Tall Order

ULTIMATE OFFROAD TAKES THE RANGER RAPTOR TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH A 74WELD PORTAL AXLE CONVERSION THAT ADDS SERIOUS CLEARANCE WITHOUT SACRIFICING ITS FACTORY SUSPENSION SMARTS

- WORDS MATT RAUDONIKIS

The Ford Ranger Raptor is the most dynamic, high-performance ute on the market by a country mile.

It’s fast, it’s fun and it’s capable, so it ticks the boxes for many users, many of whom might not normally be interested in a 4x4 ute.

This makes the Ranger Raptor a shining light in a field of boring beige work utes. But that’s not to say that you can’t make a good thing better.

74Weld is a California-based engineering company producing portal axle boxes for a range of off-road vehicles including Trophy Trucks, Ultra4 buggies and road-going 4x4s from Toyota, Jeep and Ford.

The Ford portals came out of the Ford Performance Ultra4 program that includes King of the Hammers race week, so these are made for the toughest off-road conditions. This partnership led to the company producing portal boxes for the current-model Ford Bronco which, of course, rides on the same T6 platform as our Ranger and Everest models.

Ultimate Offroad is a 4x4 business with a couple of facilities in Melbourne’s southeast suburbs. The company works on all things 4x4 and off-road but is known for its big builds on US pickup trucks.

When Ben from Ultimate saw the 74Weld portal products for the T6 Fords and 250 Series Toyotas, he knew there’d be interest in them here in Australia.

Ultimate Offroad caused a stir at the 2025 Melbourne 4x4 Show when the team rolled in with its 250 Series Prado riding on 74Weld portals and 37-inch tyres. The monster Prado was the star of the show!

The Prado was a standout but it wasn’t ready for the road in Australia. In the months since then, Ben and his team have been busy building and testing the vehicles, working with the relevant authorities and departments, and jumping through hoops to get the portal conversion tested, certified and approved for Aussie roads.