TRS-2 1996 Ford Ranger 4x4

The Ranger seen on this page is my 1996 Ford Ranger SuperCab 4×4 that I call TRS-2. The buildup of this truck came as a result of a lot of luck, and a great opportunity. In April 2003 I hosted an off-road gathering that I called the Spring Roundup in Wellsville, Ohio, Jim Allen was there coving the event as a story for Offroad Adventures Magazine (a 4Wheelparts publication). While talking to Jim, I told him that I wanted to build a Ford Ranger to show how cheaply you could build a Ford Ranger for off-road. My intention was to build something low budget with used parts while saving money where I could. Jim asked me to email him a list of parts that I would use if I was building a truck with new parts. At the time I had no idea that this was going to lead to a sponsored truck build. It was just two guys talking about trucks. Jim managed to get Offroad Adventures Magazine to allow him to do a 6-part build series titled ‘Project Transformer’ showing people how to build a Ford Ranger into a great off-roader. And since 4wheelparts was an off-road parts distributor, he even managed to get several companies to donate parts to the build. The only stipulation was that they wanted it to be a newer body style, not an older ruck like the 1983 Ford Ranger 4×4 I was currently driving.

I searched and purchased this red 1996 Ford Ranger 4×4 with 143,000 miles in North Carolina off of eBay. It wasn’t the 1998-2003 body style (I couldn’t afford that), but I felt that the 1996 was new enough and this body style and suspension setup was probably more likely to be built by their readers than the 1998-2003 models. Plus, most of the stuff could be applied all the way back to the 1983 Ranger.

Then one day a semi pulled up in front of my house full of parts. This really was the best of what you could get at the time to build a Ford Ranger.

List of Sponsors & Parts:

Skyjacker – 6-Inch Class II Suspension lift (includes rear leaf springs and longer radius arms) shocks and dual steering stabilizer
BFGoodrich – 33×12.50×15 Mud-Terrains
ProComp – Streetlock 15×10 wheels
Genuine Gear (G2 Gear) – 4.56 Ring & Pinions for a Dana 35 TTB and Ford 8.8-Inch Axles
Eaton – Detroit Lockers Dana 35 TTB and 31-Spline Ford 8.8-Inch rear axle
Warn – Dana 35 TTB manual locking hubs
Gibson – Cat Back exhaust
Jet – Performance Module
Milemarker – E12000 Winch
Painless – Dual battery kit
ProComp – (6) 100-watt off-road lights

Items I Purchased Or Built:

Ford Explorer 31-spline 8.8-inch rear axle and spring perches
Fiberwerx fiberglass front fenders
Front & rear tow hooks
TRS Fab Ford 8.8-Inch HD Differential Cover (I was selling these at the time)
Front winch bumper designed and built by me
Bed cage designed and built by me
Ford Escort GT buckets seats
CB Radio & antenna
Carpet kit

I had planned to paint the Ranger myself. I had painted my 1983 Ford Ranger 4×4 that I called TRS-1 and was prepared to paint this one. My friend Randy Miller was managing a Maaco auto body shop down near Columbus, Ohio and offered to get the Ranger painted for free if I would let them put their logo on it, so I jumped at the opportunity. I had them paint it similar to a waving flag, and then I added the stars, graphics, and sponsor decals.

I designed and built the bumpers and bed cage. The bumpers are built from 1-3/4″ .120″ wall DOM tubing. The front bumper has a skid plate and winch mount made out of 1/4″ steel. The bed cage was built from 1-1/2″ .120″ wall DOM tubing and has a mounting location for a toolbox, dual batteries, and a spare tire.

Building the Ranger was a lengthy process because I couldn’t work on it unless Jim Allen was here to photograph the work. So, this truck was basically built on the weekends. It took quite a bit of 2004 to get the build done.

Jim and I did some baseline testing before we started working on the Ranger using a G-Tech performance meter and a RTI ramp. At the end of the build we found that horsepower went from 113.7 (at the wheels) to 123.0 for a gain of 9.3 horsepower. The stock RTI went from 264 RTI @ 30 degree (386 @ 20 degree) to 451 RTI @ 30 degree (660 @ 20 degree).

This Project Transformer build series was featured in Offroad Adventures Magazine from June of 2005 to November of 2005. This 1996 Ford Ranger 4×4 was built to show Offroad Adventures readers how they could build a Ford Ranger into the ultimate trail brawler.

Below is a picture from the November issue. On this day we took the Ranger to Wellsville so Jim Allen could get photos of it off-road.

The Original Offroad Adventures Magazine Articles:

Part 1: Taking a 1996 Ford Ranger from Bone Stock to Trail Brawler

Part 2: Suspension and Tires

Part 3: Gears and Lockers

Part 4: Manual Hubs and Explorer Rear Axle Swap

Part 5: Taking a ’96 Ford Ranger From Bone Stock to Trail Brawler

Part 6: The Full Monty

I really didn’t like the way the Ranger looked with the black wheels, so I replaced them with a set of American Racing 15×10 Outlaw II aluminum wheels. Black wheels can look good on some vehicles, but with this color combination I felt it needed a brighter wheel. The aluminum wheel also reduced some of the rolling weight. I think the pictures below show just how much those shiny aluminum wheels improved the look.

I wheeled the Ranger pretty hard, and it never failed to do what I needed it to do. It has impressed more than a few skeptics. My favorite is showing the Jeep crowd what it can do on the trail. I know it has shocked a few people. Off-roading this truck started to take its toll on the body, so I eventually had to repaint it to the color scheme you see below. This was actually the same color scheme I used on my TRS-1 1983 Ford Ranger 4×4.

(This date on this picture is wrong. I believe this was around 2010)

In 2014 I sold the Ranger because I hadn’t been using it and thought someone else might enjoy it more than I was. In 2018 I needed to find a Ranger to build for The Ranger Station 20th Anniversary. As luck would have it this Ranger came up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, so I repurchased it. The Ranger needed a lot of repairs, but I was able to get it ready for the anniversary thanks to the help of Will Wills and Bobby Walter.

When I re-purchased the Ranger the Warn winch was missing, the transmission was out, and the offroad lights had rusted. The tires were also in bad condition and looked dry rotted and full of cracks.

Bobby Walter installed the transmission and added a Barnes 4WD 8.8 Axle Truss to the rear axle. I repainted the cage and bumpers, mounted a Smittybilt 9.5K winch, some Nilight LED Lights, Cooper Discoverer STT PRO 33×12.50×15 mud-terrains, cleaned the truck up, and made and applied new decals.

I built a new radio console and mounted a Midland MXT115 GMRS radio, Uniden 520XL CB radio, a Galls switch panel, a panel with a USB charging port / voltage display / 12-volt outlet / power switch, and a dual 12-volt outlet on the side. I also installed a new Pioneer stereo and a pair of Rockford Fosgate P1683 Punch 6″x8″ 3-Way Coaxial Full Range Speakers.

Don’t go thinking that this truck doesn’t see off-road though, because it does. It’s funny because some people think that because it looks nice, I don’t take it off-road, and others assume I race it because of its appearance. It definitely gets attention, and I’ve had people tell me they know where I live just because they’ve spotted the Ranger parked in my driveway.

In 2023 the TRS-2 1996 Ford Ranger 4×4 was a featured display inside of the buildings at Carlisle as the Carlisle Truck Nationals celebrated the Ford Ranger’s 40th Anniversary. While it was a long haul from Texas to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it was an honor to have my Ford Ranger on display there as one of their featured vehicles.

The tires and lighting may be different from when I first built the truck, but the truck is still using the same Skyjacker Suspension, gears, lockers, and Jet Performance Module. The Ranger has also received a Midland MXT115 GMRS radio.