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Can you fit a sled in the back of a ford ranger?

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POWFIEND
Posts: 117 - Karma: 12
I was gonna buy a ranger but I wanna make sure I can fit a sled in the back before I buy one. Id like to buy a bigger pickup but cant afford to put gas in one.
Aug 21 2007 9:50PM
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sHrEdAgE
Posts: 930 - Karma: 11
ya you should be able too with the gate down and some straps
Aug 21 2007 9:58PM
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Klick_2_klaim
Posts: 3396 - Karma: 25
well, the easiest way to find that out i would think would be to get the dimensions of both, and compare.
maybe a little short im thinkin though.
Aug 21 2007 9:58PM
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ski_DC
Posts: 1347 - Karma: 58
im not sure if a sled would fit in the bed stock, but companies sell these cage type tail gates that allow another few feet of bed space. you keep the stock tail gate down and the cage thing bolts to the bed frame and lets you haul more stuff. so that might work
Aug 21 2007 9:58PM
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tronnnnnnn
Posts: 736 - Karma: 14
if not, then just get a trailer and your buddy can bring his sled too
Aug 21 2007 10:36PM
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drewishish
Posts: 3710 - Karma: 23
ford rangers get pretty much the same gas milage as full size trucks ( i think im correct....)
Aug 22 2007 12:02AM
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POWFIEND
Posts: 117 - Karma: 12
full size trucks like the silverado get like 13 mpg. rangers probobly get around 23 mpg.
Aug 22 2007 12:39AM
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Rez4frederick
Posts: 4740 - Karma: 40
Man up and get a full size truck, I got one recently, yea it eats up gas, but fuck it, use up all the oil and gas you can while you are here, no reason to conserve.  I thought about getting a ranger, but they are small as fuck.  You are going to need a shit load of room for other shit when you go sledding like gas, food, skis, etc.  Rangers have like no room at all, especially when you got a sled.  And once you get a sled into a ranger, its going to bog it down so bad that the mpg will even out and the full size may actually end up  being more efficient.
Aug 22 2007 12:47AM
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eljefe
Posts: 915 - Karma: 467
I am a self proclaimed sledneck...I just bought an F350 with an 8 foot bed. My sled still hangs off the back of my 8 foot bed with the TAILGATE DOWN about 1 foot. Depends on the sled but Im thinking a ranger migght not cut it. Investigate the weight capacity and consider that most sleds are 480-520 pounds dry. Add maybe 40-50 pounds for gas oil and most importantly SNOW. I had a tacoma and a sled would not fit in the bed and it was an absolute bitch pulling a trailer. It got 14 mpgs pulling a sled trailer with 2 sleds. A truck capable of hauling more will get better fuel economy under load. My diesel gets 17 in town and 20 on the road.
Aug 22 2007 1:09AM
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potato_man
Posts: 2158 - Karma: 89
if you get an extended like back thing that the explorer trucks always have it should fit
Aug 22 2007 3:27AM
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Steezy_Street
Posts: 833 - Karma: 161
Nothing a small compaction exercise with a hammer wont fix haah.

but seriously. you wont know until u try
Aug 22 2007 3:53AM
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EClay46
Posts: 2499 - Karma: 69
wow ur sled is 11 feet long?
Aug 22 2007 4:30AM
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Pipe_Munky
Posts: 10888 - Karma: 2,184

depends on the sled. if it's a sled meant for mountain riding yes it's quite possible. longer tracks give you better flotation in pow



Aug 22 2007 9:53AM
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oiECSoi
Posts: 1447 - Karma: 10
yeah good call i got have a 94 Ranger and its pretty tiny , the suspension bogs down very far with am anverage amount of weight and then the body roll after it bogs down is nuts. plsu same gas milage, and bigger trucks are sick, im trying to look for one maybe
Aug 22 2007 10:02AM
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eljefe
Posts: 915 - Karma: 467
about 10.5 feet. Arctic cat m7 with a 162 track. They are bigger than you think...consider that the skis have to butt up against the front of your truck bed and they stick out about a foot pushing the whole sled back more...
Aug 22 2007 11:59AM
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MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298
if your sled is a little short track trail runner....sure, anything longer will not fit. Rangers's boxes are small as my ass.
Aug 22 2007 12:33PM
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Pirruccio
Posts: 1301 - Karma: 70
invest in a 1500 dodge ram
the older ones are cheap and are so nice
and make sure its diesel
Aug 22 2007 2:03PM
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POWFIEND
Posts: 117 - Karma: 12
I wont be hauling my sled for more than 2 kilometers, seeing as how I live at the bottom of a popular sledding area. Yeah the mpg will be the same while towing, but a 2 kilometer tow doesnt concern me much. I see how much it costs to fill up a half ton truck(tundra) and its like 125 dollars(during summer) per tank. I couldnt imagine what a full size truck would cost to fill up. What kind of job do you have?
Aug 22 2007 7:59PM
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oiECSoi
Posts: 1447 - Karma: 10
wait under 2 km? just fucking sled there. chances are def like 99% you dont get caught on way there
Aug 22 2007 8:11PM
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Jeff_Thomas
Posts: 3144 - Karma: 184
your truck will break over time.
Aug 22 2007 8:20PM
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POWFIEND
Posts: 117 - Karma: 12
good idea, but can you drive your sled on pavement without damaging it? on a compacted snow pavemnt I would do it, but bare pavement???
Aug 22 2007 8:34PM
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Pirruccio
Posts: 1301 - Karma: 70
a little bit of pavment wont hurt, but 2 km is a bit long
Aug 22 2007 10:28PM
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mattster
Posts: 4120 - Karma: 41
yeah, i was going to say, 2km on your sled wouldnt be bad if you have a nice snowy way to get it there... but if you can afford a truck(which can be used for other shit, getting yourself to work, bitches, and etc.) then it makes sense to do that i guess...
Aug 22 2007 11:22PM
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MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298
its fuck all......i do it all the time to get to the trails, have to cross roads ALL the time. You just can't turn worth shit. If your really worryed about it, get some ski skins, or plastic skis, with some nice high performance Carbides and you will be set.
Aug 22 2007 11:33PM
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.makuma.
Posts: 2258 - Karma: 43
the rangers are too small for a sled, just get a trailer and dont take any chances with it
Aug 23 2007 12:08PM
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Nadia.
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 1,104
I've got a 92 F150 flareside, probably the same dimensions as the ranger, if not a SMALLER bed, I pick my sled up this friday, so I'll let you know how it works out? I'm getting a summit 800 144 track, its probably going to hang out the back.
Aug 23 2007 4:35PM
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POWFIEND
Posts: 117 - Karma: 12
yeah man i'd appreciate that
Aug 23 2007 9:21PM
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Nadia.
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 1,104
Haha, its going to be me driving half an hour, dropping 8,000$ and signing everything, then realizing that it doesn't fit. Which, will be followed by uhh balling my eyes out haha. If that happens my buddy's going to make a sled-deck for me, he's got an iron shop.. if I cant find one second hand. My buddy dirt said as long as your box is like 45inches across you should be fine, and if it hangs off the back, use tiedowns and attach them to your box.
Aug 23 2007 9:37PM
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POWFIEND
Posts: 117 - Karma: 12
hmmm, im pretty sure that any ford f-150 would be bigger than a ford ranger. I think you should be ok, seeing as how My dad can fit a sled in the back of his toyota tacoma. Did you manage to actually save up 8,000 dollars?
Aug 23 2007 9:45PM
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Nadia.
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 1,104
Ive been working construction and painting since like May.. at 16-22$ an hour its not that bad. I've got 6,500$ of it and I'm borrowing the rest, which I'll be able to pay off before snow falls. 8000$ for an 07 summit 800 144 with new shocks, clutch etc and a 1 year warranty was a steal, I think. Seeing as most 07 demos are going for 10,000$
Aug 23 2007 10:31PM
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KSdesign
Posts: 687 - Karma: 175
that seems like a smart solution
Aug 23 2007 11:09PM
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chugLIFE
Posts: 4714 - Karma: 1,050
i put a sled in my titan short box, its super fuckin short, hung out the back alot. what youll need to do is build a deck above the wheel wells so they dont get in the way fo the skis, cuz my guess is your ranger isnt very wide. other then that you shoudl be fine tho, jsut strap that fucker down tight
Aug 24 2007 12:40AM
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Nadia.
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 1,104
Summit 800 fits in my 92' Ford Flareside. The sled measures like 44inches across the front of the skis, and my box (haha) is 49 inches inside. It has more than enough length, with my tailgate down I get like 9ft of length. Use tie-downs to secure it but you should be fine. Measure your box, if its less than like 45inches you're going to have problems.
Aug 25 2007 3:34PM
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traumacrew
Posts: 92 - Karma: 11
It works, just not great. One ski will go on top of one of the
wheel wells. Cut a piece of half inch plywood to cover your bed and tailgate and keep it under the track. This will save your tailgate from bending from the sled hopping. Strap it down tight and it should be fine for short hauls. Trailers suck, especially come spring when you may have to drive past the regular staging area.
Aug 25 2007 9:49PM
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Franny
Posts: 3980 - Karma: 77
get a used dodge ram they all have large beds. Lol i remember my friend got hit by a dodge, Irony! 
Aug 25 2007 10:09PM
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kozy
Posts: 872 - Karma: 10
if u cant dodge it ram it
Aug 25 2007 11:14PM
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titsLOL
Posts: 7485 - Karma: 396
i'm pretty sure there's a way more mathematical way to do this than ask ns. like... dunno... maybe check out the specs of the truck and of sleds? but anyway I'd go with a ranger and a trailer cuz then you can drive around all summer gettin good gas mileage then when you go sledding you can tow the sleds with no hassle and throw all your gear in the bed so you wont have any space issues at all. not sure how much sled trailers go for but it's still probably be cheaper than buying a big truck.
Aug 25 2007 11:37PM
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