Hey guys,

Thought I would get a little conversation going about what led you to buying your first ranger, also, what you done to it.

Pictures are great.

 

cheap, small for tight trails, easy to fix/ work on and have always loved ford trucks more than the others. I think they look kewl too

 

well i wanted a truck that was small but still an exstended cab and hope for decent gas mileage and pretty cheap. i bought my truck for a grand and the next day droped it off at my dads friends garage dropped 800 on a clutch in a week lol. but i love my truck and i had it since aug of 07

 

89 F-150 died so i traded it in when i found my ranger.. I liked the price and mileage for what the truck was and bought it lol

2005 Ranger Edge when i bought it:



As of Sunday:

 

i was 16 and my dad's friend took me out for a ride in his lifted 1990 ranger, i fell in love with that truck, so i saved up and bought a 1991



only pic i have of it :(

now almost 10 years later i have my 3rd ranger

 

Well My buddie had a ranger and it was all decked out 17 inch rims body kit roll pan and sound system. It was bad ***. I wanted one and Then i found rps and r/f and i got hooked. The most recent mod i have done is my 01/03 Edge valance.

 

First ranger was given to me when I got my license. I liked it but it was old so I traded it for my 03. Now I've got my f150 but just can't part with the Ranger.

 

It was cheap and ran. I've had a total of 5 rangers. Still have 1.5

 

my mustang didnt have a bed, and i needed a small one for little stuff like mowers

 

My first truck was a 93 S-10 and my mom and I traded that in for a 98 Ranger which she gave to me as a high school graduation present that I rolled over the day before I graduated. Then I had a 94 Infinity G-20 that I owned for a month and traded in for another S-10 then mom bought the 2000 Ranger that I own now which she gave me when she moved out of state and got married.

 

i wanted something brandnew that was affordable and it had to be a truck.

all new audio system-nothing is stock
k&n drop in air filter
235/75/15 all terrains over the little dinky stock tires
flowmaster 40 series
painted exterior plastic pieces and exhaust black
added a low profile black tool box
blue led strips in the interior
tinted the windows
added factory fogs
added a couple whisky dents here and there,

 

My first car was a 1991 Ranger, reg cab, 2.3l...it now has over 200k and all I have done is replace the DIS module, coils, wires, plugs, one clutch, and regular maintenance.

 

parents put a cap of 200hp on the vehicle, and they said a full size truck was useless and too big.. and at the time all I wanted was something to go mudding in..

 

Well, I'm a little slow to warm up to the Ranger, I guess. I just bought my first one last week. It is a 2007 XLT 4 X 4 SuperCab with manual transmission, 4.0, and 4.10 r&p with limited slip in the rear. I didn't know I wanted a Ranger until I drove it.

I wanted something reasonably economical that had some off-pavement capability for hunting and fishing and that could accomodate my family in a pinch. I had owned a 1998 Jeep TJ Wrangler and blew the motor in it. I had thought about replacing the motor and taking care of some other issues, and continuing to drive the Wrangler for another decade. Ultimately, I decided to move on to something else. I was thinking about either a Land Rover Discovery or a Jeep Liberty. I wasn't thinking about a Ranger at all.

But I stopped in the local Ford store and saw the one I eventually bought. I liked that it had enough ground clearance, decent looking approach, departure, and ramp breakover angles, wasn't too wide or too long for the trails I run, or too tall to fit under overhanging tree limbs and branches. When I sat in it, the cab seemed suprisingly roomy for my middle-aged 5'-11" and 245lb self. I can't even drive the thing with the driver's seat all the way back because I can't push in the clutch all the way to the floor with the seat so adjusted. With the driver's seat at about half-way between fully forward and fully back, the truck just fit. The rear jump seats seem cramped for people my size, but I figured my small kids would fit them fine and it turns out that they LOVE riding in those jump seats. Coming from a TJ Jeep, with no cargo room whatsoever, and having to pull an ex USMC M-416 utility cargo trailer everywhere on family campouts, having a pickup bed seemed like a really useful thing to have.

Ah, but then I drove it. I was shocked at how hard the truck would pin you in the seat on rapid accleration. I liked the visibility from the driving position and the overall feel while driving. The relatively tight turning radius was also a pleasant surprise. For a pickup, I expected that the Ranger would do farily well on the trail. Maybe not the point and go kind of experience that wheelin' the TJ was, but good enough. I pretty much fell in love with the thing on the test drive and I didn't really expect to, as this kind of vehicle isn't really what I was shopping for. Ranger wasn't even on my potential purchase radar.

In one week of ownership, I'm convinced I made the right choice, even though I kind of stumbled on to it. The truck had just 26,500 on the odo and I got it for $13,500.00 That seemed like a smokin' deal to me for something with some real out of the box backcountry travel capability and the cargo space of a 6 foot pickup box.

The clincher was that if I were to special order a new Ranger built exactly the way I"d want one, the one I bought is what I would order up. It had everything I wanted -powerful engine with shockingly good low end grunt, 4 x 4 with 4.10 ratio and limited slip in the rear, manual transmission, 6 disc CD and cruise control but manual door locks and windows, recovery hooks and skid plates, and I even liked the color (white on grey and black interior). A new one would set me back close to $24,000.00 after rebates, and it would have a reduced ride height and wouldn't have limited slip. According to my sales associate, the new ones are lower to the ground and limited slip isn't available in the 2010 version. We parked next to a 2010 XLT 4 X 4 and by eyeball measure, the 2010 seemed lower than my 2007 and seemed like 255/70 -16 was all the tire it could handle, while mine seems like it'll take a 265/75-16 mud-pattern tire with no major rubbing issues, giving me all the clearance under the rear diff that I am likely to need to go wherever I want to go.

So, Ranger is a vehcile that I just kind of happened upon by guess and by golly, but I am glad that I did.

JP

 

My car was on life support and I needed another vehicle. I seen the Ranger at the local dealership and it caught my eye. Never dad a truck before, price was right, bought it.

 

I guess I never really answered my own question. My Fiance and I had a sunfire for a year or so, and got tired of not being able to go anywhere with it, so we were looking for a truck, I looked at the canyon's but the 5 cylinder turned me off, a friend at the dealership brought the level II around, and the black and chrome just talked to me. :D
DSCF1587.jpg?t=1268763431

Interior was nice too.
DSCF1592.jpg?t=1268763433

 

Well I went from having a 92 ford ranger to having two 89, and 92 Toyota 4x4's. Ended up putting to much money into the 92 Taco and then wanted something different. I really loved they way the 01-03 Rangers looked, but couldnt find one affordable. So i bought a 99 standerd cab. Had it for a while, I wanted a straight drive so bad and more room. So then I bought a 09 volvo C30, had it for a while then sold it. Ended up missing rangers so much. I sold some land, then bought my dream ranger.

 

I first had a 84 El Camino, super clean but it got T-boned, then I found out that I would be mowing a few of my moms properties so I needed a truck, new I didn't need a fullsize so a Ranger is what I was looking for. The first place we went to look I saw my Ranger and bought it.

 

My Grandpa owned 3 White 4x4 Rangers (93, 94, and 03 models). Me him, granny, and my sister used to take joy rides in the mountains 4 wheeling and thats when I knew I'd have a Ranger! When i was 19 in 2006, i knew i had to have one ater i got pissed off at my 89 Camry one day. I couldnt afford alot at the time as I was in college. I passed by a local carlot and seen a pretty gold 94' Ranger Reg. cab 2.3 2wd 5-speed! It was perfect--good on gas and a truck too! That was on a Sunday. That Tuesday, the keys were in my hands! I gave $3k for it out the door.

The day I bought her:



After front end refresh



After new wheels:



new tires



right before I sold her w/ more new tires



I drove this truck for 2 1/2 years, had it paid for. I LOVED this truck. But with all good stories, they must have an ending. I grew tired of the weak 2.3 and a regular cab. I also wanted to be able to drive out on the sand when I go to the beach or go in snow. I graduated college in 08 and started ,y new job which trippled my salary. So naturally I could afford a new truck. The fiance was NOT happy! (she is now..lol) We drove the the local Ford dealer one day and she made the mistake of saying that she liked the Torch Red Ranger sitting in their lot. At the end of the week i went to the dealer to see what i would need to do to be able to get a truck (wasnt looking into buying one yet). Well by the end of the week, I already had the gold truck sold and was bieng handed the keys to my 2006 Ranger 4x4!

 

Ever since seeing Rangers as a kid I wanted one. After getting one I fell in love with them more . . . . and then after finding this site I fell in love with them even MORE lol


Here is a before RF:


Here is after RF lol:

 

Price.
I bought my 09 FX4 w/ 3K on the Odometer. Came with a Camper shell and I got it for 22.5

I like to think it was a good deal.
Try finding an 09 Toyota ex cab w/ the TRD package for that much.

 

I bought my Ranger because I wanted to get out of the sports cars for a while, as I was young and they were getting me into too much trouble. I went for a Ranger because my friend who drives for a living told me to start off with a smaller truck and see if I like it, if it wasn't enough, I should go up to a full size. I picked out a Ranger with the biggest engine offered, 4x4 and 5 speed transmission. I could not be happier on my choice.

This truck and these Ford Ranger sites have gotten me into modding and wheeling, and have helped me to meet some great people. The truck and the lifestyle I've found through owning it even helped me to meet my wife. It's amazing what a Ranger can do.

 

i got the first one off a friend for a grand and all i did was put an interior in, spray paint ****, and kept it running which was a task at times, sold that to another friend. Got my 08 because of the almost integra mpg, and ford was selling em cheaper then a yearold used one haha.

 

I like the Before/After Ranger forums pictures. I am going through the same thing, I have a bunch taken off mine now, and im still in the process of cranking the T-bar. Though sense I wasn't into vehicle work, I really dont have alot of tools, just some crap my fiance got me. Plus I'm at work alot, Im sure someone here knows what its like in the military, so I haven't had alot of time. But I've had a blast just doing little things to the truck.

Thanks RF!

 

Powerdome Hood and the Edge wheels
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