4 wheel or all wheel drive is a lifesaver if you live where it snows often. I’ve pulled so many cars and 2 wheel drive trucks out of the snow with my truck. It’s fun, and I enjoy helping.
I’d probably do the same if I had a four wheel drive vehicle, but it doesn’t snow too often where I live so my little 2wd ranger performs just fine. Sandbags in the bed, drive slowly and deliberately, and keep a set of chains when shit really gets bad. It bugs me how some people in my area have a mindset where they think they need four wheel drive in the snow. No you don’t, you just can’t drive like a moron.
You have one of the older Rangers from before they got embigified? Those are great little trucks! I tried to buy one when I was looking for a truck, but I couldn’t find one with less than 100k miles, and I didn’t want to be repairing it all the time. I ended up getting a modern Chevy Colorado, and I’m really glad that I did. So far this truck has performed above my expectations for literally everything I’ve thrown at it. It drives well on the road, has great towing capacity, and is far more capable in the dirt than I expected. The interior is comfortable too, the infotainment center well designed, and it still has knobs and physical buttons when most cars don’t. Oh and the voice commands actually work, unlike my wife’s Honda. I did put a 1.5" leveling kit on it, bigger tires, running boards for my dog and short wife, and removed the air dam. A 2" kit is ideal for clearance, but it completely removes the rake, and I like the way the rake looks. The rake also helps when you’re towing something heavy.
Have you seen the new Rangers? They look like they’re pretty great trucks. Nice and sporty looking too. Of course they’re as big or bigger now than full-sized trucks used to be. They’re still agile and nimble enough to get through some pretty dodgy terrain though. I think the modern mid-sized truck is a perfect balance of everything a 4x4 truck should do, including off-roading.
Yup! It’s an ‘09, and I got it from some old guy who barely drove it so it was practically brand new. I’ve put over 150k miles on it since then, with the only major maintenance being a new clutch. It’s got a manual transmission, manual locks, manual windows, and a plain-Jane radio with an aux input - it’s all I need and nothing more.
I did get the chance to drive a 2020 Ranger once, and it was very nice and cushy, but didn’t feel like a Ranger, if that makes sense. Didn’t help that it was just as big as an F150.
They’re as big as old F-150s, but the new F-150 is the size of an apartment bedroom. They’re enormous.
Do you have the long bed? Those are perfect for hauling cargo, since it’s lower and you don’t have to lift everything as high as newer trucks. I wish they still made smaller trucks.
It’s got a 6’ bed, perfect for lumber or whatever else. It also has the extended cab with the jump seats, kinda useless for people but I keep ratchet straps and other junk back there. My only complaint is that cargo space is very minimal if I don’t want to just throw it in the bed, like luggage or stuff that’s weather-sensitive.
I’ve been meaning to get a roll-up tonneau truck bed cover for that very reason. I have a crew cab, so a decent amount of cargo space in the back seat, but my dog is always back there these days, so I need a solution myself. I want the roll-up kind though so that I can still use it as a truck on a whim when I need to. That would work for you too. Then cut a couple 2x4s to the right length and put them in the slots around 2 feet back from the tailgate to create a wall for stuff that can’t slide around.
4 wheel or all wheel drive is a lifesaver if you live where it snows often. I’ve pulled so many cars and 2 wheel drive trucks out of the snow with my truck. It’s fun, and I enjoy helping.
I’d probably do the same if I had a four wheel drive vehicle, but it doesn’t snow too often where I live so my little 2wd ranger performs just fine. Sandbags in the bed, drive slowly and deliberately, and keep a set of chains when shit really gets bad. It bugs me how some people in my area have a mindset where they think they need four wheel drive in the snow. No you don’t, you just can’t drive like a moron.
You have one of the older Rangers from before they got embigified? Those are great little trucks! I tried to buy one when I was looking for a truck, but I couldn’t find one with less than 100k miles, and I didn’t want to be repairing it all the time. I ended up getting a modern Chevy Colorado, and I’m really glad that I did. So far this truck has performed above my expectations for literally everything I’ve thrown at it. It drives well on the road, has great towing capacity, and is far more capable in the dirt than I expected. The interior is comfortable too, the infotainment center well designed, and it still has knobs and physical buttons when most cars don’t. Oh and the voice commands actually work, unlike my wife’s Honda. I did put a 1.5" leveling kit on it, bigger tires, running boards for my dog and short wife, and removed the air dam. A 2" kit is ideal for clearance, but it completely removes the rake, and I like the way the rake looks. The rake also helps when you’re towing something heavy.
Have you seen the new Rangers? They look like they’re pretty great trucks. Nice and sporty looking too. Of course they’re as big or bigger now than full-sized trucks used to be. They’re still agile and nimble enough to get through some pretty dodgy terrain though. I think the modern mid-sized truck is a perfect balance of everything a 4x4 truck should do, including off-roading.
Yup! It’s an ‘09, and I got it from some old guy who barely drove it so it was practically brand new. I’ve put over 150k miles on it since then, with the only major maintenance being a new clutch. It’s got a manual transmission, manual locks, manual windows, and a plain-Jane radio with an aux input - it’s all I need and nothing more.
I did get the chance to drive a 2020 Ranger once, and it was very nice and cushy, but didn’t feel like a Ranger, if that makes sense. Didn’t help that it was just as big as an F150.
They’re as big as old F-150s, but the new F-150 is the size of an apartment bedroom. They’re enormous.
Do you have the long bed? Those are perfect for hauling cargo, since it’s lower and you don’t have to lift everything as high as newer trucks. I wish they still made smaller trucks.
It’s got a 6’ bed, perfect for lumber or whatever else. It also has the extended cab with the jump seats, kinda useless for people but I keep ratchet straps and other junk back there. My only complaint is that cargo space is very minimal if I don’t want to just throw it in the bed, like luggage or stuff that’s weather-sensitive.
I’ve been meaning to get a roll-up tonneau truck bed cover for that very reason. I have a crew cab, so a decent amount of cargo space in the back seat, but my dog is always back there these days, so I need a solution myself. I want the roll-up kind though so that I can still use it as a truck on a whim when I need to. That would work for you too. Then cut a couple 2x4s to the right length and put them in the slots around 2 feet back from the tailgate to create a wall for stuff that can’t slide around.
And it’s a manual?
You’ve got a gem there.
That, and winter tires. The amount of people I know who don’t bother getting winter tires because “it’s not required by law” is infuriatingly high.