2016 Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2L I5 DuraTorq (Diesel)

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Jakes2514

Jakes2514

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Sutton Heath, Sutton, Woodbridge, IP12 3EQ, United Kingdom
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Jakes
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van der Merwe
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22552

Hallo everyone!

So I recently took the plunge and got myself a Bakkie (Pick-up, Ute, Truck, Rig... insert relevant country descriptor)

Looking around we picked up the bakkie for a great price but the best yet is that it only had 12k miles on the clock... similar aged vehicles in the UK you would expect 40k+ miles on so pretty chuffed.

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And there she is in her silver glory... I liked the video of Micheal discussing building from the ground up but we are approaching it a little different... in-fact probably the opposite top down. My military mind works in phases so this is how we will be approaching our project

Phase 1 of the build will be getting a canopy(topper) roof bars and roof top tent, this is to allow us to get out and about sooner.
Phase 2 will be sorting the inside of the canopy, drawer system, for which I will be relying on my high school wood working skills, fridge and power system. This will make our ‘out and aboutness’ (technical term) easier.
Phase 3 will be getting the Bakkie green lane ready, bumpers, underbody protection, suspension and traction (lockers and wheels).
There will be a ‘through life phase’ which will consist of doing the little things such as sorting the navigation system dog retention system etc etc... the little things that need doing.

As you can hopefully see my priority is for the rig to facilitate family exploring with getting it ‘off-roading’ being of lesser importance but it will still happen.

Anyway that will do it as a starter for 10 on my build thread :)

Looking forward to getting involved :)

Regards
 
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Viking1204

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Great looking Ranger, going to be nice seeing them sold in the US again finally! My oldest son has one semester left in college & gets a real job, he's thinking about the new Ranger for his first "new" vehicle. He drives a 2004 Ranger now that we picked up used when he was 16.
 
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Jakes2514

Jakes2514

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Sutton Heath, Sutton, Woodbridge, IP12 3EQ, United Kingdom
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Jakes
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van der Merwe
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[edit: I've had issues with Images showing, result of trying to sort things on a train with intermittent signal so will upload separately!]

Hey guys,

So after waiting a while the progress has finally started!

First off to go on is a RSI Smart Canopy, this was imported from South Africa and delays in the container arriving put everything on hold!

I added the following options:
Sliding glass between cab and canopy
Rear Brake light
Positive pressure hatch on Passenger side (keep that dust out... or attempt to!)

I also purchased their RSI Smart Kitchen which sits on the drivers side, though I am tempted to swap it to the other side!

I have front runner racks which supports the Tuff-Trek 1.8m RTT.

Also added some important decals [emoji16]

Regards
Jakes
 
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Jakes2514

Jakes2514

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Jakes
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van der Merwe
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Images of the rig as it was...

Canopy and RTT
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View of the canopy and the kitchen
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The kitchen, cooker deployed and stowed, its a Dometic unit so should be just fine [emoji6]
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RTT its a Tuff-Trek RT-02 1.8m wide unit will get it set-up properly when I get the truck back from the body shop... post to follow
IMG_3575.JPG
 
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Jakes2514

Jakes2514

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Jakes
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van der Merwe
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So a while ago I came across various posts about chassis rust on Ford Rangers on the owners forums and groups I am apart of, i took a much closer look and lo and behold rust everywhere on the chassis, especially bad on welded seams. Ive seen 20 y/o land-rovers which had a hard military which looked in better states!

I got in contact with Ford UK who told me to get in touch with my local dealer they looked at it and referred me to a Ford Approved Body shop where I live. These guys got it on a hoist and had a look, got me under there with them and pointed out some especially bad spots, and the “standard oil leak” as they so eloquently put it!

They, the body shop, then told me they will talk to FordUK and will let me know... well the time it took me to drive home (20mins or so) I had a call from the body shop... booked me in for Monday the 22nd to get it sorted and said it will take two weeks to strip her down to the chassis, send that away to get cleaned and re-painted and build it all again. P.S. I only have 5 days left on my 3 year warranty at the time of inspection!

Incidentally it isn’t the first Ranger they had in and said Ford is only doing it as a good will gesture and will only do it once...

I’ll repost the after pictures once I get her back! Put a little dent in our build and first outing plan!


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View attachment 108646
 

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OverlandFaction

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That rust is no different on the Navara, my friends 2012 went in to be re-coated, then 1 year later its back to the way it was.. Pretty bad allround.
 
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FulleMet3l

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Look at the cool stuff Ford is building over seas! I'm surprised at their response to you. Here rust like that is a way of life, and most vehicles with 3 years on them have rust holes in the bodies as well. What do they expect when they sprinkle the roads with salt all winter? I think its a deal between them and the car companies, but then again...
 
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Jakes2514

Jakes2514

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Jakes
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IMG_4533.JPG

So we had our first outing in the Bakkie, and apart from the weather not playing ball and me packing the wrong bedding... it was still fun and my whole family, including the dog, loved it!

What I learnt:

IMG_4529.JPG

We need a solution for the back of the vehicle, some kind of drawer system or some system to organise the back of the truck. We haven’t invested in anything at the moment purely due to us wanting to test the RTT out and see what is important to us.

As you can see from the picture bellow our tray quickly filled up with all the paraphernalia you get with traveling with your family. Especially all the bits to keep a Toddles entertained!

Our solution at the time consisted off a mix of ‘really useful’ boxes which primarily housed all our food, a gorilla box which was where all our utility items were stored. Our clothes were in two mountain equipment duffel bags, throw in the toolbox, balance bike, SnoMaster 56L fridge and yes the back of the truck was a mess but everything had its place... sort off!

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The dog quickly found his perfect spot to lie down, I made a plywood base for his half of the back seat. My son in his chair had his part and the dog was given the other seat. He quickly figured out that he can see out the front window through the seats but more importantly that there is a pillow for him to sleep on... he is a cutie [emoji8]

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My wife is short, so short in fact that we had to find a solution for her to reach the stove... step in the toolbox... perfect hight and sturdy enough to give her the boost required to make us some yummy food! I wanted to get a 2” lift for the vehicle, but now I will most likely not do it... she will not reach at all!!

IMG_4547.JPG

I got a Coleman Event shelter, and although a pain in the backside to setup it was great, it also ‘reserved’ our spot in the campground, not that it was particularly busy.

Next steps:
Find a storage solution that is scalable and adds some order to the rear...
 
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Jakes2514

Jakes2514

Rank IV
Launch Member

Traveler III

1,210
Sutton Heath, Sutton, Woodbridge, IP12 3EQ, United Kingdom
First Name
Jakes
Last Name
van der Merwe
Member #

22552

Howdy,

So a bit of an overdue update... I am now a full fledged OB member #22552
and I have upgraded my rear storage, the system is made in the UK by a company called Gearmate, the slide and drawers have a 15oKG rating on the runners. There are also locable 'infill' pods on the left and right behind the wheel arch. the whole system is made with a steel frame and aluminium for the drawers.

26714806-2C7A-4942-A939-B74F14E7A05C.jpeg9D1E357B-AA79-4C74-90F7-0A1258CA6BA7.jpeg

I am getting to the point where the Canopy, drawers, fridge and RTT is causing my leaf springs to sag so a constant load Suspension upgrade is next on my list, thinking of getting a Pedders system.
 
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