What do you regret buying for your Ranger?

[Obijack]

Not everything is for everyone, but every vehicle has it's place and purpose.

That’s deep....?

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[DukeCanBuildit]

I'll say that the manual transmission made it more fun (I'm not sure if it's still offered or not). It was still low on power compared to the hot rods everyone puts out today, I'll give everyone that (but then again I think so many things are way overpowered these days). But the manual made mine into a perfectly adequate and fun poor mans rally car, which is essentially what a small Subaru is for. Bouncing and drifting through the forest on dirt roads between 30-60mph. It was wonderful at that. So I was happy with mine and it was the perfect car for me when I was a single adventurer. Not everything is for everyone, but every vehicle has it's place and purpose.

Nothing drives like a stick! Hmmm, maybe the OP's real issue was that there was no manual transmission option for the Ranger.

 

[geophb]

I regret buyin premium that one time. Runs good enough on regular and im a cheapo

 

[Gizmokid2005]

I definitely would've gotten a manual in the Ranger if they'd offered it. Or at least I would've at the time. But now that I know how nice and smooth the 10spd is, I'm not sure I'd make that same choice. Lately though I've been mentally wrestling between the fun of a manual or the efficiency of a hybrid for my next vehicle. If I'm given the choice between them of course, which isn't likely.

This. I grew up on autos, 4-speed auto in the 89 Dakota, 5-speed auto in the 99 Ranger, 4-speed (maybe 5, don't remember) auto in the 04 F-150, then the 6-speed manual in the Mustang followed by the 10-speed auto in the Ranger now.

The manual is super fun to throw gears between and it made that car an absolute blast to drive, especially through curvy roads, but it sucked in traffic, and ultimately you can't hold boost through a gear change like you can in the auto so it'll never be as fast. I've continually been impressed by the new 10-speeds we have and given the choice in another mustang I would be extremely hard pressed to pass on the automatic.

 

[gttafoya]

When I bought my Ranger, I had studied it for months. I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew when I bought it that it was a SuperCrew. I knew the bed was 5ft. I knew how much it would haul and how much it would tow. I knew the type of engine. I knew the expected gas mileage. I knew what it had or didn’t have. I also went on test drives. There were no surprises because I ordered it exactly how I wanted it. I would not buy a vehicle that I was uninformed about.
As far as regrets, sometimes, when I see @the1mrb’s Ranger, I wish I had gotten a bed cap instead of tonneau cover. But I do love the tonneau cover and it works better for what I need.

My first ranger, it was a Impulse purchase. I knew nothing other than it looked like fun.
In 1993 I was passing a Ford dealer in ABQ, there was a 1993 Dark Plum 4x4 Ranger on a rack. I pulled into the lot to check it out, looked around for a few minutes when some guy smoking a cigarette asked if I found anything I liked. I told him no, there was either too much stuff or not enough stuff on all the trucks on the lot. He said told me to come to his office. We sat down, he told me that I will pay only 2% over cost on anything I chose. I looked through every option and picked every item I wanted and ordered the truck. we made a deal and got a delivery date ~2 months out.
I was about a week from picking up the truck when I realized I have never sat in a ranger much less drive one. So my brother and I went to the other Ford dealer and test drove a truck for a couple of hours, but before even getting off the lot, I knew that I wasn't going to regret it.

For the 2019 Ranger, I too obsessed on everything written about it. I knew what I wanted except for the SCrew and SCab. I wanted the 4 doors but also the 6' bed. The Same Day I decided not to get the Ranger and keep the F150, Some guy ran a stop sign and totaled the truck. So I had to start thinking about which Ranger to get again.
The plan was to test drive every mid size truck just to make sure this is what I wanted. We never made it to the Chevy or Jeep dealers.

 

[Kemo Sabe]

The Tasca sill protectors. I put them on with Gorilla tape and they have vanished. The tape is still there.

I regret buying the Ford sill, “chrome” covers. Cheap looking. Small. Rear ones are too small to accomplish their purpose. Rear seat too small anyway.
Not buying any more “goodies”!

 

[Tracy Bowman]

You mean pictures like like this...

...or this...

...or this...

...or this...

...or this...

hahahaha, though I'm sure it doesn't hurt that we usually visit some pretty spectacular places.
In fact, I initially didn't think a topper would look good on the Ranger, especially with the Saber. I thought it'd be too much. But then I saw @uthunter's and that got me thinking. And once we needed the more space, then it was off to the races. haha

I'm with you @Tracy Bowman, from the moment I heard confirmation that the Ranger was coming back to the US I read every article and learned every fact and statistic and feature there was for years until it finally came out. Then when I walked into the dealer all I had to do was test drive it to make sure that was fine. That way you're not swayed by the vastly uninformed salesperson and come away confused and frustrated with your purchase. With something as expensive as a vehicle, I'm always surprised to hear that people still go into it not knowing absolutely everything they can.

Yes,pictures just like that! Beautiful Ranger (& scenery )!

 

[rang19ca]

I guess that I will add my experience here. I have 0 regrets about the Ranger or anything that I have purchased for it. I originally ordered one but found mine on another dealer's lot and bought it. After adding another $3000.00+ in addons, I am very happy with the truck and I have had no issues with it.

 

[Motorpsychology]

That's interesting, I'm almost the opposite way. I'm all about data and hard facts, as opposed to people's opinions and experiences. Opinions and experiences are usually unique, dependent on so many variables, and sometimes not repeatable. Not really a scientific process and very rarely something that will affect me in any way. So really, the only reason I'm on here is to share, look at cool pictures, find interesting accessories, and try to stem the tide of misinformation (that one is really hard). haha

As far as the Escape goes. My wife and I love her new 2020 Escape Hybrid and have had no issues whatsoever.

Well that makes at least two good Escapes on the road, yours and mine! I can, and do, get the majority of the empirical data elsewhere but many of the posts regarding various problems here and on the Escape forum are documented independently. Both left brain and right brain info are good to have.
Left brain says hauling my V-Srom to another time zone on a trailer is a logistical drawback. A SuperCab Ranger has a 72.8" bed and a 20.8" tailgate which means the 89.8" 'Strom will fit totally within the confines of the bed and lowered tailgate.
Right brain says get the blue one or the dark grey, the bike oughta fit with the ramps, and I can shoot by my brother-in-law's Colorado fast enough to suck the Bowtie off his grille!

 

[Frog9z]

Well that makes at least two good Escapes on the road, yours and mine! I can, and do, get the majority of the empirical data elsewhere but many of the posts regarding various problems here and on the Escape forum are documented independently. Both left brain and right brain info are good to have.
Left brain says hauling my V-Srom to another time zone on a trailer is a logistical drawback. A SuperCab Ranger has a 72.8" bed and a 20.8" tailgate which means the 89.8" 'Strom will fit totally within the confines of the bed and lowered tailgate.
Right brain says get the blue one or the dark grey, the bike oughta fit with the ramps, and I can shoot by my brother-in-law's Colorado fast enough to suck the Bowtie off his grille!

I should have known there was an Escape forum out there. Another Escape owner here. My wife drives a 2017 Titanium with no problems. Her only dislike id the slanted profile look. I don't mind it. In a few years looks like a Blazer for her unless the Escape gets a big change.
I wish I would have drove my old truck a few more years with talk of Ranger coming instead of getting a Colorado. We have a full size Chevy HD that has been good but the Colorado was poor choice.

 

[Motorpsychology]

I should have known there was an Escape forum out there. Another Escape owner here. My wife drives a 2017 Titanium with no problems. Her only dislike id the slanted profile look. I don't mind it. In a few years looks like a Blazer for her unless the Escape gets a big change.
I wish I would have drove my old truck a few more years with talk of Ranger coming instead of getting a Colorado. We have a full size Chevy HD that has been good but the Colorado was poor choice.

https://www.fordescape.org

 

[Doctorfong]

....huh.
Well not the answer I was expecting, but i'll bite. Get the arbath (however its spelled) and live life to the fullest my friend.

I win, I have the Ranger and my wife has the Abarth.

 

[NickTheEnforcer]

In almost exactly 40 years of car ownership, I have owned 44 cars, and had an additional couple dozen provided to me by employers. I loved, and despised, something about each of them. I second-guessed the purchase of quite a few (Chevy Vega, Ford Taurus...) and others I would buy again without hesitation (Mazda Miata, VW Westfalia). Cars are like shoes - they have to fit, and they have to “fit in” in a social context, which is a moving target. Everybody thinks their choice is the best, and it may be for them, and only them, but that doesn’t hold back the torrent of unsolicited and unqualified advice. One of my favorite neighbors has a Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, and a pure electric Nissan Leaf. He can’t understand why I bought a new gas vehicle instead of electric, and will babble on for an hour about why it’s the best thing to buy. My son buys upwards of 100 cars (wholesale) every month. I ask him, and ignore the anecdotal, self-reinforcing advice from the “experts.”

Its kinda like everyone you talk to that bought the exact same vehicle always got a 'better' deal than you did...Not once did I ever talk to someone who said, 'yeah I paid more'..
100% electric folks are IMO lugnuts, they dont realize we burn a lot more coal to make the electricity than a comparable gas vehicle, you can find articles and youtube to support both sides. We got my wife a '20 Escape Hybrid that gets 40 mpg when her '16 Escape with a puny 1.5 got 22 mpg. she drives a LOT to work, etc. We went from $250-ish a month in gas to about $125 +/-

 

[DHH]

Someone I used to see around town some years ago had a DIY solution for tarping loads. They clamped a length of angle iron along each bed rail as if it was the bottom rail of a bed topper/cap using j-bolts (or c-clamps, I don't remember which). Then they drilled holes on the upright section at each end & the middle for tie downs. The same concept could be made to look much nicer.

It could even attach like tonneau rails, have sliding attachment points and cost $900 from Yakima if they'd make such a thing.

(looks at Yakima site)

Heck, there should just be clamp-on tie-downs. Sorta like the end brackets for a Yakima (or other) bed rack but with a loop. Something like this but with a tie-down loop that fits on each bracket instead of a crossbar connecting two brackets.
Yakima Truck Bed Rail

Nissan has the best system. Adjustable tracks up near the top of the bed, as well as on the floor.
These are similar to the Nissan system and I have been thinking about getting a set: https://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/collections/versatie-track-kits

 

[Deleted member 8247]

My biggest regret was buying a VOODOO Fabrication over tonneau cover rack..

After a ton of back and forth with the owner, I was told no mods were needed to run with my tonneau. Shocker, the boxes all were delivered and as soon as I opened the first box I realized the metal was way too thick, and unless I cut my weather seal there was no way it would work.
Emailed the owner who told me I would have to modify my tonneau's weather seal and void the warranty on it, to run his crossbars, despite being told I wouldn't have to.
I never pulled the clamps out of the box since I measured with my calipers to see the size.. after this, I just taped the box back up and told them I needed to return these since they wouldn't work. Despite VOODOO saying I would not need to modify my tonneau, they wanted to charge 20% restocking and said if any damage were noted then they would charge the difference.
I sent everything back exactly how It arrived and was told pieces were damaged in both boxes when VOODOO opened them (though I never opened box 2/2), so they were charging me for the damaged "scrap metal", per their words.
When asking for proof they wouldn't provide any images and said if I went to my CC company and disputed this or filed a shipping claim, that they would fight it.

Total rip off and scam. That's why their BBB rating is a solid F.
If you do plan on getting crossbars, just buy a retrax. I ended up getting the RetraxOne XR, and I love it. No BS install (tighten 6 bolts and tighten 4 clamps). Done.

So if any of you guys or ladies plan on doing a crossbar system for your ranger, stay far, far away from VOODOO unless you like to void your tonneau warranty and want to have "scrap metal" hanging off your truck...

live and learn. garbage product, garbage company, and garbage owner.

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