What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[pjtoledo]

Did a thing with the Bronco last Saturday on our way up to Omaha:

There are more roads like this out there, I think it would be a fun day trip to run more of them with both rigs when it gets warmer/greener.

My favorite level B roads in the Loess Hills of Iowa - Iowa Road Trip

This video was taken with an insta360 oneX camera, which shows the route heading southeast through Pathfield Road. A quick two minute video showcasing the drive down Hastie Hollow in Mills County, Iowa. This video was taken with an insta360 oneX camera stretching above the sunroof to show the...

iowaroadtrip.net

Road???
is that an abandoned rail bed?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Road???
is that an abandoned rail bed?

I don't think so. I haven't found much on the history of them.

I have been trying to figure out why the roads are like the are. If the county cut them down with a dozer back in the day or if they just started out as dirt roads that eroded badly.

This is in the "Loess Hills" which are bluffs formed with this really weird soil which is how the dirt sides of the road stay vertical like that.

 

[LearningStick]

I finally junked it and bought something else, automatic, bigger, and not a Ranger. So I may be done here. But I would like to eventually drive a smaller pickup, like a Courier, LUV, etc.

 

[superj]

well, you may not have a ranger but it doesn't mean you are done. there is always the off topic area and you can post memes and stuff for everyone's enjoyment

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I don't think so. I haven't found much on the history of them.

I have been trying to figure out why the roads are like the are. If the county cut them down with a dozer back in the day or if they just started out as dirt roads that eroded badly.

This is in the "Loess Hills" which are bluffs formed with this really weird soil which is how the dirt sides of the road stay vertical like that.

That one looks too wide to be an abandoned rail bed. Usually old railroad rights-of-way, if they've been kept clear, are about the width of a driveway, meaning just wide enough for a vehicle.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

That one looks too wide to be an abandoned rail bed. Usually old railroad rights-of-way, if they've been kept clear, are about the width of a driveway, meaning just wide enough for a vehicle.

Yeah, not a rail bed. Too curvy and too steep.

Just not sure why it is the way that it is.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Well, after fixing the toilet that decided to start leaking this morning and opening up the boiler to find that the heating elements welded themselves to the fire brick so all 1,200 lbs of brick has to come out… (dad started puttering with cleaning all that up, kept him out of trouble, lol)…

I went out to wrench on the green Ranger. Since I’ve done a bunch of things lately that needed done, I decided to do a mix of things. Moved the horn (again) and got the battery tray bolted down. Using the plastic Explorer battery tray so I can fit a 65 series battery. Really wasn’t too difficult to do, but the drivers side fender would have to come off to do it. I’ll have to get some pictures and stuff.

Got the throttle cable swapped out, got a broken bolt out, got the cruise module and cable under the hood, one axle shaft in, few other little things. Have to figure out how to splice the starting/charging harness in, the plug on the Explorer harness doesn’t match the Ranger plug. All the junkyard trucks had plugs that looked like the Explorer harness, oddly enough. Dad’s 5.0 swapped Ranger we did has a bunch of different wires in it. Going to have to figure that all out.

Also have to figure out where and how the transmission cooler is going to fit. Either have to fit it behind the grill or behind the bumper. Worried that behind the bumper will be kind of low and may not let me keep the factory “skid plate” plus require custom brackets. Behind the grill (normal location) I’ll have to cut the center support out and build custom brackets for both the cooler and the grill. My original idea was to mount it there and use the mounts that are on the transmission cooler, but that may put it kinda too low. Bear in mind, I’m trying to use a transmission cooler out of an 07 F-150 because it’s a bigger cooler and has threaded fittings so I can easily hook it in with -6 AN

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Did a thing with the Bronco last Saturday on our way up to Omaha:

There are more roads like this out there, I think it would be a fun day trip to run more of them with both rigs when it gets warmer/greener.

My favorite level B roads in the Loess Hills of Iowa - Iowa Road Trip

This video was taken with an insta360 oneX camera, which shows the route heading southeast through Pathfield Road. A quick two minute video showcasing the drive down Hastie Hollow in Mills County, Iowa. This video was taken with an insta360 oneX camera stretching above the sunroof to show the...

iowaroadtrip.net

Looks like a good day. We'll any day away from the hustle and bustle of real life is a good day to me.

 

[Blmpkn]

Well, after fixing the toilet that decided to start leaking this morning and opening up the boiler to find that the heating elements welded themselves to the fire brick so all 1,200 lbs of brick has to come out… (dad started puttering with cleaning all that up, kept him out of trouble, lol)…

I went out to wrench on the green Ranger. Since I’ve done a bunch of things lately that needed done, I decided to do a mix of things. Moved the horn (again) and got the battery tray bolted down. Using the plastic Explorer battery tray so I can fit a 65 series battery. Really wasn’t too difficult to do, but the drivers side fender would have to come off to do it. I’ll have to get some pictures and stuff.

Got the throttle cable swapped out, got a broken bolt out, got the cruise module and cable under the hood, one axle shaft in, few other little things. Have to figure out how to splice the starting/charging harness in, the plug on the Explorer harness doesn’t match the Ranger plug. All the junkyard trucks had plugs that looked like the Explorer harness, oddly enough. Dad’s 5.0 swapped Ranger we did has a bunch of different wires in it. Going to have to figure that all out.

Also have to figure out where and how the transmission cooler is going to fit. Either have to fit it behind the grill or behind the bumper. Worried that behind the bumper will be kind of low and may not let me keep the factory “skid plate” plus require custom brackets. Behind the grill (normal location) I’ll have to cut the center support out and build custom brackets for both the cooler and the grill. My original idea was to mount it there and use the mounts that are on the transmission cooler, but that may put it kinda too low. Bear in mind, I’m trying to use a transmission cooler out of an 07 F-150 because it’s a bigger cooler and has threaded fittings so I can easily hook it in with -6 AN

If you had a Mazda you could just go all JDM and mount the cooler to the bumper where your license plate would go lol.

 

[Roert42]

Changed the air filter on the blue one. Was three years old and getting pretty crusty.

 

[Curious Hound]

Changed the air filter on the blue one. Was three years old and getting pretty crusty.

3 years old is when I remove it, chisel the dirt and mud off, then reinstall for 2 more years. Those things are pricey. Let's not be wasting them.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Well, I think the wiring is complete aside from some loom and plugging stuff together. That was a hurdle that used to not be hard. Hopefully it will only take a few more days of plugging away to get this project done. Then I can band-aid the F-150 and dig into fixing the dump truck

 

[superj]

I almost took the ranger on my cross texas trip for lunch with my wife but she wouldnt go for it. It gets 18 mpg at 80mph and we did 79 the whole 8 hours of the trip.

So the titan won out because she thinks its like a cadillac on the highway

 

[racsan]

went for a long drive, intended to bring home a new-to-me 6x18 trailer. Well I came home without it, was a pieced together mess, tandem axles with no springs- axles bolted right to the frame. Some of my driving was on a 70 mph interstate. With my tiny tires & 4.10’s I was turning nearly 3,000 rpm in 5th gear. used a old tom-tom gps for accuracy on speed since im calibrated for 29” tires and whats on now is about 24”. Looking at another trailer tomorrow, Im almost ready to just finance what I want. Hard to find a good used trailer for under $1500 like I want. Almost considered a single axle 14’er, mobile home axle/tires. Did find one good rebuild project trailer with a new winch & tires but Im in the market for a trailer to use right now, not spend the next month rebuilding.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Built a front receiver hitch for it.