Even picking up an old F-150 with the 300-6 would be better than trying to use the Ranger like a 1-ton dump. If you look long enough you can usually find one in need of a bit of work for a few hundred. If you just need to use it around the property you don't even need to worry if the windshield is cracked or whatnot.
I upgraded the brakes and leafs in my Ranger. I ran stainless brake line, DOT-4 fluid, threw a l/s 8.8 under the rear and built a custom spring pack using Explorer leafs. At the time I used the truck like a 3/4 ton on an increasingly regular basis. It was hard on the truck to do that and the bed often proved too small for my needs. When I had to get creative piling in the tools and materials for a job, I knew I had waited far too long to get a bigger truck. I looked around and found a '95 F-150 4x4 with the 300 straight six that was about perfect for my needs. I had also found a diesel F-250 extended cab with an 8' bed and 4x4 at the same time but it would have been really stretching my budget to get so I stuck with the F-150. It needed a bit of work, but it was relatively cheap. I've had it 4 years this past February. I upgraded the suspension front and rear to heavy 3/4 ton suspension along with some other upgrades. I have had close to 3 ton on it, but I didn't like how the front end floated along even with the upgraded suspension.
I understand that size can be a problem at times, but it cuts both ways. Even building a custom frame for the Ranger and putting heavy duty suspension on it, you still have the problem of stopping. I have had just over a ton in the bed of my Ranger before. I wasn't going far with it, but it was NOT good. Stopping distance, even with my brakes upgraded, was ridiculously long. My F-150 with 2 tons on it stops in less distance. And steering was sketchy, the front end just kind of floated out there.
So you'd need to upgrade the suspension to something out of a full size, and use axles out of a full size to get bigger brakes than are available on an RBV AND build a custom frame.
this is sound advice for the most part. but my experience differs greatly.
Yea I understand that and those are good points. My main reason for askin about this particular vehicle is because of it's size. The areas I will need to get to are on real tight corners and trails in the woods on property that i cannot clear the trees from. If I could then i'd have bought a full size all together. But, as it is on writing we cannot touch the trees until we pay off the property. Thing is I know ppl that have a junk yard at my every call and 2 brothers that are very awesome welders and fabricators. I just need to kinda touch base here from time to time and get the ideas straight before i even think to spit it at them lol.
the smaller size was also my main motivation for some of the things i did.
plainly- if your frame is not rotted i would not think twice about beefing the rear springs with some 2wd 150 leafs in the intermediate pack.. i assume your truck is a manual trans.??
i ran an 8-9 pack configuration for many years which carried 2000 pounds plus regularly....many times constantly ....for weeks on end....detroit to cinci daily at hi way speeds that were not necessarily what was posted..
the springs at that point were basically a b2 and hd ranger/exploprer. this combined with e series 250 front coils rode pretty well with normal loads.
the cost of that is killing front hubs/rotor assembly from brake heat as the heat generated from that and 35 in tires was overwhelming. simple upgrade to front d44 ttb knuckles eliminates that....but people will always throw cash at you to buy them when you do that. at least where i lived they did.
even a 31 spline 8.8 wont take the abuse i incurred so a 150 would be a joke if thought of as an upgrade as they are easier to overload.
the 150 brakes are way better on a ranger but actually did not stop the 150 any faster all things being equal in my experience.. that is my ranger with 7 square of shingles verse a 150 with 7 square of shingles. both rigs were a bit ovlerloaded imo even though they had beefed springs but they did pretty good all around.. but the ranger could stop just a bit better with similar loads with just explorer d35 and explorer 8.8 brakes.. with d44 fronts the ranger was much better
if your frame is rotted that is a different story.
imagine this with two 40 footers on the bottoms and two more 32's with a 16x28 pic all the jacks/compressor/tools and ten 65 foot rolls of grace ice and water running 80 mph for 8 hours a day.....
if i had to do it over since i upgraded the 2.9 in 1995... with what i know now, i would have not run the cobra spec 302...i would have run the diesel with turbo and full trussed full-float 5x 5.5 axle out back with ttb d44 from day one.. no worries at all on the frame.
but a fullsize truck is preferable for most work. i had a setup where the small truck was ideal and wrung that fawker out and still am twisting it to its limits.
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