Story by Jeepman401
On June 3rd 2006 there was A TRS meet in CT. There were 11 trucks that attended- 10 rangers, and soloslim in his F-150. It was raining lightly, and it had been raining for a couple of days, so everyone was anticipating some good mud and slick rocks.
We met at the Stop & Shop parking lot in hope valley RI at 10am on the 3rd. When we left there around 11am, there were 7 of us there. The rest of the group was delayed by traffic and met us later. We left the parking lot and headed towards CT. Rhoderanger knows the area well, so he took us down a state forest road so we could kill some time while waiting for the rest of the group.
We all met up at a dirt lot on the side of the road in CT
We started off on the trail. It was easy at first, some water crossings, and some rocks to get past. Everyone was having fun.
Then we came across this hole. It was a bit deeper than the rest, so most of the smaller trucks went around.
Not Tireiron though. He went charging through, only to get halfway through and heard a loud band and then grinding noise from his rear end. He was able to back out, and it was determined he wasn’t going any further, so soloslim towed him back to the road.
At that point, some people decided to turn back. The rest of us kept going though. A bit further down the trail, we turned onto a smaller side trail that was narrower and a lot rockier in the bogs
there were a few stucks at that point, and some body damage, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a good swift kick.
We continued down the trail through some more rock bogs, some water crossings, and some mud.
We ended up meeting another club that was on a trailride too. They invited us to stop and eat with them, so we parked, and watched them play around on the rocks in their jeeps
We spent some time playing on the rocks. McRanger and SharperTouch tackled the harder sections.
from there we headed back to the trailhead, and from there, back to the parking area
About The Author
Jim Oaks is the founder of The Ranger Station, one of the longest-running Ford Ranger enthusiast communities on the web. He has spent over three decades owning, modifying, repairing, and driving Ford Rangers on the street, trail, and cross-country routes.
Since launching TheRangerStation.com in 1999, Jim has documented thousands of real-world Ranger builds, technical repairs, drivetrain swaps, suspension modifications, and off-road tests contributed by owners worldwide. His work has been referenced by enthusiasts, mechanics, and off-road builders looking for practical, experience-based information rather than theoretical advice.
Jim’s hands-on experience includes long-distance overland travel, trail use, drivetrain and axle upgrades, suspension tuning, and platform comparisons across multiple Ranger generations. The content published on The Ranger Station is grounded in first-hand experience and community-verified data, not marketing claims or generic specifications.
