What did you do WITH your Ranger today?

[AzScorpion]

Well all in all things went pretty good. I survived the two procedures, 4+ hours on day two. Three and a half weeks post surgery and I am sporting a fairly restrictive back brace which I will have for at least three months. One week in the hospital and another In a rehab facility for some physical therapy. One of the hardest parts was surviving nurse cratchit . We butted heads from day one. I will admit that I am not a very good patient, mostly because I have very little patience. The pain that I was having before is mostly gone. The surgeon said I would have some new and different pain. He was correct. I have an aversion to pain meds that contain opioids so I am getting by with Tylenol. And it is working well. Now it is in home therapy to be followed by more outpatient therapy. I am optimistic for a good long term outcome. I haven't driven yet, so the Ranger is still hanging out in the barn. I will drive next week, probably to a car wash since there was still some salt on it when I put it up. Lots of core exercises every day and I am seeing some improvement. Recovery is a marathon not a sprint. And I have some new hardware to show off.

Glad to hear you're doing well and getting better by the day! You're right the PT is tough and I'm like you and have very little patience (and I'm a terrible patient, just ask Annie lol) but it helps when you have a really good therapist. Living in pain is no fun and hopefully when all healed you'll be better than before and pain free.

That's some hardware you have there! Are you still planning on going to the beach next month for your R&R?

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[ScarzRanger21(2.0)]

May i suggest looking into the RAS products. Road Active Suspension. Did wondoers for towing with my ranger. Grumpaw uses it too for his travel trailer. Really makes the truck more planted and with less sway. A torsion hitch makes a huge difference as well. HUGE! I use the GEN-Y Glyder hitch for my trailering needs.

Is a torsion hitch the same thing as sway bars? The guy gave me a hitch with a sway bar setup but it was way too high and I didn’t have tools to adjust it there. I ended up just using my normal drop hitch so the trailer would sit level on the way home.
It towed straight and didn’t have any left to right sway at all. It was just a little bouncy when I would hit bumps.

 

[ScarzRanger21(2.0)]

Is a torsion hitch the same thing as sway bars? The guy gave me a hitch with a sway bar setup but it was way too high and I didn’t have tools to adjust it there. I ended up just using my normal drop hitch so the trailer would sit level on the way home.
It towed straight and didn’t have any left to right sway at all. It was just a little bouncy when I would hit bumps.

Just googling, the torsion setup and sway bar setup look the same to me… This is exactly what the guy gave me that he said came with the trailer when they bought it from the dealership. He said it’s a sway bar setup.
I’ve been towing work trailers for years but I’m new to travel trailers and sway bar setups… Never used one before.

 

[gfitzge2]

Glad to hear you're doing well and getting better by the day! You're right the PT is tough and I'm like you and have very little patience (and I'm a terrible patient, just ask Annie lol) but it helps when you have a really good therapist. Living in pain is no fun and hopefully when all healed you'll be better than before and pain free.

That's some hardware you have there! Are you still planning on going to the beach next month for your R&R?

I don't think I will be up to making a 12 hour drive, but my daughter has offered me a ride, so I am hoping to go. One thing about situations like this is that you find out who steps up to make things easier to endure. Mrs gfitz and my daughter and my neighbor and a few others have all gone above and beyond to help me. I will be forever grateful for the support that I have been given.
Also I need to say that I have always believed that nurses are angels sent from heaven to make life better during trying times. I found the exception to that rule, but one bad one doesn't spoil the rest. I still have great respect for their work. I will vent a little here (sorry). The anesthesia and pain meds had me absolutely stopped up. After they tried every laxative known to modern medicine the situation was resolved. Next day nurse cratchit came with more laxatives. When I declined to take them she told me that they were on my order an that I would take them. Like hell I will ! Things went south from there. I did not take them.

 

[Ranger Mel]

Just googling, the torsion setup and sway bar setup look the same to me… This is exactly what the guy gave me that he said came with the trailer when they bought it from the dealership. He said it’s a sway bar setup.
I’ve been towing work trailers for years but I’m new to travel trailers and sway bar setups… Never used one before.

That's a weight distribution hitch or equalizer hitch. Helps to even the tongue weight between the rear and front axles. Should help.

 

[Ranger Mel]

I don't think I will be up to making a 12 hour drive, but my daughter has offered me a ride, so I am hoping to go. One thing about situations like this is that you find out who steps up to make things easier to endure. Mrs gfitz and my daughter and my neighbor and a few others have all gone above and beyond to help me. I will be forever grateful for the support that I have been given.
Also I need to say that I have always believed that nurses are angels sent from heaven to make life better during trying times. I found the exception to that rule, but one bad one doesn't spoil the rest. I still have great respect for their work. I will vent a little here (sorry). The anesthesia and pain meds had me absolutely stopped up. After they tried every laxative known to modern medicine the situation was resolved. Next day nurse cratchit came with more laxatives. When I declined to take them she told me that they were on my order an that I would take them. Like hell I will ! Things went south from there. I did not take them.

Glad your healing well and feeling better overall. You have to advocate for yourself when it comes to medical. I listen to what the medical team has to say and then MY common sense has to agree. There are certain things I will not take regardless. Some if only for a short time. I can do research, too. Western medicine has been controlled by the petroleum and big pharma mafia for close to a hundred years now. Keep them sick enough to need meds but healthy enough to keep paying.
I had wonderful nurses when I was hospitalized with GBS last January. Didn't hurt four of them were kids I knew as a teacher from my high school. One poor thing who played volleyball with my daughter had to help in the restroom since I was only strong enough at the time to sit there. Me feeling awkward was an understatement but they were all so sweet and I was in survival mode that got me over it pretty quick.
Hope the rest of your recovery goes speedy and more pain free!

 

[Cabose-1]

Is a torsion hitch the same thing as sway bars? The guy gave me a hitch with a sway bar setup but it was way too high and I didn’t have tools to adjust it there. I ended up just using my normal drop hitch so the trailer would sit level on the way home.
It towed straight and didn’t have any left to right sway at all. It was just a little bouncy when I would hit bumps.

Okay, sway bars are what is on the front of your pickup and cars and so on. When a car leans, it pulls the other side keeping it from leaning. A rear sway bar would do the same on a pickup truck. As one side leans dow , the other side leans up, the sway bar tries to keep the vehicle level.
A weight distribution hitch, acts like a wedge lifting the rear of the truck to transfer the weight to the front axles. A wdh (weight distrobution hitch) when set up correctly, right height, head tilt, makes towing a beeze with proper weight distribution.
A torsion hitch acts similar to a shock absorber. As the rear of the truck moves up and down, it allows the trailer to move somewhat independent of the trailer tongue. As the trailer tounge moves up and down, its moves somewhat independent of the trucks hitch.

As i looked at your picture i noticed no wdh. I figured you did not use one. You dont always have too depending on trailer tounge weight combo. So road active suspension helps as it works like a sway bar helping with body roll adding stabilization like a sway bar without the negative effects of a sway bar taking away articulation, or the flex needed for offroad.
Setting up a wdh at the start can be intimidating. I too was once a beginner and did not know much. Youtube has some good videos on how to set up one as well as the instruction manual. Just take your time, trial and error. Be carrful with the error, as it can cause wobble that put the rubber side up.
The glyder torsion hitch i mentioned can not be used with a wdh. There are other torsion hitches that can but expensive.
The RAS system can be used with any system.
I know i did not go into detail, but youtube can be a good teacher, and small road trips. Learning the adjustment of a brake controller make towing easier too.
You dont have to be an expert in all of this, as long as you know enough to set up your particular rig correctly. CAT scales will give you a good starting point too. I believe the rear should be no more that about 3500 lbs and the front no more than about 3000lb or somewhere around there. The side door sticker will tell you, as well as not going over 6050 lbs on the vehicle itself. Ideally.
I do not mean to confuse you on this, as it took me watching lots of youtube and towing many cars and backhoes with my ranger to figure it out.
I can explain a little more if you need help. I gave a general idea, very general, of what each things does. Did not mean to confuse you on the topic.

 

[gfitzge2]

Glad your healing well and feeling better overall. You have to advocate for yourself when it comes to medical. I listen to what the medical team has to say and then MY common sense has to agree. There are certain things I will not take regardless. Some if only for a short time. I can do research, too. Western medicine has been controlled by the petroleum and big pharma mafia for close to a hundred years now. Keep them sick enough to need meds but healthy enough to keep paying.
I had wonderful nurses when I was hospitalized with GBS last January. Didn't hurt four of them were kids I knew as a teacher from my high school. One poor thing who played volleyball with my daughter had to help in the restroom since I was only strong enough at the time to sit there. Me feeling awkward was an understatement but they were all so sweet and I was in survival mode that got me over it pretty quick.
Hope the rest of your recovery goes speedy and more pain free!

Thanks. I can relate to the feeling awkward part. I learned that in situations like this you can leave your modesty at home. They are medical professionals and doing what is needed. I don't know much about GBS other than that it can be quite serious, but most people recover. Have you recovered from it?

 

[Ranger Mel]

Thanks. I can relate to the feeling awkward part. I learned that in situations like this you can leave your modesty at home. They are medical professionals and doing what is needed. I don't know much about GBS other than that it can be quite serious, but most people recover. Have you recovered from it?

Mostly recovered. Lingering fatigue has been annoying. Things that shouldn't can wear you out and it doesn't have a rhyme or reason to it sometimes. Very weird. It can take up to a couple years or so to see what the recovery will be. I used to be able to just go and do things most of the day and be fine. It's like I have to pick and choose for the day if I want to feel like I'm close to 100% for that activity. Even then my endurance has suffered a lot. I can still ride my fat bike and mountain bike and still feel pretty strong doing it but I might be done for the day. I lift weights but do half of what I did before GBS as an energy saver. I can still be functional but if it requires too much effort I really rather just sit down. The other symptoms like the ataxia are all gone. My hands aren't quite 100% in strength but they are pretty good. I put a couple rounds through a Desert Eagle 50 AE at work a couple weeks ago and that was fine. Shooting my 1911 10mm last summer was okay but not like it was. I need to try it again here soon since I think it's better. I wasn't paralyzed or intubated like a friend of ours was last summer so I'm very fortunate there.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Just googling, the torsion setup and sway bar setup look the same to me… This is exactly what the guy gave me that he said came with the trailer when they bought it from the dealership. He said it’s a sway bar setup.
I’ve been towing work trailers for years but I’m new to travel trailers and sway bar setups… Never used one before.

This looks oddly similar to @gfitzge2 ’s x-ray, above.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Well all in all things went pretty good. I survived the two procedures, 4+ hours on day two. Three and a half weeks post surgery and I am sporting a fairly restrictive back brace which I will have for at least three months. One week in the hospital and another In a rehab facility for some physical therapy. One of the hardest parts was surviving nurse cratchit . We butted heads from day one. I will admit that I am not a very good patient, mostly because I have very little patience. The pain that I was having before is mostly gone. The surgeon said I would have some new and different pain. He was correct. I have an aversion to pain meds that contain opioids so I am getting by with Tylenol. And it is working well. Now it is in home therapy to be followed by more outpatient therapy. I am optimistic for a good long term outcome. I haven't driven yet, so the Ranger is still hanging out in the barn. I will drive next week, probably to a car wash since there was still some salt on it when I put it up. Lots of core exercises every day and I am seeing some improvement. Recovery is a marathon not a sprint. And I have some new hardware to show off.

It sounds like things are going in the right direction. Good to hear Gregg. Keep up the good work.

 

[gfitzge2]

This looks oddly similar to @gfitzge2 ’s x-ray, above.

Yes it does, but mine are titanium. Here is a little trivia that I didn't know before having some titanium of my own. That hardware typically doesn't set off air port security. Some times the larger ones like hips will show up.

 

[ScarzRanger21(2.0)]

This looks oddly similar to @gfitzge2 ’s x-ray, above.

I’ll be in the same boat in a few years. I’ve had back issues for as long as I can remember. Went too hard playing hockey growing up, working construction since I was 16, and being too stubborn to ask for help… I’m paying for it now, two torn discs in my lower back that are always bothering me. Docs say I’m too young for surgery but at this point, it’s beyond healing by itself. They just keep telling me to “take it easy”. If only I didn’t have bills to pay!

 

[ScarzRanger21(2.0)]

Okay, sway bars are what is on the front of your pickup and cars and so on. When a car leans, it pulls the other side keeping it from leaning. A rear sway bar would do the same on a pickup truck. As one side leans dow , the other side leans up, the sway bar tries to keep the vehicle level.
A weight distribution hitch, acts like a wedge lifting the rear of the truck to transfer the weight to the front axles. A wdh (weight distrobution hitch) when set up correctly, right height, head tilt, makes towing a beeze with proper weight distribution.
A torsion hitch acts similar to a shock absorber. As the rear of the truck moves up and down, it allows the trailer to move somewhat independent of the trailer tongue. As the trailer tounge moves up and down, its moves somewhat independent of the trucks hitch.

As i looked at your picture i noticed no wdh. I figured you did not use one. You dont always have too depending on trailer tounge weight combo. So road active suspension helps as it works like a sway bar helping with body roll adding stabilization like a sway bar without the negative effects of a sway bar taking away articulation, or the flex needed for offroad.
Setting up a wdh at the start can be intimidating. I too was once a beginner and did not know much. Youtube has some good videos on how to set up one as well as the instruction manual. Just take your time, trial and error. Be carrful with the error, as it can cause wobble that put the rubber side up.
The glyder torsion hitch i mentioned can not be used with a wdh. There are other torsion hitches that can but expensive.
The RAS system can be used with any system.
I know i did not go into detail, but youtube can be a good teacher, and small road trips. Learning the adjustment of a brake controller make towing easier too.
You dont have to be an expert in all of this, as long as you know enough to set up your particular rig correctly. CAT scales will give you a good starting point too. I believe the rear should be no more that about 3500 lbs and the front no more than about 3000lb or somewhere around there. The side door sticker will tell you, as well as not going over 6050 lbs on the vehicle itself. Ideally.
I do not mean to confuse you on this, as it took me watching lots of youtube and towing many cars and backhoes with my ranger to figure it out.
I can explain a little more if you need help. I gave a general idea, very general, of what each things does. Did not mean to confuse you on the topic.

Slightly confusing but good info! I’ll have to do some research and mess around with towing this thing to see what’s needed. On the way home, I pushed it to 65 just to see how it would respond. It pulled straight and has absolutely zero side to side movement. The truck was solid side to side as well and no rolling, so I don’t think sway bars are what I need. I just need something to mitigate the rear end bounce. Yesterday I got the hitch all set up to the right height, I’ll see how that goes next time I tow it.

Might be a while though because the baby is due any day now! (Shoutout to the wife for being a trooper and going with me to pick up the trailer!) I told her if she goes into labor on the way home, we’ll have the trailer to use as a delivery room… We’ll officially have a trailer trash baby!

 

[TxOTRRanger]

Nothing out of the ordinary lol.
Drove it to work and stopped by Brookshires for the weekly grocery shopping run.

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