Winter, err, vehicle...take three...

Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
10,492
Location
Nut farm
Well...I didn't see this coming, but she's looking at two different...Ford Rangers. (Don't look at me...) Both are 2WD regular cab 4-bangers with automatic transmissions and A/C.

Truck 1: Dark green 2007 XLT, cloth seats, power windows, aftermarket CD stereo, tilt/cruise. Cheap plastic bedliner, what looks like 15" Explorer 5-spoke steelies. Body is in decent shape aside from a dented bedrail. Interior is in decent shape, though a bit worn. Astoundingly, the odometer shows 205,000 miles!

Truck 2: White 2005 XL, absolute bottom-line lowest-bidder fleet truck: Rubber mats, vinyl seat, crank windows, AM/FM, basic steel wheels with center caps, body is straight (though inside the box has some scrapes), interior is good. 77,000 miles.

So...Paco, what do I need to look for?
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
A 2wd ranger for winter driving in New England?


Sure...works fine with a set of snow tires. Her current winter vehicle is a Camaro Z28 Super Sport.
 
I drove a 2wd s10 for 3 years in Minnesota winter with no problems. Get some get good tires and add some sand bags in the back and you will be fine. Before the advent of FWD cars and SUV's, we did just fine.

Dave
 
The whole FWD vs RWD thing is irrelevant in winter, with a solid set of snow tires, 90% of the time it will be driver error that puts you in the ditch or into another car in the winter.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Those will both have the 2.3 Duratec, which so far seems to be pretty reliable. 205K on the engine wouldn't concern me, but I would take a look at the transmission fluid and check the ball joints. If the trans fluid looks good and it shifts good I wouldn't worry about it, but if the ball joints haven't been done before they are probably pretty loose at that many miles. If maintenance has been done though it probably has a lot of life left in it. I would expect the usual high mileage Ford issues...burnt out dash lights, CELs for nonsense things, wiper/turn signal stalk turning wipers on randomly, constant door ajar light, etc. The good thing is most Ranger problems are simple fixes.

Maintenance history isn't as much of a concern on the truck with 77K miles on it. If they never changed the trans fluid it's not a big deal. If the trans fluid was never changed on the truck with 205K miles, I probably wouldn't buy it, at least not as a daily driver.

Since this is a winter beater though, I'd probably actually go for the XLT, even with the higher miles. It will probably be a little cheaper due to the mileage, and the XLT interior is much better on a day to day basis than the XL interior. It has more sound deadening, more storage, four speakers instead of two, etc.

I do have to say though, it's a pretty poor choice of winter beater. With good tires a 2WD Ranger can get around in the snow, but a lot of vehicles get around better. Good tires are a must.
 
It's not really a winter beater...she is considering retiring her Z28 (with 115,000 miles) from daily driver duties. I have not seen either truck yet, will do so (and get the prices) Monday.

A 2005 will have power steering standard and 4-wheel ABS, right? (No power steering means no sale for Tina.)
 
Shame they didnt have manual trans,it would be getting 28-32 mpg regularly. Just what Ford needs,a high mpg pickup and then they discontinue the line.Of course if it wasnt for Mazda they wouldnt have even had the engine available (and they would have used Pinto 2300/2500s up thru the end date).
 
Reminds me of Henry Ford II in the mid 1970s.....he had stated to Lee Iacocca "..There will never be a foreign engine in a Ford vehicle..." (Iacocca wanted Honda CVCC engines for Ford's small cars).As wacko as HFII was at that point he forgot about the Mazda powered/Mazda made Ford Courier pickup,the British and German Ford engines in Pintos,the British engined/British made Ford Cortina and the upcoming German engine in the German made Ford Fiesta.And I guess all those Pintos didnt have imported transmissions either....
 
Truck two. Small RWD pickups are bad in snow, but I drove them for several years in Iowa, which gets lots of snow, and in Kansas. I drove S-10 pickups in Iowa and my Nissan here in KS.

I would say a set of snow tires, even cheap ones, will be a must-have. Cheap snow tires like the Firestone Winterforce will be a huge improvement over an all-season tire.

I had snow tires on my S-10 trucks and I still got stuck every once in a while when I lived in Iowa. Two years ago we had a bad winter in Kansas and I got stuck in a parking lot in a nearby town and had to spend the night in a hotel.

An alternate choice would be a set of chains you could use if you get stuck or if you'll be tackling a big hill in bad weather.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
It's not really a winter beater...she is considering retiring her Z28 (with 115,000 miles) from daily driver duties. I have not seen either truck yet, will do so (and get the prices) Monday.

A 2005 will have power steering standard and 4-wheel ABS, right? (No power steering means no sale for Tina.)


Yep, power steering and 4 wheel ABS will be standard on a 2005. The automatic is even a 5-speed.

If this is going to be more of a long term commuter vehicle, I'd lean towards the lower mileage truck even with the more spartan interior. I'd buy the high mileage one as a work truck/beater.
 
My concern with the 2005 is that it was a fleet truck and I have absolutely no idea how (or IF) it was maintained. Also, I'm not sure the very short Tina can drive a Ranger without a tilt column!

I do know that she won't be able to carry an adult passenger in that one...it has a one-piece bench seat.
 
It should have a 60/40 split bench unless it was swapped for an older seat. In 2004 they finally added an armrest to the regular cab XL seats, but no storage console. It's an improvement over the school bus seats that were standard from 1998-2003.

It's too bad the XLT doesn't have fewer miles, that would make it an easier choice.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
My concern with the 2005 is that it was a fleet truck and I have absolutely no idea how (or IF) it was maintained.


Hmmmm...I may be misinterpreting the OP's post, but I took it to mean it was the type of low-optioned truck fleets buy, not that it actually was used as a fleet vehicle.

I had a fleet special S-10 with rubber floors, no A/C and no other options. I think it even have a special "work truck" option code, if memory serves, but it had never actually been a fleet vehicle.
 
My dad has a RWD F-150. They live in Buffalo, NY, so they get a decent amount of snow. He's never been in an accident with it, but there have been a number of occasions where the truck won't go up a small incline in a parking lot or some such where it isn't plowed so well. He keeps 300lbs of sand in the bed and carries around a shovel for these occasions.

Just posting this to say that there are other things to worry about in the snow than accidents.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Also, I'm not sure the very short Tina can drive a Ranger without a tilt column!


My wife is 5ft and has no problem driving my 09 2wd std cab.

Winters are interesting, but the good thing is that rear is better behaved when you throw couple hundred pounds in it. Rangers like a little weight in them.

Cab really is limited to two adults, 3 if you have to (not comfortable!)
 
Back
Top