I haven't bought it yet but plan on an 04 XLT Supercrew. I have never owned a truck before. I need one as a tow vehicle. I expect to use the truck bed more as a trunk than the usual cargo box but want to retain that flexabilty. I plan on an Access or similar bed cover. My question, for those of you who use your trucks this way is; how do you organize items in the bed so they are easy to get to when the primary access is through the tailgate. What do you do about items moving to the front of the bed where they can't be easly reached from the tailgate? I couldn't fugure out where else to post this. Hope you don't mind me posting it here.

 

A Ford accessory option that I purchased for my '97 Supercab was a pocket style netting (similar to what you see in trunks of sedans or minivans) that hooked to each side of the bed. Think of it as mounting where you normally see the netting off-road trucks have instead of the tailgate. I could put groceries and most anything in that netting and it stayed at the back of the bed.

I haven't checked to see if there's one available for the '04 model I now own. It is an item I will be looking into. I hope this suggestion helps.

SRAces
USAF (ret)

 

I would recommend the factory bed extender. when stowed inside the bed, it holds things to the back. swing it out onto the open tailgate and you can haul anything with the supercrew. even fits (exactly) a quad runner.

i had one on my 01 screw, and got one again on my 04 screw
it is stainless steel and very strong. there was also someone at the SEMA aftermarket show that had a rail and bracket system that allowed the attachment of this bed extender to a sliding mount. allowing you to place it anywhere in the bed vs the factory mount at the end of the bed.

 

For about $5 at your local lumber yard you can buy a 2" x 10" pine board. When sized properly it will fit snugly into the preformed slots in your bed about 30" in from the tailgate. When you put your tonneau cover on you will then be able to take out the board without taking your cover off if you have a longer load to put in.