1993 dually conversion kit

[Danny74]

Wow.... I’m not that incredibly cheap!

I know I’m nuts, and my gal and all my friends know I’m nuts. I’m asking you ranger guys to tell me WHY I’m nuts on this.

I looked at your scale model and all your notations and dimensions and it looks like you want to do something that is actually been done already. You want to create a rear axle with a frame pivot on it. I'm assuming that that is to take the additional weight that would be added while using a fifth wheel trailer.

Now what I'm sure you don't know, is that somebody, an actual engineer also invented something like this. Something that could be added to any vehicle. I will look my hardest to find it but he actually built his own manufacturing facility for these setups. It's essentially similar to a trailer towed however more robust. I think it's called the safety trailer or something like that. Essentially very intricate type of Class 5 hitch is added to the back of the frame of your SUV or whatever robust vehicle you wish to use for towing. As long as the engine is capable with the transmission and Axle that is used. The company would hook up the type of hitch that you need so you can attach this we're set up to your vehicle. And it doesn't pivot like a traditional fifth wheel dolly. It actually attaches the way you describe your extra floating axle. It is a rigid mounting horizontally but it allows for some vertical movement up and down, which would be necessary for going up hills and the such to make sure that the drive axle maintains contact with the pavement at all times. It has a fifth wheel hitch built into it it has electric brakes on the axles as well as Duallys to take up the weight. And you can add it and remove it when you're not using it. Unless again you're doing this completely for the looks in which case you're going Overkill on this.

Do you know the type of equipment that I am talking about? Again very similar to a trailer towed or a trailer buddy, but more robust and it was actually designed and is manufactured by an actual bona fide engineer. Designed to allow your vehicle to tow a fifth wheel without having to worry about the trailer causing extra stress on the vehicle frame as well as the vehicle brakes. Because this dolly, for lack of a better word, has taken almost all the weight of that fifth wheel trailer onto it, as well as having the built-in brakes which would again take most if not all of the wear and tear off your brakes on the vehicle. My only problem with that setup is that it costs close to $10,000. If I had the money, I would buy it, because of the fact that it's a piece of equipment that I wouldn't have to sell off with the vehicle. The vehicle only would have that class 5 trailer hitch with the mounting modifications on it that I could remove of course as well. And I will be able to take it with any vehicle that I got. Almost any. The way that the automotive industry is going now, I wonder how long it'll be before even pick up trucks no longer have a separate frame. As it is we definitely don't even have an SUV anymore with a separate frame to attached things too. I think the Excursion or the Explorer was the last vehicle that had a separate frame before they changed the design. I'm not sure, probably wrong but I'm hoping somebody educates me on that.

But I just want to say I have a 93 style side 4x4 Ranger and I have the 4.0 l in it and I would love to turn mine into a dually to be able to get myself a light fifth wheel camper to use occasionally. But I don't think that's something that will happen soon. I still have to figure out what kind of an axle to get. I'm not sure if I want to just put adapters on what I have. Unless I find myself a cheap set of seven of those six lug Toyota rims because they're selling them for some ridiculous amounts of money right now. And there's only a few of them for sale on the auction site. I used to come across them all the time at junk yards and recently tried to ask about them they all remember I used to have them and they all remember that they were recycled and salvaged, and even the one salvage yard that I know has a nice big out building that they put all the rims in it, and US locals called The Rim room. They told me there's definitely nothing like that I would find in there because they always use the rim Crusher on those six lug Toyota rims because they're no good for anything else but those obsolete vehicles and they never bother to hold on to them. It was kind of ironic. That the two most common salvage yards in my County clearly remember those kinds of rooms and also clearly remember scrapping them almost immediately. One would just sell them to the scrap metal and one actually remembers crushing them himself cuz they have a special Rim crushing machine, and he told me he remembers the last ones he crushed were about 4 years ago, telling me that they Crush really nicely.

So for the simple fact that I don't want to lift the crap out of my truck and put 20 inch or bigger rims on it I don't think I'll be turning it into a dually. I think somebody should contact some kind of Chinese manufacturer and maybe get a Kickstarter going because I know so many people over the past few years since I started checking online during covid, that talk about wanting to make a dually of their ranger. I bet you there are other small truck owners besides the Ford family that won them turn their vehicle into a dually but again sourcing Parts is difficult for them. So I'm thinking that if somebody would put up a website and get pledges or something or find out how much demand there is out there though would be a market for a 15 or 16 inch dually rim that would cater to People Like Us. Because if that was solved, then I would have no problem using an adapter turn my Ranger into a dually. Especially since I seen that recent video where the guys used trailer fenders that fit like a glove in the wheel arches of a style side, to make a dually Ranger.

 

[Rick W]

I looked at your scale model and all your notations and dimensions and it looks like you want to do something that is actually been done already. You want to create a rear axle with a frame pivot on it. I'm assuming that that is to take the additional weight that would be added while using a fifth wheel trailer.

Now what I'm sure you don't know, is that somebody, an actual engineer also invented something like this. Something that could be added to any vehicle. I will look my hardest to find it but he actually built his own manufacturing facility for these setups. It's essentially similar to a trailer towed however more robust. I think it's called the safety trailer or something like that. Essentially very intricate type of Class 5 hitch is added to the back of the frame of your SUV or whatever robust vehicle you wish to use for towing. As long as the engine is capable with the transmission and Axle that is used. The company would hook up the type of hitch that you need so you can attach this we're set up to your vehicle. And it doesn't pivot like a traditional fifth wheel dolly. It actually attaches the way you describe your extra floating axle. It is a rigid mounting horizontally but it allows for some vertical movement up and down, which would be necessary for going up hills and the such to make sure that the drive axle maintains contact with the pavement at all times. It has a fifth wheel hitch built into it it has electric brakes on the axles as well as Duallys to take up the weight. And you can add it and remove it when you're not using it. Unless again you're doing this completely for the looks in which case you're going Overkill on this.

Do you know the type of equipment that I am talking about? Again very similar to a trailer towed or a trailer buddy, but more robust and it was actually designed and is manufactured by an actual bona fide engineer. Designed to allow your vehicle to tow a fifth wheel without having to worry about the trailer causing extra stress on the vehicle frame as well as the vehicle brakes. Because this dolly, for lack of a better word, has taken almost all the weight of that fifth wheel trailer onto it, as well as having the built-in brakes which would again take most if not all of the wear and tear off your brakes on the vehicle. My only problem with that setup is that it costs close to $10,000. If I had the money, I would buy it, because of the fact that it's a piece of equipment that I wouldn't have to sell off with the vehicle. The vehicle only would have that class 5 trailer hitch with the mounting modifications on it that I could remove of course as well. And I will be able to take it with any vehicle that I got. Almost any. The way that the automotive industry is going now, I wonder how long it'll be before even pick up trucks no longer have a separate frame. As it is we definitely don't even have an SUV anymore with a separate frame to attached things too. I think the Excursion or the Explorer was the last vehicle that had a separate frame before they changed the design. I'm not sure, probably wrong but I'm hoping somebody educates me on that.

But I just want to say I have a 93 style side 4x4 Ranger and I have the 4.0 l in it and I would love to turn mine into a dually to be able to get myself a light fifth wheel camper to use occasionally. But I don't think that's something that will happen soon. I still have to figure out what kind of an axle to get. I'm not sure if I want to just put adapters on what I have. Unless I find myself a cheap set of seven of those six lug Toyota rims because they're selling them for some ridiculous amounts of money right now. And there's only a few of them for sale on the auction site. I used to come across them all the time at junk yards and recently tried to ask about them they all remember I used to have them and they all remember that they were recycled and salvaged, and even the one salvage yard that I know has a nice big out building that they put all the rims in it, and US locals called The Rim room. They told me there's definitely nothing like that I would find in there because they always use the rim Crusher on those six lug Toyota rims because they're no good for anything else but those obsolete vehicles and they never bother to hold on to them. It was kind of ironic. That the two most common salvage yards in my County clearly remember those kinds of rooms and also clearly remember scrapping them almost immediately. One would just sell them to the scrap metal and one actually remembers crushing them himself cuz they have a special Rim crushing machine, and he told me he remembers the last ones he crushed were about 4 years ago, telling me that they Crush really nicely.

So for the simple fact that I don't want to lift the crap out of my truck and put 20 inch or bigger rims on it I don't think I'll be turning it into a dually. I think somebody should contact some kind of Chinese manufacturer and maybe get a Kickstarter going because I know so many people over the past few years since I started checking online during covid, that talk about wanting to make a dually of their ranger. I bet you there are other small truck owners besides the Ford family that won them turn their vehicle into a dually but again sourcing Parts is difficult for them. So I'm thinking that if somebody would put up a website and get pledges or something or find out how much demand there is out there though would be a market for a 15 or 16 inch dually rim that would cater to People Like Us. Because if that was solved, then I would have no problem using an adapter turn my Ranger into a dually. Especially since I seen that recent video where the guys used trailer fenders that fit like a glove in the wheel arches of a style side, to make a dually Ranger.

@Danny74 , you are dead on track. BTW, welcome to The Ranger Ststion (TRS). I don’t know if you realize that you’re responding to a three year old posting. I already built this thing. Search the site for 1997 ranger semi or something like that and you’ll find it.

Disclaimer: I are a real engineer, certified gray hair, dementia, low hanging below the shorts line, etc. but seriously, I did this for my own fun, and I do not recommend anybody copy what I did, I don’t know the safety or veracity or durability of this design. The primary purpose for me was doing it with a zero budget for the purpose of cruise in and shows. While I personally am not concerned with the safety and utility of this vehicle, I cannot speak to the safety or veracity in any use, and certainly not with heavy duty use. My direct instructions are not to copy my “design/delirium,” and to use proven products and technology if you need to do the same thing for any purpose. Having said that…


The set up I mimicked is very common in China and Asia (I’ve spent a bunch of time there). With all modesty, I have the budget, but a lot of this was a wet dream when I was severely injured and then developed a blood disorder. It was part of my therapy to get back to real life. I had the basic design in my head, but the entire thing was put together with bits and scraps and Craigslist and garage sales.

These pictures are from the Carlisle Truck Nationals last month, The Ranger Station made a pretty good showing up there, it was the 40th anniversary of the Ranger.

I’ve had the truck put together for about a year, but the majority of the trailer was built in the 30 days before I headed out (greatly/grossly modified pop up camper frame). Before it was complete, I did a test drive around the neighborhood, and then I put it together, and did 2100 miles in five or six days. Knock on wood, it ran and pulled like a dream.

The part you may like, is, I don’t think I have 3 or 4 thousand dollars in the entire thing (complete truck and trailer). People were selling all kinds of stuff for a little money during the Covid craziness, and I’ve always been a good horse trader

Having said all that, check out my build stream posting. I’ve made a few changes since then, and I’m in the process of even more now.

Again, welcome to TRS, post some pictures on your stuff!