Help me not buy a Ranger Tremor

[RacerX00]

Why does the JTR have to be thought of as an unfinished project? It already does a great job on the trails. It already looks (subjectively) good, and it's plenty capable without modification. Sure you can make it a project, but that's just because you want to. It doesn't have to be. Just get in and drive. Since you don't need the front locker, have you considered a Willys trim? Costs less than a rubicon, has the limited slip in the back, and comes from the factory with off road capable tires, and a bit of Rubicon personality and looks. The gladiator doesn't have to cost more than the Ford, if you don't want it to.

Look man, that's all well and logical but I also feel like a lot of people here can relate to this. If I had the Ranger Tremor I'd feel way less like I *have* to express myself through my vehicle.

It's kind of the X-factor we all agree is the only universal benefit to owning a JT over any truck, which, it's a Jeep. The Ford Tremor is a tool for a job, transportation, point a to point b, sure you do things that you do to any truck but I don't feel like I need to delete 80% of my fender and bumper metal and probably never will. But, it'll happen if I get a Rubi!

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[RacerX00]

The best kid car if you aren’t swinging small in that department, is a Toyota Sienna! 100% the best vehicle we ever owned for long trips with younger kids.

The best all around family do everything well, towing and carrying half of my daughters 15y/o + volleyball team on a long trip was my expedition EL.

The most fun you can have driving a pickup , IMOP, is a convertible pickup truck that you remove the doors from! Yes there is only ONE of these, the JT.

The ford Ranger is just another near midsize truck, small inside with no personality. Hell even the ones someone has spent thousands of dollars to lift and add 33”tires, I don’t even notice because the blend in with all of the other regular pickup trucks (which without a lot of expensive upgrades will break that IFS to pieces, axles and all “rock crawling” as you said to feel like you are in your 20’s”). Have you ever tried repairing a broken IFS (non KOH Buggy of course) off road? A broken axle or u-joint in a solid axle is easy and a quick repair)

I think the drive is crappy, avg at best and prefer the JT ride over the Ford Ranger... and I love Ford.

So.... enough... if you aren’t into a convertible pickup truck, the only new production pickup on the market... Go Buy The Ford!

Very simple choice and the JT is the only convertible option you have.

Convertible pickup truck vs not a convertible pickup truck.

I've had a (new at the time) Mercedes E class I've taken down a trail and fried when I plugged a Sawzall into a 120v adapter, to name just one of the insanely stupid things I've done necessitating convincing a local flatbed truck that he could get in and get me on his bed. That... was an interesting excuse to not be at work on Monday.

I try and be the guy that upgrades the appropriate things at the appropriate times with the appropriate supporting infrastructure in general though. If I'm doing any kind of crazy lift and adding tons of weight and crap there's going to be new axels and what have you. I also don't know that I'm going to go down that road if I got a Tremor (which, I guess makes the over the top 6 aux switches in the middle console a little less useful).

 

[PyrPatriot]

The "ugly" thing is hilarious to me. It looks like a sleeker F150 and is bigger than said F150s sold 20 years ago. It's like everyone wants to compare every single truck to the looks of a Raptor, ZR2 or TRD Pro. "Grownup" isn't "ugly."

I feel like the biggest problem with the Ranger is peoples perceptions.

If it were like $2-4k cheaper with similar incentives to start it'd would heavily eat into the F150 sales.

The Ranger platform is a damn solid one that people here are giving too much shit because we all know there's a new platform and Ranger Raptor around the corner. Meanwhile those same people give mad props to the Tacoma TRD Pro which was first launched 74 years ago.

It looks like someone took their Odyssey mini-van and put a truck bed on it. Yes, it does look "sleek"

I'll stick with my Honda element (not actual pic of mine, mine is silver without rack and many more dents!)

 

[NachoRuby]

Look man, that's all well and logical but I also feel like a lot of people here can relate to this. If I had the Ranger Tremor I'd feel way less like I *have* to express myself through my vehicle.

It's kind of the X-factor we all agree is the only universal benefit to owning a JT over any truck, which, it's a Jeep. The Ford Tremor is a tool for a job, transportation, point a to point b, sure you do things that you do to any truck but I don't feel like I need to delete 80% of my fender and bumper metal and probably never will. But, it'll happen if I get a Rubi!

Nothing wrong with that school of thought. But If you're going to mod it anyway, consider a Willys. It's a cheaper blank slate to work with. I got the Rubicon precisely because I didn't want to mod it. I've modded almost every vehicle I've owned, and I just wanted a turnkey trail/off-road park vehicle with a bed, and that could tow this time. I wanted a manual transmission, so my choices were limited to this or the TRD Pro. I'm only towing a 2000 lb VW beetle, so this JT is perfect for me. If you want a blank slate, the Willys or sport are much cheaper choices. You can build them up and still spend about the same as you would on a Tremor. If you want better road manners mixed in get a Tremor. It's still a good truck. I sense that the mod bug will get you on the Ford too, though.

 

[RacerX00]

Nothing wrong with that school of thought. But If you're going to mod it anyway, consider a Willys. It's a cheaper blank slate to work with. I got the Rubicon precisely because I didn't want to mod it. I've modded almost every vehicle I've owned, and I just wanted a turnkey trail/off-road park vehicle with a bed, and that could tow this time. I wanted a manual transmission, so my choices were limited to this or the TRD Pro. I'm only towing a 2000 lb VW bug, so this JT is perfect for me. If you want a blank slate, the Willys or sport are much cheaper choices. You can build them up and still spend about the same as you would on a Tremor. If you want better road manner mixed in get a Tremor. It's still a good truck. I sense that the mod bug will get you on the Ford too, though.

Yeah so that's interesting but the reason I like the Rubi is I would feel like I have an incredibly solid base to have more than a ton of fun and I can focus on like refrigerators or tents or fender flare deletes.

If you start me in a Sport and I immediately spend $18,000 on axels that's an entirely different problem that I feel like I'm gonna wanna do when I'm not sitting on two decent diffs with a push button disconnecting sway bar.

 

[XJADDICTION]

I've had a (new at the time) Mercedes E class I've taken down a trail and fried when I plugged a Sawzall into a 120v adapter, to name just one of the insanely stupid things I've done necessitating convincing a local flatbed truck that he could get in and get me on his bed. That... was an interesting excuse to not be at work on Monday.

I try and be the guy that upgrades the appropriate things at the appropriate times with the appropriate supporting infrastructure in general though. If I'm doing any kind of crazy lift and adding tons of weight and crap there's going to be new axels and what have you. I also don't know that I'm going to go down that road if I got a Tremor (which, I guess makes the over the top 6 aux switches in the middle console a little less useful).

Sounds like you made a choice... and thats great. I am sure most of us are happy for you.

AGAIN: One choice

Jeep Pickup convertible doors off fun, throw 35’s on there with nothing changed except maybe a fender trim if you are like me with the Max Tow and 4:10’s stock like the Rubicon. Rubicon will way out crawl the Ford including the tremor and 35’s with Rubicon high-line fenders are bolt on, 37’s are bolt on for the Ruby with some minor work for crawling. The Mojave is even taller and can bolt on 37’s I believe.

VS

Ranger non tremor as they aren’t out yet, with thousands in a build to put 33’s on and still no convertible, no doors off. (Makes me crack up when I see the FJ cruiser with unbolted doors off look!?).

Ranger = never for me and most of us in here.

JT = PERFECTION! IMOP of course. ?

Enjoy the Ford, now it’s time for you to go bye bye,

Here is a good place for you

fordtremor.com​

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PS first time I looked on there and in 5 seconds this is what majority of posts on a Ford Tremor forum are saying ????​

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“Yep, totally agree that it "cheapens" the Tremor name just a touch, but I'm not offended by it.

I imagine that they won't sell many Ranger Tremors and pretty soon they'll do away with the package for the tiny truck.

Seriously... Who are they trying to sell that thing to? If you were in the market for a new truck to go offroading, you won't be tricked into buying a tiny ranger with a 4 Cylinder and a .8" lift kit...”

 

[RacerX00]

Sounds like you made a choice... and hats great. I am sure most of us are happy for you.

AGAIN: One choice for Jeep Pickup convertible doors off fun, throw 35’s on there with nothing changed except maybe a fender trim if you are like me with the Max Tow and 4:10’s like the Rubicon.

That's hilarious because right now I'm like 85% still on the side of JT. If I've made a "choice" it's that the Ranger is viable and made even more attractive with the Tremor package despite what the haters gonna hate.

As I've said before I'm a Jeep guy and came to a JT forum to be convinced not to do something different than my laid out plans on a whim just because Ford did something kind of cool with the Ranger.

Somehow that inadvertently made me an apologist for the entire Ranger platform.

 

[BamaJeepTruck]

I think it's less "feminine lines" and more "American truck front ends are wildly offensive in person to anyone living outside of North America." I've seen a lot of Europeans come off the plane for the first time and almost universally the first thing out of their mouth is "oh my god I can't believe how big your cars are."

Once Ford killed the Ranger/Mazda in the US they were free to focus on what kind of pickup Europe wanted, which is a massive market for them. Turns out they wanted something very similar to an F150 that just didn't look like the kind of thing someone wanted to attach diesel chimney stacks to.

For me, on Long Island (closer to NYC than not), the slightly smaller dimensions while maintaining standard bed sizes in a pretty damn respectable powertrain just works. I'd wager 95% of F150 buyers on Long Island would be overall just as satisfied in a Ranger.

If I lived in a place with more space, I'd probably be looking at full size pickups and actually lusting over 2-door Wranglers.

You say that as if its bad thing. The last thing I ever would want is a truck that's designed for Europe. They say the same thing about our houses and refrigerators. Only two kinds of countries in the world, those who use the metric system, and those who put men on the freakin moon. Murica

 

[QuickOne]

I will say, if you view yourself as a “Jeep guy”, then just get the JT. Otherwise you’ll always be thinking about what the JT would have been like. Trust me, I know this well (in non-Jeep realms)

Reality is, The two trucks are not that far off in all other dimensions/specs. Regardless of what the forum haters or car reviewers micro-focus on. If they were, neither would be competitive in the market. Cars are utility items, not collectibles.

 

[XJADDICTION]

That's hilarious because right now I'm like 85% still on the side of JT. If I've made a "choice" it's that the Ranger is viable and made even more attractive with the Tremor package despite what the haters gonna hate.

As I've said before I'm a Jeep guy and came to a JT forum to be convinced not to do something different than my laid out plans on a whim just because Ford did something kind of cool with the Ranger.

​

Somehow that inadvertently made me an apologist for the entire Ranger platform.

No, take no offense. If you truly are a “Jeep Guy” then why in the Hell would you consider a Ford Ranger?!

Even the Ford Ranger Tremor Specific forum, dogs that Ranger Tremor platform out.

 

[XJADDICTION]

I will say, if you view yourself as a “Jeep guy”, then just get the JT. Otherwise you’ll always be thinking about what the JT would have been like. Trust me, I know this well (in non-Jeep realms)

Reality is, The two trucks are not that far off in all other dimensions/specs. Regardless of what the forum haters or car reviewers micro-focus on. If they were, neither would be competitive in the market. Cars are utility items, not collectibles.

No micro focus necessary, they are that far off. The two are totally different vehicles.

PS thanks Mods for putting this in here!

 

[berb]

Ok, not to be rude, but the basis of this argument is all wrong. For $45K I can get a Brand New 2021 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Big Horn with the 8.4 inch touch screen, Bucket seats in the Front, 5.7L Hemi Engine, Full Time 4 Wheel Drive, 20 inch tires and it will blow your Ranger and Jeep off the line and handle the road better than either one of them.

With that said, you buy a Jeep to buy a Jeep and the fact that the Gladiator is BY FAR the best midsized pickup out there is just icing on the cake. The Ranger and Colorado are cheaper, but they are cheaper for a reason. The Tacoma comes close and I will entertain those guys in an argument of who's truck is better. BUT If you have to ask this question, then a Jeep is not for you.

For the money go buy the Ram and be happy.

For the rest of us we will keep our Jeeps and have fun!

 

[RacerX00]

You say that as if its bad thing. The last thing I ever would want is a truck that's designed for Europe. They say the same thing about our houses and refrigerators. Only two kinds of countries in the world, those who use the metric system, and those who put men on the freakin moon. Murica

Yeah yeah yeah, 'Merica, then we all get in our "Overlanders" which the rest of the world has been doing for 100 years and wonder where it's been all this time

In all seriousness, to me, what a European take on cars that are priced for you and me equate to is better engineering for the amount of given space with better fuel efficiency. The sheer practicality of a Fiat Panda for its purpose or how the global platform Ford Fiesta can actually function as the perfect family car if you're space limited.

All of this stuff matters to all of us to varying degrees. For me it makes me look at a Ford Ranger and go "hmmm that slightly different approach may work out better for my personal circumstances than the F150. Like you say with the appliance crap, all of that stuff sells well in all American cities because, even though we have a ton of space once you get outside city limits there are still people who are space-sapped.

Here's a 'Merica way to tie back in, if more young people voluntarily served in our military and went to places like Germany and South Korea and actually experienced the world, we'd overall be less ignorant as a people and maybe have discovered Overlanding in the same century as the rest of the world

 

[RacerX00]

Ok, not to be rude, but the basis of this argument is all wrong. For $45K I can get a Brand New 2021 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Big Horn with the 8.4 inch touch screen, Bucket seats in the Front, 5.7L Hemi Engine, Full Time 4 Wheel Drive, 20 inch tires and it will blow your Ranger and Jeep off the line and handle the road better than either one of them.

With that said, you buy a Jeep to buy a Jeep and the fact that the Gladiator is BY FAR the best midsized pickup out there is just icing on the cake. The Ranger and Colorado are cheaper, but they are cheaper for a reason. The Tacoma comes close and I will entertain those guys in an argument of who's truck is better. BUT If you have to ask this question, then a Jeep is not for you.

For the money go buy the Ram and be happy.

For the rest of us we will keep our Jeeps and have fun!

Ram 1500 is bigger. I don't need bigger and live in a place where bigger when you don't need it is less. I can get the right sized bed with the right hauling and towing capacity in a Ranger/Colorado/Gladiator so why add the extra inches making it that much harder to park my truck in Brooklyn, a place where I unfortunately find myself needing to be frequently.

All of this is very personal. Part of me loves the fact that the Ranger looks like a pickup should look like as a big "this is who I am, damn it" to the yuppies who have moved in and taken over my region. "Yeah it's the shape from the 90s and it gets half the gas mileage of your car and I like it and want to show it off to the world."

But really the Gladiator will also do that to the degree I want once I get done modifying it heh.

 

[RacerX00]

No, take no offense. If you truly are a “Jeep Guy” then why in the Hell would you consider a Ford Ranger?!

Even the Ford Ranger Tremor Specific forum, dogs that Ranger Tremor platform out.

This is a bloated thread but as I've hinted to earlier a Jeep is a given, it's just the type. If I have a Ford ranger I ultimately have a 2-door project of some sort. Could be a bit aspirational as a lot of hobbies are when you have a family. Kids are teens now though so it's not all entirely pipe dream modding.

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