Cadillac Gage Ranger (Peacekeeper)

Cadillac Gage Ranger (Peacekeeper) History

Cadillac Gage began delivering its Ranger 4x4 light armored vehicle in the early 1980s. The system is built on the existing chassis of the civilian Dodge 200 and RAM series trucks and replaces the traditional commercial body with a specially designed armored superstructure.

This provides some battlefield survivability and accommodation for the vehicle's four standard operators. Rangers (also known as "peacekeepers") continue to be used by the U.S. military and law enforcement forces (SWATs) as basic security vehicles (the former) and stand-off hostage-taking vehicles (for the latter). The US eventually joins Indonesia, Luxembourg and the Philippines as such carriers (the US is by far the largest user).

The series is still in service. The Ranger can be equipped with an optional 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun (with gun shield) along the top of the hull. Armor protection is light in the military sense, which relegates the type to a direct combat role.

Additionally, despite its 4x4 design, the vehicle proved to be poor off-road, limiting its tactical usefulness.

Ranger is branded under the Cadillac Gage label - manufacturer of the Cadillac Gage Stingray light tank.

Inside, the vehicle retains the traditional Dodge truck line seating arrangement with the engine front, the driver front left and the passenger seat right. The gunner is in the rear left, the rest of the crew is in the rear right. Firing ports allow prisoners to respond to external threats with their personal weapons and aim through the aiming ports provided. Power is provided by gasoline-powered MOPAR series engines.

Later versions came with improved races, and some even had diesel engines. The tires on earlier models were run-flat, so they could be punctured and still provide travel. However, their design issues resulted in a more traditional tubeless pressurized design for the series.

The original Ranger model was called the Peacekeeper Is, followed by the proposed Peacekeeper II series, which would use the Ford F-350 truck chassis and provide additional armor protection for the occupants. The initiative ultimately failed when the government's interest waned.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Performance

Performance

Armor

1,000 x 7.62mm ammo

Changes