About TRS Garage
Back around 1992 I bought a 1983 Ford Ranger 4×4 and eventually began modifying it for off-road. In 1995, the World Wide Web (internet) was becoming accessible to the general public, and in 1999 I launched The Ranger Station (therangerstation.com). My goal was to share the modifications I had made to my Ranger and create a place for other enthusiasts to share their Rangers and modifications as well. The Ranger Station (TRS) would go on to become the leading resource for off-road Ford Ranger and Bronco II enthusiasts.
In 2004 I began selling custom heavy-duty differential covers made from 1/4″ steel plate. In 2005 I decided to create a separate website to sell the differential covers and created TRS Fab & Off-Road (trsfabandoffroad.com).
I eventually established an account with a parts distributor so I could offer a wider range of products. At the end of 2010, I changed the name from TRS Fab & Off-Road and began using my primary business name, James Oaks Enterprises (jamesoaksenterprises.com), since I was no longer fabricating parts. Over the next several years, I saw a decrease in the aftermarket products available for the Ford Ranger, and it became increasingly difficult to compete with companies such as Amazon. At the end of 2016, I shut the site down when I moved from Ohio to Texas.
TRS Garage
In 2018, I considered reopening an online parts business and preparing for the return of the 2019 Ford Ranger. Opening a new account with my old distributor had become a challenge, and I wasn’t going to get the pricing I had before. Instead, I created TRS Garage and ran it as an Amazon storefront.
However, that would also be short-lived as Amazon eventually stopped offering the option to embed product information and pricing into a webpage.
But the story didn’t end there.
TRS Garage — The Building
In 2021, I purchased a home that included a 1,400-square-foot cinder block commercial building behind the house. The building had an interesting history, starting out as a 20×35-foot television repair and sales shop before receiving a 20×35-foot addition and becoming a tire business. Unfortunately, the building eventually became a neglected storage building in need of repairs.
Since purchasing the building, I’ve worked to bring it back to life and convert it into an actual shop where I can work on the TRS-2 and TRS-3 Ford Rangers and other projects, while also displaying and preserving more than 25 years of TRS history and memorabilia.
As work on the building continues, I’ve managed to get my 2021 Ford Ranger FX4 (TRS-3) inside and install a Skyjacker suspension lift on it, and I built a 1984 Ford Bronco II 4×4 (B2 Marauder) inside the shop as well.
Building With A Purpose
What was once home to a TV repair and sales business and later became a neglected storage building has found new life as TRS Garage. It’s a stage for building and maintaining Ford Ranger project vehicles and documenting them for The Ranger Station. But the purpose of this site isn’t about those builds. It’s about the building behind the builds.
It’s about sharing the process of bringing an old building back to life and renovating it into a functional workshop. It’s about doing the electrical, plumbing, carpentry and masonry yourself—not only to save money for future projects, but to gain the satisfaction and reward of doing it yourself.
It’s about finding deals on used tools, giving them a new life, and helping others know what to look for when trying to find used tools to outfit their own shop.
So, if you’re interested in creating your own shop, you’re interested in DIY home and garage repairs, or you’re just curious about where I work on TRS projects or the home of The Ranger Station, stick around.
I hope TRS Garage will inspire you to fulfill your own shop dreams.