2017 3.2ltr Ford Ranger Dual Cab XLT

[GabrielSyler]

What better way to introduce myself to the group than by introducing my vehicle and build to date. It's a 2017 Ford Ranger Dual Cab Ute. 3.2ltr I5 Turbo auto diesel, 3500kg GVM.

I needed an off-road capable vehicle for work and also wanted something that I could turn into a suitable overland vehicle for short and long breaks around Australia. I picked it up new nearly a year ago. The dual cab ute's in Australia are all very similar but I decided on the Ford due to the nicer interior, standard rear lockers and 800mm wading depth. I also found that Ford aftermarket parts are cheaper than the Toyota or Holden counterparts.

My overland trips can be for a single night or several weeks and cover desert, forest or beach. With this in mind, I have tried to set the vehicle up pretty general. I've not done any really long hard trips yet but they are coming.

I like to think I'm pretty handy with a spanner so try to do all the work myself, sometimes though its just been easier to pay somebody else to do it.

What do I want to get out of this build thread?
I've had the vehicle for nearly a year and have done a ton of work to it. This thread will a good place to document some of this and also get feedback on better ways to do something.

Firstly, the vehicle on day 2 (November 2017 -after fitting new suspension)


and the vehicle as it currently looks


I'll add photos detailing some of the mods below progressively.

Current Mods List:
06/2019

Armor:
Ironman steel front bumper
Ironman steel rear bumper
Ironman steel brush bars and side steps
Ironman steel underbody protection (engine/transmission)
door panels wrapped in paint protection film

Wheels and Tires:
BF Goodrich All terrain KO2 285/70r17 tyres
ROH Octagon wheels (17x8")

Suspension:
Pedders 300kg GVM Upgrade suspension kit (3200kg GVM to 3500kg GVM).

Drivetrain/Power:
3.2ltr turbo diesel with auto
Ironman Snorkel
HDi GT2 Intercooler
Dynod ECU Tune (125kw ATW / 500Nm ATW - pre intercooler)
Secondary fuel filter
Oil catch can

Recovery:
Twin heavy duty recovery points on front and rear
12,000lb front winch

Lighting/Electrical:
170ah second battery
200w roof mounted solar panel
250w folding solar panel
9" front LED spot lights (bumper mounted)
40" front LED light bar (roof mounted)
rear working LED lights
LED Reverse light upgrade

Navigation/Comms:
Bumper mounted UHF antenna (600mm and 1200mm antennas)
Bumper mounted 4G antenna
hand held radio (UHF & VHF) - can utilise car antennas
UHF CB radio
Hema offroad maps
Couple of paper maps

Exterior:
Tail gate central locking

Interior:

Utility:
Air Compressor
40ltr Fridge
150kg capacity roof rack
2.5m x 2.5m awning

Camping/Storage:
custom built rear tub drawers

Upcoming Mods:
camping equipment related mainly.

 

[Raul B]

Welcome aboard. I can't wait for those rangers to hit the states...

 

[CCHeath]

Welcome,

I am also interested in the new Ford Ranger coming to the States. What is the Rangers reputation for reliability in Australia?

 

[GabrielSyler]

Welcome aboard. I can't wait for those rangers to hit the states...

Welcome,
I am also interested in the new Ford Ranger coming to the States. What is the Rangers reputation for reliability in Australia?

I think they are great bits of kit and that's probably reflected in them always taking the #1 or #2 spots in Australian Ute sales. They are pretty capable off the shelf and even better once modified.

 

[GabrielSyler]

Armor:
Ironman 4x4 steel front bumper

There is what seems like an endless choice for steelwork in Australia. I liked the look of the Ironman 4x4 brand and the price is fantastic compared to some of the more well known brands.

I decided to fit this myself . Whilst a "professional" would have it done in a few hours I decided to do it over a weekend and use this as an opportunity to see how the front of the vehicle is put together. I think the instructions provided assumed that this is your 10th one installed as they were pretty light on information. It wasn't too bad a work although the indicators and lights needed a bit of wiring up.

Having run it for a year now I've had no problems and no rust bubbles have appeared. It's had a couple of light off-road impacts and hasn't bent or been damaged. I've not hit a kangaroo yet (which will be the true test).

Old bumper off and retained items trimmed:



This bumpers not going anywhere :



and bumper on (including winch) :

 

[GabrielSyler]

Armor continued:
Ironman steel underbody protection (engine/transmission)
This is 4mm steel and protects the engine and transmission. It's pretty heavy but wasn't that hard to install by myself with just a trolley jack.


As you can see by the photos I've given it a bit of a bashing already and the paint has scraped away. I'll need to sand and repaint when I get chance.

transmission protection

 

[GabrielSyler]

Ironman steel brush bars and side steps
The standard side steps were plastic and pretty low (although they manage to withstand a beating). These ones a a lot better although one of the brackets sits lower than the bar so I won't be sliding on any rocks. The brush bars already paid for themselves after an old lady tried to share my lane with me.

 

[GabrielSyler]

Ironman steel rear bumper
This is a pretty sturdy piece of kit. The rear clearance has improved significantly and the side bars will protect the tub. It's great when the rear slips and slides into something hard. The top of the bumper is good for standing items like a beer or even just sitting on. It also has two recovery points built in. At some point I do plan on cutting in two LED spot lights for reversing lights as the standard bulb is rubbish unless used in daylight!!

 

[RangerDan56]

Welcome from the US and what an awesome build you have!
The Ranger is returning to the US for 2019 so your late model build will interest many who purchase one I’m sure.
I’m new to OB as well and to overlanding in general and have a 1999 Ranger XLT Extended cab 4x4 Off Road. 4.0 V6 with 5 spd manual. It’s basically stock, but planning a modest lift, bigger wheels/tires, bumpers etc.

 

[GabrielSyler]

Welcome from the US and what an awesome build you have!
The Ranger is returning to the US for 2019 so your late model build will interest many who purchase one I’m sure.
I’m new to OB as well and to overlanding in general and have a 1999 Ranger XLT Extended cab 4x4 Off Road. 4.0 V6 with 5 spd manual. It’s basically stock, but planning a modest lift, bigger wheels/tires, bumpers etc.

Hello thanks for the welcome! Whilst their is plenty of choice for mods here, the US market always expands it further. Thankfully they have large luggage allowance between US & Oz!

 

[GabrielSyler]

Recovery:
Front recovery points.

At a working load of 5000kg a side, these RoadSafe recovery points are not going to be the week point of a recovery!
Unless you have tiny hands, pay somebody else to install these. those Nut on Wires are a nightmare. I didn't know my arm and hands could bend in ways they did.
They do hang low and you'd think they cause a problem on the approach angle, but I've not had an issue yet and I've been on a few rocky trails. The rocks lose.

Had a couple of snatches from them and as expected, no issues at all.

The bright yellow colour gets a lot of attention form passersby.

 

[GabrielSyler]

Recovery:
X-Bull 12,000lb front winch with synthetic rope.
Not much to say about this other than it is huge, but no larger than any other 12,000lb winch. Fits under the Ironman bumper and still has some room between the winch and the intercooler.

I had the control box on top of the bumper in-between the spot lights. I didn't really like the look of this and I was also concerned that it could limit airflow to the radiators (with the 9" spotlights already blocking the front). So I moved it inside the engine bay to behind one of the spot lights. It also now sits higher which helps if I ever need to winch in water. The rewiring wasn't too difficult and I made a support bracket with some metal brackets from a local DIY store. The control box is wireless so no need to open the engine bay hood but the cable controller plugs in through the grill.

 

[GabrielSyler]

Added a 25ltr drinking water tank today. Its moulded to fit under the tray above the spare wheel. 25ltrs is enough for a long weekend and saves an additional water container in the tub or on the roof rack.

It's currently gravity fed but I'm going to DIY a tap either into the bumper or into the drawer setup and add an inline pump. I've not decided the specifics yet. Easy install.

 

[Jakes2514]

Added a 25ltr drinking water tank today. Its moulded to fit under the tray above the spare wheel. 25ltrs is enough for a long weekend and saves an additional water container in the tub or on the roof rack.

It's currently gravity fed but I'm going to DIY a tap either into the bumper or into the drawer setup and add an inline pump. I've not decided the specifics yet.

Awesome build!

Im in the process of getting pretty much the same wagon! Difference is we get the Ranger 3.2 in a in-line 5 cylinder here in the UK would have loved a V6 purely for the sound [emoji23].

Who makes this water tank id like to do this mod on mine as the space under the Tub is pretty much wasted and I love the utility of this!

Following with interest!
Regards
Jakes

 

[GabrielSyler]

Awesome build!

Im in the process of getting pretty much the same wagon! Difference is we get the Ranger 3.2 in a in-line 5 cylinder here in the UK would have loved a V6 purely for the sound [emoji23].

Who makes this water tank id like to do this mod on mine as the space under the Tub is pretty much wasted and I love the utility of this!

Following with interest!
Regards
Jakes

Hey mate, sorry for the delay. Been flat out.

I got it from an ebayer the guy does different vehicles. the link to the seller is https://www.ebay.com.au/usr/nxc323?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

 

[JCWages]

What a cool build!

I really like the water tank above the spare tire and the rear bumper. Some day I'll get the AEV bumper for my Cayon which is very similar. Those tubular side bars will help my anxiety when the back end starts shifting around while crawling around on rocky trails.

Are you planning on lifting it at all and fitting larger tires? Those front recovery points stick out quite a bit and all that weight has to have dropped your height.

 

[GabrielSyler]

What a cool build!

I really like the water tank above the spare tire and the rear bumper. Some day I'll get the AEV bumper for my Cayon which is very similar. Those tubular side bars will help my anxiety when the back end starts shifting around while crawling around on rocky trails.

Are you planning on lifting it at all and fitting larger tires? Those front recovery points stick out quite a bit and all that weight has to have dropped your height.

Thanks. The side bars are great.

At the moment I'm not planning on lifting it any higher yet. The suspension is engineered so the car has an extra 300kg GVM and is designed for the extra weight. With all the extra stuff on it sits at standard at the front and about an inch higher at the back. The first photo of this thread was with the new suspension installed and you can see how much loading it has now. If I start to struggle with clearance I will look into a bigger lift but I've not had too much trouble yet (or nothing that the bash plates can't handle).

The recovery points do stick out but havn't actually caused any issues. They are pretty heavy duty so the odd bang isn't going to hurt.

I will be changing the tyres and fitting larger/wider tyres. The ones on are standard size and are currently doing the job so I'm spending the cash on other items. I'll probably only go an extra inch or two in diameter.

 

[GabrielSyler]

I recently installed a tap in the back of the vehicle which draws water from the under vehicle tank. The pump is powered by a switch next to the tap.

See the build in this link https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/undercar-water-tank-storage-tap.21034/

 

[GabrielSyler]

Tinted Windows
The standard factory tint didn't really give much protection from the sun so I had an aftermarket tint applied. This blocks 91% of infrared heat and 99% of UV. It also looks good. Their is an immediate drop in incar temps when parked in the sun or driving.

 

[GabrielSyler]

Two problems that I fixed this weekend with a new gadget.
1st problem - The dash USB doesn't charge my phone fast charge (which is required to keep the phone battery draining when I'm using some of the map apps at the same time) and whilst I have a 12v socket USB charger I found it messy took up space since it sticks out.
2nd problem - During a recent trip I found out that the circuit breaker between the main and second battery had been tripping, I'm guessing faulty or heat related. Unfortunately I didn't realise this until after a day of driving, which missed out on a valuable day of charging.

Solution - A Lightforce dual voltage reader with a fast charger USB built in. Since I don't really use the 12v sockets on the dash, I pulled one of them out and installed the new socket in there. Works a treat and looks really neat :)