Silly and/or useful hacks

[Ron Heritage]

So far I love my Ranger! And this forum is helping me discover many things about it. It is likely going to drain my bank account with all the mods I have planned. Let's get into some clever hacks, silly or useful, cheap or not so cheap, that you have used or done to your Ranger to make life easier.

The Ranger is slightly longer than I anticipated. With the overhead door closed I can barely open the man door to leave my garage. We all know the trick to hang a tennis ball from a string so you can drive into your garage and stop in the perfect spot. Well now with reverse cams we can take that one step further. I painted a small docking station on my garage floor. Now I park in the exact spot I want every time.

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[Pirategrad]

So far I love my Ranger! And this forum is helping me discover many things about it. It is likely going to drain my bank account with all the mods I have planned. Let's get into some clever hacks, silly or useful, cheap or not so cheap, that you have used or done to your Ranger to make life easier.

The Ranger is slightly longer than I anticipated. With the overhead door closed I can barely open the man door to leave my garage. We all know the trick to hang a tennis ball from a string so you can drive into your garage and stop in the perfect spot. Well now with reverse cams we can take that one step further. I painted a small docking station on my garage floor. Now I park in the exact spot I want every time.

Ingenious idea!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hi Folks,

I use dual laser parking aids...much better than tennis balls

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Ron Heritage]

Hi Folks,

I use dual laser parking aids...much better than tennis balls

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Oh that's really clever! Does it tie into the garage door opener? Or its own motion sensor maybe? I like that. Though I'd have to watch out the neighbors cat doesnt chase the laser up onto my dash......here kitty kitty!

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Oh that's really clever! Does it tie into the garage door opener? Or its own motion sensor maybe? I like that. Though I'd have to watch out the neighbors cat doesnt chase the laser up onto my dash......here kitty kitty!

Hi Ron,

It has its own motion detector. The laser positions the vehicle fore/Aft and side to side...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Texasota]

Hi Folks,

I use dual laser parking aids...much better than tennis balls

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

That looks like a fantastic solution. Can you tell us what make/model your laser parking aid is?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

That looks like a fantastic solution. Can you tell us what make/model your laser parking aid is?

Hi Al,

Here is the website, but looks like they are out of stock. I installed them when we finished building the house and that was 14 years ago!

https://www.smarthome.com/maxsa-37312-dual-laser-guided-parking-system.html

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[svache]

Another alternative for the tennis ball could be this here: https://www.amazon.com/Striker-Adjustable-Garage-Parking-Sensor/adp/B00W9EBF0Y/ The benefit imho is that you just set a distance, and then it doesn't matter who or what car parks, as it will show the correct color for a certain distance. With the other solutions (ball, laser, etc) you first need to check where the laser ends or where the ball has to hang.

 

[FULLSCALE]

So far I love my Ranger! And this forum is helping me discover many things about it. It is likely going to drain my bank account with all the mods I have planned. Let's get into some clever hacks, silly or useful, cheap or not so cheap, that you have used or done to your Ranger to make life easier.

The Ranger is slightly longer than I anticipated. With the overhead door closed I can barely open the man door to leave my garage. We all know the trick to hang a tennis ball from a string so you can drive into your garage and stop in the perfect spot. Well now with reverse cams we can take that one step further. I painted a small docking station on my garage floor. Now I park in the exact spot I want every time.

That’s a great idea. So great that there will be one it my garage soon!

 

[Rinn69]

I took a 2x4, drilled a couple of shallow holes (2-3") in my garage floor, ran a couple of bolts through the 2x4, and placed it on/in the floor. I placed it so I have about 6" from the rear bumper to the garage door, giving me max space in front of the truck. If I ever need to remove it for any reason, I just pick it up and set it to the side and replace it when I'm done. And I can fill the holes with some hydraulic cement if I need to re-position it or fill the holes permanently.

 

[DIYAndy]

Stop with the Gee Whiz gadgets and do it the Ohio Hillbilly way and save money for beer.
#1. Put your trash can(s) in front/back so just pulling/backing up to it will tell you to stop.
#2. Tie a red flag around a top of a shovel, on the side wall, and when you can see it on the side just stop.
#3. Get some duck tape/sharpie and make a target, on the side wall, and when you can see it on the side just stop.
Warning - Do not allow your wife or kids to move the shovel or trash cans or you better call the drywall man.
IMHO - In my Hillbilly opinion

 

[Spiritfish]

It seems as if the concept of "spacial awareness" has been overlooked?

 

[UncleBob]

So far I love my Ranger! And this forum is helping me discover many things about it. It is likely going to drain my bank account with all the mods I have planned. Let's get into some clever hacks, silly or useful, cheap or not so cheap, that you have used or done to your Ranger to make life easier.

The Ranger is slightly longer than I anticipated. With the overhead door closed I can barely open the man door to leave my garage. We all know the trick to hang a tennis ball from a string so you can drive into your garage and stop in the perfect spot. Well now with reverse cams we can take that one step further. I painted a small docking station on my garage floor. Now I park in the exact spot I want every time.

Nice idea for the 'docking spot'. If I backed my truck in, I would consider following your lead.

 

[Ron Heritage]

Turns out you can completely unassemble the Ford logos on grill and tailgate. I wanted to paint mine black and white.

Side by side comparison, I love how it looks vs. stock Ford nameplate.

 

[Ron Heritage]

This was where I got the idea.

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