Short Range

Part 1: Solid-Axleswapping a 1998 Ranger ’Round the Campfire.

- Ben Battles

WHY IS THIS STORY TITLED “SHORT RANGE”?

Because most would probably rather lick a hot branding iron than take an extended road trip in a single-cab, four-banger Ranger shod with 35-inch tires, 5.38 gearing, a rear spool, and no air conditioning. But, believe it or not, that’s exactly what we were aiming for with our 1998 Ranger: slow and technical trail capability sprinkled with some short-range “bouncing around town” ability.

And no, we didn’t actually do a solid-axle swap around a campfire, but this is—in our experience—where some of the best (or most ridiculous and 100 percent unattainable) plans are forged. For us, “campfire building” plays out the exactly the same way almost all the time: The lighter the cooler gets, the more solid, feasible, and cost-effective our ingenious (at the time) plans become. But when reality strikes the next morning, building a personal nuclear-powered submarine would likely be an easier proposition than whatever we devised the night before.