Thread: testing the limits of my danger ranger

I forgot i had taken this pic... i got some funny looks going down the road with this this in the back of a 2800lb 98bhp 4cyl Ford Ranger.
I wish i had taken one with the lathe in the back, that was even heavier.
Thank god for bump stops!

Thats more than 2X the rated capacity IIRC.

Nice! Where is San Diego do you live?

Originally Posted by Mad Dad

Nice! Where is San Diego do you live?

Escondido. Howdy neighbor!

Originally Posted by morsetaper2

Thats more than 2X the rated capacity IIRC.

only 2x? lol that truck has hauled more than a ton probably more than a dozen times since i baught my house last year. I cant believe the clutch lasted nearly 180k. The only thing i'm actually worried about is losing a tire.

That is one of the dumbest things I'v seen any one do in a long time. You have it tied
down to that wimpy ass 20 ga. sheet metal pick up box with a few motorcycle tie downs.
sure it hauls it ok, as long as the tires and wheel bearings hold up, but you have it overloaded by 2x. how about the brakes? And when some other moron pulls out in front of you and you hit him where do you supose that mill is going to go? Probably right through the cab......You say you are worried about loseing a tire, you should be woried about where that truck is going to go if you lose that tire at speed with that much weight in back, not to mention that the center of gravity height is about 2 Ft. higher than normal...............

Originally Posted by moonlight machine

That is one of the dumbest things I'v seen any one do in a long time. You have it tied
down to that wimpy ass 20 ga. sheet metal pick up box with a few motorcycle tie downs.
sure it hauls it ok, as long as the tires and wheel bearings hold up, but you have it overloaded by 2x. how about the brakes? And when some other moron pulls out in front of you and you hit him where do you supose that mill is going to go? Probably right through the cab......You say you are worried about loseing a tire, you should be woried about where that truck is going to go if you lose that tire at speed with that much weight in back, not to mention that the center of gravity height is about 2 Ft. higher than normal...............

haha well i would have been more concerned if i went any sort of distance or speed with it. The tiedowns were just there to humor the cops, i know they werent going to prevent anything. I litterally dont think i broke 25 with it, and i wasnt exactly tailgating.
Do you think Ford splurged on 20ga for the rangers? And i think a 2 ft higher than normal center of gravity is pretty standard for california trucks.

Originally Posted by danielwilcox

......i got some funny looks going down the road with this this in the back of a 2800lb 98bhp 4cyl Ford Ranger.
I wish i had taken one with the lathe in the back, that was even heavier.

SM

Dude, thats bad form. Slam on the breaks or swerve because somebody's 3yr old runs out into the street and that bpt is going over- onto you- or worse, onto the kid. Glad you were lucky but its more than just you at risk with that load.

Greg

Crap!- at least invert the head and drop the knee all the way to get the CG down as much as possible. Or pull the head and ram if you are up for the extra work How much would it have cost to rent a small equipment trailer rather than taking that kind of chance? I can understand saving $$ for a short move, but some things are just not worth it.
Dan

Does no one here have a sense of humor? We have a Ranger Danger at work and I had to drive the piece of junk 120 mi with two(2) 1200 lb ea parking lot drains. It was squirling all over the road, and a freaking blast to drive. If it wasn't for stuff like this, life would be no fun.

As someone who has hauled some crazy loads in some crazy vehicles...including a Ford Ranger...I agree with those that say it's just too dangerous. I hauled a 30 inch woodworking bandsaw in a Ford Ranger once (about 1,500 lbs) but at least I had forged eyebolts with steel backing plates in the bed and chains on the machine. Still wasn't safe looking back on it, but way better than your setup. But yeah, a tire goes or something unexpected where you have to swerve and that's all she wrote. At least in a one ton dually you greatly reduce the tire worries and you have the rigidity that you can swerve without it being a disaster.

Originally Posted by Greg Menke

Dude, thats bad form. Slam on the breaks or swerve because somebody's 3yr old runs out into the street and that bpt is going over- onto you- or worse, onto the kid. Glad you were lucky but its more than just you at risk with that load.

Greg

i can see how it may look bad, but my machines were only a few streets away, and i did drive VERY carefully. The odds of an accident were probably greater if someone was unloaded driving at normal speeds.

The thing is a ranger could easily haul that machine in pieces, safely. Table, turret removed and hauled by themselves. Maybe pull the knee & haul it too, then the base casting goes (even standing up w/ all the weight now down towards the bottom). Just a few trips and no huge risk. Much easier to unload too (assuming no gantry or forklift).

Greg

Originally Posted by Greg Menke

The thing is a ranger could easily haul that machine in pieces, safely. Table, turret removed and hauled by themselves. Maybe pull the knee & haul it too, then the base casting goes (even standing up w/ all the weight now down towards the bottom). Just a few trips and no huge risk. Much easier to unload too (assuming no gantry or forklift).

Greg

i wanted to, but the guy didnt really want me working on it in his property, and was sort of rushing me because he had an appointment (plus i had to come back and get the lathe). i ended up completely dissasembling it and removing it piece by piece since all i had was a cherry picker from kragen to pull it out. I have hauled many 1 ton loads of gravel in my truck before so i knew the truck could handle it, but it was a bit of a shock to see how high it sat once in the truck. As you could see in the picture, our roads around here are pretty wide, and there wasnt many places where a "suprise" could happen along my route, causing me to lose my load, so i decided to haul it anyway.
I am going to need to get a trailer eventually... there is no way i could get a 12 foot piece of steel home in that truck without one.

Sure, Make all the excuses you want, justify it any way you want. you hurt someone, your liable, and even worse for those of us that do it right, some nanny state congressman will pass a law and we will all have to be licenced to move anything over 500 lbs

Daniel,

Welcome to the board! I've done dumber things in the past, like move a 1800 lbs bandsaw in the back of my 94 Ford Explorer 2 door. It stuck out about 4 feet pass the bumper. I moved it 40 miles on interstate 5 up from Chula Vista with no problems.

We'll have to exchange phone numbers. Not many on this board in the San Diego area, especially North County. I have way too much equipment in my garage - 8 milling machine 7 lathes, 6 bandsaws, 4 metal shapers, 2 TIG's, power hammer, planishing hammer, brake, Engilish wheel..... you get the picture.

Originally Posted by Milacron

As someone who has hauled some crazy loads in some crazy vehicles...including a Ford Ranger...I agree with those that say it's just too dangerous. I hauled a 30 inch woodworking bandsaw in a Ford Ranger once (about 1,500 lbs) but at least I had forged eyebolts with steel backing plates in the bed and chains on the machine. Still wasn't safe looking back on it, but way better than your setup. But yeah, a tire goes or something unexpected where you have to swerve and that's all she wrote. At least in a one ton dually you greatly reduce the tire worries and you have the rigidity that you can swerve without it being a disaster.

That's true if the speed of the vehicle stays the same. However driving a "rigid" and "save" setup people will be tempted to increase the mentioned speed of 25 mph maybe even up to the (legal?) 55 mph (it still "feels" save)
But in case of an unforseen event, I would rather face the ford of Daniel at 25 mph then the combination of Don at 55 mph poppin up in front of me.

Originally Posted by yoyo

But in case of an unforseen event, I would rather face the ford of Daniel at 25 mph then the combination of Don at 55 mph poppin up in front of me.

You'd also rather face ford of Daniel at 25 mph than Ken of Kenworth 40,000 lbs at 75 mph...so what ? And Ken would be completely legal whereas Daniel is not. i.e. your statement is meaningless.

Originally Posted by Milacron

You'd also rather face ford of Daniel at 25 mph than Ken of Kenworth 40,000 lbs at 75 mph...so what ? And Ken would be completely legal whereas Daniel is not. i.e. your statement is meaningless.

Ok, next time i'll hire a 18 wheeler to drive through a couple small neighborhoods instead of me creeping along at 10-15mph in my ford ranger. Then the machine could be loaded and unloaded on the busy street, instead of safely in my driveway. That seems safer.
75 would most deffinately not been legal for any vehicle, as the highest posted speed limit on the 3 roads i traveled is 35mph. The other 2 are 25mph. I stayed about 10-15mph under the limit for the death-defying 1-2 mile journey.