Thinking about purchasing a Ranger

[Danager]

The Tremor has a different rear leaf pack. Multi-leaf engineered to work with the Fox shocks. One of the advantages of getting a factory package.

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[r1ch999999]

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This is why I am proud when 4G Rangers report 200 to 300, 000 miles in their Rangers before they sell them.

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

My first Ranger was an 89 2wd, 4cyl, manual transmission. My dad bought it new, I bought it from him and had 196k on the clock when I traded it toward my 95 Ranger in 1997. I passed it on the road 3 years later. It was a good truck.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

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?

The one safety aspect of a monoleaf is no spring leaf splay during side impact. We have had developmental crashs where the spring leafs splayed during side impact and one end of the splayed leaf harpooned the fuel tank.....Depending on of the tank is adjacent to the spring... The other thing to remember. The leaf pack or monoleaf only attaches at the front hanger and the rear shakle. The front hanger and rear shackle have no idea of leaf pack or monoleaf. The other advantage of a monoleaf is it lowers the rear of the vehicle as the thickness of the spring is quite a bit thinner than a leaf pack...

So much for loaded questions....

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

 

[Bertbronco]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure a lot of the members will chime in on this and you won't find a shortage of fans of the Ranger on here Like you, when I got ready to buy, I was looking at the GM twins but shied away because of the problems with that 8-spd. Was not interested in the Taco and the only other vehicle I considered was the Honda Ridgeline. In fact, I drove it and ten minutes later, drove the Ranger - it was a no brainer after that. You can see what my decision was.

The 2.3 with the 10-spd is a great combination; Ford did a great job with the low-end power (though a lot of members here have gotten tunes for their trucks to make it even better) and the Ranger suits my needs perfectly - weekend household projects and possibly some trail running up in the foothills. To be honest, if I was going to buy now, I'd pass on the FX4 and have the Fox 2.0 leveling kit installed - that's my plan this summer. The FX4 suspension is "soft" or "floaty" - not terrible, but not fantastic.

I think late 2022 is when the redesign is supposed to hit the market, but as far as I know, there's been no definitive date...has there?

Best advice, go drive a Ranger, both FX4 and non. That's the only way you'll be able to determine if it will be the truck for you, but for me (and A LOT on here), the Ranger was the best choice.

The only way toTerrain Mgt and Trail Control is to get the FX4 or Tremor package. Is that correct?

 

[r1ch999999]

The only way toTerrain Mgt and Trail Control is to get the FX4 or Tremor package. Is that correct?

From the factory yes, but I've read that people have added it.

 

[TunaFresh]

For those with a current Ranger than have owned previous brands, do you think the Ranger is built as good or better than the competition?

How do you think a Tremor would do against a ZR2 overall?

 

[BlueBoost]

" So much for loaded questions.... "

Naw, it was an honest question, but I can see how it might look otherwise.

 

[TunaFresh]

19-21 Ranger ARB Air Locker Locking Front Differential (IFS 29 Spline) (stage3motorsports.com)

This solves my problem. One of the appealing things of the ZR2 was the front locker. For a grand I can install the ARB front locker to the Ranger for more crawling capability. The ZR2 was on my list but I like the Ranger better overall.

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