My '21 Lariat FX4 Off-Road/Overland Camping Build

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Current mod list (as of July 2023):

• Ranch Sierra Fiberglass topper
• 275/70/18 Falken Wildpeak AT3W
• 18 Inch Black Appearance Package wheels
• 1.5 inch Faction Fab wheel spacers
• Icon Delta Joint UCA's
• OME Nitrocharger heavy duty struts
• OME Medium duty leafs with additional leaf
• OME Nitrocharger Rear Shocks
• Midland GMRS Radio
• Raptor Style Grille & Lights
• Custom wood storage system
• Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform
• ARB Summit Bumper
• Badland Apex 12k winch with synthetic rope
• Auxbeam auxiliary switch panel
• Auxbeam 2x 9 inch spotlights
• Auxbeam 2x 4 inch ditch lights
• Auxbeam 2x 3 inch fog lights
• Xprite 36 inch chase light bar

Retired/No longer in-use mods:

• Fox 2.0 Coil Overs and Shocks
• Ranger Tremor Leafs
• 265/65/18 KO2's (upgraded to 35's)
• 35x12.5R17 Ridge Grapplers (too big, went down to 33's)

I feel like I've done enough work on the truck now that this is deserving of a thread, I know my handful of friends I spam pictures to will appreciate some peace and quiet.

I purchased my 2021 Ranger Lariat FX4 with Black Appearance Package from Brandon Ford in Florida at the end of June, right off the bat my intent was to use this truck for camping and off-roading. The background behind this purchase is I was invited to relocate to Denver, CO from the Tampa Bay area and accepted without hesitation. My trade-in was a 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Couple, and while I certainly miss the fun I had with that car, I have fallen in love with the practicality of a truck combined with the fun of off-roading and enjoying the Rocky Mountains.

Having just exited the engine break in period, I loaded my entire life into the back of the truck and a 12ft U-Haul enclosed trailer, and set off for Colorado. I made some interesting stops along the way including the Jack Daniel distillery and Mississippi River.

Now to the actual build:

1. My first mod to the truck was a little less traditional, with the help of @Colo_Ranger we installed a Midland GMRS radio to the truck and wired to the battery.

2. An unplanned "mod" if you consider it as such was the replacement of my stock Hankook Dynapros with BFG KO2's after the Dynapros met a swift demise on the trail leading to Argentine Pass.

3. My third (and still work in progress) mod is a full Fox 2.0 Leveling Kit, yesterday I installed the rear shocks and I am now planning to install the front coil-overs after I get the truck back from body repairs. I'll save you from a picture here since the only one I have is after the install was completed, I was far too frustrated mid install to take any action shots.

4. My fourth (and also still work in progress) mod is to build a fold out sleeping deck in the bed of my truck for storage and overland camping. I have a picture here showing the progress I've made thus far. Next step is to connect plywood to the top of these slats for a flat surface I can insulate and put a foam mattress topper on. I'm designing this sleeping/storage platform to be modular, if I decide to take a longer solo trip, I can take out one half of the sleeping platform for extra bins, provisions, etc. If you want more pictures/details on how I am doing this this, feel free to reach out.

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[Colo_Ranger]

Let me know when you're looking to install the fronts, I can lend that helping hand.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Recently pulled the trigger on some UCA's and a Rhino Rack Pioneer platform. Mounting the pioneer to the camper shell first so I can make sure I like it and there's no glaring issues, if all goes smoothly I will also install a Pioneer with the backbone system to the cab later this year.

Roof rack, UCA's, and leveling kit all going on in the next few weeks.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Managed to track down some plywood that wasn't over the top expensive and built the drawers for my DIY decked system. Used some scrap wood for the faces of the drawers which is why they look crooked, may end up swapping those out eventually but they'll do for now. Back to Home Depot again later this week to find some drawer pulls and a good way to latch these things into place.

Next up is installing the leveling kit, then the Rhino Rack Pioneer system onto the topper whenever it arrives (assuming clearance isn't an issue in my garage)

 

[Colo_Ranger]

How are you securing the system to the bed?

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

How are you securing the system to the bed?

The platform itself is not secured in any way, I went through a couple iterations to wedge it into the front and back corners, then you can see pictured I used a 1x10 (cut down to about 1x8) to press into the contours of the bed. Have taken this off road a couple times without any issues. I plan to secure the drawers to the platform itself using some sort of latch mechanism but have yet to decide.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

January update!

As posted in the "What did you do to your Ranger today?" thread, Fox 2.0 struts and Icon UCA's are finally installed.

This evening, I assembled my Rhino Rack Pioneer system, and I am getting it installed on Friday. I am starting with installing to my topper to see how I like the Rhino Rack, how loud it is, etc. before I pull the trigger on doing the same system for the cab. I can wrap my head around paying a local topper shop to drill into the topper a lot easier than I can drilling into the cab with as many electronics the Ranger has in the roof.

After the roof rack is installed, I'll be taking a break from any major truck modifications and shifting my focus to taking some trips in my bed camping setup to see what I want to do next. I picked up some reflectix for insulating the topper windows, and some LED lights to power off my Jackery.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Two updates in one month!

As a spur of the moment thing, I finally got the Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform installed on my topper. Managed to track down a great deal on a gently used Batwing awning + roof storage box. Took all of this on it's maiden voyage over the weekend doing some winter camping and wheeling around Canon City, CO. Really happy with how the setup worked and didn't experience any significant drop in gas mileage.

 

[KCtremor]

Nice! I like seeing the updates

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Nice! I like seeing the updates

Thank you! I’m having a blast and this truck is really starting to feel like my own

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Neglected to take any pictures, but big thanks to @Colo_Ranger and @Nopalito for the assistance installing Tremor leafs. The ride height is about an inch higher in the back and ride quality is considerably better than the stock monoleaf.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

This weekend, thanks to @Colo_Ranger @Nopalito and others who are not on this forum, we installed the ARB Summit Bull Bar with Badland Apex winch. Was quite the effort with lots of little time consuming quirks, but well worth the time spent.

Still need to take it off and re-drill the supporting bolts so the bumper sits more flush with the fender, install the fog lights, and wire the turn signals. Overall, I'm extremely happy with how it turned out.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Mod list updated once again! My Ranger is officially on 35's. I managed to get a good deal on 2nd hand Ridge Grapplers with about 20k miles on them off a Jeep. My first impressions of the Grapplers is not great, I am guessing they are beyond the peak of their grip and I'll be replacing them soon. I will likely go back into metric size tires somewhere between 34 and 35 inches, thinking KO2's or Wildpeaks next time as we approach winter.

To accommodate the 35's, as well as the increased weight from the winch and ARB summit bumper, I completely overhauled my suspension setup. I am now running full front and rear OME heavy duty nitrocharger struts, shocks, and leafs. These gave me considerably more clearance to fit the 35's comfortably with no rubbing off road.

None of this would be complete without pictures, courtesy of @Colo_Ranger

 

[conwash]

Current mod list (as of September 2022):

• Ranch Sierra Fiberglass topper
• 35x12.5R17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers
• 17 Inch Ranger sport wheels
• 1.5 inch Faction Fab wheel spacers
• Icon Delta Joint UCA's
• OME Nitrocharger heavy duty struts
• OME Medium duty leafs with additional leaf
• OME Nitrocharger Rear Shocks
• Ford Ranger Tremor Leafs
• Midland GMRS Radio
• Raptor Style Grille & Lights
• Custom wood sleeping/storage platform
• Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform
• ARB Summit Bumper
• Badland Apex 12k winch with synthetic rope
• Auxbeam auxiliary switch panel (coming soon)
• Auxbeam 2x 9 inch spotlights (coming soon)
• Auxbeam 2x 4 inch ditch lights (coming soon)

I feel like I've done enough work on the truck now that this is deserving of a thread, I know my handful of friends I spam pictures to will appreciate some peace and quiet.

I purchased my 2021 Ranger Lariat FX4 with Black Appearance Package from Brandon Ford in Florida at the end of June, right off the bat my intent was to use this truck for camping and off-roading. The background behind this purchase is I was invited to relocate to Denver, CO from the Tampa Bay area and accepted without hesitation. My trade-in was a 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Couple, and while I certainly miss the fun I had with that car, I have fallen in love with the practicality of a truck combined with the fun of off-roading and enjoying the Rocky Mountains.

Having just exited the engine break in period, I loaded my entire life into the back of the truck and a 12ft U-Haul enclosed trailer, and set off for Colorado. I made some interesting stops along the way including the Jack Daniel distillery and Mississippi River.

Now to the actual build:

1. My first mod to the truck was a little less traditional, with the help of @Colo_Ranger we installed a Midland GMRS radio to the truck and wired to the battery.

2. An unplanned "mod" if you consider it as such was the replacement of my stock Hankook Dynapros with BFG KO2's after the Dynapros met a swift demise on the trail leading to Argentine Pass.

3. My third (and still work in progress) mod is a full Fox 2.0 Leveling Kit, yesterday I installed the rear shocks and I am now planning to install the front coil-overs after I get the truck back from body repairs. I'll save you from a picture here since the only one I have is after the install was completed, I was far too frustrated mid install to take any action shots.

4. My fourth (and also still work in progress) mod is to build a fold out sleeping deck in the bed of my truck for storage and overland camping. I have a picture here showing the progress I've made thus far. Next step is to connect plywood to the top of these slats for a flat surface I can insulate and put a foam mattress topper on. I'm designing this sleeping/storage platform to be modular, if I decide to take a longer solo trip, I can take out one half of the sleeping platform for extra bins, provisions, etc. If you want more pictures/details on how I am doing this this, feel free to reach out.

Solid build and great inspiration! Out of curiosity, how tall are you if you’re planning to sleep in the bed? I would love to do this with my forthcoming Ranger SCrew but have been wondering how I’d fit lengthwise in the 5 ft bed. Cheers!

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Solid build and great inspiration! Out of curiosity, how tall are you if you’re planning to sleep in the bed? I would love to do this with my forthcoming Ranger SCrew but have been wondering how I’d fit lengthwise in the 5 ft bed. Cheers!

I am 5'11, I used to sleep diagonally but I am testing a topper tent for the ranger that allows you to cover the opening with the tailgate open. The Ranger bed is longer than most other mid size trucks so they have to do a ranger specific one

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