Follow our Project Ranger build

• Introduction: Meet the Project Ranger
• Update 1: Weapon of choice
• Update 2: Hitting the tracks
• Update 3: Geared up
• Update 4: Ronny's Ranger
• Update 5: Box and Dice
• Update 6: Tow Ready
• Update 7: Head for the Hills
• Update 8: Rear Renewed
• Update 9: Branded!
• Update 10: Tassie Tiger

Introduction: Meet the Project Ranger

WE’RE PRETTY excited here at 4X4HQ after taking delivery of this new Ford Ranger. We say new, but it’s a 2018 model we scored as a demo with only 250km on the clock … so, as good as new.

We’ve got big plans for the Ranger which are swinging into action as we speak, with some of the biggest names in the 4x4 business helping us out.

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The Ranger will primarily be the support vehicle for our 4x4 Adventure Series trips, so we need to kit it up to be expedition ready. We put a wishlist of accessories together and, before we head out to the Red Centre in July, we’ll be fitting the Ranger with Ironman 4x4 suspension and a long-range fuel tank, Maxxis RZR tyres on KMC wheels from Wheel Pros, an AFN bumper housing a Warn winch and Bushranger Nighthawk lights, a Cel-Fi phone signal booster, and a Water Watch fuel monitor. The whole lot will be covered thanks to Club 4x4 Insurance.

There’s more to come when we get back to town including the exciting aluminium body from AMVE and Redarc power system, so keep an eye for updates on WhichCar along the way. And keep an eye out for us on the tracks and say G’day if you see us.

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Update 1: Weapon of choice

We welcome our new Ford Ranger project car and waste no time loading it with accessories.

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WHILE MOST of the cars we feature in our ‘Garage’ are our personal old bangers and long-term road-test vehicles owned by the car companies, this ‘newish’ Ford Ranger is actually ours to keep. Yep, the magazine owns it, and we’ll be kitting it out with some awesome gear over the coming months and using it on our adventures.

I say ‘newish’ as it is a 2018 PXII Ranger, but it was a demo model and arrived to us with only 250km on the clock. Basically, it has sat in a Ford dealership just around the corner from our HQ for the past eight months and barely been driven.

So we got a good deal, but it also ticked all of the boxes for us: a 4x4 Ranger with the 3.2-litre engine and manual gearbox were our only prerequisites.

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Why a 3.2-litre with a manual transmission? Because that’s my preferred choice of Ranger engine, and I like manual gearboxes. We chose a Ranger because it’s currently the best-selling new 4x4 to private buyers and there’s a shed-load of great accessories available for it.

Before we even drove it off the lot we called Club 4X4 to cover the insurance, and we’ll be updating that policy regularly as more kit goes on the ute. Then it was straight down to our mate Phil at Ontrack Automotive in Ferntree Gully to have a Water Watch pre-filter fitted to catch out any contaminants in the diesel fuel.

With a deadline fast approaching on a Red Centre 4x4 adventure we took the car to the crew at No Limit 4x4 & Outdoor in Dandenong, where they installed an AFN loopless front bumper with full underbody protection plates, as well as a Warn Zeon 10-S winch and a pair of Bushranger Night Hawk LED driving lights.

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Just around the corner from No Limit 4x4 is Freeway Car Audio Visual, and the Ranger went there to get a Cel-Fi phone signal booster from Powertec fitted.

Ironman 4x4 fitted a full suspension kit, including its Foam Cell Pro shocks and new forged alloy UCAs, plus a long-range fuel tank for added touring capacity. While it was up on a hoist we bolted on the bronze Wheel Pros KMC Addict 2 alloy wheels wrapped in Maxxis RAZR muddies, which should be tough enough to take on any terrain. They certainly look the part.

With a Rola Titan Tray roof rack up top and a MaxTrax full recovery kit on board, we hit the highway for Alice Springs. We’ll be reviewing these products and more on the Ranger over the next year or so, and it promises to be a lot of fun. We look forward to racking up the miles and bringing you these real-world reviews, so stay tuned.

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Update 2: Hitting the tracks

We escape town to put our Ranger and its new accessories to the test in the Red Centre.

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AS SOON as the last bolts securing the Rola Titan roof racks were tightened, and the winch rope and Factor 55 FlatLink were fitted, we were loading our Project Ford Ranger up with gear for a three-week trip to Central Australia and the Simpson Desert.

The tray area in the XLS-spec Ranger doesn’t have a 12-volt outlet, but the rear seats fold up neatly to provide a flat space that snuggly fits our 40-litre ARB fridge/freezer on one side and leaves enough space behind the passenger seat (and in the tray) for more cargo, including swags, camp chairs, stretchers and so on. Even though I was travelling solo, I was meeting a crew in Alice Springs and had all of their camp gear onboard.

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It was a highway run to Alice, with the Ranger easily eating up the miles; the Maxxis RAZR muddies humming along on the black-top, and tunes flowing from the Ford sound system. The Ranger XLS only has a basic stereo with two front speakers and no sat-nav in the dash, but it sufficed on long days on the tracks.

I’m normally a big fan of automatic climate-control systems, but the XLS misses out on this feature. Still, I was pleased with the ease of use of the old-school HVAC system and its big dials for temperature and fan control, as opposed to the tiny buttons used on the higher-spec XLT and Raptor models. The cabin of our low-spec Ranger proved to be a nice place to spend long hours on the road.

With the oversized tyres throwing the speedometer and odometer out by around five per cent, and the Ironman 4x4 long-range fuel tank leaving the fuel gauge imprecise, we couldn’t get accurate fuel-use figures, but we estimate it was returning around 13 to 13.5L/100km on the highway. The 140-litre tank provided around 900km of safe fuel range.

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Once in Alice Springs we dropped into Ironman 4x4 fitters, Stuart Highway Auto, for a spanner check of the new suspension. This is always recommended at around 1000km after installation, and we’d logged up more than 2300km heading to Alice. It all checked out okay, and it was then only a matter of picking up the crew and heading on our way.

You’ll read more about our Red Centre adventures, as well as reviews of the gear fitted to the Ranger, in upcoming issues of the magazine. We’ll also tell you how well the Ranger took on the deserts. With it now back in Melbourne, it’s overdue for its 3000km service; plus, we have more gear to be fitted before we leave the black-top behind for another trip.

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4x4 Shed Log 1: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 6112km
Date acquired: June 2019
Price: N/A
Mileage this month: 5737km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 3: Geared up

The Ranger gets its first service and more accessories.

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With the Ford Ranger back in town after the Central Australia trip, it was way overdue for its 3000km service. This is a complementary service from Ford and is basically a check-over to make sure everything is running right. We had a couple of small things that needed attention while it was in the shop.

We ordered a set of factory colour-coded flares to cover the bigger Maxxis tyres we’d fitted, but they didn’t arrive before the trip so the Ranger was running with a bit of tyre poke on that run. These arrived at the dealer and were fitted while it was in for the service. The flares cover the tyres now and it shouldn’t spray so much mud up the sides when driving off-road, as it did in the desert.

While we were away we had a sway bar link rattle loose from the front left upright, and this allowed the bar to drop onto the CV joint and tear the rubber boot. Most of the outback trip was done with the sway bar removed which wasn’t a problem, but the torn boot let dust into the CV joint so we asked Ford to replace that. This is a $690 part and replacing it along with refitting the sway bar meant that the service set us back $980.

The Ford dealer also replaced the inverter under warranty, as it started showing a fault and stopped working while we were on our trip.

More accessories arrived at the office while we were away, so after the dealer visit we sent the Ranger back to Ontrack Automotive in Ferntree Gully to have the GME XRS 330CTP UHF kit ($629) and King Brown three-inch cat-back exhaust system (from $760) fitted. With a lack of space for additional switches in the Ranger’s cabin, we also fitted switch-panel fascia from Lightforce ($135) that gives us that facility while retaining a factory-fit look.

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Lastly, a set of tough 3D floor mats from Tru-Fit carpets were installed to protect the factory carpets from dust and mud. We should have fitted these before the dusty Red Centre trip, but we’re heading to South Australia next month so they’ll be put to good use. These hard-wearing, waterproof ‘Maxtrac’ 3D mats fit like they were moulded directly to the floor pan, and the clever hook system on the back of them grips the carpet so they don’t move around in the footwell like many other mats do. The full set of mats for front and rear sells for $279.

With this new gear onboard we’re again loading the Ranger up for another adventure. This time we’re off for two weeks in the Flinders Ranges.

4x4 Shed Log 2: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 6434km
Mileage this month: 322km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 4: Ronny's Ranger

Ron drives Our Ford Ranger on an outback jaunt.
By: Ron Moon

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When I picked up the Ford Ranger from the 4X4 Australia office, it had been with the mag for a few months and had already seen a bit of outback action, but this was the first chance I’d had to drive it for more than an hour or two.

It’s a smart-looking beast, accentuated with a good-looking AFN front bumper that hides a Warn Zeon 10-S winch, while also wearing a pair of Bushranger Night Hawk LED driving lights. With a set of Wheel Pros KMC Addict 2 alloy wheels fitted with Maxxis RAZR muddies, and all propped up by an Ironman PXIII suspension kit with foam cell shocks and Pro Forge upper control arms, it certainly looks the business.

A Rola Titan Tray up top can hold a load of gear; although, we only seem to carry a set of MaxTrax, a shovel and the occasional swag up there.

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In the cab of the XLS-level Ranger you don’t get too much fancy stuff, but I kinda like it that way. It has air-conditioning and a stereo with a couple of speakers, which is more than sufficient to make long-distance cruising a doddle; and we’ve done a fair amount of that!

For inter-vehicle comms we have fitted a GME XRS 330CTP UHF radio, tucked away out of sight, with all the controls, mic and speaker on the handpiece. I don’t normally like such handset speaker mics, but I was surprised at the clarity, tonal and volume response from this unit; it is without doubt the best I have ever used.

So what were my impressions after two weeks of driving over 4000km or so under a variety of conditions and road surfaces? First up, while humming along over a variety of bitumen road surfaces, there was just the slightest feel of coarseness in the ride quality over what you get from a standard Ranger.

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I put this down entirely to the difference in the tyre package over the standard, more road-orientated rubber fitment. I had also been driving a few vehicles in the previous few weeks all fitted with far less aggressive tyres than the Maxxis units, so it wasn’t any real surprise.

Still, it didn’t take much time before I was oblivious to the slight change in ride quality and the extra noise, and by the time we had clocked up a few hundred kilometres on a variety of dirt roads and tracks, where the tyres were in their element, any differences were really a non-issue.

What really impressed me with the Ironman 4x4 suspension package was the new upper control arms, which allow more clearance for the larger tyres we have fitted, and have resulted in improved ride and capability when in the rough stuff.

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We found plenty of tracks in the Flinders that were rocky, with some good-size steps and some scrabbly sections of loose rock and deep bulldust. The tyres, combined with the improved lift and articulation of the suspension, made this the best, most capable Ranger I have driven off-road.

On high-speed dirt, or through long sections of fast corrugations, the suspension package exhibited good control and as good a ride as you can get in such circumstances, with no sign of fade from the hard-working foam-cell shock absorbers.

In all, it was a delight to drive ... and I didn’t want to hand this smart-looker back. But the editor insisted!

4x4 Shed Log 3: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 10,434km
Mileage this month: 4000km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 5: Box and Dice

Our Ranger gets its canopy fitted and then heads for the hills on the NSW North Coast.

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We had to pry the keys to the Ranger out of Ronny’s hand after the Flinders Rangers trip, where he sounded suitably impressed with its performance in the rocky terrain. It had a date with a new body back in Melbourne, as one of the major components of the build was ready.

From the outset we wanted to fit a full aluminium box body to the back of the Ranger, and Jamie and his team at Allsafe Mine Vehicle Equipment in Brisbane (AMVE) designed a unit specifically for us. AMVE has done a few canopies for Rangers and BT-50s in the past, and they are all built to order to perfectly suit the customer’s needs.

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We were conscious of weight in our build, and a full aluminium replacement body – not one that sits on a tray – is the best way to maximise space while limiting additional weight. In fact, by the time you remove the Ranger’s original steel ute tub and replace it with the AMVE aluminium body, there’s not a whole lot more mass to it.

We kept the internal features to a minimum with just an MSA Drop Slide to mount the myCoolman fridge, a full Redarc power system including a BCDC charger, 2000W inverter and RedVision control centre, and a bank of lithium-ion batteries. That left us with plenty of space for swags, Pelican cases and such. We’ll have a full review of the AMVE canopy in the mag soon, but suffice to say, we love it so far.

No sooner had Jamie fitted the canopy with some help from the team at the TJM Dandenong store, including use of their workshop, the Ranger was back on the highway headed for another adventure.

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Each year we invite a handful of our supporters away on a trip for a few days of off-roading and just hanging out. No business talk, no video BS, just good vibes for days. This year we headed for the hills west of Coffs Harbour, where the forests hide all manner of terrain.

Plenty of steep climbs, ruts and washouts, with a bit of local history thrown in thanks to our guide Kevin Smith. This is just the sort of driving the Ranger has been built for and it does it easily. The only thing to complain about is its crappy, old phone Sync system that constantly cuts out, requiring you to unplug and re-plug the USB, interrupting the good vibes when highway touring.

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4x4 Shed Log 4: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 13,666km
Mileage this month: 4250km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 6: Tow Ready

More pieces to the puzzle for our Ford Ranger

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The RANGER hasn’t seen much action this month since we got back from the advertisers’ trip in Coffs Harbour (Summer 2020 issue). However, we’ve managed to get some more pieces of the puzzle in place before we head out again.

With the AMVE canopy now in place we could head back to Hayman Reese/Rola to get the X-Bar rear bumper fitted. Up until now these have only been available to suit cab-chassis utes – and not those with a tub on them – which is why we had to wait, but there is a new ute tub version of the X-Bar now hitting the market.

Even so, the fitment to the back of our car wasn’t straightforward. We set up our canopy to sit low on the chassis and it hangs back a fair way behind the end of the chassis rails, which posed a problem.

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However, the guys at Hayman Reese sorted that out with some custom-made brackets that move the bar back and down a little. The great thing about the brackets is that they still leave the X-Bar high enough that it won’t infringe on the departure angle when we are driving without the towing hitch in place.

Our Ranger now has three solid, rated recovery points on the back for helping to drag other vehicles out of trouble. The centre recovery point on the X-Bar is rated to 8000kg, while the points at either end are 4000kg a piece.

While it was in the shop we had the guys take the 1500mm-long Rola Titan tray off the Ranger’s cab and move it atop the canopy. This too required some custom mounts, as we wanted to keep the tray as low as possible, but the guys just modified the standard mounts to suit. They also fitted a shorter 1200mm tray above the cab, so now the Ranger has plenty of storage space, inside and out.

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The next trip for the Ranger will be as a support vehicle on the 4x4 of the Year road test and, with almost 15,000km on the clock, it was time for a service. We again entrusted Chris and Phil at Ontrack Automotive in Ferntree Gully for this work and asked them to give the car a thorough spanner check. Chris noted the air cleaner was pretty blocked up and replaced both its element and the fuel filter as part of the service. This is why we prefer to have our car serviced by a specialised 4x4 workshop and not a dealer who doesn’t understand what we do with our vehicles.

Chris also fitted a ProVent oil catch can, to protect the intake from clagging up. This is essential equipment for any modern diesel four-wheel drive that uses an EGR emissions system, as they are prone to gunking up. We got our catch can in a complete kit from the team at Direction Plus.

4x4 Shed Log 5: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 15,098km
Mileage this month: 1432km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 7: Head for the Hills

The Ranger gets loaded up to serve as support vehicle for a trip to the Victorian High Country.

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With its new Rola Titan roof racks, X-Bar and Provent catch can recently fitted, it was time to load up the Ranger and head bush again. Just a local trip this time, up into the Victorian High Country as the support vehicle for our 4X4OTY testing, but it was the first time out with the AMVE body loaded up.

GT was using the Ranger for camp catering, so it was carrying all the food, drinks, water and cooking kit to keep 11 blokes fed and watered for a week. This included 30-odd litres of water in the AMVE water tanks and a myCOOLMAN fridge full of beers. It also had all the recovery gear onboard in case any of the new cars got stuck in the hills.

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When we originally fitted the Ironman 4x4 suspension to the Ranger, the guys used relatively soft rear springs commensurate with the types of load we’d be carrying. We knew then that the AMVE body would be a few months off and didn’t want the Ranger to ride too hard, and we planned to fit stiffer springs once the body was fitted.

When the body went on and we drove the car to Coffs Harbour we liked the supple ride. The weight of the canopy didn’t seem to affect the suspension adversely, either, but now with the canopy loaded, the rear leafs were almost flat and it wallowed a bit when up in the mountains … time for those stiffer rear leafs in the New Year.

The Ranger chugged along at the back of the new-car convoy for a week without any dramas. We did bust off the power plug for the fridge when sliding it out on the MSA Drop Slide and this shorted out the Redarc unit, but nothing that can’t be fixed. We want to wire the fridge power directly into the RedVision unit anyway, along with a few other new accessories to be fitted before the next jaunt.

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4x4 Shed Log 6: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 15,585km
Mileage this month: 487km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 8: Rear Renewed

The Ranger gets new leaf springs and shocks for the back end.

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No action for our Ranger over the New Year period as it was parked up for the holidays, but no sooner than we were back in town and it was in the shop getting new parts fitted.

First stop was back to Ironman 4x4 HQ in Dandenong to get the rear leaf springs replaced. When we first had the Ironman suspension fitted it was set up with the standard tub on the back, not the AMVE aluminium canopy. With the canopy on and loaded the medium rate (200kg to 400kg) leafs were at their limit so they’ve been replaced with Ironman’s Constant Load springs rated to 400kg+.

The team at Ironman 4x4 also upgraded the rear shocks to match the higher-rated springs, again using the company’s Foam Cell Pro shocks, but with the new Professional Valving which offers improved performance under heavier loads.

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Released late in 2019, the Professional Valving shocks are designed for those who use their vehicle as a fully loaded workshop on wheels or regular tourers who load up for extended off-road adventures. The Professional Valving Series dampers are available across Ironman’s Nitro Gas, Foam Cell and Foam Cell Pro ranges.

Our tenure with the Maxxis RAZR muddies is up and after a little more than 15,000km on them I’ve got to say we have been very impressed. They’re relatively quiet on road, never struggled off road, and suffered no punctures or signs of damage after some torturous rocky tracks in the Flinders; they’re right up there with my favourite mud-terrain tyres, and at a price that comes in a fair bit cheaper than the competition.

We have replaced the RAZRs with Goodyear’s MT/Rs, again in the 285/70R17 size. I’ve had great service out of the old-style MT/Rs going back a few years so I’ll be keen to see how these newer ones perform on and off the road.

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Initial impressions of the new rear suspension and Goodyear tyres has only been from ferrying it around town, but so far so good. We’ll have to wait until we load it up for a few more off-road kays before we can give a full report.

Before we head off again we’ll fit a set of MSA 4x4 adjustable towing mirrors and we’ll swap out the driving lights with a new setup.

4x4 Shed Log 7: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 15,859km
Mileage this month: 274km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 9: Branded!

The Ranger gets new gear from Narva and MSA 4x4, before being branded and sent to Tasmania.

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Before we sent the Ranger off on its first adventure for 2020 we had a few bits to fit to it. After installing the new Ironman 4x4 rear springs and shocks and Goodyear MT/R rubber, it went back to Phil at Ontrack Automotive to replace the driving lights with a new combo from Narva, update the Redarc Redvision system and install a long-awaited set of MSA 4X4 towing mirrors.

We’ve been lucky enough to follow the development of the MSA 4X4 mirrors since their early prototypes and knew back then that these would be an exciting addition to the market. They offer buyers a larger mirror that is extendable for use when towing yet they aren’t as big and ungainly as some of the US pick-up truck style towing mirrors. In fact, with them folded in they look just like OE offerings.

We’ve seen the prototypes go through months of testing and development and were keen to see them come to market. Once we had the AMVE aluminium body fitted to the Ranger we knew we needed a set as the aluminium canopy is wider than the old tub, restricting rearward vision.

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The MSA 4X4 mirrors finally arrived to market over the New Year break and we had them fitted ASAP. Even on the drive back from Phil’s workshop the better visibility via the MSA 4X4 mirrors was evident. We’ll have a full review on these once we’ve put some more miles on them.

From the outset of the Ranger build, I wanted the AFN 4x4 loopless steel bar with a quartet of smaller LED lights across the front. Bushranger wanted us to try out its Nighhawk driving lights first and we were very impressed with them and their variable power output, but I still wanted the smaller lights. I have a pair of Narva Ultima LED 180s fitted to my Land Cruiser and thought they would be the perfect size for our Ford. Ontrack fitted the four of them for us and we’re keen to give them a blast at night.

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Ontrack also fitted four slimline Narva LED work lamps to the Rola Titan roof tray to use when we are in camp, and these have been wired in through the Redarc Redvision system. This allows them to be switched individually for the driver or passenger side of the car via the Redvision control panel which is mounted in the canopy, or via the Redvision App on a mobile phone.

Lastly, we sent the Ranger down to the team at Fleeting Image for the vehicle wrap and branding that will ensure the Ranger doesn’t go unnoticed wherever it is driven, before Deano loaded it up and joined Ron Moon and the crew for a trip to Tasmania. We’ll see how the Ranger performed in Tassie when the crew get back from their adventure.

4x4 Shed Log 8: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 15,894km
Mileage this month: 35km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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Update 10: Tassie Tiger

The Ranger completes its lap of Tasmania.

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The Ranger scored several upgrades prior to its Tassie trip, and when I picked it up in Melbourne from Editor Matt Raudonikis it looked resplendent in its new 4X4 Australia wrap, applied just in time by the team at Fleeting Image.

As well as the gear already fitted to the Ranger, new stuff for the Tassie trip included a set of Goodyear MT/R tyres, four new Narva Ultima 180s, MSA 4X4 towing mirrors and upgraded 500kg constant-load Ironman 4x4 springs in the rear. These upgrades added to the Ranger’s existing arsenal of 4x4 touring gear which includes an aluminium AMVE canopy with a built-in water tank, Revolution Power lithium batteries, Redarc battery management system including a RedVision controller and 2000W inverter, a myCoolman 60L fridge, an MSA 4X4 drop slide and Rola roof racks with Narva work lights.

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Having not driven the 4X4 Australia Ranger before, I knew that all this kit would take some getting used to, but the first thing I learnt about was an OE Ford feature: the vehicle’s perimeter alarm with motion sensor. The Spirit of Tasmania I had barely got underway when I heard a car alarm sounding from the bowels of the boat, and then the call came over the loudspeaker system: “Would the driver of Ford Ranger registration number 1NU-5TJ please head down to Deck 5 to turn off their alarm?”

I went below decks and one of the ship’s staff guided me through the Ranger’s menu system so I could quickly turn off the motion sensor. Over the next 30 minutes or so another half-dozen Ranger/BT-50 owners were called downstairs to perform the same task.

Once off the ship we had a highway run to Lonsdale before setting up camp in drizzling rain. As well as my swag, clothes bag and camp chair, the canopy was jam-packed with photographer Ellen Dewar’s gear, along with some other stuff Matt had thrown in there for the trip including recovery equipment, a shovel, four MaxTrax, an (ancient) air-compressor, a power lead, a hose, a couple of other camp chairs and a few other bits and pieces. Sorting everything out would have to wait until morning.

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The next day we had a bit of time up our sleeves so I pulled everything out of the Ranger and repacked it to easily find stuff when needed. I also tried to familiarise myself with the operation of the Redarc RedVision system and I downloaded the RedVision app so I could operate it via my phone. I also mated my phone’s myCoolman app to the 60L fridge so I could monitor and adjust cabinet temperature remotely as required. Sure, a lot of these things sound gimmicky, but once you’ve used them, you’d be amazed at how easy they can make life.

Once fed and packed, we soon found ourselves on winding country roads to Jacob’s Ladder. It continued to rain for much of the morning and the Goodyear MT/Rs offered surprisingly good grip on wet bitumen, no doubt partially attributed to their asymmetric design with plenty of sipes on the outer tread area. I was also impressed by the Ranger’s laden ride quality, which felt firm enough to offer good control yet compliant and comfortable over bumps.

The Ranger’s five-cylinder engine has loads of bottom-end torque, and it works well with the slick-shifting six-speed manual gearbox. The clutch is light and progressive and there’s a gear for all occasions.

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On the highway I found myself using fifth gear more than sixth, as the latter is quite tall and doesn’t really lend itself to speeds below 100km/h, and fifth is tall enough for most highway touring scenarios anyway. I probably shifted up and down through the ratios more than necessary in the first couple days due to the novelty of driving a manual Ranger – most of the Rangers I’ve driven in the past have been autos.

Despite the amount of gear onboard, the Ranger felt light and nimble thanks to its firm suspension, good steering feel and more than adequate performance. I ran 35psi in the tyres on the bitumen and dropped down to 28psi once we hit the dirt, which offered a more compliant ride. The MSA 4X4 towing mirrors proved their worth when driving in convoy, as extending them afforded an excellent view to the rear which was handy when marking turnoffs and the like, and then retracting the mirrors in tight off-road spots to prevent them whacking on tree branches.

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Once into gnarly off-road tracks, the Ranger really started to shine. The combination of strong bottom-end torque, excellent low-range reduction, ample ground clearance, good wheel travel and the grippy MT/Rs made light work of just about every type of terrain we threw it at.

On muddy tracks I ran the MT/Rs at around 22psi and then when we hit the beach I dropped them down to 16psi. The only time I had to go lower was on the run out to Sandy Cape Lighthouse in the Arthur Pieman Conservation area – the sand is super soft here in spots and after snatching our tucker truck out of a stuck predicament, I dropped the MT/Rs down to 13psi to avoid any potential for embarrassment.

Living out of the Ranger became easier as the trip wore on; we started to figure out the best places to stow gear and photographer Ellen and videographer Mark became accustomed to powering and charging equipment using the RedVision system and the 2000W inverter.

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Having the Redarc RedVision on the wall behind the fridge isn’t ideal, as it can be a little hard to access, but this can be overcome when connected via the Bluetooth app. And being able to switch the work lights on and off from a smartphone is fantastic when you don’t want to get out of your swag. The multicoloured LED strip lights fitted to the canopy awnings were also great, as the yellow mode provided light without attracting insects.

There’s no doubt that dual-cab utes make for great 4x4 tourers, especially when set up right, and while there are a couple of minor things I’d change on the 4X4 Australia Ranger, I reckon it’s almost spot-on.

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4x4 Shed Log 9: 2018 Ford Ranger XLS
Current mileage: 18,359km
Mileage this month: 2500km
Average fuel consumption: N/A

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THANKS TO

www.redarc.com.au
www.club4x4.com.au
www.amve.com.au
www.atecoequipment.com.au
www.maxxistyres.com.au
www.wheelprosaustralia.com.au
www.ironman4x4.com
www.pxwholesales.com.au
www.afn4x4.com.au
www.bushranger.com.au
www.ontrack4x4.com.au
www.titantray.com
www.maxtrax.com.au
www.powertec.com.au
www.gme.net.au
www.lightforce.com
www.pacemaker.com.au
www.3dmats.com.au
www.x-bar.com.au
www.mycoolman.com.au