Well Truck me....

[Knifemaker]

Well, never cared much for pick up trucks, being a motorcycle and sports car guy... But after 4 years living out in the farmlands the practicalitiy of owning one became pretty clear. So Friday we brought this home:

2001 Ford Ranger 4x4 with the 4 liter V6, Flowmaster exhaust, tinted windows, the oversized cast wheels, new tires, AC, disc and cassette stereo automatic tranny and a bed liner.

We are both keeping our cars (my Miata and my wife's Focus) so the truck will only be used for those things it excels at. (Like pulling our boat out of the water or picking up stuff for the garden)

I do admit I like how it sounds so bad *** with the FM exhaust.....

 

[gixxerjasen]

Nice, good choice on the V6. I had the I4 and it was weak as crap and I hated it. It could barely pull itself up a hill. One of my most expensive regret purchases. For some reason people love them but I absolutely hated mine. With the V6 and mods I bet yours operates nicely.

 

[Bounce]

6 seems a good compromise. I had the 350 v8 and it got 13 mpg at best.

the wheel wells on modern designs are often ABS or fiberglass instead of metal. That can be an issue when using them for real work.

 

[Pterodactyl]

Two kinds of people in this world; those with a truck and those who want to borrow a truck.

 

[Geezer]

My wife and I have always had a truck. I can't imagine how people get things done without one. We've had Mazda, Dodge, and Chevrolet over the years. Never owned a Ford truck. That one looks very nice. Enjoy.

 

[Niehart]

Loved my Ford Ranger.

And like those tires and rims/

 

[BkerChuck]

Coworker here has one of those, Ranger, that is. 4.0 liter V-6 with a blower under the hood! 340 hp at the tires I think he said. Nice sleeper.

 

[Bugnatr]

Looks real clean and a step side bed too! I suspect it's not a big boat to pull with a small truck..

 

[Cav47]

Good on you. Having a truck is invaluable to me. Owning a home makes it necessary for me.

Started out with a 82 Chevy S-10 It was a good truck until my brother blew it up. He tried to shift it from 5th to 2nd and it blew the head gasket.

I got away from them for about 20 years. When the ridgeline from Honda came out, I bought one in the first month they came out. 147K miles later, it still runs great. No one really asks to borrow it since it is not a full size truck. Perfect.

I will never be without a truck again.

 

[Hertz]

Very nice truck! Now if you could only find some cassettes....

 

[Cav47]

Very nice truck! Now if you could only find some cassettes....

You mean 8 tracks!!!

My 82 had an 8 track in it. NO FM. My mom dug out some Neil Diamond and Kenny Rogers for me. I listened to that for about a week and then bought a new Radio.

 

[NTXFJR]

Sweet looking ride there Knife. I drove a 2.3 liter Ranger for 18 yrs. Great truck, and those 2.3's are tough little engines, but like others have said, you made a good choice on the V6, same or better fuel mileage with more pulling torque. In our area, the only thing I had some close calls on were freshly rained black top, and black ice, those trucks are very light in the back and mine would break loose on me if I wasn't watching sometimes.

 

[Knifemaker]

I do in fact have a lot of cassettes....(it is a cassette, not a 8 track)

The Ranger is actually made by Mazda. I too wanted a "small truck" and spent the last month and a half looking for one in my price range (6-7 grand) This one we happened on by sheer luck... Just on a whim we pulled into my wife's Ford dealer.... They just got it in (so had to wait 6 days for them to fix some issues)

The small trucks go fast around here, finding one in good shape is a challenge.

They list the towing capacity with the auto V6 at 5,000 lbs, we only need it to pull the boat (20 foot pontoon) out of the water (we don't need to take it anywhere) Will have to trade the bumper hitch for a real one though...

 

[radiummadman]

have an 82 Subaru Brat, 4 wheel drive & T-Tops, perfect for dirt bikes(mine is XR650R). It is so low to the ground that I can load

a dirt bike just pushing up a loading ramp & step-up into truck bed. Wife knows if I need a rescue out in the desert that all

she needs to do is put ramp & 2 tie downs in Brat & come find/rescue my fat ***.

 

[Hudson]

Geez Neihart, never knew you had an Orange math lab...

 

[gapiob]

Nice, very nice but... It's too big... Fortunately that gaz does not cost so much to your side of the Atlantic ... And this kind of car/truck is really not usable in France.

My biggest car is a 407 break (peugeot ) with only a 2 liters engine diesel (164 hp).

Good drive

 

[mcatrophy]

Nice, very nice but... It's too big... Fortunately that gaz does not cost so much to your side of the Atlantic ... And this kind of car/truck is really not usable in France.My biggest car is a 407 break (peugeot ) with only a 2 liters engine diesel (164 hp).

Good drive

Such a truck would be totally impractical here (UK) as well. Wider than some of our country roads, bigger than any parking space, fuel costs extreme.
I used to be a Peugeot nut. I've had a 204 (wonderful drive), two 304's, three 305's (one a GT, quite exciting) two 306's (one an SRi, probably the best driving car I've ever had, a 406 saloon, a 406 coupe (the prettiest car I've ever had), and a 407.

(Click on image for larger view)



We've since moved to Audi, as my wife chooses her cars and I don't have one.

 

[griff]

Bought a 2003 4 liter Ranger last February when I lived In Indiana. The truck spent it's whole life in Shitcahgo and believe it or not there was hardly any rust on it. Love that truck. Wish Ford would bring back that line.

 

[Fred W]

I bought myself an old 2004 F150 4x4 Supercab XL (base model) a few years ago. It took me a while to find the truck I wanted, which is a basic work truck, but with 4 Wheel drive, small V8, Cruise control, but otherwise stripped. Basic cloth seats, no carpets (just rubber flooring) AM/FM radio only.

It doesn't need to move too often since I have a company car for work (Camry Hybrid) until I retire, and my wife has a nice driving Saab 9-3 Vector. When I do take it out I can only manage about 17-18 mpg on the highway. I bought it for a good price since it is somewhat spartan, back when gas was over $4 a gallon, and now it is down to around $2.20, so not so bad to fill the beast.

Having a pickup truck in the driveway is a great thing. I haven't needed to use my utility trailer once since I got the truck.