I finally took my fully functining SFA Ranger on a little trip with the girlfriend for 2 days (V-Day & 15th). It was more of a tour showing her a part of Arizona she hasn't expereinced before. I managed in a little ice fishing and looking for animals (aka get this truck off the pavement into 4x4 and see how it does. I dragged a little Neon 3/4 of a mile to the highway from a lake and this truck in 4-low 1st didn't skip a beat or spin a tire (unfortunately no pics).

Here is one of the fish



Driving around


























Big Dodge being pulled out by a backhoe




Elk



Antelope



Visit to nearby New Mexico/Arizona state line





Road Side Lunch break





Heading back home to the desert...



Truck drives and operates excellent! Drives smooth too! I can't tell if it was rougher with my old #1 T-Bars or my current setup. There are differences/characteristics, but as far as rough ride goes it isn't any worse than stock in my book! The lockers front and rear make a world of difference! The wheels stay so clean even after driving through mud/slush. It must be the backspacing as the spokes are pretty recessed in the center[I]ish[I] of the wheel. I don't have any action shots. I just have the ones I posted when we either were entering a road/trail or turning around. In some pictures you will see the mud flaps and in others you won't. They're removable (wire lock pin) so they came off when I began each little adventure.

I'll get flex pictures eventually. It might not be until Spring break. I can't wait to wheel this rig in the desert and on some rocks!

 

Looks wonderful the area and the truck. I love where the front axle is sitting nice out front.

 

Truck looks awsome. You have a great looking ride.

Top 10 on this site in my book.

 

Truck looks awesome

 

truck looks great man

i usually HATE that style camper shell. how it goes up in the back. but it really does look good on your truck

 

hell yeah that truck looks amazing. great scenery as well

 

Sick truck, tiny fish. I woud've thrown them back in as bait. Nice-lookin truck though.

 

and i guess ill have to say it again, but your truck looks perfect!

but heres my real question.

going from the rack in pinion, to a steering box....how much different was that for ya?

 

look great man i love the stance of your truck.... g/f is cute too lol

 

Truck is beautiful man. Nice work. I'm also enjoying that scenery there. Lucky man.

 

Nice truck man. Can't wait to see the flex pics.

 

That is because you're Canadian! Arizona has trout and they don't get very big because they have to be stocked. We don't have very many lakes that hold trout (compared to our population) and they're fairly small. All trout only lakes are regulated to 10hp or electric motors only. Some other lakes hold some trout but not much because they're eaten up by the bigger more aggressive fish. That is why we go to Utah every summer as they have some good big trout and are able to reproduce on their own better then down here in AZ.

 

If you set it up right it will drive nicely. I was told when I first picked it up to treat it as a new truck and relearn how it handles and drives. That is exactly what it is. That is the most accurate way I can describe it. Rack & pinion is more responsive and more touchy. Steering box is fine too but I've noticed that I have to turn the wheel more. I mainly notice it when I'm driving up in the mountains going 65 around a turn and the wheel is turned 1/2 way (cruise controls are at top of wheel and bottom). This could be due to larger tires and other factors too. Bumpsteer is minimal and according to everybody so far that knows trucks and wheeling it drives pretty nicely. Everybody has been impressed so far with the ride and steering. In my build thread on the first page I posted pics of a few of the hardcore guys. A few of them have given this Ranger a test drive and they agree it steers nicely (aka like a steering box) and rides really smooth for leafs. I was ready for them to give me crap about it as I went with leafs instead of coilovers as they're coilover fans, plus its a long wheelbase Ranger compared to their Jeeps & buggys, but they said it looks, feels, drives solid and is perfect for what I do.

 

love the truck, have the mud flaps. ditch those asap

 

how do the 5.13's do on the highway?

 

nice. thanks for the well informed response. i was hopin to hear something like that :)

 

i bet he needs them to be legal and they arent on in all the pics so im guess there easily removed.

 

They need to be on for the street or else it's a ticket-able offense. They have a quick release so they can be taken off easily when hitting the trails.

 

Those are some sweet pics.

 

I was very impressed with the way it drove. Pretty smooth, all considering.

 

I already explained in my first post Mr. Beard

 

I love the 5.13s! They're perfect for my truck. Others gave said that RPMs will be a little high and they are a tad high, but perfect! I get a solid 16 MPG on the highway according to the mileage tracked on my gps. I'm too lazy to turn it on every time around town so I won't know that until I get my speedo/odometer fixed. I cruise around at 60-65 (gps speed) and my RPMs (going off memory) I think are around 2300-2350.

 

Looks awesome man. Perfect ride height for sure.

 

no one said i knew how to read. haha my bad.

 

those pictures are not working anymore. nor are they in your build thread im pissed!