2007 XLT 4x4 4.0L extended cab with about 104k miles on it. Bought in 2011 from a dealer. It had 50k someodd miles on it. Wrecked the driver's side front end when I sideswiped a power pole trying to avoid a deer on a back country road late one summer's night less than a year later. My insurance company didn't total the truck even though the final bill ended up being more than $14,000. Got it all fixed though, and besides some small issues with the front brakes and some body panel misalignment that only I notice because it's my truck and all, I'm okay with the repairs. The crash must have bent or warped the front driver's side brake pad mount a tiny bit, because even though I've replaced the pads twice, it squeals when brakes are applied and the auto techs at the Ford dealership I go to can't figure it out.

Low priority issues:

1) The check engine light has lit up twice now. Checking with an OBDII reader at O'Rielly's shows bank 2 sensor 2 lean, or something like that. Maybe sensor 2 bank 2? I took pics of the readout but have since deleted them. From what I read online, it could happen once and then not again for a long time, so I cleared the faults and carried on. Other codes pop up when that happens, but they are about the passenger side airbag and seat weight sensor and all that noise. I got a recall notice about the airbag and I'll get to it someday.

2) My air conditioner only works on Max A/C. All other settings blow hot air. It's near 100 degrees here recently but I've been living with being hot and sweaty while driving because I don't like how much power the a/c bleeds off the engine or how much gas it uses.

3) I doubt anyone else could even tell, but I notice super slight hesitations in acceleration/engine performance when driving on very smooth roads like the newly repaved one from work to home. My truck will have been sitting most of the day in the parking lot at work. The hesitations will smooth out after a couple of miles. They are more pronounced when max a/c is on. I imagine the engine needs a tune up. I'll do that next time I take the truck in for service.

4) I do a lot of very short trips for work. I mean like half a block, to three or four different stores, three or four times a week. I could walk to the destinations, but carrying 400 pounds of supplies back to work in my arms doesn't seem like very much fun, so I drive instead. I've been doing this for five years. I turn the engine on and off a lot and except for my 15 mile commute each way to and from home, there isn't any time for the battery to recharge. I've had to get jumped several times, I've replaced the battery twice, and I've put in a new alternator once. Ideas about this would be helpful.

Things I want to do:

1) More power, better gas mileage. Isn't that what we all want? I calculated that summer gas mileage (if I can avoid going to all those stores all of the time for work) averages 18.5 city most times. I don't often drive highway speeds. I might get up to 60 mph for a short while on some of the back roads on my way home from work, but that and an occasional trip up across the river to see my folks are all the highway travel I do. Winter gas mileage (with you know, winter gas) averages 15.5 mpg. Mostly I'm a steady Freddy driver, not accelerating or braking outrageously, leaving a lot of room between myself and the car in front of me so I don't have to ride the brakes. I'll occasionally let 'er loose and push the pedal in just to feel the thrill, such as it is. My ranger can MOVE off a line, but I really have to mash that pedal to get it to.

2) I'd like to try out some airflow mods that could help with #1 above, but I have no idea where to start, nor do I have any clue about whether or not anything airflow related will work. I've read that Ford has engineered correctly and that mods are a waste of time, and I've read the opposite. Definitive advice is needed before I step (or don't step) that direction.

3) So here's something new for me: I just ran across a youtube video of a guy who switched out his V6 with a V8. Oh my! That equals more power, right? I imagine mileage will suffer though. Any thoughts?

4) Truck camping! Truck bed tents, home built truck bed storage solutions, camper shells, extra electrics for extra camping stuff, etc! I want to do this. Any truck campers out there?

My truck is used as a truck almost every day. I use the four wheel drive in snowy conditions and occasionally out at my sister's place when I'm helping her out with her property, and I've used it more than a few times to help pull other vehicles out of piles of snow and ditches. I don't mind all the dents and scratches in the bed from all the different things I've hauled. My neighborhood is a hotspot for auto thieves, so I keep my truck pretty low key. There's nothing special to look at. It's like any other Ford Ranger out there. Mods I put into it should be hidden or not very noticeable.

Anyway, I'm Chris. Glad to meet you. Cheers!