I have a 1995 F250 2wd 5spd 5.0L. It's a nice but worthless truck ( 2wd in north east ). I paid $1k because I needed a truck to haul some stuff and had gotten rid of my old truck. I could probably get my $1k back in the summer. It's taken me over 15k miles and countless pounds of lumber and stuff. Tows my boat 'ok'.. My plan was to LS swap it with a 4.8L and an NV3500 5spd to make a nice modern drivetrain. But time will be tight to have it ready for when I need it ( 6 months to swap ) . It also needs many of the things any 20+ year old vehicle needs. springs, shocks, bushings ect.. I have been looking at decent used F150's but prices just seem crazy. Then I happen to pass the dealer tonight just after hours where I wouldn't get harassed and looked at what they had and noticed a nice little Ranger.

What I found was a New 2020 Ranger XL 1.5 cab 4x4.. It has the optional side steps and trailer towing package but is otherwise base model which is actually my kind of truck, so I found it on their online site. Stickered for 32k BUT through the holiday event there was over $3k in discounts, and $2k of those were for qualifying 1995 or newer Ford.. I can't fathom the idea of getting $3,000 for my truck + the $400 or so that the dealership might offer as a trade in for it. don't know if that is how it works.. The end is a tick over $28,000 which is right in used F150 XL territory with 30k miles or so.. But the Ranger still has a 7,500 lbs tow capacity vs my trucks 5,500 lbs as my 250 is the 8 lug F150 version basically... There is no way I can compute a $40-50k F150 even if the discounts are better.

Is this really a viable truck? A local body shop owner has a 2019 Ranger and likes it, but he buys groceries with it... My big boat is aluminum 18' and weighs about 3,000 on the trailer.. My other boat is a wooden 16' cabin cruiser that weigh's about the same

 

For 3000 lbs, you would probably be OK with the Ranger, assuming you're not going over some mountain pass or making a Maine to Florida run with it.

They might rate it to 7500 lbs, but I would guess that would be a pretty "iffy" prospect. I had 5 to 6000 behind my F150 and you feel every pound in general driving.

Stand by for more replies.

 

IMHO, that year/gen of 5.0 is kinda like the ol FE series truck engines....they were not the powerful but they ran forever and your description of "dream of things to do" kinda reminds me of "guys" in the 70"s & 80's... and those who did the swap outs to the more modern drivetrains or who bought "newer" trucks, most were sorry. Reliability, maintenance, etc. was all factors that honestly, were evaluated by PR docs/social media of the day and not the real reality. Just a thought.

 

I have drove five of the original Rangers 1988-2011 since 1988. Currently own both a 4x2 2000 Supercab 3.0V6 auto and a 2011 Bought new 4x2 Supercab 4.0V6 5speed. My 2011 that is smaller than the 2020 model is factory rated for a max tow of 5860 lbs. I regularly tow a 2015 Rockwood high side with air and slide dinette tent camper that weighs 3500-3800 lbs . Don't even know it is back there. I have towed a sizzer lift that with trailer weighs 6000 lbs and with it balanced it towed fine. I only have 200 HP and 238 torque, VS the 2020 270 HP and 310 torque. Bottom Line if the trailer is balanced and has proper tongue weight the truck will tow fine. Too many people think you need a 1 tone dually to tow a small garden trailer. If the truck and trailer are set up properly and with in the rated limits and the driver knows how to tow all will be good.

 

From my experience driving the new Ranger, it should have no problem towing the weight of a 3000 lb boat on a trailer. My concern would be the fact that the cabin cruiser would probably be significantly taller than the truck; therefore wind drag is really going to play a factor on how well the truck handles the weight. But depending on how far you're going it and how fast, this can be managed. What Ford considers a "base model" truck these days is light years better than in 1995!

 

Well, the old 250 has mechanical and EFI issues, clutch is close to gone. It's plus is the body and frame are solid. I like OBS trucks and an LS 4.8/ NV3500 both being reliable engines seemed like a good match and there are mount kits being produced..

BUT, My girlfriend told me to keep costs under $20k which severely limits what I can get, and a 2020 Ranger is for sure off the table, as screaming of a deal as it is.. I'm basically mulling over a 2013 F150 STX or a 2017 XL or just riding it out and buying her something nice since she just got a huge promotion at her work.. My truck does still run good enough for my 16 mile trip to work and back

 

Just an fyi..... if you throw a LS engine in it, you now have to smog it...most likely at a federal referee station and they get to decide if the install with all smog related controls/accessories are correct. For $20k, you could take your existing truck, rebuild the engine (or get a crate engine) with more hp/tq, rebuild the trans, rebuild the suspension, brake system... you may have enough left over to reupholster and R&R a new stereo system.... vs buying a used truck whose maintenance/repair cost IS going to be higher than your F250.... just a thought

 

I'm not in California, I'm in NY and it's a 1995 so it's safety and visual smog check only. Hooking up the evap line and installing a catalytic converter is all that it will take.. Actually in NY we don't smog anything except the Metro area.. 1996 and newer get plugged in but 3/4 ton and 1 ton are actually exempt from emissions testing until very recent model years IIRC.

 

I opted for a 2021 XL.

 

I'm not referring to emissions testing, but under Federal Regs (law), the minute you do an engine swap with an engine that was not an option in that vehicle from the OE, it is required to be inspected to ensure everything is up to date...specificially, if the engine was say 10 years newer, then you would have to meet all the requirements for the newest year. Even if you were able to skate by until you sell it, that's when you would have to have it inspected or if the buyer accepts and then changes their mind, things can get a bit nasty with the feds (yes, NY too)

 

Vehicle model years 21 years and older are actually exempt from EPA regulation, meaning they actually stop tracking them. NY has a yearly inspection and even if I go up to a 2007 3/4 ton inspection, it's just a visual, meaning the evap, cats and EGR if applicable needs to be in place... This is sort of like inventing a problem that does not exist