i have a 2001 ranger edge 2wd 3.0 5 speed reg cab reg bed

First off is there a shift light?

Second off what speed/rpm do you guys shift at for optimal MPG? like shift from 1-2 at 10 mph, 2 to 3 at 20 mph etc or shift every 2500 rpm.

Also cruising at 30 and 40 mph what gear should i be in for optimal MPG?

My old s10 i could drive that by ear and shift light came on at optimal mpg - this ranger is too quiet can cant hear engine or exhaust tone over general noise. I havent owned it all too long but last few fill ups managed 20-21 mpg...

 

If you're getting 20-21mpg, you must be doing something right.
The 3 litre likes to be revved and makes it's best torque at around 3200 to 3500 RPM. so I shift at least there.
If I'm not in a rush, I'll shift below that and try not lug it.

I have revved it to 5000+ rpm through the gears just to see what it's capable off after the engine rebuild, but I don't do that often.
It was all statically balanced with new pistons, so it revs really nice and smooth.
Here in Canada, many merging lanes onto the highways are very short, so it really take s heavy foot to get up to at least the speed limit.

I don't believe my 1999 has a shift light either.

 

I shift between 36,000 and 42,000 rpm

 

You have a jet engine in your truck John ?!

 

oh yea i stomp on it when need be as we got some stupid merge lanes (more stupid drivers that dont know how to merge is usually the problem)

yea i knew the 3.0 liked to be revved and higher rpm than normal. (s10 peak torque was at 2200rpm) so ive had to change my habits - just didnt know whats normal.

 

+1 to all the above

3.0l Vulcan is a higher RPM engine, so when accelerating you want to get the RPMs above best torque range before shifting to the next gear so you are still close to lower end of best torque range and can keep accelerating without lugging.
And this has alot to do the ratio spacing in the transmission as well.
So engine/transmission combo sets "when its best" to shift

 

alright, just filled up today - got 20.6 mpg. Not too bad for bone stock ranger edge I dont think. Cant wait to put an Efan in.

 

Just curios, what size tires are you running and what does it say on the drivers door pillar on tire size ?

Mine says 225/70 15, so I went with 215/75 15.

It had 235/75 15's, which were too big _ meant for a 4x4.

 

door sticker says 235/75R15's and thats what it has on it. Those walmart goodyear $82 a tire things. Decent tires good/great snow and rain traction but longevity and durability is utter garbage. Ive had 20 of those tires on various vehicles and have had to get at least 9 flats fixed. 5 of which were while i was driving. One a soybean stalk went thru the sidewall...3 of em have slipped belts on me and nearly all of em develop surface cracks in the tread after 2-3 years. BUT their cheap so everyone buys em so every junkyard has a replacement for like $20 haha.

 

Interesting, I thought those were only used on the 4x4's.
I bought my truck with that size and they were Michelin _ worst tires ever.
Had it loaded with concrete blocks and snow _ was noticeably closer to the axle and had zero traction.
The tires were 8 years old though and sat that long when the other owner stopped driving it.

Even then came across another Ranger owner with the same size tires but different brand _ new though.
He couldn't get around in the snow either and his were snow tires.
His sticker was like mine 225/70 15's.

 

I had these tires on alot of 2wd rwd vehicles and they do great in the snow. Usually about 10-15 good shovel fulls of snow in the bed and Ive got enough weight. Best part is it mysteriously unloads itself when the snow is off the streets! Sometimes i dont bother and gets around pretty good.

With the open diff i tend to chuck the snow pile on the pass side bed.

 

With OPEN differentials both wheels get the same amount of torque when you start out, BUT.......the wheel with the least resistance/highest RPM gets all the power, so slipping/spinning wheel gets all the power.
Which is why you can get stuck if even only one wheel is on snow/ice.

So which side weight in the bed is on shouldn't matter, in fact if more weight was on passenger side it would make drivers side wheel easier to spin so all power would go there if it started to slip.

In slippery conditions with manual trans you should start off in 2nd or even 3rd gear so there is less torque at the wheels, this prevents a wheel from starting to spin.

Many vehicles with automatics have a "snow" button now, this disables 1st gear, so vehicle starts out in 2nd gear

Parking brake can work to get you unstuck, hard to do with manual trans, easier with automatic trans
With one wheel spinning hold out the Parking brake release handle and slowly push down on the Parking brake pedal, as brake is applied the spinning wheel will get harder to spin and some torque will be applied to the non-spinning wheel, hopefully enough to get you moving.
This is an "art" my grandfather taught me, and it does work, got me out of a few jams

 

shouldnt matter but it does considering my butt and 17 gallons of fuel are all on the drivers side. need to compensate and throw some on the other side. my s10 was setup the same way and 9.9/10 times the passenger side wheel always spun first till i started putting most of the snow on the pass side for side to side balance. Also generally the side of the road is where snow is deepest and ice patches form so i want all traction available to that side lol.