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Great Shot of the new flat bed... it looks so good I am thinking if I can get to that point ! LoL !
If you don't mind, could you give us a run down of the cost ?
Also, I am not going to do this, I could never do the fab work you have done and make it look that good so I am stuck with my steppie.
Good Luck with the rest of the project, you should could consider making them for sale !
Ltr
Actually, im paying to have this done at a shop. Ive been welding and fabricating for 20 years now off and on, but when i comes to doing bodywork and whatnot i am clueless.
The shop quoted me about $3k, for materials and labor and ive given them $2k so far. Its taken a bit longer than expected, but i realize you can have stuff done fast, or you can have it done right. While being stuck without a vehicle for nearly a month sucks, and i miss my baby something terrible, im glad to see they are taking the time to do a proper job on it. This fx4 is going to be a beast.
Actually, im paying to have this done at a shop. Ive been welding and fabricating for 20 years now off and on, but when i comes to doing bodywork and whatnot i am clueless.
The shop quoted me about $3k, for materials and labor and ive given them $2k so far. Its taken a bit longer than expected, but i realize you can have stuff done fast, or you can have it done right. While being stuck without a vehicle for nearly a month sucks, and i miss my baby something terrible, im glad to see they are taking the time to do a proper job on it. This fx4 is going to be a beast.
Nothing wrong with having the Fab Work done by a person that knows !
I am farming out a lot more these days than ever before.
I got a great deal on a new reese tow hitch and it solved an issue I was having with the OEM hitch that came with the tow package. The OEM hitch mounts to the bottom and outside face of the rear frame. When I got rid of the stacked blocks in back and replaced them with lift leaf springs and shackles, the bottom shackle bolts would hit the tow hitch every time I flexed the rear end hard.
That silver scratch is where it was hitting.
The Reese hitch bolts to the bottom of the frame and then runs inward rather than outward. Loads of clearance now. This is the best comparison I could get since I can't hold that heavy *** hitch up and take a photo. Old hitch mounting points are at the bottom of photo.
Took it out rambling on the fisherman's trails and no more rear end bottoming out when I flex it.
Wow, that's impressive.
The person for people working on this are good,
Are the lights LEDs ?
The lights should give off a lot of light where needed.
I've have to say, that flat bed must be getting on the heavy side, more than the OEM Bed, but there is always a Dual Wheel rear axle and heavy Duty Springs and Mounting.. If it was me and spending the $$$ that you have to to get this done, I would start looking for something to add dual wheels and the HD Spring... gatta PLAY the GAME !
Cleaned up my dads(our) 95 F-150. While driving to vacuum I noticed lots of creaks inside. Got to looking and found majority of the the inside trim screws were more than half loose. Missing three or four also. Tightened everything up and now looking to find some to replace missing ones.
might be a good tip for a bored Saturday simple project for someone. Tighten the trim screws.
Wow, that's impressive.
The person for people working on this are good,
Are the lights LEDs ?
The lights should give off a lot of light where needed.
I've have to say, that flat bed must be getting on the heavy side, more than the OEM Bed, but there is always a Dual Wheel rear axle and heavy Duty Springs and Mounting.. If it was me and spending the $$$ that you have to to get this done, I would start looking for something to add dual wheels and the HD Spring... gatta PLAY the GAME !
This truck is going to look great !
Ltr
yes, those are LEDs, they're bright af, and the truck looks sinister at night. The bed is a little bit heavier, but the tubing they used is only 1/8" instead of the 1/4" they usually use, my gas mileage isnt noticeably different, and i dont think i'll need any sandbags in the bed come winter time.
Today, i went out and found a gallon of transparent stain/water sealer and sanded the wood and slapped a coat of that on, and also picked up a small job box that i plan on bolting to the bed.
Put on the rims I got from the Classifieds. Truck looks so much better. Not sure why the hate for the deer hoofs, I like them. Also put on the new clutch and brake pedal pads. ordered headliner material, can't wait for it to come in.
Tool Boxes/Bed Box, is it possible to add two tool boxes under the Flat Bed, behind the cab but forward of the rear wheel ?
Even if you lost a little Tool Box Space, it would leave the bed clear.
There has to be some HD aluminum boxes out there... somewhere !
Luck,
p.s. You should do a separate build thread on the whole project !
To Rakk187: Great score finding a box in your color. I'd love to see your grille guard.
To imbroke: Being new to Rangers and their fora I am not aware of the hate for deer hoofs. I kinda like 'em too.
I prefer those to the "5 spoke with headstone" design which came with my FX4. Alas, my wheels are original to the truck and "must stay".
Maybe it's that they are just "preferred less" than the other styles and are thus assigned "bottom rung hatred".
The other wheel styles can feel superior I suppose.
Also, what were the gaps of the old plugs you removed last week?
Last edited by Georgeandkira; 06-30-2020 at 07:25 AM.
Installed a new headunit and speakers, got a cheap android unit off Amazon and so far it's looking pretty good, has all the basic functionality for what I need, installation of the unit was a bit of a pain having to trim up the shroud and the fact this is such a shallow unit means the mounting brackets require some "modification". Overall though pretty pleased with the result.
Installed a new headunit and speakers, got a cheap android unit off Amazon and so far it's looking pretty good, has all the basic functionality for what I need, installation of the unit was a bit of a pain having to trim up the shroud and the fact this is such a shallow unit means the mounting brackets require some "modification". Overall though pretty pleased with the result.
Overall about $200 invested and a significant improvement in sound quality
I had the same problem with the Android head units. They never fit the way an aftermarket deck should. I tried 2 or 3 different head units and just as many mounting hardware kits. There was always gaps, they wouldn't fit, or they would fit in the hole, but there didn't seem to be any mounting points. Would you mind sharing a pic of your deck installed , the finished product?
Today I put a new y-pipe converter on to replace my old one with broken honey combs. No more rattle. While I was at it, I checked the rear cat and the entire thing was smashed to pieces any half of it was in the muffler. How it didnt rattle is a mystery to me. So, I got a chambered muffler and some clamps, cut out the old muffler, and installed the new. I cleaned out the few shards left in the cat and just bolted it back on, I'll replace it later. The combination of the hollow third cat and chambered muffler sounds really nice, I was surprised. Its quiet on the highway and while cruising around town, but if I get on the throttle leaving a stop light it has a nice deep tone to it. I'm seriously considering keeping it as is, especially considering there's no sensors after the third cat. The muffler I used was a thrush welded #17655, cost a whopping $42 with tax. The Y-pipe came through rock auto, eastern catalytic #30532. The Y-pipe fit very well, clears everything on the 4x4 4.0l with a 4" lift.
Also, what were the gaps of the old plugs you removed last week?
Sorry, been slacking. Driver side, from 1-4. Over .100, .09, Over .100, Over .100 Passenger side from 1-4 .078, .082, Over .100, Over .100.
Side note, plugs 1&2 were 32PG, 3&4 were 32P. all original Motorcraft.
Tool Boxes/Bed Box, is it possible to add two tool boxes under the Flat Bed, behind the cab but forward of the rear wheel ?
Even if you lost a little Tool Box Space, it would leave the bed clear.
There has to be some HD aluminum boxes out there... somewhere !
Luck,
p.s. You should do a separate build thread on the whole project !
I was thinking about trying to find a small box to fit under the bed, to store ratchet straps and whatnot, but i ended up buying a ridgid gang box thats like 5 cubic feet and bolting it to the bed.....if i really need every bit of bedspace, i can just take it off with a ratchet wrench
To Rakk187: Great score finding a box in your color. I'd love to see your grille guard.
To imbroke: Being new to Rangers and their fora I am not aware of the hate for deer hoofs. I kinda like 'em too.
I prefer those to the "5 spoke with headstone" design which came with my FX4. Alas, my wheels are original to the truck and "must stay".
Maybe it's that they are just "preferred less" than the other styles and are thus assigned "bottom rung hatred".
The other wheel styles can feel superior I suppose.
Also, what were the gaps of the old plugs you removed last week?
That blue box is my my old, rotted out bed, on its way to the scrap yard...
Today, i decided to put my ranger through its paces with the new flatbed on it, to see how much of an issue the added weight would be with the suspension and what not.
To do this, i did a run down the absolute worst road i know about, at about 40 mph. This road starts out as pavement, then quickly goes to dirt, there is exposed bedrock, exposed culvert/drainage pipe, old pothole'd pavement with sizeable boulder sticking out......there are sections where you cant see the road beyond your hood due to steep climbs, and sections where it is entirely possible to go airborne.
The leaf springs didnt hit the bump stops once, however, my front shocks have developed a bit of a squeak upon heavy braking, given this truck is approaching 100k miles with what i suspect are factory shocks, i'll take it.
06-12-2020
