Should we just call it the F140? Bloody "YUUUGE" and heavy too!

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I really wanted a 6 ft bed but haven't had any issues yet. My son is 14 and already 5'8" and still growing like a dag gum bean sprout. Had to go super crew. If I need more room in the bed I just use a trailer. It will tow quite a bit. Actually best in class.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The back window is horrible. Even worse with a bed cap. Good thing I know how to use my side mirrors and there is a back up camera for when you doubt yourself. That back up camera is real handy for hooking up a trailer by yourself.

That is cheating...

I am spoiled by my 6.5' bed, 6' would be a compromise (Toyota offers a 6' bed with a crew cab in Tacoma...) I don't know if I could stomach a 5'

As far as the bed, I didn't buy it to be a hauler, though it can still do some of that. I bought it to replace a crossover SUV where the four doors and 5 seats were more important than the size of the bed. The increase in cargo space for the famn damily to bring all their $h!t was just a bonus. Body on frame, 4X4 SUVs are not plentiful and I didn't want to pay the price they want for most of the ones that are out there nor did I want to move up to land yacht territory.

I have teased my wife that she needs a fricking cube van more than a Bronco...

I don't like how bulky a modern half ton is so I was looking to a midsize hoping they might be similar in size as my current '02 F-150... they ain't.

I know they don't have to be everything to everybody, just not enough horse for me.

 

[JohnnyO]

Being that it's a tight fit in my garage I can tell you that it's the same length as my old Sport Trac and a little narrower.
I got a good deal on my 2020 in April because the original owner traded it in at the same dealer on a F-150 because it wasn't big enough. Only had 5000 miles on it.
If I knew the Maverick was coming I might have waited and saved some money but with 212,000 miles the engine in my Sport Trac was in its death throes. I could probably get by with that but I do like having a 6' bed again.

 

[sgtsandman]

I considered Toyota. Compared to the Ranger on paper, the Toyota seemed to have more negatives for me than the Ranger. I reviewed as much as I could on both and beat that horse into a pulp before I made a decision. I also looked at the Frontier. The Chevy/GMC was never in the running for several reasons. Mainly, looking at how their products have held up during fleet use on base. Chevy was found to be wanting.

In the end, everyone has to match what meets their needs best. I like Ford but I’m not opposed to buying another brand if it makes sense.

 

[HenryMac]

For all the new Rangers merits... I don't think I have ever heard anyone compliment the added depth/volume of the bed before.

It seems, compliments to complaints, is about a 1:10 ratio in todays world?

The back window is horrible. Even worse with a bed cap. Good thing I know how to use my side mirrors and there is a back up camera for when you doubt yourself. That back up camera is real handy for hooking up a trailer by yourself.

Curious as to what you find "horrible" about the back window?

I find the back window to be fantastic in our 2019... compared to the tiny one we had in our Tacoma. Admittedly we have a SuperCab, not a SuperCrew, maybe that's the difference, the extra distance?

One thing that would make the rear view better, IMO, is if the rear view mirror was closer to the ceiling. On our old Tacoma you could adjust the mirror up really close the the ceiling, and then see the floor of the bed at the tailgate.

 

[sgtsandman]

It seems, compliments to complaints, is about a 1:10 ratio in todays world?



Curious as to what you find "horrible" about the back window?

I find the back window to be fantastic in our 2019... compared to the tiny one we had in our Tacoma. Admittedly we have a SuperCab, not a SuperCrew, maybe that's the difference, the extra distance?

One thing that would make the rear view better, IMO, is if the rear view mirror was closer to the ceiling. On our old Tacoma you could adjust the mirror up really close the the ceiling, and then see the floor of the bed at the tailgate.

It may be a difference between the cab lengths. Visibility out the back was a bit better before I installed the cap. Part of it is the height of the bed. It creates a lot of blind spots. If I wanted a panel van, I would have bough one. It can be worked around with the mirrors properly adjusted and there is "just" enough rear visibility out the back to keep you out of trouble. I've always preferred good visibility all the way around.

 

[fixizin]

WEIGHT. Why 20 years later, is it HEAVIER than Ye Olde Rangers, despite an aluminum powerplant? The 1998-2000 Gen 4 stuck a toe in the water with an ALUMINUM HOOD, why isn't the whole body Alum/carbon-fiber by now? What CENTURY is this again?

Besides the benefit to MPGs, off-road performance would also be enhanced by lower mass.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Aluminum is (1) expensive and (2) not the miracle corrosion-resistant lightweight metal a lot of people think it is.

Body shops also have difficulty with repairing aluminum. That was a big issue when the aluminum body was introduced on the F-150.

Steel can be fairly light and corrosion-resistant if the manufacturers want it to be. And they should want it to be. Routine rusting out (such as cab lower corners and rocker panels) should have stopped a long time ago. It's wasteful. That kind of thing gives the greens ammo to use against the auto industry.

Owners of new trucks need to take some initiative too. The original owner of my 2011 had it rustproofed, undercoated, and bed-coated. I wonder if the frame on the new Rangers is just painted with the cheapest semi-gloss paint Ford could find as were the frames on the old ones.

 

[sgtsandman]

A lot of it has to do with cost. Partly on the manufacturer’s part and part on the buyer’s part. The manufacturer wants to minimize cost in order to maximize profit and the buyer doesn’t want to pay anymore than they have to.

Aluminum and carbon fiber is expensive compared to steel and is expensive to repair went bent or broken.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A lot of it has to do with cost. Partly on the manufacturer’s part and part on the buyer’s part. The manufacturer wants to minimize cost in order to maximize profit and the buyer doesn’t want to pay anymore than they have to.

Aluminum and carbon fiber is expensive compared to steel and is expensive to repair went bent or broken.

IMO Ford was hesitant to totally commit to the market so they largely dragged and dropped the T6 into NA. Switching much of it to aluminum would have required a total redesign.

They did switch the hood, front fenders and tailgate to aluminum.

However I am very surprised and to be honest rather disappointed the Bronco is largely steel... but with no fixed roof structure it has more going on.

 

[JohnnyO]

Steel can be fairly light and corrosion-resistant if the manufacturers want it to be. And they should want it to be. Routine rusting out (such as cab lower corners and rocker panels) should have stopped a long time ago. It's wasteful. That kind of thing gives the greens ammo to use against the auto industry.

I saw an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage not long ago with a Model T. Jay said that Henry Ford insisted on using vanadium steel which basically didn’t rust and that’s why there are still so many Model T’s and why you can find usable T parts after they’ve been sitting outside in junkyards or the woods for 70 years.

My Ranger is going to Ziebart next week.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I saw an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage not long ago with a Model T. Jay said that Henry Ford insisted on using vanadium steel which basically didn’t rust and that’s why there are still so many Model T’s and why you can find usable T parts after they’ve been sitting outside in junkyards or the woods for 70 years.

My Ranger is going to Ziebart next week.

They didn't used to treat roads back in the model t days either.

 

[sgtsandman]

They didn't used to treat roads back in the model t days either.

Assuming they were even paved in anyway...

 

[HenryMac]

I saw an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage not long ago with a Model T. Jay said that Henry Ford insisted on using vanadium steel which basically didn’t rust and that’s why there are still so many Model T’s and why you can find usable T parts after they’ve been sitting outside in junkyards or the woods for 70 years.

My Ranger is going to Ziebart next week.

Ziebart is great.

In regard to what you say Jay Leno stated..... I've owned a couple Model T's.... they were both rusted. My grandfather owned quite a few Model T's, they were all rusted. Ford did build some stainless steel Ford's... but not until 1936.... 9 years after the last Model T rolled off the assembly line.