for sure! I want to be back out camping! And in the woods

 

yeah looks like a blast! And the truck is looking good, nice work on the new rear setup

 

thanks! The truck feels more balanced now. Still have tuning to do but coming together very well. It's nice to have my full bed with no holes.

On another note;

Finished a project I started 2+ years ago.

Got my first aid kit mounted on a quick release bracket (pull the red cord) and hard mounted my radio chargers to keep things organized.

 

Digging all the updates. Looks like everything is working really well. Wish I had that much uptravel.

 

thanks! I have been very happy keeping the truck low with lots of travel, it drives great every say and is very capable on the trails.

I need to start thinking about a cage soon

 

Out with the old



In with the new

 

read through your entire build thread last night... awesome truck and love to see it getting used... now i have more want to get working on my truck and need to go find some local trails that i can take it on.

 

Spent the day on the naches trail yesterday, the same tree root that hit my truck bed got me again this year.

Managed to get a few pics and have some videos coming


























For those of you wondering how I manage to hit the top of my bed on a tree root, see photos below. Sharp corner in a deep trench













The damage:

 

Videos:

 

I like your new winch hook! What is it?

 

its a factor 55 flat link. Old hook was showing its age and this lets me connect a d ring for a fully closed system.

 

Fun looking trails. National forest land?

 

yes sir!

 

I love this truck. So glad to see it's still being used.

 

thanks! I usually have it out a few times a month, either on the trails or just driving it too work.

 

Hey Mike, I read through much of this thread but not all of it.

I'm looking to use something similar to your original front hitch mounted winch. Probably wont get much use if any. But I'd like to have it just in case.

What hitch did you use? I know hidden hitch doesn't make theirs anymore to allow the receiver to be between the tow hooks. The Curt hitch I believe comes out under the front valence. What was your hitch?

I'm also loving your Thule Moab Rack. What roof mount system did you use to mount it to the truck?

Sorry for all the questions, you just have all the nice goodies that I'm sure most of us want!

 

Hi there,

My hitch was a $10 craigslist explorer rear hitch that I cut up and made mounts for to come out of the valence. if you search there are a few threads on how people have made them.

as for the rack, originally it was mounted with thule 400XT towers and a 56 fit kit. then I decided I liked enough and installed a set of thule roof tracks and used 460 podium towers. this set up is much stronger and more solid and has remained leak free for years (unlike the previous set up)

 

Thanks Mike.

I found several threads on numerous sites about front hitches. Everyone uses a different hitch though, and I don't have a welder.

I'm loving that roof rack. I'll look into it for sure. My Ranger is actually my 3rd vehicle and it's main purpose is a daily driver that I use on occasion to tow my jet ski with. It's bad enough that I have a payment on it, so mods will come slowly.

I figured pre-keys and 1.25" taller rear blocks would make me happy...nope. Like everyone else, I want to go bigger. haha. So many wants!

 

"This is a nice site after a few weeks! Less parts littered across my yard and more on the truck.

Built the bumper brackets and did a major beef up job. They have been bandaided the last year or so and I always worried how weak they were. Upped the bolts to 9/16" from 1/2" too.

Now I have no worries about it! Oh and I moved it up 1" to compensate for the body lift."

Hey Mike,
I've really enjoyed reading through this thread! You and you're truck are an inspiration!
I am planning to do a similar suspension set up on my 2003 Ranger Fx4 II.
I've got a question for you, when you moved up the bumper, was that because you added a body lift to the whole truck or because of the added crossmembers under the bed?
Thanks!
Ed

 

Mike hasn't been here in almost a year, so in case he doesn't reply, I remember him moving the bumper due to the body lift.

 

That's too bad...Do you know how much of a body lift he did?
Thanks for the help by the way.

 

Don't quote me, but I believe it was a 1" body lift. Just enough for extra clearance. I know it wasn't the full 3" that most people do.

 

"I installed a 1in bodylift to help with hitting the heater box and avoid the inner wheel well. the previous set up cleared well with room to spare, need to pull the coil and cycle the suspension to verify. I am bumped at ~13.5" of travel too to help.

I go through my fair share of CVs as is but thats why I carry extras. hoping less weight will help with front end part longevity. time will tell."

I found where he talked about it. Thanks again!

 

You guys are both correct, 1in bodylift to help with bump travel on the suspension. Gives more room for the 35s to move.

I need to update this thread lol, lots has changed since I last posted.

 

Good to see you're still around. I look forward to the update, provided you still have the truck and haven't sold it. Haha.