How to complete my build - Advice?

[QuickSilver]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice on how to finish my 2020 ford ranger build?

Use:
daily driver - weekend warrior, I do encounter mid level rock crawling trails. I don’t encounter high speed desert whoops, but like to cruise logging roads with no worries and clear rocks

Current setup:
Suspension - Bilstein 6112 with 5160 remotes in the rear. 2.5 - 3” of lift. I Like the performance and ride quality.

Coastal off-road rock sliders.

Tires, pro comp xtreme mt2 285/70/17. too aggressive for on road comfort during long trips. Great off-road.

wheels: pro comp 69 series vintage, flat black, 17x9 -6 offset, backspacing = 4.75

Needs/ limitations - currently I am hitting the truck bed behind the rear tires.

Wants - eventually a winch, maintain / more clearance, more body protection. Possibly fitting 34” tires, I don’t mind trimming a bit

Thoughts:
Arb front and back bumpers, concern is weight with current suspension.

What would you recommend to help complete my build? I need to either protect or clear the rear of the truck over obstacles and would like to add a winch, maybe make it easier to squeeze 34” tires, thinking upper control arms and front bumper with clearance.

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[QuickSilver]

…. Also the rear is sitting 1/2” low due to the canopy / weight

 

[Whiplash]

…. Also the rear is sitting 1/2” low due to the canopy / weight

Bang for the buck now, and will set you up for the bumpers in the future....
1) After market UCA's..When running a 2.5
Coilover at a 2.5" -3.0" preset, UCA's will insure you are getting all the travel without binding. Plus improved geometry for alignment reasons...
2) After market Leaf Spring pack...either the Deavers or ICON with the option #2 , extra spring swapped in....will help your exit angle..........I like spending your $$

 

[QuickSilver]

Bang for the buck now, and will set you up for the bumpers in the future....
1) After market UCA's..When running a 2.5
Coilover at a 2.5" -3.0" preset, UCA's will insure you are getting all the travel without binding. Plus improved geometry for alignment reasons...
2) After market Leaf Spring pack...either the Deavers or ICON with the option #2 , extra spring swapped in....will help your exit angle..........I like spending your $$

Any preference on UCA’s?

 

[Whiplash]

Bang for the buck now, and will set you up for the bumpers in the future....
1) After market UCA's..When running a 2.5
Coilover at a 2.5" -3.0" preset, UCA's will insure you are getting all the travel without binding. Plus improved geometry for alignment reasons...
2) After market Leaf Spring pack...either the Deavers or ICON with the option #2 , extra spring swapped in....will help your exit angle..........I like spending your $$

I have the APG Billet UCA's....they were only ones made for Steel spindles at the time I did mine...the ICON tubular are a popular choice at a lower price point...

.

 

[QuickSilver]

Perfect, thank you

 

[Frenchy]

Time to look at either Old Man EMU BP-51's or go with Dobinsons IMS. Why these two? Put simple they are already built for Overlanding/Touring where you can go OffRoad while holding a Load. How much load you ask? Depends on how much you need to handle for what springs to get.

On another note I would definitely look at some different tires. If the tires you have are not doing well for the street and you do spend a fair time there then I suggest getting a good All-Terrain tire like the Firestone Destination XT. This would give you the necessary grip on the street without loosing much OffRoad.

Last but not least I would keep the 33's. If you go with Old Man EMU or Dobinsons you will lift the rear with the Leaf Springs and have way less chance of hitting the bed while OffRoad. With just the basic Old Man EMU Nitrocharger lift I never had that issue while running 285/70-17 Firestone Destination XT's.

Here is the old Ranger(that I still miss a bit) with said lift. If I had more load on it I would change the springs to compensate for said load.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

Check out my build linked in my signature below.

I have basically what you are looking to accomplish. The OME 2.2" medium duty springs help with the weight in the back. I have OME Nitrocharger HD shocks up front and SD shocks in the rear. The OME are good because they have 600 lb springs. I also have 1" strut spacers on the front so that I have a nice, level ride. I have the ARB bumper up front and the Coastal Offroad in the rear. If you have issues hanging up the rear end, the high clearance Coastal is the way to go. I haven't touched it yet and I have done some large drop offs.

 

[QuickSilver]

Time to look at either Old Man EMU BP-51's or go with Dobinsons IMS. Why these two? Put simple they are already built for Overlanding/Touring where you can go OffRoad while holding a Load. How much load you ask? Depends on how much you need to handle for what springs to get.

On another note I would definitely look at some different tires. If the tires you have are not doing well for the street and you do spend a fair time there then I suggest getting a good All-Terrain tire like the Firestone Destination XT. This would give you the necessary grip on the street without loosing much OffRoad.

Last but not least I would keep the 33's. If you go with Old Man EMU or Dobinsons you will lift the rear with the Leaf Springs and have way less chance of hitting the bed while OffRoad. With just the basic Old Man EMU Nitrocharger lift I never had that issue while running 285/70-17 Firestone Destination XT's.

Here is the old Ranger(that I still miss a bit) with said lift. If I had more load on it I would change the springs to compensate for said load.

Thank you, yes I think moving to AT instead of MT will better suit my actual use of the truck.

my only concern with OME BP51 is that I will loose a bit of height in the front. Right now I am sitting at about 2.5 - 3” of lift, measuring 38” ground to wheel well 38” mid tire to wheel well is 22 3/4”.

 

[Frenchy]

Thank you, yes I think moving to AT instead of MT will better suit my actual use of the truck.

my only concern with OME BP51 is that I will loose a bit of height in the front. Right now I am sitting at about 2.5 - 3” of lift, measuring 38” ground to wheel well 38” mid tire to wheel well is 22 3/4”.

I can promise that the BP-51'S and Nitrocharger Suspension will give you about 2.4 up front from Stock.

Dobinsons will put you right around 2.5-3 depending on springs and load for the front.

 

[QuickSilver]

Check out my build linked in my signature below.

I have basically what you are looking to accomplish. The OME 2.2" medium duty springs help with the weight in the back. I have OME Nitrocharger HD shocks up front and SD shocks in the rear. The OME are good because they have 600 lb springs. I also have 1" strut spacers on the front so that I have a nice, level ride. I have the ARB bumper up front and the Coastal Offroad in the rear. If you have issues hanging up the rear end, the high clearance Coastal is the way to go. I haven't touched it yet and I have done some large drop offs.

Cool truck. Yes I am thinking of coastal Offroad’s rear bumper, how do you like it? They are local for me so would be pretty straightforward. It seems like you had icon leafs and switched to OME? If so, How come? Why did you go with the ARB front bumper and not the coastal off-road front bumper? was there any loss in approach angle because the arb sticks out a bit?

 

[Frenchy]

I can't speak too much on differences with the bumpers but here is my input.

For ARB I know they have the Engineering aspect down for safety as they spend quite a bit compared to most companies. Also when you get down to the looks you can't argue that the ARB Summit Bumper looks good!!

For the rear I know I considered the ARB but I know I never had to worry about the bed contacting any rocks or anything while OffRoad. That probably came down to the height of the truck after the lift(brought 1.6 over stock with just springs)

As for differences between Icon and Old Man EMU leafs(along with Dobinsons Leafs too) I can tell you that the Icon Leafs will hold less than both the Old Man EMU and Dobinsons Basic Leafs. With the basic leafs from Old Man EMU (with the Old Man EMU lift) 780 LBS will level the truck. The medium leafs can take a constant 660 LBS at lift height of 1.6 inches over stock and an additional 780 until you are level. The Dobinsons Basic Leafs are a lift height of 1.4 inches with a constant load of up to 100KG(About 220LBS) and the medium leafs having a lift height of 1.6 inches with a constant load of 280KG(about 620 LBS). Icon will take up to 600 LBS fully loaded in the max load configuration(assuming the front is lifted at 2.5-3 inches about).

Hopefully that helps explain a bit

 

[QuickSilver]

I can't speak too much on differences with the bumpers but here is my input.

For ARB I know they have the Engineering aspect down for safety as they spend quite a bit compared to most companies. Also when you get down to the looks you can't argue that the ARB Summit Bumper looks good!!

For the rear I know I considered the ARB but I know I never had to worry about the bed contacting any rocks or anything while OffRoad. That probably came down to the height of the truck after the lift(brought 1.6 over stock with just springs)

As for differences between Icon and Old Man EMU leafs(along with Dobinsons Leafs too) I can tell you that the Icon Leafs will hold less than both the Old Man EMU and Dobinsons Basic Leafs. With the basic leafs from Old Man EMU (with the Old Man EMU lift) 780 LBS will level the truck. The medium leafs can take a constant 660 LBS at lift height of 1.6 inches over stock and an additional 780 until you are level. The Dobinsons Basic Leafs are a lift height of 1.4 inches with a constant load of up to 100KG(About 220LBS) and the medium leafs having a lift height of 1.6 inches with a constant load of 280KG(about 620 LBS). Icon will take up to 600 LBS fully loaded in the max load configuration(assuming the front is lifted at 2.5-3 inches about).

Hopefully that helps explain a bit

Great information. with the OME medium duty did your truck have a bit of a rake then?

 

[Frenchy]

Great information. with the OME medium duty did your truck have a bit of a rake then?

The picture you see above is with the Basic leaf springs. If I recall the overall Rake was about 2 inches. I never had the Medium Duty Leafs.

That said I personally am liking the Dobinsons Shocks and Springs(leafs included) over the Old Man EMU. When comparing the Nitrocharger (ARB) to the GS Twin Tubes(Dobinsons) I found the Old Man EMU to be under Dampened. After speaking with @Wes Siler I was informed the Dobinsons sits in-between the Nitrocharger and the BP-51. Perhaps he can give better advice between the two

 

[Whiplash]

Thank you, yes I think moving to AT instead of MT will better suit my actual use of the truck.

my only concern with OME BP51 is that I will loose a bit of height in the front. Right now I am sitting at about 2.5 - 3” of lift, measuring 38” ground to wheel well 38” mid tire to wheel well is 22 3/4”.

No need to change out your current coilovers. The 6112 Bilstein have 600 lb
spings and will support the weight of most
bumper and winch combos....The 5160 are a firm digressive shock , that will work best with a softer progressive spring pack.
The swap in of the ICON extra leaf is good for up to 700 lbs constant weight. You will not lose load capacity but the added lift of the spring ,(1.5") will compress the first 1"
earlier in the cycle....the OME leaf pack with the digressive shocks will be a little rougher on the street...
.

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