@greenenvy1: I saw that truck but didn't really like it for some reason. Might be the colour...

@glc: I've decided to stay away from this for now. It would, however, provide all the parts to convert the Expy to manual, lol.

I'm just going to stick with what I know and get my Expy back. I know what shape its in.

 

So I got to talking to my buddy again and he's made me an offer. Instead of trading for my Expedition, he's offered his '97 Ranger on a straight trade for my F-150. The Ranger has 119k km's on it, freshly rebuilt 4.0L (as in, within the last month), ext cab, 4x4. I think its an XLT as it has the foglights, two-tone paint and fender flares. Its in really good shape. I'm going to drive it around and see how it tows my camper first, but I'm really leaning towards it.

I know its not an F-150, but what do people think about this deal?

 

agreed that the M5OD-R2's are hard to find for the mod bolt pattern but they are out there, i know of a standard cab lariat 4.6/M5OD for 3,000 on a car lot here, lifted on 35's, and 2 or 3 super cab 4x4's with the M5OD that the owners could be talked out of fairly easy one is a 4.6 i know and one is a 5.4 i dont remember the 3rd one it may have been the 4.2 but not sure. they are out there though and if thats what you really want, i'd keep looking around, that frame looks pretty nasty. i had a '96 from canada & its frame looked about like that, i broke off countless bolts/nuts trying to make just minor repairs..

when i bought my '00 i wanted a 4.6/M5OD 4x4 but i got impatient and jumped on mine because of the price but sometimes i wish i would of held out for what i really wanted

 

i had a ranger and miss it everyday, if it would have been a stick & 4x4 i'd still have it, it was my first truck. never had any towing experience with it though, & mine was a 3.0L, i heard that the 4.0L has some serious ***** for a V6

 

A friend of mine had a 97 lariat, extended cab 4.2

 

How heavy is your camper? Is the Ranger auto or stick?

 

looks good, but the frame and under part of the body is scary bad! im assuming it has grey leather interior, but i wouldn't worry about that with all that rust! and i thought mine was bad!

 

The Ranger is an auto. My camper is a 1990 12' Flagstaff by Cobra tent trailer. Its at my parents place and I can't find any specs for it anywhere so I don't know how much it weighs. My dad used to tow a similar trailer with our 88 Bronco II so I don't think it'll be an issue.

 

ranger's are great little trucks man, and the best part is; if you want to update the tail lights, or whole front clip to a newer model its as easy as getting the sheet metal, lights, grille ect. that, its just a matter of swaping the parts, from Gen 3 on up they had the same cab & bed, making it super easy to update the truck. there may be some minor adjustments that have to be made to the bolt holes in the fenders tho, never done the swap myself but have seen it done.

from the sounds of it, considering the $$ things you were concerned about earlier in this thread i think i would aim for the ranger myself. speacially with gas prices right now.. shoot if i find a deal on one its very likely i'll ****** it up for a DD and park my 10 MPG hog for a while...

 

I've been looking into front clip swaps already (isn't that how it goes? plan mods before you own the vehicle lol) and it seems pretty straightforward. A little bit of extra tweaking as 98-11 swaps directly but 93-97 is a bit different.

I once drove a 93 2WD Ranger with the 4.0L and a 5-speed for a month and a bit to school (1hr drive each way) and I managed to get around 16 MPG with it, I think it was. Mind you, I wasn't keeping my foot out of it...

As much as I love my F-150 its just a bit impractical for me. I kinda jumped the gun at getting a regular cab and especially 2WD. The way the roads are around here and they way they're usually [not] plowed well I need something better. And yeah, times are tough and gas isn't getting any cheaper. Someday when I get a permanent position with my company I can get something to keep up the the Tundras and Tacomas the other guys have.

 

HAHA my first truck was a '93 2wd extended cab ranger with the 3.0, it was by far the biggest piece of crap i ever owned (the guy i got it from worked it like a 3/4 ton on his farm & it was beat to near death when i got it) yet i still love those little trucks. i too am out of work at the moment i could afford my '00 back when i got it making minimum wage and only getting 20-30 hour checks while still having $300-$400 a month left over simply due to the fact i rarely had any repairs. but now that i'm out of work and trying to save some money for college, a ranger is seeming more and more practical every time i have to go to the gas station, but i'm not giving this truck up lol
& if i get the job i'm being considered for i'll be having to drive right through down town traffic everyday so gas mileage isn't going to get any better either. when i find the cash to get one i may just park my '00 until i get money to drive it again.

 

The Ranger with a 4.0 automatic is rated to tow at least 5000#.

 

My tent trailer is way under 1000lbs, so I'm good to go.