anything more than firewood...which can get pretty heavy...but will stay tuned...

And don't mind the talk...once we get going we can go on for several pages of whatnot so you might see this going for a while...regardless...

Hope you at least got some ideas...and driving the truck to see what it can do is always a good approach...might even get yourself stuck or see that it can handle what you can throw at it...or you might find a better toy to play with and put that one on to another purpose...

We never know what things will happen or how things will turn out...always better to be flexible...

 

[ericbphoto]

And don't mind the talk...once we get going we can go on for several pages of whatnot ...

Don't worry. I'm used to forums and how they work. I like to keep my threads friendly , though.

I had a 1988 F150 4x4 years ago. Bought it brand new off the lot and put >216k miles on it. I was forced to get rid of it before I had time and money to rebuild the engine. Best vehicle I ever owned. This little Ranger will do just fine and I promise to have fun building it.

 

[Mark_88]

For some reason I keep looking for the "like" button on this website...lol...

As long as you have fun that is more important than anything...keeping it friendly is what I try to do too...but sometimes...well, you won't find many on here that are disagreeable...and even those are usually nice about it...besides...we have a hidden ban hammer...that comes out once in a while...

 

[black_demon69]

For some reason I keep looking for the "like" button on this website...lol...

As long as you have fun that is more important than anything...keeping it friendly is what I try to do too...but sometimes...well, you won't find many on here that are disagreeable...and even those are usually nice about it...besides...we have a hidden ban hammer...that comes out once in a while...

there does seem to be an abundance of smart a**es on this site and people who have a sense of humor...

 

[Andy D]

Heh heh A sense of humor and some thick skin, mostly scar tissue on the hands, are necessary when trying to keep an old truck going.

 

[ericbphoto]

My sense of humor exceeds the legal limits.

 

[TheIceMan]

cant't stop this ranger

Hi all, just registered and need help navagating around here or help with brake lines,,, Thanks.

 

[black_demon69]

Hi all, just registered and need help navagating around here or help with brake lines,,, Thanks.

just start a new thread so you get noticed also welcome to this lunatic asylum

 

[ericbphoto]

I just started my build thread in "offroad rangers under construction".

See you there!