Ford Ranger NO Bed Question

Look at photos from last year's CT and NH races, I think there was a truck with a home-made bed on it.

Also, as much as you might want to keep it light, you need some weight back there to be stable.  Also, you can 'soften' the leafs to get better bite.

If you can, yes, get a bill of sale, but if you can't then just fake one like everyone else does..........

All that said, GET TO WORK!!!!!  Race day will be here faster than you know.

Where are you located?

Bill

Bill, We are on Long Island. I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I'm a school teacher, and school is out....so we have that going for us.  Lists already going, and if it wasn't for this crazy rain we are getting, we would be out there working.

We know the  lack of weight on the back is an issue, so we will have to work on that.  Thanks for the info.

We built this one.  The bed is 1" square and angle iron with diamond plate decking, 1" square uprights.  The rear fenders are trailer fenders welded to the frame.  Tail lights are standard cheapo trailer lights. 

Caging compact trucks is a bit of a challenge, you have to build outriggers off of the frame to land the cage. 

We have serious traction issues in the rear putting power down, even with a limited slip. We even kept the trailer hitch to keep weight at the back.  We are going back to a mini spool this weekend like we used to have in the boat.  The weight in the transom of the boat at the back of the frame was helpful to give some traction. 

Better get going on the build, the race will be here before you know it!  If you have questions about caging this, let me know.

We spent part of the day redoing all the brakes, they were in pretty rough shape, after getting them squared away we took it for spin, and those rear brakes are touchy, definitely going to find a way to put some weight on there. We have a couple of ideas. Manny where are you guys on Long Island?

You mean CT and LI are not the same? I thought they were just with a pond in between them. Lol. Yeah my main goal is to get to track and pass tech. Then survive as many laps as possible. Anything after that is Gravy. I feel doing that we will learn so much from other teams and the race itself then we can go and tinker.

The truck actually came lowered. So we don't have to do much there. We got it because the frame is cocked in the rear. So we are straightening that then onto a cage to help brace it all up and tie it together.

Some on the team are more ambitious than others and more proactive then others, but it's nice because it's a good blend. I would like to see another teams truck or car to get a idea what a finished tech passing vehicle looks like.

Thanks for all the info.

Total thread-jack but with all the truck aficionados lurking around, has anyone tried a mid-engine conversion to "fix" the weight distribution issues?

Yeah after we get the cage in, which is in order right now from S&W Race Cars, then we have an idea for a bed that should be pretty cool. S&W has one for our ranger that's Lemons specific. We are doing this at my house in Coram. So not far from East Meadow.

Thanks Chaase Message coming your way.

Like a really big wing? Lol