RowdyRebel Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 ...when ya got work to do and the weather just ain't cooperating. 1 Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REEL ADDICTION Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Thank god for the good old blue tarps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Damn near lost the Ranger on Friday when I dragged it behind the Mack to the shop for work....bumper was literally hanging by a thread by the time I got there. Luckily I use safety chains on the draw bar, but no telling if they would have been strong enough to prevent a run-away truck had it come apart on me. Anyway, I got back last night from a weekend on the road and decided I had better get it fixed.I started out picking up a few supplies on the way into town....a pair of 12" long 2" receiver tubes, a pair of 6" drop receiver hitches with a perpendicular drop (instead of slanted), and some spring tie plates. That and some scrap I had laying around I got to work with the power tools...Gotta cut stuff to length with the power hacksaw. This thing is awesome....prefer using it to a cutting torch, since it makes a much cleaner & more precise cut. This WAS a 48" long piece of 2" receiver tube that I was cutting down to use as a cross member... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 ....some assembly required. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Back to the power hacksaw to cut the ball mounts off the drop hitches..... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Now we're getting somewhere.... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Going to stop by a metal fabricating shop to order (or hopefully pick up if they have it) a piece of 1/8" wall 2.5" x 7" x 66" tube to weld onto the front of the frame rails and the top of the 2" receiver tubes that I put on there today....that'll be my front bumper. I was thinking about using 1/4" wall, but that would be REALLY heavy, and I'm not sure the front suspension would be too happy with me if I did that. It'll still be the most bad-ass Ranger bumper on the road. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 ACME Towing Products- Wile E. Coyote gets all his towing products there. Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 Yup...he told me they were superior products, so I went ahead and decided to give 'em a try.Anyway, I just picked up a pair of 1/8" wall 3"x3" steel square tubes to build a front bumper. I'm thinking I'll trim them in 1" increments so I'll have some 3"x3" risers to separate the top from the bottom (and give me the 7" tall bumper I wanted)...think that'll look better than just welding the two together. Whichever way I go with it, though, it'll be the most bad-ass bumper ever to be seen on a Ford Ranger. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer52 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Nice work! You will have to put some weight in the back to keep it from tipping on its nose. Quote Ken PRR Country and Charter member of the "Mack Pack" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 Yup...when I told 'em I wanted a 1/8" wall piece of 2.5" x 7" steel tube, they said the only thing they'd have in that size would be 1/4" wall....which would work if I were building a bumper for the Mack, but the Ranger already has a hard time hooking up on wet pavement...don't need to exacerbate that situation any more than necessary. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Nice work! You will have to put some weight in the back to keep it from tipping on its nose.No problem- ACME has everything, even helper springs. Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Might need ta get me one of them there counter weights.......been working some more on it today.Trimming 1" slices off the 3"x3" 1/8" wall tube... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Getting things layed out the way I want 'em.... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 ...and start welding it all together... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Got it primed, too.....but by the time it was painted, it was too dark for decent pics. So, a gray primer pic will have to do (even though the bumper is black now). Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer52 Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Bumper looks good. How much weight do you think you added with this installation? Quote Ken PRR Country and Charter member of the "Mack Pack" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 it does look good, better than factory! you're a helluva fabber-cater. Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 I didn't weigh anything...but the main bumper didn't FEEL all that much heavier than the OEM bumper. I'm sure it IS heavier, but since it's all 1/8" wall tubing it isn't too bad. I'd be willing to bet the draw bar hitch components weigh as much as the main bumper....that's all 1/4" stuff. A pair of 12" long 2" receiver tubes, 4 spring tie plates for 3500# axles (cheap, quick & easy fishplate material to reinforce the weld between the frame rail and the receiver tubes)...and then the 6" drop receiver that the bumper draw bar attaches to. That's all pretty heavy stuff...but the main bumper wasn't anything to pick up and carry around....and yeah, as long as I can work with steel and you don't give a crap what it looks like as long as it works, I can fab up just about anything. Built my brother a motorcycle trailer a couple years ago. He sold his bike, so I'm taking the trailer back....his wife is sick of looking at it in their back yard. I just gotta go get it.I oughtta have some pics of that on this computer.......ok, so maybe not. I'll have to look and see if I can find 'em elsewhere. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 Dang...looking at the date stamps on the photos, it took me damn near a YEAR to build that friggin' thing! Prolly why I haven't built another one since then..... 1 Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer52 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Nice looking trailer. Good job! Quote Ken PRR Country and Charter member of the "Mack Pack" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkobes43 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Damn looks great! Nice work. Tom Quote "Nothing Breaks Wind Like A Bulldog" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 When I get it back, I'm debating about pulling the wood off and repainting it.....white. I went red the first time because he was driving a red car and his bike was red. All my vehicles are white...except my bike which is black. I may leave it red, though, because it'll look OK behind the fiance's truck...it's red. Chances are if we go anywhere, it'll be in her truck anyway (it's an extended cab...more room). So yeah...now that I think about it, I'll probably just leave it as it is.I will have to change up the spare tire carrier, though. He burned up the bearing on the axle that was on it, so I swapped it out for a heavier 5-lug axle (instead of the 4-lug)....only bought him 2 tires & rims, though...so I'll ahve to buy 1 more and get it mounted up and then it'll be ready for me to start pulling around.Good thing about those tires...if I'm pulling that trailer behind my Ranger, it is the same 5-on 4.5" lug pattern...which is good, because my Ranger doesn't have a spare on it. I've got 10 spares for it mounted up on rims in the garage....but none on the truck. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkobes43 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 No leave it red! Looks great red. Tom Quote "Nothing Breaks Wind Like A Bulldog" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 I especially like the coupler....bolted it to a 2" receiver so that it can be removed. My brother was in college at the time, so I figured he could remove the coupler, loop a cable around a tree, and use a locking hitch pin and secure the trailer to the tree to prevent it from walking off. I built it with a 1-7/8" coupler...but I've since found a 2" coupler that bolts onto the same 2" tongue, so I can change the coupler to suit the tow vehicle's ball size. F250, the Mack, and the fiance's truck both have 2" balls in 2" receivers. The Ranger has a 1-7/8" ball bolted to the bumper.Other features are the custom built license plate frame...1/8" angle iron with an 18 guage back plate...and a light. I also used 20' long piece of receiver tube for the tongue...but ran it all of the way to the back of the trailer. I fished the wiring through that...then out to the tail lights through some 1/2" pipe....so the wiring is all enclosed. The ramp is removable....and long enough with a gentle enough slope that you can load a motorcycle without it even running. The center track is 8" wide c-channel to hold a motorcycle's tires from sliding sideways, and is painted with an asphalt paint with sand sprinkled over it for traction....several layers of asphalt paint & sand....turned out pretty much like grip tape. 10K rated D-rings to secure the bike...and towards the front, there are smaller D-rings to hold the other end of the straps while you load the bike so they are handy to hook to the handlebars. Flip-up dolly leg. Spare tire carrier. I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting....I put a lot into that project....enough that I told my brother that if he ever thought about getting rid of it, it would come back to me.Funny thing was, it didn't start out as a full-on trailer build. I was originally just going to stretch an existing trailer....then I got into it and it didn't quite turn out as "easy" as I thought it would be. I hate it when that happens. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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