ranger longbed trailer

[racsan]

1997 3.0 2wd automatic longbed had started out as being a project, had 180k miles on it, found out it needed a transmission (no 1gear 4r44e auto) needed a windshield and a few other minor things. body was decent so i thought id pull the bed to make a trailer from it later, put a simple wood flatbed on it, sell it and look for something diffrent. got a few offers, mostly people wanting to trade. one day i took it out for a spin, came home and was thinking about playing out in a field with it. so i go out, start drifting and somehow, someway when i went to turn left and do a powerslide it got a grip and i rolled it onto its roof. motor was still running with it upside down. i went and got a tractor to get it back on its wheels. top of cab was crushed in and had body damage to the right side. it sat for about a month, during which my (very nice) 92 was stolen and i needed another running truck. picked up a rough 94 2.3 longbed, it needed a few things but it was stuff i could take from the rolled 97, cab mounts, fuel tank , rear bumper, ect. after i took off what i needed, i thought id remove the frame from the trans crossmember back and make a trailer. the bed on the 94 wasnt as good as the bed on the 97 so i had already transfered the bed over, but the 94 bed is still good enough to be a trailer.

 

[Doofy]

Nice. Everyone can use a nice trailer or 10.

 

[RayInStl]

Nice project. I'm doing something similar with my 83 long bed. I haven't decided if it's going to be a home made pop up or just a small trailer to take along when we go to the trails.

Yours is turning out very nice!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have an '86 longbed trailer started I need to finish. Going to ditch the 4x4 lift blocks, put in Explorer springs (that I found too stiff for my Ranger) and I would love to incorporate a wagon hoist to make it a dump trailer.

 

[JoshT]

If I ever get back going on my 86 street ranger project I'll be doing one with a short bed. Already got a spare bed and figured that since the truck is a short bed, short bed trailer with matching wheels and paint would be nice to have.

My only recommendation would be ditch the truck axle for a trailer axle if you ever get the chance. It'll drop a lot of extra weight and drag. I'll be starting out with a trailer axle for mine, but I'll also be building my own frame to mount the bed on unless I pick up another parts truck.

 

[AzLizard]

Have one I made in 96 out of a 85 2wd.
I use the shit out of it. For hauling trash to using to camp out of.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My only recommendation would be ditch the truck axle for a trailer axle if you ever get the chance. It'll drop a lot of extra weight and drag. I'll be starting out with a trailer axle for mine, but I'll also be building my own frame to mount the bed on unless I pick up another parts truck.

Could be nice to have electric trailer brakes too.

 

[racsan]

i thought about using a regular trailer axle instead of the truck axle, in fact that axle is actually the axle from the blue truck im running now, the axle that came with the silver truck had a right side seal leaking. i had replaced the axle in the truck im driving with one that has 4.10 gears, so i swapped the axles out under the trailer frame rather then change a seal. took less time then driving into town to buy a axle seal. i did have this crazy idea years ago involving a truck bed trailer, most you see with the factory pickup axle, well i thought if its being pulled by a tractor and your in really muddy or snowy conditions, why not run a pto shaft from the tractor to the truck axle? but im not sure how youd get the speed right, you figure that pto speed is about 540 rpm at 3/4 throttle on the tractor and engine idle on alot of vehciles is 700/800 rpm. the axle under the trailer (that was in the 94 ranger) is a 3.45 , so while i think it would be cool to have a trailer with powered wheels, i dont think it would work well. turning radius would be severly affected , plus id have to take the shaft off when using it behind something on the road.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I did have this crazy idea years ago involving a truck bed trailer, most you see with the factory pickup axle, well i thought if its being pulled by a tractor and your in really muddy or snowy conditions, why not run a pto shaft from the tractor to the truck axle? but im not sure how youd get the speed right, you figure that pto speed is about 540 rpm at 3/4 throttle on the tractor and engine idle on alot of vehciles is 700/800 rpm. the axle under the trailer (that was in the 94 ranger) is a 3.45 , so while i think it would be cool to have a trailer with powered wheels, i dont think it would work well. turning radius would be severly affected , plus id have to take the shaft off when using it behind something on the road.

PTO spins the opposite way than an engine. Also your 540 "idle speed" is like a low idle in fourth gear (with most 5 speeds fourth is 1:1).

I have heard stories of people plugging the vents, flipping the axle, kicking tractor in neutral and using the trailer as a stupid fast transport mechanism to push the tractor... pretty dicey imo.

Mine still has the truck axle under it and probably will keep it unless something goes wrong with it. Tractors won't care about brakes and for what I will haul and as far as I will haul it my F-150 won't care either.

 

[racsan]

Still have it, a coworker with a ‘94 ranger was in need of a rear axle and wanted to keep the same ratio he currently had, we looked at the door tag & confirmed he had a 3.45 like my 94 originally had that I put under the ranger trailer when I built it. So about a month or two ago I pulled the axle from it and its back on the road under his ranger. I finally got around to researching a boat trailer axle as a replacement. Got it last week, Started on it tonight. Didnt need to be galvanized but the size I needed (59” flange-flange) only came in galvanized. Thought the first part would be a 45 min job, but nope. the bearing were too tight on the spindles, had to file the spindles on both sides so the bearings would slide over them. got that all done. It’s weird how there is no cotter pin, to secure the spindle nut there is a metal retainer that goes over the nut and a flat spot on the spindle end. I like how the spring mounts slide on and are fully adjustable for leaf spring width. Theres no arch in the axle for camber like Ive seen on some trailer axles. Maybe because of the rating, its a 2200# rated axle. Im making it a spring under axle setup so the load height isnt as high and will be running 14” tires. Heres some photos, not sure when I will finish this, planned for tomorrow but found out a hour ago the water heater circuit keeps tripping. So Im doubtfull I will do much on it tomorrow.

 

[JoshT]

Helped a buddy and (IMO) making the trailer better. Win/Win!

If I ever get back going on my 86 street ranger project I'll be doing one with a short bed. Already got a spare bed and figured that since the truck is a short bed, short bed trailer with matching wheels and paint would be nice to have.

Oddly enough, I ended up with another parts truck. Maybe it would be more accurate to say I ended up with another project truck. That means another bed and this time its a long bed.

Now I've got one cab in need of at least a floor pan, a RC/LB frame, a RC/SB frame, a long bed, and two short beds. Unsure how this is going to get built at this point, probably as the RC/LB dual tank. I'll have two short beds left over and no real use for them. Just so happens I'll also have two first gen 7.5" axles I'll have no use for. Maybe a stretched, tandem axle, Ranger bed trailer?

Too many priorities to be playing with a custom trailer, but might still build a frame to drop one of the sparebeds on.

 

[racsan]

While im waiting on the hot water heater draining, I did take the new axle out to the trailer and sit it on the springs. Centered it off the side of leaf spring and mounting face of hub. 8-3/4”. Just needs the U-bolts & under spring plates put on, then tires.

 

[racsan]

Tossed the u-bolts on real quick and some junk 225/70/15 tires while Im putting tools up from todays other project. Its still on blocks so tires are hanging & spun freely. Might get around to dragging the 14’s out tomorrow & get it back on the ground. Already looks better just having tires again.

 

[racsan]

Got the 14”s on today and off the blocks, stitting on the suspension & toungue jack now. About 2” from the bump stop snubbers to the axle. Will take a little getting used to getting un the back since its been up in the air for so long but at least its moveable now and more than just a storage container. If I ever get around to moving the old tvs & window a/c units out of the box trailer I might use it for tire storage and chicken supplies like the ranger trailer has been for the past few months.

 

[superj]

those lock washers work great until they spin free. my karmann ghia had tongue in groove lock washers on the front to hold the bearings and hub in place. one of the tongues snapped off allowing the nut to tighten until it locked up the passenger front wheel on the highway. it was a surprise, thats for sure.

luckily yours is on a trailer so if it ever spins free, it will just feel like you are pulling it through the mud instead of pulling you off the highway suddenly at 60mph