Articulation in the mud? Aren't you the one that always says ground clearence is key, well they have plenty of that.  

Ground clearance is a great thing but if you don't have enough power to spin your tires fast enough to clean them out it is worthless.  

I have a daily driver 85 Ford Ranger, 2.3l, 5 speed tranny, but the draw back is that it is a ford also only two wheel drive. What would all of you fourbyers reccomend to do to make it better in the mud cause it plainly suxs. I can't afford and don't want to do a 4 by 4 swap. Most of you all seem to be pretty smart on the subject so what do you think? Thanks for any imput.

P.S. Chevys rule!!!!!!!!!

Depending on the tire size, buy a locker for your rear or get an 8.8 and a detroit for it. Get the largest tire you can fit, w/ lift or stock, and gear the axle deep, since its a little engine and a manual.  

You probably want the biggest tire you can fit that will still fit on all four corners since the front end is heavier. In deep mud you need the flotation of a big footprint. Don't keep the stock skinny tires up front if you don't have to.

If you need to do it cheap, I think just getting some aggresive all-terrains or mud tires approximately stock size and a "plug-in" locker would be nice. If it's stock size then you could just buy tires for the rear and leave the plain street tires on the front. You'd still have the stock power still and not have to re-gear. Maybe add a mild cheap lift, like 1-2"...

You could start by adding about 100lbs or so of weight to the rear end of the truck and try to remove what you can from the front end (move battery to the bed exc...)

Buy some mud tires that are bigger if you can.  don't go too wide though or you will have trouble pushing them through the mud.

Get a Locker

If you can't afford new tires you can buy some tire chains.

Well thanks for the stuff but tell me what you think. Iwork a NAPA auto parts so i could find a way to lift it pretty cheep, but how? Thanks!  

In about a month, Off-Road magazine will have new message boards up, and that magazine covers "PreRunners" and other off-road oriented 2WDs. Keep an eye out.  

SWEET!  

How about removing the front bumper? How hard is this to do? Maybe you could design something to make it easier to remove and install it, like removing it just when you go mudding?  

Yeah Petersen's 4-Wheel & off Road magazine does suck when it comes to 2wd coverage.  But then again Offroad magazine has those junk poser street trucks that are about worthless.

There are 2wd trucks that will destroy any 4x4 with a 6" lift and 35s in any situation.  I will put my 2wd truck up against any 4wd that is in your Ultimate Adventure.

Would You PLEASE put legerb in the dang Ultimate Adventure already so he can get out there and get left behind and shut the F up! I'm sure he is quite proud if his truck. And there is no doubt in my mind it could do decent in a mud bog. Hell, I play a lot in 2wd myself just so I can see the roostertails fly. I'm just not so sure this cat has even seen what kind of terain you go thru in the Ultimate Adventure, and has anyone told him that the Ultimate Adventure isn't an extended weekend mud bog? To his credit he may be VERY capable of driving his 2wd in alot of places and it may whoop some of those "prettyboy" 4x4 show trucks but there is still a physical limit to any truck no matter how good the driver is and I firmly believe there is no place for a 2wd in the Ultimate Adventure. Never the less I would still like to see him inparticularly be a part of the next adventure so one of us can finally put our foot in our mouth and the other will have video to prove it can or cannot be done.

You finally tested a 2wd in your mag!  It is too bad that it was a tiny rock buggy.

You want to compare 2wd to 4wd, alright do you think a 2wd is going to go rock crawling, no, how about towing a big trailer or carrying a load of junk up a hill, no, and going through mud, think about it, would you rather have two wheels spinning in the back of the truck were there is barley any wiehgt or four wheels spinning with the extra weight and traxtion in the front of the truck. Sure you 2wd are sweet and dont come in last place, but imagine if you convert that to a 4wd, you might be in the top 4.  

thats what i plan on doin to my truck in the future when i get the money and the experience on trucks and suspension and #### like that