a question for ranger enthusiasts.

[crazywhiteboy]

ok. lets start it off by saying im 18, i currently live with my parents, in my last year of high school. i mainly work for contractors(hauling heavy materials, towing trailers, lumber runs, etc), but i also do some automotive/marine/ohv work on the side(also ride dirtbikes, work on jetboats/skis). rightnow i have a 97 ranger 4x4 ext cab. it has minor things done to it that allow it to travel a little bit further than a stock ranger. so here's my question, considering all my buddys have jeeps with 35's or bigger and combined with lockers/spools and plenty of clearance, it makes it a little hard to keep up and by putting yourself in my position, would you do a sas with my only dd that has 217k, buy a truck thats already done, or save my money for whats ahead in life? but to add to that, i have found a 94 ranger, 94k, dana 44 sas, 9 inch rear, 5.29's, detroits f&r, 5spd, all leaf spring 14" lift, and a 4.0..the only downfall that really makes me think twice is its a reg cab. he's asking 4,000 and lives an hour

 

[crazywhiteboy]

any helpful insight would be greatly appreciated. thank you very much!

 

[Sunk]

I'd throw a 4/6" lift on it, a locker in the rear, 33's and show those Heeps what it can do... But that would be atleast $1500-2000. Depends what kinda money you make, and how you wanna spend it.

 

[Born24wheel]

Hmm, you can always buy a second truck if its worth the money, i cant wheel my daily driver because if it breaks, its a long walk to work. But a lift on your rig wouldn't be a bad idea either, sas might be a little much though.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

a SAS is not required to make a ranger keep up with even heavily modified jeeps. talk to 4x4junkie about TTB strength and travel. when set up properly (through careful steering and suspension geometry and spring selection), TTB performs at least as well as most solid axles.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

I'm 18 and I'm sasing my Ranger. I've got a little grocery getter to drive around when I'm not tryin to impress the babes or for when my truck gets FUBAR.

Ya gotta remember to build your truck up for what you like to do. Maybe toss on a 3" body lift to clear some bigger meats, wheel it a bit and figure out what you'd like to do with it, or work on finding a dd.

 

[metalmacguyver]

i have almost the same thing with half the miles. i would say lift it probably 4", put a lunchbox locker in the back, and get a winch so you can tow your jeep buddy through everything that you can go through. another ranger as a DD would be my suggestion.

about that 94, take a look at it. look at the quality of the work. 14" of lift is alot. find out the story behind it. what was he doing with it? where did he learn to weld/get his fab skills. it is always best to be skeptical of heavily modified vehicles because there are alot of people out there that really dont know what they are doing but they do it anyway.

 

[c_note]

if your wanting to do work on it, you will spend 50% less if you go on craigslist.

 

[danger03ranger]

Go buy you a cheap ranger to drive around and build the hell out of the ranger you got now.

 

[dougs3.0L98]

yeah start wheeling the ranger with 217k miles. it might go anouther hundred thousand but it's a gamble. get a cheap ugly car thats good on gas.

keep your ranger lightly modded enough so you can still drive in on pavement if you get sick of the car.

can you afford insurance on 2 cars?

 

[mikhail]

i would say that a solid axle is not going to help you nearly as much as 33"+ mud terrains, a lift and a locker. You only have 31s, no lift and open diffs, thats whats holding you back.

 

[exbass94]

would you do a sas with my only dd that has 217k, buy a truck thats already done, or save my money for whats ahead in life?

I vote for option #3.

 

[crazywhiteboy]

i would say that a solid axle is not going to help you nearly as much as 33"+ mud terrains, a lift and a locker. You only have 31s, no lift and open diffs, thats whats holding you back.

its locked in the front with a limited slip in the rear. so basically, the majority of you guys say: get a gas saver and make my current truck a wheeler?

 

[blackbronc]

You'd be amazed how much better a 3-4" lift with the right shocks and sway bar disconnect would do offroad. The stock frontend doesn't let the wheels travel much.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

From the start I wanted to lift or lower my Ranger.... I just couldn't make up my mind which way I wanted to go with it...

After a couple years I realized that neither was a viable option for me because of the way I use the truck. I needed something near stock height.

So my solution to wanting to get into going off-roading was to start watching stuff coming up for sale, and picked up my 88 BII off a member on here for $340. $100 more and it was on the road until the motor blew.

That was enough to incite me to get really into things.... (see sig, lol).

I paid $160 for my choptop. I now have around $1,500 into it.... and it will go places.

I paid $250 for my 86. Haven't really done anything to it yet.

I paid $250 for my 89 Eddie Bauer BII that I fixed up and sold. When I sold it I had about $1,300 into it. I had also wheeled with some lifted jeeps in the snow and only had to take a strap once... stock height, worn muds, and open diffs.

I paid $200 for my 89 Ranger... bad frame so it got cut up for parts.