Ranger Bases Vehicles

What Is A ‘Ranger Based Vehicle’ (RBV)

When I created The Ranger Station back in 1999, I quickly realized that this was going to be more than just a Ford Ranger website. Ford Bronco II and Explorer owners would find their way here because those vehicles shared so many components with the Ford Ranger.

Since the Ranger came first, I started referring to these vehicles as “Ranger Based Vehicles.”

In fact, in 2002 I wrote a History of The Ranger Station page and wrote:

“I hope The Ranger Station will continue to be an important resource to owners of Ranger Based Vehicles. I hope to expand the site and its services to keep up with the needs of the enthusiasts.”

Let me make it clear that a ‘Ranger-Based Vehicle’ (RBV) is a term used by enthusiasts for Ford light trucks and SUVs sharing the Ford Ranger platform and is not an official Ford term or phrase.

The Ranger Was Designed to Be More Than Just a Pickup

In Ford’s ‘Born Tough…..Ranger for 1983‘ booklet, Ford included a section titled “Coming Attractions in the Ranger Family.”

It states:

“The 1983 Ranger is Ford’s first domestic compact pickup – and the first member of a most appealing family. After the 4×2 (coming in the spring of ’82), the rest of the Rangers will follow in rapid succession: a 4×4 option…a diesel engine…a five-speed overdrive transmission…then the long-awaited Bronco II…and more, each one built on Ranger quality and strength.”

This means that the Bronco II wasn’t an afterthought. When Ford was designing the Ranger, they were also designing a SUV version of it.

I’ve seen articles stating that the Ranger was so popular that it spawned a compact SUV, but that’s not true. The Bronco II had been designed to be the SUV version of the Ranger all along. The Bronco II came out a year later, and you can’t design, test, and take a vehicle to market in less than a year. In fact, the Ranger program was approved, and intensive design and development work began on November 26, 1979.

The Ford Bronco II

If you look at a Ford Bronco II, you quickly realize that everything from the front doors and seats forward is all Ford Ranger. The floor pan, seat tracks, and rear section is obviously different since it’s an SUV. The drivetrain and suspension are basically the same as well. There are so many Ranger components used on the Bronco II that there is little question about its relationship to the Ranger. But again, it was designed along with the Ranger to be an SUV version of it.

The Ford Explorer

In 1989, Ford had a redesigned prototype of the Bronco II that looks remarkably similar to the 1991 Ford Explorer Sport. That vehicle would eventually become the Explorer, which replaced the Bronco II in Ford’s lineup.

While the body was now different from the Ranger, the 1991-1994 Explorer was built on a Ranger-derived chassis and shared much of the Ranger’s frame and suspension architecture. It also shared the same drivetrain and dashboard and even the headlights grill and front seats could be bolted directly to the Ranger.

There are a few differences such as the Explorer’s 8.8-inch rear axle having more axle splines and the springs being mounted under instead of over, but I’m not going to write a long, boring article about every technical difference.

When the Explorer was redesigned for 1995 it featured the same front suspension that was redesigned for the 1998-2011 Ranger. So again, the Explorer and Ranger continued to share suspension, drivetrain, dash and other components.

When the 2002 Ford Explorer debuted, it had almost nothing in common with the Ranger with the exception of the 4.0 SOHC engine and IS NOT considered a Ranger Based Vehicle.

The Explorer Sport Trac

I DO NOT consider the Explorer Sport Trac to be a Ranger Based Vehicle.

First and foremost, the Explorer Sport Trac can’t be part of the Ranger family when it was designed to be a completely different truck based off of the Explorer. 

Ford’s August 16, 1999, Press Release stated, “Based on the Explorer platform, Explorer Sport Trac’s rugged, athletic styling takes on a look all its own.” Ford made it very clear from the begging that the Explorer Sport Trac was based on the Ford Explorer. Other notable statements are “Explorer Sport Trac combines the benefits of the four-door Explorer with the added utility of a 4-foot-long cargo area made of durable sheet molding composite – a first in the segment – for “one-vehicle-does-it-all” versatility.” and “Explorer Sport Trac shares its basic front and rear suspension geometry with today’s four-door Ford Explorer.”

Some people will argue that the Explorer is a Ranger Based Vehicle because it was pretty much built by taking the 1995-2001 Ford Explorer suspension and drivetrain, sticking it on a frame to accommodate a misfit pickup body, and giving it the Explorers interior. It’s a valid argument. But the Explorer Sport Trac wasn’t meant to have anything in common with the Ranger pickup and Ford clearly tried to identify it as its own unique vehicle. 

The Ford Aerostar

The 1986-1997 Aerostar gets brought up once in a great while, but I DO NOT consider it a Ranger Based Vehicle. The Ranger shares its engine and transmission with the Aerostar, but there are differences in the rear axle. While they both used the Ford 7.5″ and 8.8″, the differential is offset and the shaft lengths are different.  

The Ford RBV Family Tree

Here is my own unique and funny way of looking at these vehicle relationships:

Ranger = Dad

Bronco II = Dad’s Daughter

Explorer = Dad got remarried and had a daughter with the new wife. Now the Bronco II has a half-sister. She looks different, but she still shares Dad’s DNA.

Explorer Sport Trac = Dad’s new wife had an affair and gave birth to a Sport Trac that doesn’t look anything like Dad or share his DNA. While the Sport Trac may be the Explorer’s half-brother, it’s not related to Dad (Ranger) or Dad’s daughter (Bronco II). Dad’s family is nice to the Sport Trac but doesn’t consider it family. 

Aerostar = Dad donated a kidney to them, but it doesn’t make them family.

The Mazda Connection

The Mazda B-Series (1994–2009 in North America) and the Mazda Navajo (1991–1994) came into play through a financial partnership where Ford owned a major stake in Mazda, allowing Mazda to rebrand Ford’s Ranger and Explorer platforms rather than spending millions developing their own.

Because Mazda faced steep import tariffs (specifically the 25% “Chicken Tax” on imported light trucks) and had no compact SUV for the booming US market, Ford assembled badge-engineered versions for Mazda in the United States. 

The Mazda B-Series was a rebadged Ford Ranger built at Ford’s Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Minnesota. Mazda gave the truck subtle sheet-metal revisions. While cabs and tailgates swap freely, the Mazda models used their own specific front fenders, hood contours, front bumpers, grilles, and bed flare styling.

The Navajo was a 2-door Ford Explorer Sport clone, built right alongside the Explorer on the same assembly line in Louisville, Kentucky. It was Mazda’s first SUV sold in the United States. Ford limited Mazda strictly to the 2-door body style so it wouldn’t siphon away high-margin sales from the family-oriented 4-door Explorer. Visual changes were minor: a revised front grille, unique headlights, restyled taillights, different alloy wheels, and Mazda badging.

So, What Exactly Is an RBV?

The term Ranger Based Vehicle refers to vehicles that are part of the Ranger’s larger engineering family and share significant portions of the Ranger’s chassis, drivetrain, suspension, body, interior or other major architecture.

The Ranger Based Vehicle family includes:

• 1983–2011 Ford Ranger 
• 1984–1990 Ford Bronco II
• 1991–2001 Ford Explorer
• 1994–2010 Mazda B-Series
• 1991–1994 Mazda Navajo

Conclusion

This article isn’t intended to be a breakdown of all the parts shared between the Ranger, Bronco II, and Explorer, but to simply define why they are referred to as Ranger Based Vehicles.