I'm a Washington state beekeeper that just bought a 2009 Ford Ranger XLT 4wd v6 with an A.R.E. DCU canopy. My Honda Odyssey's transmission blew up after 150,000 miles and I needed a vehicle to haul my honey (literally), beeswax candles, tent, tables, etc to Farmers Markets where I sale honey and beeswax candles. It's a heavy load and the Ranger is handling it just fine. My wife and I like the truck so much we're going to fix the Honda's transmission and use that for the markets and save the truck for long haul honey transport and vacations. The truck had 43,000 miles on it and is in excellent condition. It was a fleet truck for a medical firm here in Seattle and was well maintained. I already love this this Ranger. What a stable ride and what smooth automatic transmission gear transitions.

 

Post some pics of your bees! and the truck!

Welcome to the site..

 

Welcome to the site!

 

Welcome to RF!

I LOVE getting a jar of honey with a big chunk of comb in it. YUMM.

 

Welcome!

 

Sorry I took so long getting back. There are some pictures of my truck and bees on the photo page of my website. Here's the URL (Tolt River Farm & Crafts LLC - Photos).

 

Nice truck! Again, welcome to the site!

 

Thanks, Mike. I've been using the Ranger to haul my honey and display tables, etc to Farmers Markets 4 times a week. It's always fulling loaded and handles well. I used it to haul a big load of honey (900 lbs in the truck bed and 1500 lbs on the trailer) from Eastern Washington to Western Washington over the Cascades (Snoqualmie Pass). It handled the loads and the mountain passes like a champ. It's been a real work horse so far.

My wife and I like the Ranger so much, we are going to get the trannie fixed on our Honda Odyssey van and use that for the farmers markets next year instead of the truck. We want to keep the mileage down on the Ranger and save it for occasionally hauling honey and for rock hounding trips to the mountains and deserts of Washington and Oregon.