THIS “was” my inclement weather, natural disaster, search and rescue truck. The aforre mentioned K3500. That needs thousands of hours/dollars poured back into it…
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jeeps and 1/2 ton 3/4 and 1 ton trucks like this is typically what i recover with my ranger.
back when i had a dana 28, i hated it because the joints were useless and thrashed out rapidly....and the 7.5 was a fail as well...along with the a4ld....
this was all corrected save for the a4ld with the 4.0 ranger.
a 4x4 4.0 manual trans ttb ranger is a tank. straight gorilla. only way it could be better is with a 4.3 gm v6 or a jeep 4.0 inline. the 99 as depicted here is a sla. so there were issues until live axles.
i would drag in all of the one ton haliburton support trucks and explorers while the dozer was dragging in the mixer and pump trucks regularly...in michigan bean fields through the 90s during certain times of the year for oil field operations...
for base recovery due to inclement weather i dont see a 4.0 ranger as a non option.
that said....my ranger does weigh 6000 pounds now... and is a hell of alot longer lasting between u joint and axleshaft replacements...with a non dana 28 and 7.5 axles.
it does have a 4l80 transmission and a f208 t case and a 6.x humvee engine as well.
but it was better all around with the dana 35....small block ford and 8.8 with 35,s....just 9-12 mpg was murder.
that dont get better with a 3/4 ton with a 4bbl.
the difference between 10 mpg and 20 mpg doing volunteer work with 3-5 dollar fuel is substantial. especially if you drive 30-50k a year just to go to work.
the irony with the ranger.....the best frame and mount systems were to 92....
the best powertrains were post 89.... the frames past late 92 metallurgy in the salt belt may as well be cardboard.... so your point has merit depending on conditions and locations as to the level of abuse left in a machine.... but that applies to all trucks driving the salt hell of detroit. 5-6 year old 1/2 tons can break in half here.
