Project "Slippery Slope" - 2011 FX4

[PNW Paul]

I didn't even know i wanted a Wolfbox 850 pro...

You do, trust me . . .

My default is the split view, which works well for my needs. Spoiled by my wife's back-up camera on the '23 Escape, so purchased one of these for the Ranger and my trail rig. . .

Was towing a trailer with the Ranger yesterday and had a great view of the load while underway, based on the rear camera position - - another bonus for this unit.

Edit: Want to state that I'm not a "paid influencer", received no pay or gifts for endorsing this or any other product - - just a satisfied customer . . . and if this unit prematurely "poops the bed", I'll be sure to post that as well. . .

 

[sgtsandman]

The back up camera on the 2019 is great for hooking up the trailer and helpful for dealing with the bindspots due to the high bed sides. I don't depend solely on it though. I still find looking out the back window and using the side mirrors to provide an overall better view than the camera.

That being said, I do want to get a dash cam system with four cameras on both trucks in case of an accident or incident. One for the front, one for the back, and one for each front side window. I can see no practical use for one recording what is going on the cabin itself. I'm not a youtuber making videos about stuff.

 

[PNW Paul]

Road Trip ! ! Sort of . . .

Back story is that I have a dedicated trail rig that I wanted to do a travel/wheeling trip with when I planned the route and accommodations, but that vehicle is side-lined with a transfer case issue, so the Ranger is pressed into service for a week. Actually, it's fortuitous as I've owned the Ranger for eight years and never really had the opportunity to take it on a road trip - - so here it goes. . .

Still planning on going on a few trails, so needed to carry a few recovery items that I don't routinely have aboard. Stow the traction boards, Hi-Lift jack, spare fuel cans, recovery straps, ax, etc. with enough room for the ARB fridge.

Wood, carpet, some carriage bolts, and D-rings ought to work and keep the gear from bouncing around while off road.

Had to keep the height of gear in check to clear the in-bed storage tray butted up against the cab.

The cut-outs for the fender wells keep the carpeted wood deck pretty much in place - - forward of the fuel cans is a toolbox and a Factor 55 30’ recovery strap.

Enough room for the fridge . . .

. . . and some luggage.

Paul

 

[PNW Paul]

Okay, so not a “Travel Log”, but I’ll post up a few pics from the trip as opportunity and mood allows. . .

Day 1: Tacoma to Bozeman, just shy of 700 miles; all easy on I-90. I’ve driven plenty of interstates and gotta admit I-90 between Spokane and Bozeman is a nice stretch of highway. . .

Overnight stop - - neon guy must have known I was coming. . . or maybe just the “hire” is silent. . .

Beat the rain to the hotel, dry all day on the road. Neat old school motor lodge Mom & Pop kind of place…

Tomorrow’s plan: Yellowstone National Park.

Paul

 

[PNW Paul]

Day 2: Bozeman to Thayne (WY), via Yellowstone. Great roads and Yellowstone one of our favorite National Parks - - only problem: it’s nearly everyone’s favorite park . . .
Entered through the north entrance, Roosevelt Gate.

Plenty of visitors, but got a chance to see some of the “locals”:

Bison at rest.

Bear moving along the road (taken from inside the Ranger).

Really need several days to fully enjoy Yellowstone, we’ve been a few times before and will always come back, but the destination for this road trip wasn’t YNP, but Moab ! ! !

Paul

 

[PNW Paul]

Day 3: Thayne to Moab. Really enjoyable route on some of the lesser driven roads through Wyoming and Utah. Traveled through Flaming Gorge NRA (National Recreation Area) for the first time - - after the crush of tourists at YNP, this place was a welcome change…

Plenty of primitive and semi-primitive camping opportunities, great scenery and not much traffic - - will definitely return sometime soon.

Next up, Moab.

 

[PNW Paul]

Days 4 - 7: Moab. My first trip to Moab was in 1999, and I’ve been back at least ten times since then, running most of the harder trails in the area (Moab Rim, Kane Creek, Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar, Cliffhanger, Metal Masher, Steelbender, etc., etc.) in my well-built trail rig, a first generation Explorer Sport. As posted earlier, that rig sidelined, so we are here in the Ranger.

Trail Rig: Atlas II, ARBs front and rear, 5” lift with SOA rear, winch, etc.

The beauty of Moab, besides the dramatic scenery, is that there are nearly 100 four wheel drive trails ranging in difficulty from bone stock 2WD passenger cars to overbuilt “truggys” with 44” tires and 500 horsepower. All sorts of other outdoor oriented stuff to do besides four-wheeling: Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, rock climbing, mountain biking and enduro riding, river sports, etc. Guess what I’m saying that if you’ve never been to Moab, I would highly recommend it . . . at least once.

The general rule of four wheeling is that you shouldn’t go out without a trail partner, and I follow that guideline whenever wheeling hard or going off the grid. It’s smart even with all of today’s technology that can alert everyone of your status to have a second rig for recovery, tools, spares, etc. That said, we’re running a few trails here solo, and while I’m both self-sufficient and kind of a “Safety Third” type, there are plenty of other rigs on the trails that you could always get assistance from or worse case, if self-recovery or vehicle repairs not possible, have the ability (and gear) to hike back into town.

Day 4: We ran Long Canyon trail, an easy scenic route with some neat features.

From there we ran Gemini Bridges trail, and hiked out to the natural bridge, a fun day.

“Gooney Bird Rock” on the way to Gemini Bridges…

 

[PNW Paul]

Day 5: We spent the day at Arches National Park, just outside of Moab. Dozens of “arches” and “bridges”, all formed by water and wind erosion of the course of time.

We hiked the three miles up to delicate arch, if you’ve seen a license plate of Utah, this should look familiar . . .

We’re from the “wet” side of the Cascade Range in Washington, so this terrain a lot different…

Proof of the hike:

 

[PNW Paul]

Day 6: We’ve had rain nearly every evening while on the trip, which was of little impact to us personally, but has caused local flooding here in and around Moab. As more rain was expected, and thunderheads around the region were prominent, we kept it simple: Hurrah Pass.

Stunning views of the valley floor from the pass:

And one sketchy creek crossing with a whole lot of mud. . .

All in all a fun trip on the easier trails around Moab, wife enjoyed it as well, and the Ranger was great - - comfortable enough on the long haul days (see Corbeau seat upgrade [post # 65]), and the lift, bigger tires, and 4.10 gearing with the limited slip proved capable for the trails and conditions we encountered. Not that I’ll be adding upgrades trying to match the capabilities of the dedicated trail rig, but always good to know the Ranger can handle itself, even if it is more oriented to gravel roads.

Paul

 

[Jim Oaks]

Days 4 - 7: Moab. My first trip to Moab was in 1999, and I’ve been back at least ten times since then, running most of the harder trails in the area (Moab Rim, Kane Creek, Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar, Cliffhanger, Metal Masher, Steelbender, etc., etc.) in my well-built trail rig, a first generation Explorer Sport. As posted earlier, that rig sidelined, so we are here in the Ranger.

Trail Rig: Atlas II, ARBs front and rear, 5” lift with SOA rear, winch, etc.
View attachment 129218

The beauty of Moab, besides the dramatic scenery, is that there are nearly 100 four wheel drive trails ranging in difficulty from bone stock 2WD passenger cars to overbuilt “truggys” with 44” tires and 500 horsepower. All sorts of other outdoor oriented stuff to do besides four-wheeling: Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, rock climbing, mountain biking and enduro riding, river sports, etc. Guess what I’m saying that if you’ve never been to Moab, I would highly recommend it . . . at least once.

The general rule of four wheeling is that you shouldn’t go out without a trail partner, and I follow that guideline whenever wheeling hard or going off the grid. It’s smart even with all of today’s technology that can alert everyone of your status to have a second rig for recovery, tools, spares, etc. That said, we’re running a few trails here solo, and while I’m both self-sufficient and kind of a “Safety Third” type, there are plenty of other rigs on the trails that you could always get assistance from or worse case, if self-recovery or vehicle repairs not possible, have the ability (and gear) to hike back into town.

Day 4: We ran Long Canyon trail, an easy scenic route with some neat features.
View attachment 129219View attachment 129220View attachment 129221

From there we ran Gemini Bridges trail, and hiked out to the natural bridge, a fun day.

“Gooney Bird Rock” on the way to Gemini Bridges…
View attachment 129222

I like the Ranger, but I'm really digging that Explorer!!

 

[PNW Paul]

Day 7: Return home. Most of my trips to Moab are single day trips - - a looonng day of driving, but I enjoy the challenge (and hate the idea of driving all day and waking up not being home). We departed Moab at 4:00 in the a.m. and made it back to Grit City by 6:30 p.m., picking up an hour so 15.5 hours on the road for just under 1,100 miles.

Ranger ran great, roughly 3,000 miles for the week and no issues. Once again, if you’ve never been to Moab, just go already. . .

Paul

 

[PNW Paul]

I like the Ranger, but I'm really digging that Explorer!!

Thanks, Jim. It's my second Gen 1 Explorer Sport - - I owned a 1991 model from 1993 to 2020, but it sat for the last three years of its existence at my buddy's home shop after getting totaled in a rare act of commuting in 2017. Had too many good features / upgrades to abandon, so found a very clean 2 door (Full disclosure: It's a Navajo, re-badged back to Ford), in 2020 and we swapped all the good bits over to it . . .

Is it technically a thread hi-jack if it's your own thread ? ? ? Dunno, but here some pics of the trail rig . . .

Standard Duff front bumper with Ramsey REP 8000 winch tucked between the frame rails, Warn fog lights and Rigid Industries LEDs fitted between the bumper tubes, Duff front skid plate . . .

Hamburger Hill on the Kane Creek Trail, Moab 2021.

Rear bumper modified from EB design to fit the Explorer frame horns with swing away tire carrier and rear LED back-up lights mounted between the bumper tubes, ARB "Outback Solutions" drawer system modified from Jeep "something-or-other", headache rack in rear cargo area to molle gear to . . .

Visor shelf with switch panel for lights and ARB compressor/lockers with Garmin Overlander GPS.

Ham radio head unit, Atlas II shifters, CB radio hiding under ash tray. . .

Here is the list of major modifications (listed front to rear, sort of):
- James Duff Pre-Runner Front Bumper
- Ramsey REP 8000 winch in Duff Bumper with Warn Synthetic Line
- James Duff Front Skid Plate
- SuperLift SuperRunner Steering (with steering stabilizer)
- SkyJacker ADX 2.0 Reservoir Shocks, (front and rear)
- Bush Whacker Extend-A-Fender Flares
- Visor Shelf/Switches
- Ham and CB radios
- ARB Air Lockers, Front and Rear
- 4.56 Gears
- Atlas II Transfer Case
- “SupeRancho” Hybrid Lift, approximately 5” of lift, with SOA
- 33”x 12.50 Tires (currently Goodyear M/T Mud Terrains)
- Rock Sliders / Front Diff Armor / Rear Leaf "Sliders"
- ViAir On-Board Air Compressor
- Early Bronco fabbed Rear Bumper, “extra modded” to fit the Explorer
- Rear License Plate Frenched into Hatch
- Outback Solutions (ARB) Drawers
- "Headache" Rack in Cargo Area
- Lights – Fog/Front LED Driving/Rear LED Back-Up