The Power Ranger, aka What Could Go Wrong?

[Jake]

According to Wikipedia, "Morphed [Power] Rangers generally possess enhanced strength, durability, agility and combat prowess." Come April, I will get to find out how much a Ford Ranger shares with that claim (minus the agility because like, it's a pickup truck).

Long story short, my uncle passed away last Friday. He was my mom's only brother and ended up a bit estranged by his own choice, living in Washington state and working as a stone mason in Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island. I never met him and he hadn't spoken to my mom in ~10 years. Even though he was estranged, everyone we've spoken to said he read our annual Christmas letters and knew what we were up to. He was apparently proud of his only nephew and all the car things I got up to. So, when we go out there to spread his ashes and gather his things in early April, I will be driving his truck home to DC with some of his masonry work (a few artsy pieces) in the backseat.

The plan is to clean up the truck, sell it, and split the profit between furthering my racing season and a donation to the non-profit that helped him out for about five years. We collectively think he'd be okay with that, so... here goes.



I've never driven cross-country before and will obviously be taking the northern route across I-90 and I-94. My plan is to log some pretty heavy days and stay with friends along the way. His case worker and her husband are having the truck taken to their local mechanic, who will do an oil change and give it a general PPI type of inspection. Anything big will be fixed before I set off, anything small can be ignored or repaired once I'm home. We've been told Dennis took very good care of the truck, since it was used to run his business and was one of few material possessions he was proud of.

It looks kind of filthy but I think it'll clean up well with some elbow grease. It'll make a great first car or beater truck for someone.

What I know so far:

• 2003 Ford Ranger XLT
  
• 4.0L SOHC V6 in its most powerful iteration - 207 hp, 238 tq
  
• 5-speed automatic
  
• 2-wheel drive
  
• 210k miles
  
• Appears fairly loaded - has power locks/windows, 6 CD changer, sliding rear window, leather seats
  
• Was first purchased in WA as a commercial vehicle, then he bought it in 2010 with 147k. Clean Carfax, no accidents.
  

Should be a nice drive home, I hope. Wanted to have a place to catalog everything I learn between now and April, and provide trip reports as I go.

TLDR: I'm inheriting a high-mileage Ford truck and driving it 2,900 miles home sight-unseen. What could go wrong?

[Senor_Taylor]

Wow, that's probably the nicest Ranger (besides lack of 4wd) I've ever seen as far as option go. I hope you have fun, but I urge you to not push yourself. That's a crazy long drive and 95% of it is boring straight interstates. The other 5% will be traffic and navigating the Rockies. It's easy to think "Just one more hour to go", then you fall asleep at the wheel or make a dumb decision. Take advantage of rest stops and get in quick power naps. Those seats go back pretty far with the extended cab and the floor behind the seats isn't too bad either for a nap with the jump seats up.

Hopefully the shop checks the thermostat housing because that and the 4WD computer are the only issues I'm aware of.

This sounds like my road trip to Washington when I was younger. We went to spread my great grandparents ashes after a murder/suicide that really tore my grandma up and my mom was already in a really bad place emotionally after the divorce so it was a way to spend a summer away from everything. Hopefully you'll gain as many fun stories as I did.

[Jake]

Wow, that's probably the nicest Ranger (besides lack of 4wd) I've ever seen as far as option go. I hope you have fun, but I urge you to not push yourself. That's a crazy long drive and 95% of it is boring straight interstates. The other 5% will be traffic and navigating the Rockies. It's easy to think "Just one more hour to go", then you fall asleep at the wheel or make a dumb decision. Take advantage of rest stops and get in quick power naps. Those seats go back pretty far with the extended cab and the floor behind the seats isn't too bad either for a nap with the jump seats up.

Hopefully the shop checks the thermostat housing because that and the 4WD computer are the only issues I'm aware of.

Yeah, for the first owner being "commercial" on the Carfax, it's got a lot of options. 

I do know the speed limit in Montana is 80 mph. Curious how comfortable this will be at 80-85 there. Just glad it has cruise control, and I will have to figure out a solution (that ideally isn't FM-based) to get my phone cranking some tunes through that fancy head unit. Will definitely be taking breaks and paying attention to how I feel on the trip.

Good to know re: thermostat housing. The case worker was going to put me in touch directly with the mechanic so I'll be sure to mention that to him as a potential weak spot that he should check out.

[ViPER1313]

Jake,

Sorry for your loss. If you are doing this for the adventure or because you really want to drive across country, god speed, but if I were you I would just have it towed to the nearest Carmax and take what you can get for it and donate the money. By the time you factor in your plane ticket, gas, repairs, title fees etc you may end up in the red here, and your time is important too.

Even if you are still going out there to help out, I would just dump it and get a nice rental for your adventure or just fly back. The sketch of driving a 210k mile truck across country is more than I would take on.

Then again, I am still really salty about the Trailblazer, so it may be coloring my opinion here, but let it be a cautionary tale.

[Jake]

Jake,

Sorry for your loss. If you are doing this for the adventure or because you really want to drive across country, god speed, but if I were you I would just have it towed to the nearest Carmax and take what you can get for it and donate the money. By the time you factor in your plane ticket, gas, repairs, title fees etc you may end up in the red here, and your time is important too.

Even if you are still going out there to help out, I would just dump it and get a nice rental for your adventure or just fly back. The sketch of driving a 210k mile truck across country is more than I would take on.

Then again, I am still really salty about the Trailblazer, so it may be coloring my opinion here, but let it be a cautionary tale.

Thanks Adam - there are a few things at play here. We (as a family) definitely have to fly out to WA and deal with a few things, plus spread his ashes. So we're going regardless. I thought about the Carmax route, but given we'd like to bring home some of his stone work, this is convenient. Plus, I've never seen that part of the country so why not do the drive and see some things/friends along the way. I've got the PTO at work and assuming it checks out from the mechanic, it should be an easy enough drive. We think he just put new tires on it, so that's one potential big cost gone.

The 4.0/5R55 is a known solid drivetrain so I'm not worried there. If the thing dies along the way, it'll get towed to the nearest Carmax and I'll drive a rental the rest of the way home. Or fly. Or something.

[davej]

I second the condolences and Adam's observations, but agree that it seems to be a good enough reason to see some new sights and visits some friends It sounds like it'll be a worthwhile trip and hopefully uneventful, but worst case you have an adventure. =)

[.RJ]

Damn that is going to be a little uh... rustic to drive across the country in. When is the trip happening?

[Jake]

Damn that is going to be a little uh... rustic to drive across the country in.  When is the trip happening?

Second week of April.

I've found a way to get auxiliary input into that CD6 head unit so at least I'll have tunes/podcasts.

[Goodspeed]

Echoing the sorry for your loss - but excited for the adventure that awaits. The Pac NW is so far probably my favorite part of the country - take as much time as you can to explore after doing the necessaries, it's beautiful up there.

[ScottyB]

sorry for the occassion buddy.  glad to hear you're making the best of it though.

we had a '96 explorer 4.0.  not the same vehicle of course, but a lot in common, including all the memories that came rushing back when i looked at that dashboard.  we dumped ours at 110k due to tranny issues but aside from that, it was a truly gas/oil kind of vehicle.  hopefully this pickup doesn't have any surprises.

we would see up to 24mpg in ours on flat highway at a conservative 65-70.  the lumbar air-bladder in the driver's seat would leak but still hold air long enough to get an hour out of before you had to engage the pump again.  on long ascents it preferred the O/D off or it would hunt around a lot.

[Jake]

sorry for the occassion buddy.  glad to hear you're making the best of it though.

we had a '96 explorer 4.0.  not the same vehicle of course, but a lot in common, including all the memories that came rushing back when i looked at that dashboard.  we dumped ours at 110k due to tranny issues but aside from that, it was a truly gas/oil kind of vehicle.  hopefully this pickup doesn't have any surprises.

we would see up to 24mpg in ours on flat highway at a conservative 65-70.  the lumbar air-bladder in the driver's seat would leak but still hold air long enough to get an hour out of before you had to engage the pump again.  on long ascents it preferred the O/D off or it would hunt around a lot.

That dash lasted through the final years in the Ranger - all the way to 2011 or 2012. They got a lot of use out of that tooling.

Good to know the older 4.0 drivetrain could do so good on gas! Hopefully the newer variant is just as solid. You would have had the 4.0 OHV engine and 4-speed trans - this has the 4.0 SOHC and 5-speed auto, which came out in... 2001? We'll see how it does for economy with that extra gear.

[ScottyB]

That dash lasted through the final years in the Ranger - all the way to 2011 or 2012. They got a lot of use out of that tooling.

Good to know the older 4.0 drivetrain could do so good on gas! Hopefully the newer variant is just as solid. You would have had the 4.0 OHV engine and 4-speed trans - this has the 4.0 SOHC and 5-speed auto, which came out in... 2001? We'll see how it does for economy with that extra gear.

no kidding? that's a bean-counter's wet dream.

yes we had the OHV engine. tremendously mediocre, absolutely hated to rev...just made more noise but no progress. but it kept on keepin' on, so there was that. it did have good highway economy, i would think with the pickup's worse aero it would probably be about equal with the extra gear spacing. the SOHC is far better so it should scoot along well enough.

[Jake]

Update!

The case worker and her husband got the Ranger to Ed, the mechanic, who gave it an oil change and looked it over, all for the giant sum of $60. Really.

Ed called me yesterday and goes "well I'd drive it to DC!" Apparently nothing is leaking, the brakes and tires all look fairly new, and there's no rust. He recommended we change the air and fuel filters and replace the drive belts, which all seems like good insurance for a 3,000 mile road trip. Parts and labor for that work will be about $200.

Booked my one-way ticket to Sea-Tac yesterday so I guess this trip is really happening

[Senor_Taylor]

When are you going? Sell it to Zach.

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[Gordonovski]

Do I need a Ranger?


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[Senor_Taylor]

Well, you wanted my truck, then you wanted your friend's Sonoma, then you wanted that Ranger from the guy that bought the Miata.

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[BrandonBoww]

How much around about would you sell it for?


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[Jake]

How much around about would you sell it for?


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Not sure yet, let me get it home and cleaned up first.  I'll let you/the forum know for sure.

[BrandonBoww]

How much around about would you sell it for?


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Not sure yet, let me get it home and cleaned up first.  I'll let you/the forum know for sure.

Yeah definitely! Have a safe trip.


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[Jake]

We've learned that my uncle's old landlady was storing a bed cap for this thing. So, when I get out there, I have to go over there and install the cap so I can bring that home. Should be a nice touch. No idea if it's the same paint color and/or if all the hardware to install it is still there. I guess it drops in to the holes in the bed sides, and the cap has clamps that hold it down?

I've got a new JVC head unit that supports Bluetooth, along with the Ford radio removal tools, wiring and dash kit, ready to go in my carry-on. I'll be bringing a cigarette lighter adapter for phone power, two iPhone USB cords, and a vent phone mount. I'll swing by an Advance on the way out of Seattle and grab basics - oil, coolant, and teflon/duct tape - just in case.

My route should be as shown -- Seattle to Bozeman, Bozeman to Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls to Chicago, Chicago to Alexandria. I'll at least be able to stop at Mount Rushmore on the way to Sioux Falls, which will be neat. 



I've downloaded a bunch of Spotify playlists to my phone, as well as a book on Audible and a few podcast series. There's an app called iExit that should be helpful for finding fuel and rest stops along the way. 

I'm getting to the point of "well I guess I just get on the plane and do this now" which is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking.