07/06/2026
So many of you guys have asked on my opinion of my new little Ute!
We took delivery of a Ranger Super Duty in March this year.
It was confined to help me move my gear from a mates place in Mudgee to my new place on the Sunshine Coast, I did 2 trips towing a dual axle tipping trailer, my GCM would have been very close to the max. The Ute towed beautifully not too bad on fuel never felt underpowered and the best thing of all no warning lights!
So after having to postpone my first two tours of the year due to the Simpson flooding I eventually was able to take it out on the tracks and see how they perform.
So why not start with the Canning Stock Route just a quick stroll through the bushš¤£
Again the little Ute impressed. The photo of the dash showing fuel Kās etc was taken at the end of the Canning, remember I am the tour leader and double back and push through things that customers donāt. I am carrying the same gear as in the Ram 2500 and am under GVM no need for a GVM increase and again thankfully no warning lights! The Ram had lights on the moment it even saw dirt roads no one was able to fix this after nearly three years and months at dealers, so a very much less stressful run.
I am always asked what have you done to it, in the case of the 6x6 Landcruiser we kinda did everything and then some looked great but again an unreliable touring setup, the Ram yeah we did a fair bit again not reliable.
The Ranger I took it to Spring Master in Brisbane to add a leaf and re set the rear fantastic people and great out come. And that beyond bull at etc is all that I needed to do to the Ranger Ford have just this little Ute right.
Well ok nearly, so driving into Billiluna the car threw a handbrake fault. Please Ford tell me why you feel that we need an electric handbrake on a 4x4 and then if you insist on this why not protect it from stones etc being thrown at the actuator from the front, and then if said handbrake actuator does get damaged why you feel that I no longer can use cruise control? Yes a very poor design and expensive to repair I will hopefully have guards made up to stop this happening very soon.
All in all though at this early stage I would say the best vehicle I have had for what I do, there is of course horses for courses but for me I like the comfort the fuel economy the ease to drive and the fact that everything just works (mostly š¤£) which is a vast improvement compared to previous vehicles that I have operated in this environment.
Would I recommend one? Absolutely at this stage in a heart beat, letās see how the rest of the year goes as it has many hard Kās left to travel.
Now if only Ford could give me back a proper handbrake