Hello all,
First post on this forum (and the first post on a forum in a very long time for that matter).

I'm a long-time Ranger driver, my first vehicle was an '84 V6 2WD extended cab.

Basically, not only is this truck my daily driver (and a great and economical one at that), but it's also my main hunting rig. I've been using it for the last two years in all seasons for bear, deer, and waterfowl and it's gotten me everywhere I wanted to go without ever getting me stuck (though I'm also smart enough to know what I can't handle). I mostly stick to gravel logging roads, but every now again they turn to absolute mud, or there's a washout, or a mud or rock slide, or I need to get across a prairie or down a road that was never paved to graveled to begin with. I have Maxxis Big Horns on it and they do the job. I live in Oregon and the ground is frequently wet and soggy starting in September and lasting until about June (during prime hunting season).

I have never done any customizations to my trucks, I tend to keep them stock. I'm a fair hand at mechanicing. In this Ranger I've replaced the master and slave clutch cylinders, gas tank, fuel gauge, and done a full tune-up. I'm also in the process of restoring and making stock a '46 Willy's-Overland CJ2A.

All that being said, my only real complaint is sometimes I'll be driving over big rocks or into some muddy ruts and my suspension will slap the frame. Obviously, I don't like this. My first question is should I get a body lift or a suspension lift? Most of the places I've called have said that my wheelbase is too narrow. I know I have a weird size of tires because finding decent tires for it has always been a struggle. Basically, I know nothing about the lifted truck world, I'm not a crazy mudder or anything like that. I would just like to not worry about my suspension slapping down. I've heard some people say you need a body lift and others say you need the whole suspension lift. I don't really care about cosmetics or what it looks like. I've also been told that going with bigger tires is the best route, but then you'd also have to widen your wheelbase and get lifts on top of that? I just want to prevent any permanent damage to my frame/suspension/body from smacking.
I'm also wondering if this is something I could do myself.
Any advice or pro tips would be greatly appreciated.





P.S. Sorry for the massive preamble, I do love my background.

To me, it sounds like a suspension lift might help but thats about a $1500 addition. The tires you have, how much bigger are they from the original because if there is a considerable difference then it can effect the suspension.

Well, they're still 14s. They aren't oversized. They looked about as big as the WildCats it had on there when I bought it, if the WildCats still had lugs left. It had been raided of anything useful or good— the front tires were Jupiters off the back of a Volkswagen bus.

$1500...crap. That's more than I paid for the truck. -_-;;

But I have invested a ton of labour and parts in it, so maybe it's time to do something to it that's fun. It'd be nice if I could get some oversized tires and a bit more ground clearance because of that.

The stock specifications for the 14" tires are just so narrow.

Sounds like your best bet would be to get some 15" rims and a little lift. I suggest a 15" rim because tires are extremely easy to find (any tire shop will have them). I recommend going with a 15x7 or 8 rim with a 31/10.5r15 tire on it. then just get a little 4" lift and you'll be set. DO NOT GO WITH A BODY LIFT! I have had truck with them. Its not worth the money or time. People who run body lifts are just cheap (I know i'll get shit for that comment but its true). Build your truck right the first time and the way you want it. I made the mistake of half assing my truck before, so now i'm going threw the whole thing. if you wanna play, you gotta pay.

Thanks a lot. Those tire sizes really help me out, and knowing to stay away from body lifts does, too! I think that bigger tires for more clearance and stiffer shocks might be the way I'll go after some research.

So my buddy did a lot of research and I've figured out that I can give myself a 2" lift for pretty cheap. Ford makes a performance spacer you can buy for the rear suspension that's $15 per.
What was cool was that I found out that if I take the suspension coils out of an F-150 in a similar year to my ranger and then invert them it will equalize with the rear spacers and give me 2". I checked around my local junkyards and they're selling the coils for $50 a pop, but I could always wheel and deal. The project would cost me about $130 and a Saturday.

Also, I realized my suspension slapping was more due to my shocks than anything else. Three of my shocks are still good, but one when you push down on it will bob up and down 4-5 times. They're also reallllly soft. Which makes for an amazing highway ride as well as a pretty comfortable off-road ride, but I've been debating doing this 2" lift and then getting stiffer shocks.

What do you guys think?

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'91 Ranger, 2.3L 4-Banger knocking out 140 HP. Plopped the head out of '94 and an RV cam in it. 2WD, zero options. But, I love her to death.
Avatar is when I drove up the Bohemia mining saddle in Oregon, a fairly well-known 4WD trail around here.

I am really green to the Ranger as evryone can tell..Had mine 3 weeks so far but I used KYB G-2 shock on my Jeep and they were great off or on pavement.

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2010, XL, Dark Grey,
2.3LTR 4cyl, 5 Spd Man, 2wd, basic but loved. Glad to be part of the Ranger Nation!