Off-road necessities?

[RadioFreeDurango]

If I'm posting in the wrong spot for this please let me know. I plan to keep this truck, since the other thread replies would indicate that it's worth it. So, what are the essential pieces for making this truly off-road capable? It is my daily driver, too, so I'd like it to stay practical for pavement. Details: 1999 XLT, 4.0 M/T, 252k miles. This is a whole new world for me, as all of my prior experience is fast cars.

I feel like I'm a little preoccupied with skid plates, but my first destination will be Moab/Arches/Canyonlands and I don't want it to end with a gashed gas tank or crushed radiator. What all gets covered with the FX4 package? I plan to put a winch on, so I assume that means a new front bumper. I have the R6 axle - is that sufficient for off-roading? We're on a dirt road that gets washboard-y and the rear end goes sideways so easily in snow. I have a separate set of studded snows and put a half dozen 60# sand bags in the bed for the winter but I just put on a set of Nexen Rodion ATX P235/75R15 and wonder if they're a better solution for snow.

Last question, and an obvious newbie one: do I need to be stopped, in neutral, to switch to 4WD, either high or low? And the same coming back out to 2WD? I was under the impression that going into High can be done while rolling, but my truck whines and doesn't "drop" very easily when I'm moving, but it is obvious that it has changed when it does. If I am stopped to make that change, how do I know that it actually is in one or the other?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Check this out to get started:

1983-2011 Ford Ranger Off-Road Builders Guide - The Ranger Station

As the owner and creator of The Ranger Station, I’ve not only built my own off-road Rangers, but I’ve had the chance to hit the trails with numerous other Ranger owners, look at their setups, and see what works. This … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

Factory skidplates are not usually really meant for offroading. For your truck I don't know what is ideal though.

Should be stopped and in neutral for 4hi to 4lo and vice versa

If washboarding is too rough on the trail stop and air down your tires until it is tolerable. Air them back up before you run high speeds though.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Factory skid plates are better than nothing… but they’re not really heavy duty. I’m not sure there’s much aftermarket, might be a fab it yourself deal if you want heavy duty skids.

A winch (8k minimum, 12-14k rated is ideal) is probably one of the most important upgrades you can do if you educate yourself on how to use a winch. Don’t be afraid to pull cable if you’re having trouble on an obstacle, if you’re not making it, it’s better to winch than to break stuff or have to call for a recovery. I follow Trailmater on YouTube, seen a number of rigs that put themselves in a bad spot and broken because they were too proud to pull a winch line.

I’ve also learned running an 8k on my F-150 that even though the truck weighs about 5,600#, when you need the winch, your initial pull to free yourself will likely use every bit of that power. Also, winch ratings are for the first layer on the drum, pulling power decreases as the drum fills back up with the cable. Also synthetic winch line is safer and better for most applications.

2hi-4hi and back is a “shift on the fly” but you don’t want to do it under heavy throttle ideally. I usually back off on the throttle to shift. 4-low has to be shifted in and out of while stopped in neutral.

Personal opinion, Nexen tires are garbage. I ran a set of AT2 on my F-150, barely gripped dry pavement, virtually useless in rain and snow, and I for a whole about 10k miles before there was no tread. I’ve gone to Mastercraft/Cooper tires for the most part since.

Also, tire pressure is super important. My Choptop gets run at 10-15 psi all the time. 35 psi will rattle your teeth out and wears a dime sized spot in the center of the tread. 10-15 psi is what it took to get the tread to flatten out so I have about 80% of the tread flat on the pavement. Trick for that is to draw a chalk mark across the tread and drive down the street, see where it wears off and lower the pressure until you get a good contact patch. Ride quality improved also with performance.

R6 is a limited slip rear axle. It uses clutch disks and they do wear out over time. You can stick an extra clutch disk in to improve lockup. Also, don’t add extra “limited slip additive” than you have to, it reduces the ability for the clutches to grab to make a smoother transition. Limited slip can also produce some peculiar handling like you’ve noted. There’s a learning curve to it. A locker, ideally an e-locker is better, but not very budget friendly.

 

[sgtsandman]

The most important things in off roading is tires and axles. A good set of tires will get you pretty far before you even need to worry about locking one or both differentials. My 2011 has open front and rear axles and I've yet to get stuck riding regular off road trails. I don't know about the other two areas you mentioned but from what I gather and have seen in videos about Moab, AT tires should be all you need.

The axle part of the equation has more to do with gearing and either a limited slip or a locker. On the gearing, it is better to have a ratio that puts you in the towing and off roading section of the gears vs tire size chart in the tech section but if you have 3.73:1 or 4.10:1, you can get around pretty well in 4 high and 4 low on most trails. If you are looking to get into rock crawling, then you might want to consider getting regeared into the towing/hauling/off road range. Regearing Ford axles is a real pain in the butt though. So, make sure you really need it before you do it and get any other work done, like installing a selectable locker or replacing the LSD you already have. Also make sure you change the gears in both axles. They have to match.

A limited slip or locker in the rear axle is going to be more beneficial and important than one in the front, which will rarely be needed in most cases anyway. A locker in the front binds up the steering when engaged. I would not go with an automatic locker in the front. A limited slip would be ok, if you can find one, or a selectible locker that can be turned on and off, if you can find one.

Skid plates can't hurt. The aftermarket only offers one the protect the radiator and front of the engine before the front axle. If you can find OEM, there will be ones for the transfer case and fuel tank. There is nothing out there to protect the oil pan or the transmission. If you want to protect either of those and want something better than factory for the transfer case and fuel tank, you will have to custom make them or have a shop make them for you.

A winch and better bumpers are nice to to have, and the winch is a must if you are going to venture out on your own. Don't forget shackels, recovery straps, tree saver anchors, and so on. A high lift jack is a very useful item to have for a bunch of different things. Learn how to use them though, they can be very dangerous.

The factory bumpers are not very robust but the factory recovery loops are ok, if you have them. You will want something for the back of the truck if you don't have a tow hitch already. A hitch pin will work for recoveries but do not use a tow ball. Those will fail eventually and become a projectile. A draw bar with a recovery hook or, even better, a shackel is the way to go if you don't want to or can't afford to get an off road bumper with recovery points. Off road bumpers are expensive but worth the investment, if you can afford them and have already taken care of the tires and axles.