The 2019 'Loan Ranger', and 2019 Ranger Adventure

[Jim Oaks]

Yakima Tent & Rack Installed:

So the Yakima tent and rack is installed....

It's really starting to look like an adventure vehicle!

tempest_overland asked me on Instagram how I liked the bed rack. It seems pretty stout. It has a a 500 lbs on-road load capacity (300 lbs off-road). The tent weighs 95 lbs and I'm about 212 lbs, which mean I can't be taking any women camping that weigh over 193 lbs.

You can get mounts to add Rotopax, if you're actually silly enough to spend $75.00 for a 2-gallon gas can. You can also get mounts for Recovery Tracks (Maxtrax), but you'll need to buy a sidebar long bar to add these mounts to.

Looking at the cross bar, it looks like I can slide some carriage bolts in to secure something to them that way. I'll be experimenting with it.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Yakima Tent Opened Up:

I think the gray and red Yakima tent, and the silver Ford Ranger and red FX4 logos look like they were meant to be together!

It's really nice. I'll go in to more detail about what's involved setting it up soon.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Will You Help Spread The Word?

I'm going to Overland Expo West (Flagstaff AZ) in 2-weeks. Then I do the Trans America Trail in June, and hope to head back to the midwest (Ohio) by July. I'm really wanting to use the Ranger to bring TheRangerStation.com to a whole new generation of Ranger owners, and hopefully find more seasoned owners as well. I'll be sharing these stories and adventures in this thread.

https://www.therangerstation.com/2019-ranger-adventure redirects to this thread.

I added that URL (address) as well as our Instagram and facebook pages to the back of this Ranger to try and reach more people wherever the truck goes. I'd appreciate it if you would follow our Instagram and facebook pages at:

https://www.instagram.com/therangerstationofficial/

https://www.facebook.com/TheRangerStation/

And share them and this thread with as many people as you can. We all benefit from bringing more people to the site to share their knowledge and vehicle projects with us.

I'm also hoping to meet up with someone you guys as I'm crossing the country!

 

[Snoranger]

Looks good Jim. Glad to see you finally got the RTT.
I assume the 500 lb limit is dynamic weight. The static weight capacity should be 2-3 times more. Even at 2x you should be able to have a 693lb girl up there, so long as she's not up there while your driving.

My bed rack system has similar channels on the bottom of the crossbars, I started making aluminum inserts today. I'm going to mount some LED lights there.

 

[Jim Oaks]

My next challenge is securing my 5-gallon water can, fuel can, Contico Pro Tuff bin, a Hi-Lift, and some X-Bull traction mats.

There is two tie downs at the rear of the bed on each side:

They're spaced perfectly to allow my to set a Jerry can there, and hold it in place with a ratchet strap going through the handle, and hooking to each tie down. The base of the Yakima rack is in the way now, so I can't get it to sit against the side of the bed.

I can't drill in to this bed, so I have to get creative on how I hold things in place.

 

[Jim Oaks]

 

[racsan]

there used to be load-lock bars you could buy, they had rubber pads at the ends where they would go against the bed sides and youd turn the middle one way to expand the ends or the other way to retract them (like a top link on a tractor 3-point) i dont remember where i had got mine, was years ago with my "88 so early 90's.

 

[JoshT]

Just a stupid idea for the truck name: TRS-Loan Ranger or TRS-LR

The Ranger is now called the 'Loan Ranger'.

Wow, wasn't expecting that to stick.

I'm gonna play optimist here... Perhaps you should call it "Loan Ranger 1" in anticipation of the release of the Next Gen. Just sayin...

You aren't a SR until JR is born. Same with I, II, and III.


Truck is looking good. If I was after a new vehicle it'd probably be on my short list.

Racsan I know Harbor Freight still sells those bars. I think I've seen them in Northern Tool or Tractor Supply as well. I'd imagine that almost anyplace that sells truck accessories would have them or could get them.

 

[pjtoledo]

Yakima Tent Opened Up:

I think the gray and red Yakima tent, and the silver Ford Ranger and red FX4 logos look like they were meant to be together!

It's really nice. I'll go in to more detail about what's involved setting it up soon.

View attachment 26803View attachment 26804View attachment 26805View attachment 26806View attachment 26807View attachment 26808

grey and red???? looks more like scarlet and grey to me. it's OK to tell us you miss the Buckeye State.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I wish my neighbors hadn't moved yet. They're huge Michigan fans. I could mess with them.

 

[pjtoledo]

I wish my neighbors hadn't moved yet. They're huge Michigan fans. I could mess with them.

I've the split house, daughter works for OSU, daughter in law works for U of M. I run and hide.

 

[Curious Hound]

Looks great and setup seems really quick and easy.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I installed a Nilight 20-inch 288-watt LED lightbar over the front bumper. Why over the bumper? The intercooler for the turbo is behind the grill, and you also have a radiator / transmission cooler, and the A/C condenser back there. The opening below the bumper helps provide air flow to these components. I don't want to mount a lightbar in that opening that's going to restrict that much needed airflow.

I made the bracket out of (2) 6-inch L-brackets. I added some angle to the top so the lightbar had something to sit on.

I used these rubber bumpers between the bracket and the steel bumper so it didn't get scratched.

I can't drill any holes in to the truck, so I removed (2) plastic plugs that hold the plastic trim to the bottom of the bumper, and bolted the bracket there. I also coated the bracket with Dupli-Color spray on bedliner.

I used a LED wiring harness with a remote control. Just like the other harness I used, the remote has a feature that will make the lightbar flash in a S-O-S pattern.

 

[Ranger850]

so how many remotes is that? 1 for the truck, 1 for the hood LEDs, and 1 for the light bar, pocket full of fobs.lol

 

[Jim Oaks]

I keep the remote for the lightbar stuck to the console. The remote for the hood lights is loose.