Sad day!

[tbunch]

Just had to get on and say WTF ford/Mazda?? Since you can't make a decent 4dr Ranger that can pass a rollover test I have been forced to the Expensive Toyota dark side to accommodate having a kid! Sadly I had to sell my beautiful 94 ranger with its freshly built 4.0 and freshly built 5spd along with every other freaking new part on there, not to mention I just finished my plate bumper. I'm quite broken up. I knew the day would come, but I wanted my ranger anyways. Just had to vent on behalf of all the others that have faced this problem. And no, the sport track explorer doesn't count. That's all.

 

[RonD]

That's too bad, but family is more important

You could always look at re-Badging it to Ranger, lol

 

[Mark_88]

You're not the first one to move onto a more safe vehicle due to family safety.

More to their comfort though because I pity anyone having to spend any more than a few short minutes in those Ranger back seats. They are better than walking everywhere but only just because of how far everything is planned in our cities and towns.

It's always hard to part with a beloved vehicle...I have felt your pain and still mourn the loss of the truck I rebuilt recently...and I still want to get back into a Ranger...

Maybe some day down the road you will be able to buy another one...I'm hoping for that too...

 

[Doofy]

Yes, Life Happens. Circumstances change and will continue to do so. No reason a Ranger couldn't be in your future.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

4dr Rangers are coming down the pipe...

 

[tbunch]

True the 4drs are coming, but the styling is not to my liking, looks more like a spaceship than a truck. The joy of the 94 I had was that it was the pinnacle of automotive functionality. fuel injected, single timing chain, and the computer was limited almost exclusively to running the electronic ignition and didn't fool around trying to do everything. it was the point when everything worked reliably but was still fairly mechanical... and it was a standard trans.... My new truck is arguably safer, and more comfortable and I'm excited to have it, but alotta blood sweat and swearing went into the last one haha, it will be missed.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

True the 4drs are coming, but the styling is not to my liking, looks more like a spaceship than a truck. The joy of the 94 I had was that it was the pinnacle of automotive functionality. fuel injected, single timing chain, and the computer was limited almost exclusively to running the electronic ignition and didn't fool around trying to do everything. it was the point when everything worked reliably but was still fairly mechanical... and it was a standard trans.... My new truck is arguably safer, and more comfortable and I'm excited to have it, but alotta blood sweat and swearing went into the last one haha, it will be missed.

It is supposed to be getting a facelift which hasn't been released yet.

I agree, IMO vehiles have peaked for the work on it yourself/run it into the ground guys. I say around 2000 +/-5 years.

 

[Shran]

Did I miss the memo about Rangers being inherently unsafe or something?

I get that older equals less safety features but using that logic you might wanna think about a plastic bubble in a padded room. Was this your wife's decision or yours? And if it was hers, is this just woman logic for "get rid of that nasty old truck?"

 

[stmitch]

I agree, IMO vehiles have peaked for the work on it yourself/run it into the ground guys. I say around 2000 +/-5 years.

This

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Did I miss the memo about Rangers being inherently unsafe or something?

I get that older equals less safety features but using that logic you might wanna think about a plastic bubble in a padded room. Was this your wife's decision or yours? And if it was hers, is this just woman logic for "get rid of that nasty old truck?"

The kid thing, I don't think they make car seats for jump seats...

 

[Shran]

My kid is almost 10 and he's been cruising around in Rangers with me almost the whole time except a couple years where I had a couple single cab Chevy pickups and a Malibu. Never an issue but I never had a wife/girlfriend complaining about the lack of seating either. The only time that came up was when I couldn't tote HER kids around. Not to sound bitter but I was not about to sell anything I worked hard for to buy more seats when she had seating for five in her ride. My parents always had a single cab truck and a car - if the family was going, we took the car. That's just how it worked.

 

[Blown]

Just had to get on and say WTF ford/Mazda??BLAH, BLAH BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH, WHAAAAAAAA!. And no, the sport track explorer doesn't count. That's all.

Really? If you looked ahead you would have an alternate vehicle to drive or have fixed-up something to fit a family in the first place.

Bagging on Ford, the Sport Trac, on a Ford forum................you deserve a toy. Go play with it. I am sure you will find faults with your toy too.

Should I call a Waaaaaaaabulance for ya!

 

[wildbill23c]

So what Toyota did ya get? New, used? Tacoma, Tundra?

I have an 08 Tundra 4x4 5.7L V8, double cab. Bought it new with 3 miles on it in January of 08, it now has 102k on it and might just be getting broken in.

That being said, I picked up an 88 Ford Bronco 2 last summer and have been doing a little work on it here and there and truthfully I enjoy driving my Bronco 2 far more than I do my newer truck. When I hit the gas in my Bronco 2 tires spin and it takes off. The opposite in the Tundra. Hit the gas and it has to think about it and if its slick or low traction conditions it cuts power and there you sit won't move out of its own damn way...V8 doesn't do you any good with a vehicle full of nannies to keep you from moving when you really need to move.

Not in the market for another truck, and if I was it wouldn't be a new one, it would be an older truck, probably an older Ranger. I've driven Ford, GM, Dodge, Toyota and I have to say I love jumping in an old Ford Ranger, Bronco, or Bronco 2, heck even enjoyed my 88 F250 just the 460 V8 drank gas like it was going out of style. Just something about the older Fords that keep bringing me back to them. I had an 89 Mazda B2600i 4x4 pickup and liked it too, but still get drawn back to the Rangers and the Bronco 2 it seems like.

 

[97RangerXLT]

My kid is almost 10 and he's been cruising around in Rangers with me almost the whole time except a couple years where I had a couple single cab Chevy pickups and a Malibu. Never an issue but I never had a wife/girlfriend complaining about the lack of seating either. The only time that came up was when I couldn't tote HER kids around. Not to sound bitter but I was not about to sell anything I worked hard for to buy more seats when she had seating for five in her ride. My parents always had a single cab truck and a car - if the family was going, we took the car. That's just how it worked.

I have to agree with this. if you have one car to tote the family around, you are good, and why not have a truck for a second vehicle? If you have a house, a truck is a nice addition for hauling mulch, wood to repair the house or build a deck, flooring etc.

And as for having kids an the Ranger, I agree, the jumpseats are not safe for anyone lol, I have never even used mine in the almost 12 years that I have had the truck. I got my 97 Ranger in 2005, and my oldest boy was 6 years old. I went and picked him up from IL and drove him over to IN for visitation every other week from 2008 to 2016 (he is now 17 and does not think he needs to spend time with me... at his mother's suggestion and definitely with her approval..but that is another story), and most of the time I used the Ranger to do it. put the kid seat in and turned the airbag off.

I now have another 6 year old boy who has basically been in that Ranger from day one. we have two other cars, a 2009 Dodge Charger and a 2010 Buick Lucerne. and guess which vehicle he would rather ride in and hang out in...yep, the 1997 Ranger.

And as Shran said, if we did something where all 4 of us (or us and a friend or two of one of the boys or basically anytime where both the wife and I go somewhere with the kid(s) ) we would take the Charger.

And if the truck is paid for? keep it. you won't get anything for it trade in wise, maybe 2k selling it out right.

AJ

 

[DangerRanger37]

I like to buy so that when I'm done I make money on the sale. Crossed the point of no return on my truck a while back.

The other day I was thinking about selling my truck purely a "what if" thing. I imagined someone buying it to part it out and got mad as HELL. LOL

I wouldn't let it go for less than 3500 so I doubt someone would part it but wow. That idea hit me harder than I expected