Nathan's "The Rangebe"

[-Nathan-]

didnt want to see my truck rake anymore...whipped these up after supper.

Cost a total of 6$ (canadian funds)

 

[-Nathan-]

Hey, figured Id dive in and get my winch mounted.

First, removed the bumper:

Then cut off the mounting brackets at the end of the frame rails...point of no return

no turning back now.

mock up:

I had bought a universal winch plate...then cut it to fit between the frame rails, and temporarily bolted up the winch.

This is where its going to sit, its off centered due to the winch motor being longer on one side, but I dont care...FUNCTION>FORM

I am mounting the winch on top of my front hitch receiver, that way I can unbolt my receiver and remove my winch if I want. I need to go get some steel today, some 1/4 " plate and some rectangle tube...then Ill mount it for good with a combo of welding/grade 8 bolts. Will post pics later tonight after its mounted.


-Nathan

 

[-Nathan-]

Updates....picked up some steel, some 1/4 " plate, and some .125x2x1.5 rectangular tubing.

all i can say is...cutting a bnch of 1/4 " plate with nothing but an angle grinder SUCKS.

tube was small enough to fit in the band saw...so took advantage of that.

Test fitted everything like 20 times, then started welding things up

welder is a little Lincoln MIG, works pretty good.

And here it is all primed

Ill get some more pics tomorrow, it was late. The 1.5" rectangle tube is welded on top of the hitch reciever. The winch plate is bolted to it via 4 grade 8 bolts, theyre 1/2 ". So, the winch bolts to the plate, then the plate bolts to the mount.

More to follow

Oh, and took my solenoid box apart to tap into it for in-cab controls

 

[-Nathan-]

ITS IN!!! k, now on to the build pics.

Alright, heres a pic of the mount all finished and painted.

then bolted up the winch, and wired it to my dual batts

It fits SNUG between the frame rails, tolerances are EXTREMELY tight everywhere, just the way I wanted it.

before, the bumper bolted up on the inside of the frame rails, so I took the brackets that I had cut off, and switched them side for side, so that I could bolt up the bumper on the outside of the frame rails.

NOTE, a little trick...I used aluminum foil to cover the winch and wiring while welding in close proximity. Proceeded to weld the bumper brackets to teh frame rails.

Then I took the brackets that bolted to the bumper, and cut them.

Then welded them 8.5" further outwards from the stock location, to fit on the outside of the frame rails.

Welds are SUPER strong, had to 'modify' the brackets with a 5 lb maul, couldnt crack a weld if I tried!

Then bolted the bumper up

You can see the fairlead is off centered, this is due to the winch motor being longer on one side. I DONT CARE, function>form. It fits SO tight between the frame rails its awesome.

Heres a pic from the side...for those of you wondering why I went this direction instead of a hitch mount reciever...THIS IS WHY. You can barely make out the hook

and just proof that it IS there,

Any questions??

 

[-Nathan-]

Cleaned up the range-be after some terrific mudding. Sorry no pics of the mudding. I think she looks pretty good with a little elbow grease!

Also has cut my exhaust apart, no more cats. Now have 2.5" pipe and a flowmaster super 40. Sounds mean.

Let me know what you think.

 

[-Nathan-]

Got some camping to do soon...figured this would be perfect! Just so you know, its over 5 feet tall, and is just over 7 feet long....LOADS of room, and with a air mattress inside its wonderful. Takes 5 minutes to set up as well. Cost...115$

I set it up in the parking stall so that I could spray the seams.

let me know what you think , or if you have any questions.

-Nate

 

[-Nathan-]

Well the winch worked out awesome, but I had one beef...the lack of controls inside my cab. Sure, I mean I could just plug in my wired remote and run it through my window, but thats kind of lame.

So...I decided in-cab controls were necessitated.

First, removed the front panel,

Decided to first make a switch panel here, instead of the silly step thing Ford had designed. Cut it first with a grinder

then fine tuned with a dremel

at this point, found some suitable material...0.125 aluminum...also known as a stolen road sign

bent it up and cut some holes in it

this is the switch I got from 12voltguy.com it is a push button style, with an LED safety switch, so I cant accidentally hit the buttons.

at this point, gave it a little paint, and bolted in the switch.

Ill save you guys the details about the wiring, heres a pic inside the solenoid box from my winch...kind of intimidating if you dont know what youre doing.

basically I just tapped into the in/out lines that went to the wired remote, as well as the earth ground.

It works fantastic, and its really nice not having to get out of the cab to use the winch. It will be super nice for those rainy/snowy days.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask

 

[-Nathan-]

Hey, got tired of my Hi-Lift bouncing around my bed so I fabbed these up quickly. I used a piece of 1/4 " plate, with a bolt welded to it. There are two 1/2 " bolts holding it to the back of the bed. Behind it is another piece of plate, making like a sandwich to distribute the weight, as the metal is quite thin behind there. It works very well, and is quite secure. I made a couple of wing-nuts with 1/2 " nuts and some 3/8 " rod. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Its not perfect, but it works, and function>form.

Also upgraded to Jeep WARN lockouts

 

[-Nathan-]

Got bored...decided to add something else to the ranger. Ill post better pics later.

 

[-Nathan-]

Hey guys, not many of you know, but I recently became engaged. Shes a great girl, and likes to bring me beer and pizza when working on my truck...figured I had better put a ring on her finger.

Well, she thought that since I had bought her a ring, she would buy me some presents for the engagement, one of which is a Safari Snorkel.

Here are a couple pics from today.

I took a bunch of pics when I installed it, as well as what I used to plumb it, I will post a DIY thread later tonight.

 

[-Nathan-]

Well, heres how it went in,

First held up the snorkel, to get an idea of where to place it.

Then marked the hole, drilled a 1/2" hole and used a jigsaw to cut it out.

After this, I measured and drilled holes for the 4 studs that hold the snorkel to the fender. I then painted the cut edges, and bolted up the snorkel itself

Inside the fender there is a 90 degree elbow, and a flexi-hose that runs down the inside of the fender.

All the kit comes with is the 90 degree elbow (that attaches to the snorkel itself) and the flexi-hose. I then proceeded to Home Depot and picked up some 3" ABS pipe, 2 - 90 degree couplers, and a 3" drain connector.

Before this all, I took the stock airbox apart, and cut off all but the main duct, and sealed all of the seams with plastic weld, and black silicone.

I then mocked up everything, and using ABC cement, sealed it up.

Then connected it to the flexi-hose with plastic weld and finally with black silicone.

Keep in mind I plumbed all of this in while RETAINING the stock INNER FENDER.

Then secured it all in place, and started to put it all back together.

At this point, I bolted the inner fender back in place and put the airbox back. I used the rubber connector along with silicone (and hose clamps) to connect the ducting to the airbox.

And the view you see when its put back, if you didnt see the snorkel, you would never know.

 

[-Nathan-]

locker and shafts

f 250 shock towers, 12" Bilstein 5150's, and limit straps.

 

[-Nathan-]

Went wheeling with a few random guys...here are a couple pics.

^ (view from buddies jeep) Story is...Jeep decides to lead....Jeep gets stuck....Ranger comes to rescue

 

[mc_muench]

I love the front reciever and the hidden winch...





Oh and the truck they're on!

 

[ranger_mclaren]

Looks damn clean love the build.