Ranger305's Ranger Overland Build & Journal

[Ranger305]

As you could well imagine, saying 'Adios' to my 2019 Orange Fury Mustang GT was not an easy thing to do. This was my last look at her as I handed the keys to the Sales Manager and took delivery of my 2019 Oxford White Ranger XLT FX4. One day, I'll relate the details of our breakup, but for now, let's look ahead.

I took this picture a mere 50 feet from my erstwhile Orange steed on April 27th 2019 and never looked back. First, the particulars:

Oxford White 2019 SuperCrew 4x4 - 5' Box
XLT Trim Package

Equipment Grout 301A
17" Off-Road OWL Tires
SYNC3, SIRIUSXM, 6-Speakers
Sport Appearance Package
Running Boards
Trailer Tow Package
17" Magnetic Painted Aluminum Wheels
FX4 Off-Road Package
Electronic Locking Differential
Front License Plate Bracket

Modifications
Ford Bed Liner
Ford Tailgate Assist Kit
12V Receptacle in bed
Retrax Pro Rolling Tonneau Cover
Yakima Outpost Bed Rack w/ Sidebars
Fire Extinguisher
iCom 2730 Dual Band Ham Radio
Sliding Refrigerator tray for bed
Impulse Off Road light bar
KC Hilites LED Slimlites
Diode Dynamics Yellow LED Fog Lights
Generic 20" LED Lightbar
Universal 6-way Fused light switch
Ford Racing/Fox Offroad Suspension Kit
BDS Intrusion beams
Shock Fuel 17" Wheels (+20)
BFG All Terrain T/A K02 tires (5)
G3 Roof Rack


I drove her home that very same day and have been slowly modifying her ever since to suit my taste and plans. This build page will chronicle the build choices I made and the exploits of my white beauty as she is transformed from a humble FX4 XLT to Ranger Overland! Hope you enjoy the build. The build pics begin tomorrow.

Sponsored

 

[Ranger305]

After bringing her home, the first 'Mod' was grey 'Ranger' letter stickers....and a few other stickers

A Dashcam and ham radio were installed next. The dashcam was an Amazon 'Special', but the ham radio is an iCom 2730 Dual Band radio with a remote head unit which I mounted just below the speedo and tach. It fits perfectly there and doesn't block any of the dash. The unit itself is under the passenger's seat with the mic slung between the rear cup holder and the console. The remote speaker is under the driver's seat. I have the antenna mounted to the rear driver's door with a 3-angle NMO mount. Works for me.

 

[Ranger305]

If I was going to achieve my goal of offroading my FX4 on the trails of Colorado, Utah and California this summer, several things needed upgrading. The first thing I addressed was having a 12V receptacle in the bed. I just followed the pathway carved by previous members of this board and ordered the 12V power plug and wiring harness directly from a Ford Dealer. Once installed, the power point wire plugs directly to an existing mount on the frame rail under the bed. It was a simple install. Rather than drilling into the steel of my brand new truck, I decided to mount it to the plastic bed cover. The wire tie visible in the picture of the wire is ther to prevent the wire from sliding away from the body panel. So far so good.
The finishing touch was provided by some simple LED strip lights from Amazon.

 

[Ranger305]

Next items to be addressed were wheels and tires. While I must admit that one of the things I loved about the FX4 with the sport package were the Magnetic wheels and white lettered Hankooks, if I was going offroad, my Ranger would need some cool wheels and larger, more capable tires. A set of FUEL Shok 17" wheels (+20) and 285-70/17 BFG All Terrain KO2 tires fit the bill nicely, BUT before I could fit such ample meats beneath those smallish front wheel wells, some intrusion beam surgery had to be performed. I purchased a set of very beefy BDS Intrusion Beams from an eBay vendor and went about the relatively simple, but time consuming task of replacing the factory beams with the BDS substitutes which seemed just as stout as the factory ones, but installed in such a way that they were angled enough to fit larger tires.

Below are some pictures of the differences between the Ford beams and the BDS beams.

 

[Ranger305]

The intrusion beam issue having been dealt with, it was time to haul the wheels and tires to my favorite local tire shop (WTW in Miami Lakes) and mount these bad boys! A short trip to Home Depot to kill some time, then Chick-fil-a for some well earned lunch and it was back to WTW. Note the roof rack I installed. More about that later. I think the tires and bronze wheels look great. I love the fact that with the FUEL wheels, those wider BFGs don't stick out more than an inch from the fender wells. On those narrow Colorado shelf trails, I'll need all the passing clearance I can get!

Note that in the first picture after the array of truck and tire shots is a close-up of the amount of clearance between the front of the driver's tire and that plastic air-dam thingy. I bring that up because when I reversed at full lock, the bigger BFGs rubbed on the bottom of the air dam, making a rather horrendous sound. Needless to say, I trimmed them sufficiently to eliminate that cacophony. A few pics of the clearance between the tires and the new BDS beams are also included.

 

[Ranger305]

A few pictures of the Ford tailgate assist device follow, along with a few pictures of the Ford racing/FOX Offroad suspension kit i just received.

 

[MiataBro11]

Truck looks awesome dude! I will definitely be flowing your build.

 

[Ranger305]

Here are some pictures, in no particular order, of how my truck stands after the Ford Racing Fox Offroad Kit (2"" lift) was installed, the clearance between the tire and the fender well, and the plastic air dam after I trimmed it.

 

[Ranger305]

I found a company called Impulse Offroad out of Utah, on Facebook and ordered one of their offroad light bars. Its a very sturdy piece that comes with brackets to mount a 20" LED light bar. So, to test the fit and the 'look', I purchased a highly-rated, yet cheap 20" LED light bar from Amazon. I have plans for additional light mounting locations on the bar, but more on that later.

 

[Ranger305]

A Yakima Outpost HD roof rack was the next logical step in my Ranger Overland build. Engineered to hold the weight of a roof top tent and 2 occupants, this rack was perfect AND it was available at a discount from Levittown Ford online along with the required Tonneau kit needed to mount the rack on my Retrax cover. The results are pictured below. I didn't purchase the sidebars at the time, but they will follow soon.

BTW, the more astute observers among you will notice a box from KC Hilites in the bed of my truck. Could they be for the light bar??? Stay tuned!

 

[Ranger305]

Decided to 'modify' my Impulse Offroad lightbar. With the help of my son, Stephen and his MIG welder, we (well, actually it was he.......I'm using the 'Royal" we here...) welded two flat steel flanges to the top bar. These will serve as the new perches for my KC Hilites Slimlite LED spots. He did a great job of welding the perches on and after a little filing, sanding, filler for the 'rough spots' and black satin paint, we drilled two holes and mounted the KCs. Here are some pictures - although sadly, the only picture I have of his handiwork is an underexposed picture of the bar hanging on a clothes line while the paint dried. : (

 

[Ranger305]

Am I going to have to fabricate a tiny Yakima rack for my Matchbox mascot??

 

[Ranger305]

The Yakima Outpost HD Sidebars finally arrived! Here they are!

 

[Ranger305]

Having already purchased a refrigerator for the bed of my Ranger, it was time to address the need for a draw of sorts to facilitate loading and unloading the fridge without climbing in and out of the truck bed. A quick search on Amazon (and other sites online) revealed that a descent rack would cost upwards of $200. Ouch! Figuring I could put that money to better use, I searched for some Heavy Duty Ball-Bearing draw slides and found these for less than $90. Using some wood and carpeting I had hanging around the shop, I was able to fab up a sturdy refrigerator drawer for under $100. It works great and with the addition of a few chrome hold-downs for the fridge straps, will do the trick nicely. Here are some pictures...

 

[Ranger305]

When I take my Yakima rack off, I can, once again utilize these bike hitches I got from Amazon (link here). Yes, I did drill into my Retrax Tonneau cover box to mount them. If you think that was a bad idea, then, by all means, do not do it to yours. I love mine!

Sponsored