The most straightforward way to lower it would be an axle flip— stick axles usually go above the leaf pack, and moving them below (like the stock ranger) is an easy way to lift them. Would probably require a little fab work (u-bolts, shock mounts) and possibly a driveshaft balance.
What kind of WDH do you have?#1 I agree with
#2 doesn't really bother me, but I do agree that it should be the other way
#3 To each his own on this one. I prefer the tow mode not come on. More often than not I tow short distances and don't want the tow mode on. I only want it on when I do a mountain trip.
#4 I completely agree
#5 Have to disagree with you on this. I absolutely do NOT want tow mirrors to come with the tow package. That being said, Ford should have tow mirrors available as an option
#6 Yes it is small. Embarrassing. It hurts my manhood
#7 THAT would be an awesome feature. Didn't even know any vehicle had that.
I completely disagree with those that think you are expecting too much from a mid-sized truck and fully disagree with the poster that said these are "lifestyle trucks". Really? I only bought mine because I was tired of driving a full size truck. It is and will be a full out work truck. Yes...I am very disappointed there are no stake pockets, so I can haul more junk with it. What's wrong with wanting "truck" capabilities, but in a smaller size? These are full blown work trucks in all markets except North America.
The original poster may have been a bit over zealous in his critique (sorry BowWow), but he didn't complain about anything that couldn't or shouldn't be on or available with a mid-size truck.
BTW BowWow, it's good to know the truck handled 7k through the BC/AB mountains. I haven't had to test mine yet, but was concerned with how it would do hauling my 6k boat from Vancouver to the Okanangan.
FYI, I installed a set of airbags just so I won't get the headlight flash when towing.
Let me know how the Eibachs work for you. I do find the Ranger wallows/bounces a bit to much with a load.
I don't use one. Never have. I don't weight the tongue of my trailer as heavy as the 10~15% that is "recommended", so a WDH isn't needed. I do about 5~7% and have never had an issue with trailer sway.
I'm disappointed that the Ranger doesn't have self-levelling headlights tbh. My last 3 vehicles had that and they were KIA's and Hyundai's. One was just a car, and the others were crossovers. You would think a truck would have more need than a car or crossover...
That would be a nice option, but likely pricey. Since my Ranger is mostly used for towing in the summer and is rarely driven after dark, what I've settled for is adjusting the lights for the trailer at the beginning of tow season and then setting them back for the winter when it gets more after-dark time on the road.
Need to update my response on this one. Still haven't towed, but have been using tow mode quite a bit (for the compression braking) coming back from skiing.
Doesn't really matter to me whether it comes on automatically or not, BUT it should remember your last setting. Having it reset to "off" when turning the truck off could be irritating when you're getting less than 200mi between fill ups and you have to stop every 40 miles for the wife or one of the kids to go pee.
HI Kris,
It is my understanding that these Rangers come with a factory transmission cooler. It's not the same as we'd expect as a front radiator, but it does exist.
Good evening Phil:
Good evening Gizmokid2005:
I agree entirely. There is a way to do this with your phone through some apps (at least for Android) that takes over your Sync display, but it's a hacky option at best. So far I've never gotten anywhere near putting my transmission temperatures in danger despite towing and hard offroading in 100F+ heat.
Gizmokid2005, how much weight would you say you're towing? I'm interested in your experiences with the 100+ degree heat if you are towing around 5000 lbs. I'm used to watching my temp gauges on my previous towing vehicle and miss those a bit when towing with my '20 Ranger.
I don't have *long term* experience with the towing, and the towing temps weren't that high, the off-roading was. The towing I did was 5500lbs through mountains here in CA along the west coast and it didn't even break a sweat. Looking back through my Torque datalogs (which has been a long-standing back-burner project) it appears that my transmission temp PID is not being logged, so I don't have specific numbers to look back at, but I remember in all of my catching the gauges by eye I don't ever recall seeing much past 220°F in severe off-road instances.
