The ZR2 SPEC-R3

[JACKSMYDOG]

Just FYI the sequentials won't work on Ford's if tied through the trailer wiring. You have to hardwire through the actual tail lamps.

Thanks for the tip.

I have the Putco Blade mounted to my roof rack, wired with their tail light direct harness. I also have racks that mount on the tonneau cover and a RTT that mounts on that. When the RTT is on, it blocks view of the Blade so I want to add brake/signals to the rear of the RTT. I used a 4 pin trailer connector to wire the brake/signals on the blade, so I can use a 4 pin on the RTT lights, then just unplug the Blade and plug in the RTT lights as required.

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[Dr. Zaius]

Hopefully you won't be affected by this issue - sounds like a failed OTA update causes the truck to drain the battery by continuously re-trying it:



Gotta love software quality these days!

That is supposedly resolved now.

 

[RedlandRanger]

That is supposedly resolved now.

Hopefully - it is a pretty serious oversight to have happen in the first place.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Hopefully - it is a pretty serious oversight to have happen in the first place.

It was not a wide spread problem and unfortunately for Chevrolet, it happened to a well known YouTube channel host who also happened to buy one for his own personal use.

A nothingburger amplified to the max is my feeling on that.

I believe the issued was resolved on any trucks coming out of the factory after June for any that were afflicted with the problem. Was one of the things I checked when I got to the dealership, mine was manufactured right at beginning of July.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Work has been keeping me busy, but I've gotten a little more done, as well as slight change in design plans;

For starters I had to address an issue I was putting off, the rear and front rack attachment points to the bed. My rack is designed for a 6 foot bed even though I originally purchased it when my Ranger had a 5 foot bed. I personally disliked the gap from the rear of the truck that the shorter rack designs left.

The design of the bed walls / rail cap area was problematic on the Colorado. There is literally zero room to slip a decent sized nut on the back side for a bolt and it also gives next to zero purchase for a traditional C-Clamp to even work. I mulled over a few ideas, but what I ended up doing was reversing a thick retainer clip. I drilled not only through the rail cap edge, but also into the inside wall right behind the headlight housing area. I made the hole just a tiny bit smaller than the bolt, so as the bolt goes in it would self-tap the metal slightly. A liberal helping of blue locktite and a bolt long enough to pass through the retainer threading and into the wall of the bed. I am confident it will hold fine in conjunction with the other bolts in place for the rack (6 in total).

It ain't pretty, but it works. I plan to get some bed liner and press it on using a small sponge brush to prevent against rust as well as semi-blend with the rest of the bed.

Next up I finally tossed some of my move-over interior stuff in. Nothing complicated. Rigid molle headrest panels with a couple of GMRS radios and a trauma kit and first aid kit.

I decided to completely revamp my plans for the over the cab floating rack. I trimmed it back and now I am going to source roof rack mounting feet (prinsu, sherpa, etc etc) and then build my own roof rack with extruded aluminum with a matching height of my rear rack platform. I'll leave a small gap to account for flexing between the bed and cab, but the idea is at a distance it will appear as one uniform monolithic 10 foot contraption. Also with this design, I ditched the 2" riser brackets I had between the rack and top platform and dropped everything down right together to lower the center of gravity a bit.

An example of a similar idea;

And I got my ARB awning installed. The gray pvc bag is driving my OCD nuts with the tan/black combo of the truck, so I have a universal style black awning bag coming in Tuesday.

Lastly I ordered some vinyl. This will be for the mirror caps, some DIY door sill protection, and a few other misc things. However color is a bit too light for my liking. Sending it back while I source a darker version.

 

[ppfd]

Jack,
Are there provisions to mount fog or driving lights on the front (grill)?
Can you dive into the containers/storage on the bed?
Pretty interesting set up.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Jack,
Are there provisions to mount fog or driving lights on the front (grill)?
Can you dive into the containers/storage on the bed?
Pretty interesting set up.

I have not looked into mounting points on the front end yet, but I am sure there are ways.

The storage containers are double walled PLANO heavy duty ammo crates. I added cabinet gas struts to keep them propped open and also added camlocks with weather caps. All stuff that you can get via Amazon. All 8 as seen ran me about $300 total if I recall, price might be a little higher now as I set these up something like 3 years ago, so economy and all that.

The two side latches on the ammo crates can be popped off and reinstalled upside down so they release at the top near the lid instead of lower down on the sides.

 

[OFC Ranger]

So I rolled the dice and possibly expensive mistake but I think it will work out like I imagine.

I took measurements of my roof and check measurements of a product and took measurements of my patience (lol) and the conclusion was I ordered a 4x4 victory roof rack technically made for a gen2 Colorado because I believe I will be able to install it no problem.

We are so short staffed at my agency right now that it's really killing a lot of my free time so against my usual policy I purchased something pre-made for the roof rack.

We'll see how it works out.

 

[Ronbo]

-cut- “We are so short staffed at my agency right now that it's really killing a lot of my free time” -cut-

Interpretation: “I’m making a boat-load of overtime”.

Been there.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Interpretation: “I’m making a boat-load of overtime”.

Been there.

Yeah but sometimes the juice ain't worth the squeeze. Money is cool and all but when you rotate between a long and short week and for a month straight you're basically working nothing but long weeks you're like screw my work screw the money screw my life. ?

 

[Ronbo]

Yeah but sometimes the juice ain't worth the squeeze. Money is cool and all but when you rotate between a long and short week and for a month straight you're basically working nothing but long weeks you're like screw my work screw the money screw my life. ?

Indeed. Thankfully, I didn’t lose my marriage over it, and now at retirement, I’m seeing the financial benefits. All pay for us, overtime, extra duty, court, etc, counted towards earnings for retirement calculations. I’m making more now retired than a top-tier active duty sergeant at my job. I did miss out on a lot of family time however. So that was a big loss. So, yeah, as you say, “sometimes the juice ain’t worth the squeeze”. Very true.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Indeed. Thankfully, I didn’t lose my marriage over it, and now at retirement, I’m seeing the financial benefits. All pay for us, overtime, extra duty, court, etc, counted towards earnings for retirement calculations. I’m making more now retired than a top-tier active duty sergeant at my job. I did miss out on a lot of family time however. So that was a big loss. So, yeah, as you say, “sometimes the juice ain’t worth the squeeze”. Very true.

But hey I could afford to buy a new patrol cap.

LMAO I need to trim my shit before next rotation.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Interesting little factoid, as of September 20th, 2023 there are 576 ZR'2 built and in circulation nationwide. This includes yet to be sold units at dealerships (or in transit) as well as in customer garages. These units began coming off the assembly line in mid-May of 2023. That is only a little less than 100 units a month.

The UAW strike will have an impact on moving forward obviously. I also suspect with 2024 models about to roll out, existing 2023 orders for ZR2, yet to be built, are going to be canceled or carried over.

I really feel for those who have confirmed Job 1 Ranger Raptors, who are now already months behind original timelines. Job 1 is 3,000 units, so if the industry is somewhat similar, those guys have a stomach churning wait.

It really sets in how lucky I was to stumble across the ZR2 how I did and when I did. To imagine I only waited a few weeks from inquiry to ownership is something to be very thankful for considering conditions then and now.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Well shit, I thought the new colorado's were a 6x120 pattern bolt.

I just realized this year they updated so same bolt pattern as Ranger.

This means I can go with my beloved RTR wheels again!

 

[Dr. Zaius]

That's great to hear!

Now the Ranger, Colorado, and the Tacoma all have the same lug pattern.

Hmmm... ?

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