2004 Off-Road Truck Of The Year: Byron Smith’s John Deere Ranger
In 2003, a brightly colored 1987 Ford Ranger belonging to forum member Byron Smith, better known as Johndeereranger, caught the attention of The Ranger Station community.
The truck earned January 2003 Off-Road Truck Of The Month and later went on to be voted The Ranger Station’s 2004 Off-Road Truck Of The Year.
At the time, Byron had created a photo gallery for the truck on FordTruckWorld.com, one of the internet’s largest online communities for Ford truck enthusiasts. Rather than hosting a complete collection of photos ourselves, we linked to Byron’s gallery so visitors could see more of his truck.
Unfortunately, like many websites from the early days of the internet, that gallery eventually disappeared.
FordTruckWorld.com was once a major destination for Ford truck enthusiasts, but over time the site faded away. Corporate changes, the decline of the old print-and-online media model, and the migration of automotive communities to forums and eventually social media all contributed to the disappearance of sites that were once an important part of the online truck community.
When the time came to preserve Byron’s Truck of the Year history, the original gallery was gone.
I was able to locate Byron’s old FordTruckWorld gallery through the Internet Archive, but the photographs themselves were missing. The only image I still had was the small 200×144-pixel photo that had originally been used on The Ranger Station as a link to his gallery.
I searched the internet and the archives hoping to find a larger photo of the truck.
Apparently, instead of looking high and low, I should have looked in the middle.
My search eventually brought me right back to The Ranger Station.
The John Deere Ranger Returns
In September 2010, Byron returned to our forum and posted a thread titled “1987 John Deere Edition Ford Ranger.”
His username?
Johndeereranger.
More importantly, he posted photos of the truck.
Byron explained that he had been around The Ranger Station since approximately 2000, although he had been away from the forum for a couple of years.
He also remembered the recognition the truck had received years earlier.
“I still got the shirt I won for off road truck of the year.”
That shirt represented a connection to a time when online truck communities were very different. Before Facebook groups, Instagram, and other social media platforms became the primary places where people shared their builds, enthusiasts gathered on independent websites and forums like The Ranger Station.
And Byron’s Ranger was one of the trucks that stood out.
The 1987 John Deere Edition Ford Ranger
Byron’s Ranger wasn’t just painted to attract attention.
Underneath the unmistakable John Deere-inspired appearance was a seriously built four-wheel-drive truck.
The original Ranger had been transformed with a fuel-injected 1990 Ford 5.0L High Output V8 backed by a ZF five-speed manual transmission.
Power was sent through an impressive dual-transfer-case setup consisting of an NP203 doubler and NP205 transfer case. The NP203 was mounted directly to the ZF transmission, with an adapter connecting the NP203 to the NP205.
The drivetrain provided the kind of low gearing needed for serious off-road use.
Up front, the Ranger used a high-pinion Dana 60 with 5.38 gears, welded differential, 35-spline stub shafts, and Mile Marker hubs.
The rear axle was a Ford Sterling 10.25-inch, also equipped with 5.38 gears and a Detroit Locker.
The truck rode on 42-inch Interco IROK tires mounted on 15×10 steel wheels.
Suspension modifications included 5.5-inch Early Bronco coils and wristed radius arms in the front, while the rear used a custom combination of Explorer and Ranger leaf springs, longer shackles, and the factory lift block.
Other modifications included:
- Custom integrated front bumper with winch mount
- Aluminum radiator
- Saginaw power steering pump
- Rear line lock
- 3/8-inch differential covers
- On-board air
- Winch
- High-steer system mounted behind the axle
- Hydro-assist steering
A Truck From Another Era of The Ranger Station
The John Deere Ranger represents more than just another Truck of the Year winner.
It represents an earlier era of The Ranger Station and the online truck community.
In 2003, Byron shared his Ranger with fellow enthusiasts. The community voted it January 2003 Off-Road Truck Of The Month, and it later earned the title of 2004 Off-Road Truck Of The Year.
For years, the photographs documenting the truck appeared to be lost along with the FordTruckWorld gallery where they had originally been hosted.
Then, years later, the search for Byron’s truck came full circle.
The photos weren’t found on an old FordTruckWorld server or buried somewhere deep in the Internet Archive.
They were right here on The Ranger Station.
Byron had returned in 2010, shared his truck again, and unknowingly helped preserve the history of one of our earlier Off-Road Truck Of The Year winners.
More than two decades after the truck was first recognized by The Ranger Station community, Byron’s 1987 John Deere Edition Ford Ranger can once again be remembered as the truck that earned the title of 2004 Off-Road Truck Of The Year.
Absolutely. I’d keep it clean and consistent with your other Truck of the Year features:
Specifications
- Truck: 1987 Ford Ranger 4×4 “John Deere Edition”
- Engine: 1990 Ford 5.0L EFI H.O.
- Transmission: ZF 5-speed manual
- Transfer Case: NP205 twin-stick with NP203 doubler
- Transfer Case Setup: NP203 mounted directly to the ZF 5-speed with an adapter between the NP203 and NP205
- Front Axle: High-pinion Dana 60
- Front Differential: Welded
- Front Axle Shafts: 35-spline stub shafts
- Front Hubs: Mile Marker hubs
- Front Gears: 5.38
- Rear Axle: Ford Sterling 10.25
- Rear Differential: Detroit Locker
- Rear Gears: 5.38
- Front Suspension: 5.5-inch Early Bronco coils with wristed radius arms
- Rear Suspension: Custom combination of Explorer and Ranger leaf springs, longer shackles, and factory block
- Wheels: 15×10 steel wheels
- Tires: 42-inch Interco IROKs
- Front Bumper: Custom integrated bumper with winch mount
- Cooling: Aluminum radiator
- Power Steering: Saginaw power steering pump
- Steering: High-steer behind the axle with hydro-assist
- Differential Covers: 3/8-inch covers
- On-Board Air: Yes
- Winch: Yes
- Rear Line Lock: Yes
You could also add a short Honors section:
Honors
- January 2003 Off-Road Truck Of The Month
- 2004 Off-Road Truck Of The Year
I think putting the Honors section directly above the specifications would work especially well.
About The Author
Jim Oaks is the founder of TheRangerStation.com, the longest-running Ford Ranger resource online since 1999. With over 25 years of hands-on experience building and modifying Ford Rangers — including magazine-featured builds like Project Transformer — Jim has become one of the most trusted authorities in the Ford Ranger off-road and enthusiast space.
Since launching TheRangerStation.com, Jim has documented thousands of real-world Ranger builds, technical repairs, drivetrain swaps, suspension modifications, and off-road adventures contributed by owners worldwide. TheRangerStation.com has been referenced in print, video and online by enthusiasts, mechanics, and off-road builders looking for practical, and experience-based information.
