Thinking about purchasing a Ranger

[TunaFresh]

I'm torn between the FX-4 and Tremor. Part of me wants to just go Tremor, but if the Tremor cannibalizes the FX-4, maybe I could get an even better deal on one.

My off-roading will be limited to moderate trails in the Poconos and even Pine Barrens. Nothing extreme. I'm not interested in ruining a new truck.

If I went the FX-4 route, I could always upgrade the shocks to something like Fox and add skid plates where needed. Or just spend the extra and have it done by Ford with the Tremor.

From what I've seen, the FX-4 is on par with the Tacoma TRD Off Road and better than the Chevy Z71. The ZR2 and Tacoma Pro are better than the FX-4. However, I'm pretty sure the FX-4 would do 90% of what either of those could do.

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[Samsquanch]

I'm torn between the FX-4 and Tremor. Part of me wants to just go Tremor, but if the Tremor cannibalizes the FX-4, maybe I could get an even better deal on one.

My off-roading will be limited to moderate trails in the Poconos and even Pine Barrens. Nothing extreme. I'm not interested in ruining a new truck.

If I went the FX-4 route, I could always upgrade the shocks to something like Fox and add skid plates where needed. Or just spend the extra and have it done by Ford with the Tremor.

From what I've seen, the FX-4 is on par with the Tacoma TRD Off Road and better than the Chevy Z71. The ZR2 and Tacoma Pro are better than the FX-4. However, I'm pretty sure the FX-4 would do 90% of what either of those could do.

Another consideration is the price you will actually pay right now for a tremor vs FX4. There are an abundance of FX4 already sitting on the lot right now in just about every configuration you could imagine. I just got my truck for about $6k under MSRP and it was the exact configuration I would have built on a custom order. It honestly didn’t even take long to find it on a local dealer lot.

If you order the tremor as a custom order I would expect you’ll pay MSRP or similar unless you qualify for x-plan. You might get available incentives on the tremor but I don’t know for certain. Happy hunting.

 

[TunaFresh]

Another consideration is the price you will actually pay right now for a tremor vs FX4. There are an abundance of FX4 already sitting on the lot right now in just about every configuration you could imagine. I just got my truck for about $6k under MSRP and it was the exact configuration I would have built on a custom order. It honestly didn’t even take long to find it on a local dealer lot.

If you order the tremor as a custom order I would expect you’ll pay MSRP or similar unless you qualify for x-plan. You might get available incentives on the tremor but I don’t know for certain. Happy hunting.

Good point.

 

[sootie007]

HI John,

I am happy you brought up this question as it has several aspects of which I will address a few.

Okay...a 90 percentile customer runs a mining company, a courtier service in Los Angeles stop and go traffic, servicing oil rigs in an oil field. In other words, beating the crap out of the truck way beyond what you would imagine. We instrument vehicles in these environments for loads, accelerations and stess/strains. From this we calculate cumulative fatigue damage and from this data we refine our durability to mirror 150,000 of the vehicles we see after the users turn them in to us. I suspect you do not beat the shit out of your vehicle every day like these users do. So 90 percentile means there are 10% worse customers that are above to which we strive to meet at 150,000 miles. This is why I am proud when 4G Rangers report 200 to 300, 000 miles in their Rangers before they sell them.

So...lets talk durability testing. This is not one truck that we test. It is program specific but encompasses quite a few vehicles. Each Prototype vehicle built goes through a sign off process.
Notice is sent to each design engineer for each vehicle to sign off their components. This is a pain for the engineers as it disrupts their day and many do not sign off the prototypes except for durability prototypes as a component failure or anomaly results in their devotion to the problem, So NVH vehicle...yeah...yada, yada...the NVH people will sort it out. Durability...not on your life will you get a pass if a problem is identified... So each prototype vehicle gets a Hoist review in the Experimental Garage. There is a documented process that each system is a go for Durability testing...maybe over time 12 to 15 vehicles depending...(numbers change per program) but not just one vehicle. Engineers visit, inspect and more importantly ensure that proper torque is applied to their attachment fasteners. Example is the rear axle suspension engineer. He/she will request a torque check on the build. Then the engineer signs off. So if there is a problem and the durability flags an issue, and there is no sign off recorded from the engineer, he will catch hell from his boss on up the chain. Durability signoffs are not take lightly or blown off for the most part.

Okay, I may have told this before...On the PN96 program, F Series redesign. I was in CAE at the time and alerted to a dash panel cracking around the brake booster. Almost impossible to see, but I recalled the Miserable Mustang II dash cracking on manual trans vehicles, I request a review of all durability vehicles...The test engineer in Arizona protested but in the end they developed a system to inspect the vehicles. Almost 95% of the test vehicles had cracks. So I marched over to the Body Engineering Supervisor...a good guy and delivered the results, which I backed up with CAE analysis. I could have taken arrows in the back but Matt had his act together, and between our CAE input and his direction to his engineers we strengthened the dash panel (I know...you call it a firewall). Today when I see a PN96 vintage vehicle on the road, I know it is a sound vehicle... PN 96 was job #1 1996, but the 96 has no bearing on model year, purely a coincidence.

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

Awesome Phil ....I am in quality at an electronics firm for 30 yrs - the industry for 37 yrs ....so I was curious how this internal quality process works at a behemouth like Ford. Thanks so much for the detailed response!

 

[ranger-rick-roll]

Another consideration is the price you will actually pay right now for a tremor vs FX4. There are an abundance of FX4 already sitting on the lot right now in just about every configuration you could imagine. I just got my truck for about $6k under MSRP and it was the exact configuration I would have built on a custom order. It honestly didn’t even take long to find it on a local dealer lot.

If you order the tremor as a custom order I would expect you’ll pay MSRP or similar unless you qualify for x-plan. You might get available incentives on the tremor but I don’t know for certain. Happy hunting.

I am obviously biased towards tremor, but hear me out. Even if the off roading is only minor I’d still consider the tremor worth it. The difference in price between fx4 and tremor is about $2-3k. If you’re planning on doing fox 2.0 that’s about $2k installed. If you live in an area with snow the tremor comes with winter rated tires from the factory. If you want to upgrade tire size down the road the tremor comes with bigger tires and a full size spare mounted under the bed from the factory. There’s just so much value to be had in the tremor in my opinion.

x-plan is very easy to qualify for if you spend a few minutes searching the Internet, which should take some ambiguity out of the pricing.

 

[TunaFresh]

Kind of a dumb question but I figured I'd ask anyway. I called a dealer near me and he said for the Tremor package, it is something I'd have to order. I'm fine with that.

Are there any downsides to ordering one? Do you think being it is a new model, there are reliability concerns? It's 95% the same truck so I'm thinking no.

 

[ranger-rick-roll]

Kind of a dumb question but I figured I'd ask anyway. I called a dealer near me and he said for the Tremor package, it is something I'd have to order. I'm fine with that.

Are there any downsides to ordering one? Do you think being it is a new model, there are reliability concerns? It's 95% the same truck so I'm thinking no.

try using fords inventory search before you order one, if you haven’t already. You can search within 100 miles of any zip code so just search around any major metropolitan areas that you are willing to drive to. Good chance a dealer within 200 miles of you has one on order already.

 

[OrangeStreak]

try using fords inventory search before you order one, if you haven’t already. You can search within 100 miles of any zip code so just search around any major metropolitan areas that you are willing to drive to. Good chance a dealer within 200 miles of you has one on order already.

Good point. I found mine like that by looking at different dealers websites...it had been pre-ordered by a dealer in my city and fortunately had the color and equipment I wanted except for one item which I would have preferred but can easily live without. Picked it up several weeks later after it was unloaded off the transport. Buying this way, didn't have to hassle with the extra expense of dealer addons

 

[TunaFresh]

Is there a reason Ford only uses one rear leaf spring?

 

[BlueBoost]

Is there a reason Ford only uses one rear leaf spring?

They really want to work the stock shocks hard and give us a bouncy ride so we'll complain about it. Then someone gets to say, "first world problems" or something.

Seriously, other than lighter weight and lower cost where's the benefit? Just look at aftermarket kits aimed at ride, handling or off roading. All I've seen are multi leaf or helper spring style. Or we can all take a trip down memory lane to the muscle car days and trying to get our friend's stroker Nova to hook up and behave properly and finding it near impossible, the mono leaf with its tendency to fail spectacularly at the worst possible times being one reason why.

 

[TunaFresh]

They really want to work the stock shocks hard and give us a bouncy ride so we'll complain about it. Then someone gets to say, "first world problems" or something.

Seriously, other than lighter weight and lower cost where's the benefit? Just look at aftermarket kits aimed at ride, handling or off roading. All I've seen are multi leaf or helper spring style. Or we can all take a trip down memory lane to the muscle car days and trying to get our friend's stroker Nova to hook up and behave properly and finding it near impossible, the mono leaf with its tendency to fail spectacularly at the worst possible times being one reason why.

My concern would be carrying weight in the back while off-roading. Seems like something ridiculous to cut cost on IMO.

 

[BlueBoost]

My concern would be carrying weight in the back while off-roading. Seems like something ridiculous to cut cost on IMO.

I'd say that's a valid concern. While I haven't done serious off roading in mine (or any modern vehicle), what I learned years ago with GM (on a clear day you can find a way to save $2 a car) vehicles was that mono leafs should be looked at with suspicion. One leaf holding the back end up -- yea there are reasons why the Ranger upgrade kits include multi leaf setups, safety being one big one. Do I really benefit much from a slight weight reduction in a pickup truck? I spent the last week driving around with a 50 lb hunk of metal in the bed. Forgot it was there. I think the Ranger even rode better.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I'd say that's a valid concern. While I haven't done serious off roading in mine (or any modern vehicle), what I learned years ago with GM (on a clear day you can find a way to save $2 a car) vehicles was that mono leafs should be looked at with suspicion. One leaf holding the back end up -- yea there are reasons why the Ranger upgrade kits include multi leaf setups, safety being one big one. Do I really benefit much from a slight weight reduction in a pickup truck? I spent the last week driving around with a 50 lb hunk of metal in the bed. Forgot it was there. I think the Ranger even rode better.

HI BB,

Reason the aftermarket kits are mulitleaf are many, but they cannot test like Ford does. I have much experience with monoleaf springs. I suspect that the 5G Ranger spring tested with infinite life. To suggest safety is for the aftermarket manufacturer....Not Ford.

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

 

[BlueBoost]

HI BB,

Reason the aftermarket kits are mulitleaf are many, but they cannot test like Ford does. I have much experience with monoleaf springs. I suspect that the 5G Ranger spring tested with infinite life. To suggest safety is for the aftermarket manufacturer....Not Ford.

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

Sure, which is why I'm not running to upgrade mine. I don't plan on putting extreme stresses on the truck and I haven't heard of Ranger monoleaf failures. But I would point out that there are plenty of examples of systems used in vehicles that were rigorously tested by engineers yet still failed at greater than expected rates. Often it is the fault of a supplier, who cuts corners or produces a bad batch of some component. Sometimes it is users putting the system under stresses not anticipated for or recommended. Wanting some redundancy in the system isn't unwarranted, and it's easily and cheaply obtained with multi leaf spring systems, with the bonus perhaps of better ride and handling.

Let me ask you: are there safety advantages in a monoleaf design, or are they used to save weight and reduce cost?

 

[TunaFresh]

If the Ranger has the highest payload in class, does having a single leaf spring matter?

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