I have 2 vehicles I plan to make into BOVs, although the most work will likely go into my little 2000 Ranger. It's a 4wd, and I plan to give it a lift, coilover front end, upgrade to a decent bumper (friend will fab it for me, as well as the rear), and add a winch. The rear end I will likely do add a leafs, unless I can get a good deal on just doing a half ton rear end AND the work on it. I was looking at regearing, since I'll be putting 33x12.50x15's on there. Regearing looks like I'll be doing 4.88 for the front and rear diffs. Power trax to lock the rear. I also plan to rework the interior, adding a cabinet on the driver side in the rear (it's an extra cab), removing the driver side jump seat and filling that part in (under the cabinet) with something, maybe fiberglass bowl of sorts. Should give me room to put a go bag and jackets, as well as my poncho liner. Back wall will get a first aid kit put in, and fire extinguisher. Contour console with aux switches and a CB/comms slot. Might do 2 slots, one for a scanner and the other for a CB. I'm hoping to add a black out switch/button to it as well. This way I can just hit the button and everything but some red LED dashlights go out.

Some pics of my truck, here's the front.



A little from the side



It HAD 60/40 bench seat, but I used a sawzall and hacked it down into buckets:




This is what I want to do for front and rear bumpers. All black, with shackles.





The paint job..... Well, in the mean while, this is also my fun/daily driver/hunting truck. Some goodies MUST be done to it, just because I want to do them, and for no other reason. Camo paint job. Woodland type (think cucv), as well as windshield visor and some hood scoops. Some herculiner, bed rail caps, and a black crossover tool box with a d ring on the bottom to secure my dog. I plan to add in power windows/locks/mirrors and other fun things I don't currently have, along with an engine cooker, and on board air.

The green camo paint job, this is what I want



As for armor, adding armor to the underside is a must, but I'm kicking around adding some aluminum to the backs of the seats, the back wall, and the doors if I can, maybe also the fenders. I don't know if I can accomplish that, we'll see. I'm still thinking on that.

And, this is my dad and I taking a break during this last hunting season. He wanted to go look at some spots for fishing, so, with him leading the charge, we did some light off roading. His truck is out front, already in the river, and I'm in the truck taking the pic (you can see my hood and cracked windshield)

My other vehicle is a Ford Explorer, which I plan to upgrade the tires, give a little lift, add body armor (skid plates), brush guard, and a roof rack with some off road lights. This is also my wife's daily driver, and the family outing vehicle right now. The idea is, my Ranger can take the lead and do the scouting when bugging out, while the explorer with trailer in tow brings the family and all our crap along.

Anyhow... I don't have EVERY detail worked out, but, this is my plan. The camo Ranger is only camo because I simply want it that way It has no bearing on survival. If I'm in the woods, the windshield will sine plenty and give it away anyhow (maybe I'll do an OD canvas cover for the windows and shiny parts, along with using a net to break up outline if I'm going to park and hide it, but, with technology these days, it won't make any difference, it'll be found anyhow).

But, anyhow, there it is!

An idea for covering some of the glass areas on your BOV, apart from the windscreen and driver's & front passengers windows: Perforated vinyl. Have you noticed cars that have advertising or flags/banners/artwork on the windows that can be seen from the outside of the vehicle, but can be seen through from the inside?
(This link will give you an idea of what I mean: http://www.pgc.com.au/267/one-way-visio ... dow-signs/)
You could possibly obtain a large piece with a plain background, and then paint it to match the rest of the vehicle.

I have thought of that, but hadn't thought of doing it in camo... Or OD, That is a good idea!

The downside to a camo'd vehicle is it screams "I have stuff you want - attack me!" A subdued paint color would attract much less attention, both now and post-shtf.

Also, armor plating is going to require a lot of work - like replacing the frame and suspension along with the drivetrain to accomodate all of the extra weight...the armor will overload the stock suspension before you even start loading you gear...if you're serious about armor, start with an F450 or higher with a 7.3 - or better yet, transplant a Cummins into it. Of course, by the time you've done all of this, you could have bought an M35, M813 or M923 and had a much stouter vehicle to base your build on.

...and many of those come with the camo paint scheme standard. LOL

There's some really good ranger forums out there with great tech sections,could really knock down the learning curve on building your ranger. Put "ford ranger forums" in a search engine. I built one yrs ago like yours and those sites were really helpful. Theres a ridiculous amount of aftermarket support for those.
Good luck,
Lost

I'm actually on most of those Ranger Forums Lost, but thank you!

As for Armor, you're right Tech. And, it may be so with a camo vehicle, however, I'm mostly doing the camo because it looks cool in my opinion. Like I mentioned, if someone really wants to find my truck, they'll find it. If it's Uncle Sam looking to round up people for Fema Camps, then they'll find it.

In the end, if things are REALLY bad, and don't go back to something resembling normal (Think the movie postman) then my truck won't matter much any more. It'll be horses I'd need, then. Maybe I'd need to lighten and gut my truck to make a horse drawn wagon out of it! LOL.

HA, found my own post while googling for something else!

A good armor for IED is the epoxy bed liners that you brush or roll on.

I had a couple of Ranger pick-ups. I sold both of them and bought a 2500 Silverado. Best move I ever made.

Instead of painting, think about Wraps - just like they do on the NASCAR Racecars...you can change Wraps on a whim, and it helps preserve the stock finish. You can run the Wrap you desired, and then in an hour, you can be driving an apparently stock paintjob. They stay on in wind and storm, and even underwater. You can change them every season for less than a paintjob. You could carry a Spare wrap for changing the look, if needed.