Hey there everyone!

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Like many, I'm anxious to see the new Ranger. I may not be a first-year buyer as my '17 F150 is doing well. Had a strong desire to get a Bronco or Wrangler for a second vehicle for quite a while. While current problems with both vehicles, I've dodged the impulse buy. Probably for the best due to additional maintenance, insurance, and annual taxes make no financial sense for me. So, I'm not too far out to consider my next truck as my F150 is just over 87k miles now.

Have a Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin (AT) and Kawasaki KLX300SM. Here are links to my blogs kept for the riding:

https://ridermarcadventureriding.wordpress.com/

https://ridermarctoolingaround.wordpress.com/

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[Fattirz in NC]

I’m also an F-150 owner (‘02 Lariat SuperCrew) waiting for a new Ranger. Only difference is I have been ready for years!!! I’m also an AT owner for the last 5+ years. Welcome to the 6G Ranger site.

 

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Awesome, good choice with the AT!

 

[LarryRG]

Welcome aboard! Good luck getting a nice new ride

 

[Moto26]

Okay, I'll chime in. I own a '17 F150 and a '21 Bronco, as well as a '16 Yamaha XSR900 and a few other "bikes that don't run", as the saying goes. I'm pretty active over on the Bronco6G forum, for those who follow it.

Long story, but my kids will be out of high school in a few years, and we'll be moving to a new place that won't compel me to own a 1/2 ton truck. I'll be looking to replace the F150 with a mid-size pickup, and since everything in this category is all-new over the last couple of years, whatever I buy will be of this new generation, so I'm looking closely at this crop.

I've had a few different brands of truck over the years, but many of them have been Fords. There are a lot of things I like about Ford, and a few things that drive me insane, but you'll get that with any brand.

Like many here, I'm a little underwhelmed at what they've presented us here with the '24. I do feel like they will add different configurations and trims over the next few years, so hopefully they won't disappoint.

I feel like a crew-cab long-bed will be ideal for my future needs, and right now the only one on the market (of the new trucks) that we know of is the Nissan. Maybe Toyota will match that next week. I've seen the spy photos of such a Ranger, so my fingers are crossed.

I like the new Raptor, but it's really kind of ridiculous, and I'm not looking to spend $60,000+ on a mid-size truck. Given the base price of the '24 Ranger, I'm not even sure if I'll want to spend Lariat money on one, so an XLT might be in the cards. We'll see...

 

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@Moto26 when my two boys were growing, I had an '06 Frontier crew-cab V-6, 6-speed manual 4X4 with the short box and it served well for 11.5 years and 165k miles. I would have bought another if the current Frontier was available in '17. Heck the Ranger wasn't even there as you know. The F150 was the only option for me.

Those XSR bikes seem like a hoot to ride back road twisties. If I were to have one, yellow would be the color choice. Back in '20, I picked up a leftover '19 CB1000R. Traded that for a '21 Goldwing DCT non-tour. Sold that after about 8,500 miles. My AT has been a better bike for me. Anyway, after nearly 50 years with bikes, I've most likely bought my last one when I picked up the 300SM last June.

Pretty satisfied how my F150 is and how reliable it has been so far for the 87k+ mileage. I'm not in a hurry to replace it, but given the choices of the current mid-size, I would not mind to downsize again.

 

[Moto26]

The F150 has been fine, but not stellar. I’ve always hated the mushy, no-feedback brakes, even before they tried to kill me when the booster failed and my foot went to the floor without slowing down. I still don’t fully trust them. We tow trailers a lot, including horses, and the brake thing is always in the back of our minds.

Once we move, we won’t have anything heavier than about 5-6000 lbs. to tow, and a mid size will be ideal. Fortunately for us, there seems to be a resurgence in the mid size segment, so we’ll have some real choices!

The XSR is pretty cool, and it looks the part of the classic Yamahas from when I first started riding in the early 80’s. It could use some suspension upgrades, but I’ve dealt with it this far, so maybe I’ll leave it alone. I spend more time these days riding MTB’s with my 13-year-old son than the motorcycles anyway.

Speaking of whom, he’s going to be getting his driver’s license in a couple of years, and he’ll need something to carry his bike(s) in, and when you look at used trucks these days, the Frontiers seem to be the best bang for the buck, so that very well may be what we end up with. It would be cool if we could get him a manual, too…

 

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That brake failure had to get your attention real quick, @Moto26!

 

[Moto26]

That brake failure had to get your attention real quick, @Moto26!

For sure! Fortunately, I was on a residential street with some speed bumps. I was going over the last bump before the stop sign, and I noticed the brake seemed kind of soft. Then when I went to stop for the intersection about 100 feet further, the pedal just went to the floor! I pumped it a couple of times - maybe the speed bump thing put it in my head - and it came back just enough to slow down. I still rolled about 5 feet into the intersection, but luckily nobody was coming!

I was just about to the last stretch of lightly-travelled road to my house, so I played with it a little, and sure enough, for every couple hundred feet of driving it would lose all braking power until you pumped it 2 or 3 times. It left my house on a tow truck.

The dealer discovered that the hydraulic brake booster was leaking internally or something, and they replaced it under warranty. This was about 4 years old, 25,000-ish miles. They were coy about whether this was a unique issue, but I got the impression that, yeah, they'd seen it before...

My wife drives the truck often, mainly towing horses, so I've drilled it into her head, if you ever feel that soft pedal, pump the shit out of it and pull off the road!

 

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That could have gone really bad @Moto26. Glad to hear it ended well and truck was repaired repaired.

 

[Fattirz in NC]

My ‘02 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew has been great in the 21+ years of ownership and I just turned 112k on the odometer last week. A short work commute and riding my motorcycles are the reason for low miles for its age. But I am so ready to drive something more fuel efficient and new. The sunroof now leaks and the Carolina sun has treated the Metallic Highland Green to a “matured patina”.

I too am disappointed that there is no SuperCrew longbed configuration for the Ranger! Here is one reason that configuration makes perfect sense for me and other outdoor enthusiasts…

Am also a mountain biker and would love to carry kayaks with the tailgate up so I can utilize the receiver hitch with a 4 tray bike rack. A midsize with a 6’ box would also be perfect for taking scouts camping and backpacking. I often have this bed loaded with gear and haul our troop trailer for extended outings

I occasionally put my motorcycle in the bed too, so a 6’ bed would be even better than this 5 1/2 foot bed of my F-150.

Oh, and one last Moto photo…

what I sold to buy my Africa Twin (an ‘03 ST1300 and ‘07 CBR1000RR)

 

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Oh, an ST @Fattirz in NC! Nice. I traded my '12 Concours 14 with 53k miles for my AT. Took the C14 a lot of places.

Yeah, it might be time to move on from the ol' F150. Should be an easy sell with only 112k miles. When I had my Frontier (5' bed), I would load two kayaks in the bed. One strap and they were secure with the tail gate closed.

 

[LarryRG]

For sure! Fortunately, I was on a residential street with some speed bumps. I was going over the last bump before the stop sign, and I noticed the brake seemed kind of soft. Then when I went to stop for the intersection about 100 feet further, the pedal just went to the floor! I pumped it a couple of times - maybe the speed bump thing put it in my head - and it came back just enough to slow down. I still rolled about 5 feet into the intersection, but luckily nobody was coming!

I was just about to the last stretch of lightly-travelled road to my house, so I played with it a little, and sure enough, for every couple hundred feet of driving it would lose all braking power until you pumped it 2 or 3 times. It left my house on a tow truck.

The dealer discovered that the hydraulic brake booster was leaking internally or something, and they replaced it under warranty. This was about 4 years old, 25,000-ish miles. They were coy about whether this was a unique issue, but I got the impression that, yeah, they'd seen it before...

My wife drives the truck often, mainly towing horses, so I've drilled it into her head, if you ever feel that soft pedal, pump the shit out of it and pull off the road!

That would be very scary to feel that very soft brake at high speed.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I’m also an F-150 owner (‘02 Lariat SuperCrew) waiting for a new Ranger. Only difference is I have been ready for years!!! I’m also an AT owner for the last 5+ years. Welcome to the 6G Ranger site.

Great pic, Brian!! We're ready when you are! Thank you for being part of the Ford family!