Has anyone seen a camper based on a 1980's Ford Ranger?

[Rugster]

Looks cool, going to go see it in a day or two. Anyone have any information on this model?

 

[jimindenver]

There was a company here in Denver that made campers like that. They made them out of trucks, caddies, all kinds of vehicles but i think they were earlier.

 

[GrantRobertson]

There was a company here in Denver that made campers like that.

That would explain why I saw so many of them in Pueblo, CO when I was there. I actually prefer that style over the class-Cs based on vans, because you can pop the hood and get to the whole darn engine at once. There is room under there to put just about any engine you want. And no doghouse to climb over.

 

[Rugster]

Lots of Ranger based campers? Cool! Wish I could find some info on the net.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but as gsfish said, Ranger's never had a lot of horsepower.  I would not expect much in the way of highway performance from a camper based on one.  And overstressing an engine and transmission by making them work at or near full power all the time will seriously shorten their lifespan.

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

I have seen a couple down here in the South East, but they are rare, with the Toyota-based campers somewhat more popular.

My sister owned two Ranger trucks - I was never impressed with them. The first, an '80s model, would stall if it crossed a puddle. Somehow it just couldn't take getting any water into the engine bay! The second, a late '90s model, was better. Both were standard tranny, and a lot trickier and rougher to shift than the Mazda B2000 I had at the time. That little Mazda so spoiled me on standard trannies I still hunt for that elusive fifth gear when I drive one!

 

[Rugster]

I think later model B2000's were Rangers but the earlier ones were not.

As long as the mechanicals are in decent shape, I think this would work for what I want to use it for, mainly weekend trips to the beach and camping in place during the week. So there wouldn't be too much additional stress put on it from long hauls or elevation changes.

 

[LeeRevell]

First Gen Mazda was the basis for the Ford Courier. Second Gen Mazda, which I had, was unique from the early Ranger AFAIK. Third Gen Mazda and Ranger are the same but for side window style.

 

[Scottbaldassari]

I owned A fleet of Mazda 2000's back in the 80s or early 90s. They ran excellent, required Very little maintenance, and we put 200,000+ miles all the gas models and three and 400,000 miles on the diesels! They were great little trucks, but as said above, they really had very little power. I can't even imagine how they could pull a camper..

 

[masterplumber]

I learned to drive in a '72 Courier, and it was made by Mazda - actually had Mazda tags on the seat belts. Great truck that we beat to death and it still went 200,000 miles. I bought an '84 Ranger new and drove it until a guy ran a stop sign and hit me so hard I rolled totaling the truck. For what it was it had decent power with the V6, but not great mileage - about 15 mpg and that was at low elevation in California. I worked it hard - even towing heavy trailers. It wasn't a race truck, but it certainly got the job done.

 

[frankieC55]

I nearly bought this Ranger based camper a while back, I ended up buying a van instead. It was an old Toyota Chinook camper transplanted onto an '83 Ranger. It was kinda ratty but had potential. I think it had a 2.0 and 5 speed, i would have bought it, but then a Dodge van with a manual and in better shape popped up for just a few hundred dollars more.