Trucks are sketchy

[BCRanger]

Excuse the clickbait title, but just got our Ranger and not having driven a truck in a long time, it's been "interesting" to get used to driving a 4WD pickup. For reference we traded in our Flex on the Ranger and our other car is a FWD EV. The Flex has the Haldex AWD system (same as Volvo XC70 and many others) and it is completely unflappable in dirt and gravel. I could pitch it around without any worries about stability. It would even oversteer enough or at least not plow so I could really hussle it. My old Subaru Outback XT AWD was even better, phenomenal in fact, it felt totally confidence inspiring and at same time I could juice the throttle and get it to kick the tail out in a totally controllable way.

The Ranger otoh is a lot more ...errr... demanding. At any speed on loose uneven surface above say 60km/h -- I'm talking decently maintained graded road with washboarding dips and potholes etc..not forest service roads -- I find I really need to stay on top of it. It wants to yaw unpredictably, sometimes to the extent it feels like the rear end wants to switch places with the front, which you know wouldn't be good, lol.

To be totally clear, this is not a complaint/criticism. I knew exactly what I was getting into going from AWD to 4WD with no center differential. And I also know that trucks, carrying so little weight in back along with stiffer (FX4 in my case) suspension will cause the rear end to not be planted. I've gotten behind enough slow pickups in rough conditions and watched them jounce around.

It does provide more of a driving challenge! For now I'm reigning myself in until I get more confident with the handling limits, don't want to end up in a ditch or worse in my new truck.

For folks that have been driving their Rangers in these conditions, curious about your experience/technique. Do you tend to just let it run a bit loose, confident you can recover from transient behavior? Or do you god forbid just slow down? Is it actually better in 2WD for this? Have you seen any improvements with aftermarket shocks? Do you run weight in the bed even in non-winter conditions?

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[geophb]

Shocks would help considerably, the factory ones are a little too soft.

A lot of the squirreliness comes from the inherent weight distribution with an unloaded pickup. Plus the solid axle rear vs IRS is a decent change to get used to.

Im still betting the shock change will be huge, especially for how aggressive it sounds like you drive.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

For folks that have been driving their Rangers in these conditions, curious about your experience/technique. Do you tend to just let it run a bit loose, confident you can recover from transient behavior? Or do you god forbid just slow down? Is it actually better in 2WD for this? Have you seen any improvements with aftermarket shocks? Do you run weight in the bed even in non-winter conditions?

I do definitely have to slow down a bit more going around loose gravel/dirt/snow corners than I did in my Subaru, which as you said was completely planted and never once did I feel I was going to loose it. The truck also has a higher CG, which doesn't help the feeling aspect either. Once I got used to it, I've started to let it break loose a little bit more and have some fun. I still go a bit slower, but who cares, I'm not in a race. haha

I also always have plenty of "junk" (safety, recovery, and survival gear) in the bed to give it some weight, and the topper helps too. Probably still will put my sandbags back in in the winter though just because I have them.

In the end, as with most things on a new vehicle, you get used to it the more you use it.

 

[Jdm4292]

Shocks would help considerably, the factory ones are a little too soft.

A lot of the squirreliness comes from the inherent weight distribution with an unloaded pickup. Plus the solid axle rear vs IRS is a decent change to get used to.

Im still betting the shock change will be huge, especially for how aggressive it sounds like you drive.

Good to know, any chance you could reccomend a sportier ride? shocks, coils or both? what brand? lower ride height?

 

[Frenchy]

Welcome to the Ranger community!! It is yoyr call on what you do with your truck but if anything I do recommend a differnt set of shocks for the truck. Whether or not you go with a lift or level or keep it stock height is the question but that is my suggestion.

 

[Toast.]

I was driving an Altima, but would also drive my ex's Jeep quite a bit. I gotta say, I love the ride of the Ranger. I think it drives pretty damn smoothly, but still has a trucky feel to it that's not overly refined.

 

[dtech]

For others that's why there is the Honda Ridgeline, soft riding, fwd (on demand awd) unibody and I believe the awd system is similar to the vehicles you had previously owned, with abs based torque vectoring . Some rate it numero uno in pickups, while others say it's not a real truck.

 

[BCRanger]

For others that's why there is the Honda Ridgeline, soft riding, fwd (on demand awd) unibody and I believe the awd system is similar to the vehicles you had previously owned, with abs based torque vectoring . Some rate it numero uno in pickups, while others say it's not a real truck.

Well, I wanted an actual truck , so I'm happy with compromise. I am willing to give up some onroad / softroad performance for capabilites that only a body on frame, solid rear axle, etc.. can offer.

 

[BCRanger]

I was driving an Altima, but would also drive my ex's Jeep quite a bit. I gotta say, I love the ride of the Ranger. I think it drives pretty damn smoothly, but still has a trucky feel to it that's not overly refined.

Yeah, I mean we drove a Jeep, the Ranger feels like an Audi in comparison but yeah still feels like a Truck which is what I wanted. It's grin making!

 

[njdriver19]

Upgraded front end endlinks , help calm down the front end in my opinion after swaying on my truck , also Stiffer suspension just do fox ford suspension if it is within your budget .. can’t beat a factory tuned upgraded suspension, lol I mean you could if your a mechanical engineer who focuses on suspensions. I mean aftermarket suspensions are well developed but I don’t think as much r&d dollars go into it.
I can a Subaru Outback before this 4th ranger, I have more fun with the Subaru because I don’t worry about totaling it , believe me you can get a Subaru to break free , the ranger I push but I back off , but still turning good is important so I did fox suspension front end links doing rear sway bar and a good set of tires and I will be blowing Tacoma’s out of the corners. If more suspension handling upgrades come out I will consider

 

[njdriver19]

Excuse the clickbait title, but just got our Ranger and not having driven a truck in a long time, it's been "interesting" to get used to driving a 4WD pickup. For reference we traded in our Flex on the Ranger and our other car is a FWD EV. The Flex has the Haldex AWD system (same as Volvo XC70 and many others) and it is completely unflappable in dirt and gravel. I could pitch it around without any worries about stability. It would even oversteer enough or at least not plow so I could really hussle it. My old Subaru Outback XT AWD was even better, phenomenal in fact, it felt totally confidence inspiring and at same time I could juice the throttle and get it to kick the tail out in a totally controllable way.

The Ranger otoh is a lot more ...errr... demanding. At any speed on loose uneven surface above say 60km/h -- I'm talking decently maintained graded road with washboarding dips and potholes etc..not forest service roads -- I find I really need to stay on top of it. It wants to yaw unpredictably, sometimes to the extent it feels like the rear end wants to switch places with the front, which you know wouldn't be good, lol.

To be totally clear, this is not a complaint/criticism. I knew exactly what I was getting into going from AWD to 4WD with no center differential. And I also know that trucks, carrying so little weight in back along with stiffer (FX4 in my case) suspension will cause the rear end to not be planted. I've gotten behind enough slow pickups in rough conditions and watched them jounce around.

It does provide more of a driving challenge! For now I'm reigning myself in until I get more confident with the handling limits, don't want to end up in a ditch or worse in my new truck.

For folks that have been driving their Rangers in these conditions, curious about your experience/technique. Do you tend to just let it run a bit loose, confident you can recover from transient behavior? Or do you god forbid just slow down? Is it actually better in 2WD for this? Have you seen any improvements with aftermarket shocks? Do you run weight in the bed even in non-winter conditions?

The 2019 ranger tracks well in corners on even surfaces , my fx4 front suspension did not like bumps on sweeping turns where the suspension was preloaded, can’t speak for non fx4 s. It was downright scary to hit potholes, after the fox ford suspension upgrade things are a lot better under the described conditions, if the ranger has a awd system/ center diff I think body sway and the solid rear axle would limit the benefit of the awd system , maybe they develop a 2wd torque rectoring system lol, I am aware that you are not comparing apples to oranges , if only this was the ridgeline forum .

 

[DakotaGuy]

It’s a body on frame truck with a much higher ride height, traditional suspension and conventional part-time 4x4 drivetrain. It also has more suspension travel, a lighter rear end and is narrower then the Flex. The vehicle dynamics are completely different then your Flex or previous Subaru. What did you expect? The only “truck” that would handle somewhat like your Flex would be the Ridgeline. What makes the Ranger a bit more demanding to drive in those on-road and unloaded situations also gives it capability those other vehicles don’t have when it comes to hauling, pulling, going off road and getting through deep snow or mud. You don’t really need to modify it, but just slow down a bit in those situations. If you want to go flying around corners in something that feels low and very stable in all situations then a tall 4x4 truck is the wrong choice. For most handling situations the Ranger feels plenty safe and secure to me. Just slow down a bit.

 

[quangdog]

I've gone through a number of different suspension setups on my 2019 FX4 Lariat, and am finally really, really happy. Ultimately I settled on a front coilover and replacement rear shocks from Eibach. Prior to this I tried the Fox 2.0 shocks on the rear (which helped some, but not enough) and a 2.5" Rough Country lift up front (which gave me the stance and ground clearance I was looking for, but made the ride even worse than factory).

The Eibach Pro Truck front coilvers are fantastic, and the rear shocks to match completely convert this thing into a much more predictable and comfortable ride, both on and off road. I drive a lot of gravel/groomed roads similar to what you describe, and love what the Eibachs have done to it.

 

[Shadowdraxx]

My wife didn’t speak to me all evening after our first Ranger run together, I’d just traded our 20 GT for it and I was constantly arriving at corners to fast to the noise of squeezing tires and excessive body roll.

I kinda knew what to expect, but it still got me. I still drive it on it’s door handles and I love being cheeky with it, but yeah expectations need to be reeled in.

Just come back from a trip to NM and I throughly enjoyed drifting it on the dirt roads .

Since arriving back I’ve been looking at upgrades.

I love it

 

[BCRanger]

Thanks for all the knowledgeable replies so far!

Validates my sense that suspension mods will help a lot here, either the Eibach or Ford/Fox setup. I already put Cooper ATS 4S on (+1") and like them a lot more than stock.

On the plus side, I find the truck to be otherwise really predictable and solid and overall handling to be quite decent otherwise. Compared to a lot of SUVs I've driven it doesn't give me that tippy on stilts feeling on tarmac. And it doesn't get upset and weird when hitting undulations on pavement, even on loose stuff it quickly settles down after getting upset. So I'm feeling good and confident about on road dynamics, though still hoping to reduce wallow with suspension upgrade. Initially squishy brakes are improving, steering feel is really and good, drivetrain is fantastic and front end feels planted.

It's really mostly the back end that makes my seat of the pants sensors go "whoa what the hell just happened there". That and getting used to the binding feeling when shifting into 4H.

Everything is a tradeoff, and I'm in awe of its limits off road, I could take my Subaru a lot of places but the truck is next level.

FTR, I hope I didn't leave impression I'm a crazed speed demon... I do like to explore limits when I know it's reasonably safe for me and totally safe for others and the consequences of a f up is getting stuck or bending something. And loose surfaces are often safer to play in since the limits are lower and there aren't a lot of other vehicles around and there is usually decent runoff space if things go sideways. Looking forward to winter!

And yep, racking up some mileage and experience I'm sure will make me feel more confident. There is no perfect vehicle.

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