An update from back in October. One thing Julie and I abhor is unnecessary man-made light in the backcountry. We use minimal outside light at night, in fact, as much as possible, we allow our eyes to adjust and use no light. So, imagine how we reacted to a new truck that turns on cargo lights, parking lights, brake lights, reverse lights, interior lights (even plays a musical tune) every time you open a door or lock/unlock with the remote. “Can we just get a big backhoe and bury this damn truck and its lights!” We could not/would not live with this. There is no way for the owner (us) to turn off this function through available controls/settings in the vehicle. This had to change. After mind-numbing and unproductive Internet time, I took the only glimmer of hope I found – Forscan – and initially used it to calibrate the truck to the new tire circumference. Testing with GPS while driving at various speeds confirmed accuracy. Using Forscan, I searched through many modules in the truck's computer until I found items called “police mode” and “silent mode.” In utter dread I was about to turn our new truck into a worthless brick with an unintended computer lobotomy, I changed items from “disable” to “enable.” This happened - in the instrument cluster display between (our '21 Ranger) the RPM and Speedometer that is controlled with the arrows on the upper left side of the steering wheel, this change added a new function. Now when I scroll to "Settings" and then "Vehicle" and scroll down through the options there is a new "Silent Mode" option with a box to the left that can be checked on or off with the center "OK". With "Silent Mode" checked our dreams come true. No more exterior lights, no more cargo light, no more interior lights. In silent mode everything operates normally once the key is turned on. Uncheck "Silent Mode" and the truck returns to its annoying old self. With “Silent Mode” we can now responsibly camp in the backcountry and not disturb and anger Mother Nature.
The adventure continues. Please check back for updates.
The adventure continues. Please check back for updates.