Shran

Introduction

Name: Brett

Forum Name / Link: Shran

TRS Volunteer Staff Position: Forum Moderator

Joined TRS: 2008

Located: Rapid City, SD

Born: 1986

Occupation: IT/Tech Industry

Background & Expertise

Brief biography:

Personally – I have a ton of hobbies and am fortunate that the rest of my family enjoys a lot of the same things that I do. We are outdoors a lot for various activities and are active in a local 4wd club. I am very active in some of the “collecting” threads here but consider myself more of an accumulator of Coleman stoves & lanterns, old chainsaws, vintage computers, and a handful of other things.

How long have you been a member of The Ranger Station?

Professionally: I have worked for an organization that provides services to people with disabilities since 2008. Prior to that I was the printing department manager at OfficeMax and worked in IT before that. I have a degree in computer networking but found that the mix of social work and technology in my current job to be much more rewarding than being “the computer guy.”

How long have you been a member of The Ranger Station?

I joined TRS in 2008.

How did you first get into Ford Rangers or off-roading?

I bought my first Ranger in 2006 and just used it for daily driving for the most part. I became interested in offroading when I met a local club member who had a ton of stories about how much fun it is and at about the same time, I ran across my 1986 Ranger that I decided to build into a very cheap wheeling rig. I joined the local club and TRS at about the same time – early 2008 – and what really got me going was reading about some other TRS members who had gone wheeling, broke something in the front axle and had to use their hood as a ski to get out of a trail. That sounded like something I wanted to do so I quickly found the limits of the stock Ranger drivetrain and naturally I started building… which led to buying other rigs… and here we are.

What specific areas of expertise or interest do you bring to TRS?

I gravitate towards the transmissions section since I have some experience rebuilding manual transmissions/t-cases/etc. I also enjoy the Rare Trucks section as these are usually unique and being a current owner of a “rare” 1st gen stepside truck makes me feel right at home there.

What kind of Ranger(s) (or Bronco II, Explorer, etc.) do you currently own or have owned in the past?

In my quest to accumulate junk I have owned probably 40 or more Rangers, 20+ Explorers and a handful of Bronco IIs. Some I kept some I flipped, and many were parted out. Currently I have five Rangers, two Explorers, and a handful of other vehicles. The only one I really regret selling was my old 2wd ’96 Ranger.

Contribution to TRS

What do you do at TRS?

Moderator duties and attempting to influence others into accumulating junk collections of their own.

Do you contribute or help with specific areas of the forum?

I have a handful of build threads and have written several tech articles – I enjoy posting about my own builds, but I like to contribute tech information to the community as well.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the TRS community?

I like that the vast majority of TRS members are just here to have fun, talk about trucks, and not bag on each other or troll people like is so common on other social media sites. TRS is just such a great source of information, and the positive atmosphere is great.

Fun & Personal

Favorite Ford vehicle ever?

73-79 trucks. Yep… weird because I have only owned one, and it didn’t run, and I never drove it. I drove my dad’s ’76 F250 quite a bit and it got me hooked enough that I learned to love them but never bought one. Late 1st gen Rangers are a very close second.

Favorite mod or upgrade you’ve ever done?

The 15-gallon onboard water tank in my Explorer has been a game changer for camping. I have a lot of cool mods and upgrades in all my rigs but that one has been by far my favorite.

Most memorable off-road trip or experience?

I and a group of friends from Texas meet every year or two for an “overlanding” trip. Colorado in 2017 was my favorite one, I tried to do it on the cheap and that added to the adventure a bit. Great scenery, epic camp sites, some mild wheeling and a lot of miles. Arizona the year after was a very close second – equally great scenery & camping, but a bit more technical wheeling, creek crossings, nighttime mine exploring and four seasons of weather made it pretty exciting.

One piece of advice you’d give to a new Ranger owner:

Take your time on a “build” if you are spending big money on parts. There is not much that cannot be fixed or upgraded on these trucks by the average person – especially 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen trucks – just plan for your ultimate goal, and not for what will get you by for now, which should save you some money in the long run.