Road Ranger

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RoadRangerAnimationModel.jpg

Road Ranger is a tough but friendly Guardian soldier. He's in the battle for the long haul and hopes to head the convoy that takes the Renegades to permanent incarceration. He is sometimes known as Truck.

He's not that truck guy. No, really. He's not. But he might be closer than you think.

When going gets tough, the tough get truckin'!

—Road Ranger, "Wolf in the Fold"

Fiction[edit | edit source]

Challenge of the GoBots cartoon[edit | edit source]

Voice actor: Eddie Barth
You've never walked, you've never run...
"Wait, that doesn't make a lick of sense. Do I hop or something?"

Road Ranger was a Guardian security agent at a UNECOM facility in Utah. After Cy-Kill failed to get a brainwashed Scooter to destroy the base for him, Road Ranger and the Guardians confronted the Renegades directly. They were on the verge of victory over the Renegades when Professor Von Joy tried to help, and his malfunctioning invention created a distraction for the villains to escape. It's the Thought that Counts

"NEVER!!!"

When the Renegades started anticipating Guardian missions with suspicious frequency, Leader-1 declared there must be a traitor in their midst. As the two unimportant Guardians on Earth at the time, Road Ranger and Heat Seeker seemed to be likely suspects. However, Turbo's brash actions drew suspicion on him, before Leader-1 supposedly was caught destroying the Astro Beam on the Command Center. In fact, "Heat Seeker" was really the Renegade Bad Boy in disguise, but the Guardians came up with a plan that made him reveal himself. The Guardians then travelled to the South Pole to prevent Cy-Kill from meddling with the Earth's magnetic field. While Scooter took out his device Road Ranger kept Cop-Tur busy, tricking the Renegade into flying into an icy peak. Wolf in the Fold

Road Ranger was serving a stint on the Guardian Council with Zeemon, Scratch, Path Finder, Staks, Rest-Q and Dozer when they were taken hostage by Leader-1 and several others, who had been brainwashed with Beta frequencies. Despite outnumbering Leader-1's brainwashed goons nearly two-to-one, the Council put up little fight when they were forced aboard a Command Center to Roguestar. Fortunately, Scooter and Nick Burns were able to cancel out the beta frequencies, and the Guardians reverted to normal.Whiz Kid Road Ranger was running security at a manufacturing plant on GoBotron when it was attacked by Zero, Crasher, and Cop-Tur. He activated the auto-gun defences, which proved too much for the Renegades and forced them to retreat. The Third Column

The Robo Machines comic[edit | edit source]

Copy of 061.jpg

One of the Security Services volunteers who travelled with Ex-El to Earth in pursuit of Stron-Domez, Truck was put in a converting body as the Guardians investigated the Renegades' takeover of the Datafile Electronics factory. With Charlie Bampton posing as a human driver he was able to infiltrate the factory to free the enslaved human workforce, ramming the sentry Loco. He then shifted to robot mode and knocked the Renegade out before getting the workers clear of the complex before the main Guardian attack. During the battle Truck once again sneaked up on Loco and blasted the Renegade into submission. The Robo Machines, Story 1

Truck was later part of the Guardian task force that set out to battle Casmodon in London. He joined his comrades in an unsuccessful frontal assault on the Devil Invader and moments later took a direct hit from the monster's eye-beams, destroying one of Truck's legs. Contact with Truck was lost as he crashed north of London while the Guardians were routed.The Robo Machines, Story 2

Machine Men mini-comics[edit | edit source]

RoadRangerChallengeMachineMen.jpg

Road Ranger was one of the Friendly Machine Men battling the Enemy Machine Men in an Australian city. He survived having a nuke dropped on him but was soon threatened by the disturbed Rock Lord Tombstone. Road Ranger blew a huge chunk of his opponent's chest out with his hand-blasters. Challenge of the Machine Men

Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the GoBots Mini World storybooks[edit | edit source]

WagnerSirensRoadRangerTurbo.jpg

After Cy-Kill and Doctor Braxis unleashed the sonic fury of the Wagner Sirens on the ASC Command Centre, Matt and A.J. worked through the night on Road Ranger and Turbo. Matt drove the GoBot truck to meet them, having muffled all of Road Ranger's circuitry. While the two GoBots kept Cy-Kill and Geeper-Creeper busy, Matt and A.J. rigged a device that threw the sonic attacks of the Sirens back onto the Renegades, forcing them to retreat. The Wagner Sirens

Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the GoBots annuals[edit | edit source]

Road Ranger misheard and gave someone else his face.

Driven by Matt Hunter and, Road Ranger was the bait in a Guardian trap, masquerading as a sorium transport truck in order to draw out Braxis and the Renegades. This worked well but unfortunately just as the rest of the Guardians were about to do their part the Command Centre was struck by a bolt of lightning which then sent it back to prehistoric times as lightning is wont to. Shifting to his robot mode, Road Ranger blasted Cop-Tur but was forced to take to the skies with Matt to avoid the attacks of Cy-Kill and Crasher. Road Ranger's nifty flying allowed him to hide in the clouds while Scooter reversed the sound science that had sent the rest of the team back in time, allowing them to return in time to save the trio from the Renegades. The Rescue of Road Ranger He was later busy on patrol along with Dumper and Rest-Q when the Guardians realised the Renegades were going to attempt to kidnap Anya Turgenova. The Aliens Steal a Scientist Braxis and the Renegades then tried to use the mind-controlling Exploding Toads of Primus to take over the population of Earth. However, this was uncovered by Guardian agents on GoBotron, and Road Ranger worked with Leader-1 and Spay-C to capture the scientist. The Guardians tricked him into revealing where the toads were being unleashed and were able to foil the plot. The Exploding Toads of Primus

Road Ranger was later assigned to the Guardian Earth Force and helped chase away the Enemy Invaders when the trio tried to prevent Leader-1, Heat Seeker and Nick from retrieving the injured Turbo. The Monsters and Mister Grogan Along with Night Ranger and Flip Top he was later injured during an ambush set up by Scorp. Captain Clegg's Dream He later manned the chest of Professor Von Joy's new Battle Suit during a battle in Russia as the Guardians freed Anya and Boris Bulkanikov from the Renegades' clutches. The Capture of Comrade Boris Road Ranger again worked inside Battle Suit, fighting the Renegade army assembled by Cy-Kill at Mauna Mauna. As more and more Guardians arrived on the island the Renegades began to suffer damage and eventually retreated. The Battle at the End of the Earth

Fun Publications[edit | edit source]

Renegade Rhetoric[edit | edit source]

Using the Power Suits, Road Ranger, Treds, Royal-T, and Dozer formed Courageous in order to deter Cy-Kill's monstrous new combiner named... Monsterous. One Born Every Minute

Go-Bots comic[edit | edit source]

He's frowning because he left his pouches at home.

A next generation Go-Bot, Road Ranger was built and brought online after the conquered Earth had been rebuilt into Gobotron. Said to be descended from kings, Road Ranger spent most of his days patrolling the highways of Gobotron, fighting off bandits and even Zod. His heroism reached the audio receptors of the Trade Federation who felt Road Ranger's heroism would net him command of the planet. Road Ranger's charisma caused many other next-gens to follow him as well as several of the oldest Go-Bots such as Bug Bite and Zeemon. Go-Bots #3 Go-Bots #5

"DID YOU FORGET WHO I AM?!?"
"Kinda, yeah."

After Leader-1 had ventured to Earth to find the Lazer Lance said to be capable of defeating Zod, Dr. Braxis' Vamp army attacked the surface of Gobotron only for Road Ranger to cleave the mad man in two, introducing himself and his entourage to Turbo, Crasher, and Scooter. After seeing him tame the Command Center, Turbo and Crasher agreed it best to let the next gens decide where society would go, riding with Road Ranger to Gobotropolis.

For his first act as the planet's ruler, Road Ranger decided to leave Earth and what little remained of humanity behind, declaring it time that the Go-Bots find their true place in the universe. As Gobotron, free from its tainted past, sailed through hyperspace, Bug Bite questioned him on their future plans. Road Ranger answered that they would begin producing not only new Go-Bots, but new Gobotrons, seeded throughout the cosmos. To emphasize this, Road Ranger directed his companion's attention to his latest project, an "optimized" heir that he was building, and encouraged his friend to do the same. As the Volkswagen considered it, he asked what was to be done with Leader-1 and Cy-Kill's remains. After mulling it over, Road Ranger decided that both demagogues were more trouble than they were work and instead opted to salvage their remains and use them to build a new Go-Bot, one that would, hopefully, embody the best traits of both leaders. Go-Bots #5

Transformers: War for Cybertron: Kingdom marketing material[edit | edit source]

After the quantum surge caused a time vortex in an alternate timeline of the Transformers' universe, Road Ranger was transported to a prehistoric Earth alongside the fusion of the Autobots Huffer and Pipes, known as "Puffer"—who was created by the very same time vortex. Golden Disk Collection marketing material TFWikiFavicon.png[1]

Road Ranger and Puffer would encounter the Autobot Jackspot and tell them of Predacon Terrorsaur and Maximal Tigatron. The three Autobots went to stop Terrorsaur’s plans and Terrorsaur’s partner Tigertron turns on him and together they all defeat Terrorsaur.

Tigatron tells Road Ranger and others his plan to use the Nemesis to block the Quantum Surge which killed his allies and enemies alike and plans to put things back the way they are. Tigatron sends Puffer to safety and uses the Nemesis to block the Quantum Surge. While Puffer got away safely earlier in a pod the Nemesis crashes and kills everyone else aboard including Road Ranger.[2]

Toys[edit | edit source]

Gekisou Sentai Roooooad Ranger! (GoBots version)

GoBots[edit | edit source]

GoBots[edit | edit source]

  • Road Ranger (GoBot, 1984)
    • Friendly Robot Transport Truck
    • ID number: 18
    • Accessories: none
Road Ranger was released by Tonka in the first series of GoBots, and converts from robot to Hino HE articulated truck and trailer in 4 steps. The toy was a repackaging of Trailer Robo from Machine Robo, with no significant changes - though sadly the large sticker that covered the rear half of the trailer was omitted. Most small car GoBots and some of the others can fit nicely on the trailer. The robot mode has articulation at the shoulders, and the toy is generally sturdy and low on significant weak spots.
  • Road Ranger was offered in the second assortment of GoBots figures manufactured in 1984 (#7201). The figure remained available as part of the second and third series' Hot Shot assortment (#7255). The third series version came with a card-mounted 3-D GoBots Sticker. Road Ranger was one of a handful of figures that were available for the line's entire life on toyshelves.
  • Bilingual Canadian releases named the figure as Roue-Tier.

Gift Packs[edit | edit source]

UnreleasedGiftPackG3.jpg
  • Guardian 3-Pack #3 (GoBots Gift Pack, 1985)
Road Ranger was planned to be included in a Gift Pack along with Scooter and Hans-Cuff which was advertised in the 1985 Tonka catalogue but was ultimately not released.
Mean.
*Not available in stores

This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.


Robo Machine[edit | edit source]

Robo Machine/Machine Men version

Robo Machines[edit | edit source]

  • Articulated Lorry (Robo Machine, 1984)
    • ID number: RM-18
A carded repackage of Trailer Robo, the figure now articulately known as Articulated Lorry was released by Bandai Europe in 1984. While he was never reissued, catalogs and packaging from 1985 onward listed the toy under his GoBots name.


Machine Men[edit | edit source]

Machine Men[edit | edit source]

  • Semi-Trailer Man (Machine Men, 1983)
    • ID Number: 14
The second toy from the third wave of figures, Semi-Trailer Man was released by Bandai Australia in 1983. He remained identical to the original Truck Robo toy, albeit packaged on a blue backing card.
  • Road Ranger (Machine Men, 1984)
    • Friendly Robot
    • ID Number: 14
In 1984, the figure was re-released with his GoBots name and faction on a new black backing card depicting a yellow-tinted alien landscape.

Robo Machines[edit | edit source]

Robo Machines[edit | edit source]

  • Trailer (Robo Machines, 1993)
    • Accessories: none
The figure was reissued by Bandai in Europe during 1993 as part of the second series of Robo Machines. For trademark reasons the figure was renamed simply Trailer in the British market, with localised versions of the name used in other markets. In Italy, where the toy was released by Giochi Preziosi, it was named Autotreno. Sadly, like most of the Robo Machines figures Trailer uses poor quality materials and suffers from mould degradation. But does have the silver sticker.

Transformers[edit | edit source]

For further information on the following toys, see Road Ranger's toy entries over at TFWiki.

Collector's Edition[edit | edit source]

He's the one that doesn't look anything like Road Ranger.
  • G1 GoBots (Multi-pack, 2004)
    • Takara ID number: 84
    • Accessories: none
Road Ranger is a redeco of the The Transformers Mini Vehicle Huffer, transforming into a cabover-syle semi truck of indeterminate model. He was only available in an e-HOBBY-exclusive Collector's Edition six-pack with Bad Boy, Bug Bite, Path Finder, Small Foot, and Treds. As he uses the same mould as Huffer his vehicle mode is a child's drawing of a truck and his arms don't meet up with his shoulders.


War for Cybertron: Kingdom[edit | edit source]

*Insert overused "Back in Black"-related joke here*
  • Autobot Puffer / Autobot Road Ranger (Golden Disk Collection 2-pack, 2021)
    • Chapter 1: Through the Vortex
    • Accessories: Truck bed/shield, 2 Energon blaster halves
Part of the first release in the Golden Disk Collection, War for Cybertron: Kingdom "Autobot Road Ranger" is a redeco and retool of Kingdom Deluxe Class Huffer in colors based on his "G1 GoBots" multi-pack toy above. He transforms from a cab-over truck into a robot mode inspired by Huffer's Generation 1 cartoon appearance, now with a head featuring a visor and mouthplate accurate to Huffer's original Generation 1 toy, as opposed to the animation-accurate face of the regular retail Huffer.
Road Ranger comes with a shield and a gun that can form a truck bed in vehicle mode. Bizarrely, his blaster seems to have been directly based on concept art for the Spartan Laser from the Halo video game series. As a carryover from Huffer, Road Ranger can tow War for Cybertron: Earthrise Optimus Prime's trailer.
Road Ranger was only available in a multi-pack with his mold-mate "Autobot Puffer". This set was revealed and made available for pre-order on September 27, 2021, and was the first of four daily announcements concerning the Golden Disk Collection; as with the other sets in this series, Puffer and Road Ranger's packaging is printed with a portion of a Golden Disk graphic, and customers are encouraged to collect all four packs to unite the full image. The set is an Amazon and Hasbro Pulse-exclusive in the US, Canada, and the UK.
Despite originally being scheduled for a March 2022 release, the set started shipping in December of 2021.


Footnotes[edit | edit source]

  1. Amazon product description: "CHAPTER 1: THROUGH THE VORTEX: The quantum surge causes a time vortex, intercepting the GoBot Road Ranger and the Autobots Pipes and Huffer, pulling them through time and space. During the wild journey through the vortex, Huffer and Pipes fuse and arrive on prehistoric Earth as Puffer"
  2. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TQSZQCX

External links[edit | edit source]

Tfwiki logo alt.png TFWiki.net has content relating to Road Ranger.
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