Ranger is my first truck. Have some questions about it..

RobmJ

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Hey everyone and hope y'all are safe.

I bought a 2019 Ranger XLT SuperCrew earlier this year and its my first truck. I don't know how much of what I am experiencing is normal truck behavior or what but I thought id ask some experienced Ranger and truck owners.

1. Is the rear end suppose to be lifted that much higher than the front? I imagine its like that for heavy loads but I haven't seen any other truck brands with such a lifted ass. Does that bother anyone else?

2. The ride is super bouncy over bumps.. Is this is normal truck characteristic?

3. I hear random clanks when shifting from Drive to Reverse or Park. Its not consistent so should I be concerned?

4. The braking... I have to push through a little bit to get it to engage.

Thanks guys
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thewhiteranger

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first Welcome!!!!! you picked a great truck....... I just bought mine in march after a lot of looking at the competition and coming from an F150 agree with the above -- this is a great forum with a lot of great information and you can literally spend HOURS scrolling through finding out a whole lot and just killing covid isolation / stay at home time - ask me how I know........

in general: trucks are much more firm riding than cars, the back end is generally higher when empty --- engine is in the front no weight in back..... they drive a lot different than most cars which are front wheel drive..... brakes? mine work well I have not noticed any issues if youre concerned take it in during the 3/36 and Ive never noticed any noise when shifting from D to R as long as I come to a complete stop but I generally have windows up and radio on..... I am a truck person -- I don't mind the firm / bouncy ride but the wife hates it truck person vs car person ;-) enjoy your reading
 

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1) The rake is so when you load up the rearend, the truck rides level. Otherwise if it started level, then with any load the headlights would point into space. Some people don't like it. You can get a leveling kit which lifts the front end. But keep in mind that if you do that and load up the bed, you'll run into the problem I noted earlier.

2) Trucks have rougher rides than most other vehicles. The suspension has to be stiff enough to support max load and still work properly.

3) Mine doesn't make any noise that I've noticed. Might be able to find others with an answer on this by searching this forum. Pretty much any issue that has ever come up on these trucks has been hashed out on here already. There's a lot of resources here.

4) The brake pedal is a little soft, but that's normal for these Rangers. The brakes still work perfect, just have to push the pedal a bit further to get there that's all.

Enjoy your truck and this forum! Again, pretty much anything you want to know about these trucks is on here somewhere.
 

thewhiteranger

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Check your tire pressure they come over inflatable from the factory.
yes they do -- heard about it from this forum while I was still shopping (stalking forums for ideas and issues to look for) and you are right - every one was way over and it made a HUGE difference in ride quality. wonder how may people drive the trucks without thinking about it and don't buy because they think the ride sucks? wish they'd have put the TP monitor in an easier to find place on the info center -- put it under truck information!
 


P. A. Schilke

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Hey everyone and hope y'all are safe.

I bought a 2019 Ranger XLT SuperCrew earlier this year and its my first truck. I don't know how much of what I am experiencing is normal truck behavior or what but I thought id ask some experienced Ranger and truck owners.

1. Is the rear end suppose to be lifted that much higher than the front? I imagine its like that for heavy loads but I haven't seen any other truck brands with such a lifted ass. Does that bother anyone else?

2. The ride is super bouncy over bumps.. Is this is normal truck characteristic?

3. I hear random clanks when shifting from Drive to Reverse or Park. Its not consistent so should I be concerned?

4. The braking... I have to push through a little bit to get it to engage.

Thanks guys
Hi Rob,

Owning a Truck for the first time can and does surprise folks as their comparative experience is with cars. That said, the Manufacturer has to have a vehicle capable of being loaded to GVW (and sometimes beyond). Example is people can fill the pickup box with lead balls or Styrofoam balls. One is woefully overloaded while the other is barely loaded. This means that ride quality unladen is not any near as supple as a car. Put a load in the back and the ride improves in most cases. First thing is to ensure the cold tire pressures are per the door label. So many dealers forget to set the tire pressures as part of their required predelivery. From the factory the tires are always way over inflated as this is the pressure to seat the tire bead on the rim. So check your pressures and then reevaluate the ride quality. The Ranger is not the only Ford truck of the past that had the rear end quite high, but for what ever reason the Aussies needed the wheel travel...likely because of the soft leaf springs IMO. Not being part of the program, I have no inside info from which to speak...

There is ton of good information here on these threads and as you search and read, you will be come more familiar with the Ranger.

As for the Driveline clank, this is not normal and needs to be evaluated by the dealer. Brakes are a bit nonlinear, but are quite robust. I advise folks to bed in your brakes. You can use the search function for the bedding in process....

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

Glocker

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Hi! I hope you're enjoying your truck despite your observations.

I found that my brakes feel softer than I'm used to, but I also own a 2014 Mustang GT with Brembo brakes on it and daily drive a 2014 Dodge Charger police car. The brakes are much more responsive on those things compared to the Ranger! LOL

As for being ass high, as others have noted it's about how the rear is built to support a load. I can't wait to get mine level! I'm 6'3" and I look like an idiot trying to climb into this thing.

And I really like the ride of my truck. Because it's truck-ish! Actually it reminds me of an early 90's Lincoln mixed with a truck. :)

Enjoy!
 

JHRODD

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1. Is the rear end suppose to be lifted that much higher than the front? I imagine its like that for heavy loads but I haven't seen any other truck brands with such a lifted ass. Does that bother anyone else?

My Fuso cabover rode pretty high in the back. I took 2" out of the spring pack and it leveled out nicely.
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pbethel

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