Alright guys, well I'm a newbie, and I wanted to start posting and getting some background info on a dream of a ranger build. The mission, build a capable prerunner for the desert, that is more than just a desert truck to only be taken out a few times a year. I want a truck I can beat on in the desert, screw around on some rocks, and the occasional grocery toy when I feel like driving something other than my daily. So far my plan is rather simple... Find the a late 90s ranger with TTB (hopefully an xlt cab, 4.0, manual truck), buy the Giants motorsports d44 LT conversion kit with shocks, build my own internal cage, and bed cage, buy the giants 64" deaver set up for the rear, and some king 2.5 inch resi shocks, either a Ford 8.8 or 9 inch for the rear. Thinking 35s or 37s? Fenders are in there somewhere as well as the normal odds and ends like tires wheels and lights. This would be a work in progress and not done all in one big sweep.

The reason I'm looking at the TTB train is the ease of lifting, the price mainly, and the ability to keep a strong 4x4 system in case I want to do some slower stuff.

So what do you guys think? Any advise, any better deals to be had that I should be looking at? I should also be looking into the classifieds here for the ranger of choice. All said and done I'm thinking this build could be done for less than about 12k in parts. Please tell me if Im crazy lol. The trucks primary use would be a dedicated off-roader for the desert but the ability of a 4x4 pre runner is amazing when done right so I'm intrigued.