I'm going to get a few goodies for my new Ranger, and need a little advice.

First, I want a Bed/Tailgate Mat. I bought the last one from the Ford Dealer, and if I remember correctly it was a bit on the thin and flimsy side. Not very impressive.

Several years ago I remember there was a company selling bed mats that were like 1/2" thick and were gorgeously manufacturered. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of them

From what I can tell at www.fordvehicles.com, the dealer is going to want like $125 for the cheap Ford mat. For that kind of money, I should be able to get a damned fine one.

Any other recommendations?

I'm going to put on bed bars. I'm pretty much set on the Putco Stainless-Steel bars. I've never heard a complaint about a Putco product, other than they can be a bit expensive. The bed bars for the sb Ranger appear to be around $135, which I can live with.

Finally, the truck bed cover. What I REALLY want is another Roll-n-Lock. I had one before that lasted me 5 years and went through two trucks, and was still in perfect condition when I sold the 98 Ranger a few years ago. Unfortunately, they are like $900 now plus installation, and I just cannot afford that at this time.

There is a tonnue cover called the "Access" that looks very interesting. Anyone know anything about this?

http://www.#####.com/Products/Access.asp

The design looks nice, it says NO holes. Since I am putting on bed bars, it's important that it doesn't overlap onto the top of the bed rail...

I do NOT want an Extang. I actually had an Extang on a 1989 Ford F150 once, and in a snow storm the bows collapsed, the tonnue caved in, and it ripped my bed rails (the actual SIDES of the truck) out of place and yanked them inward towards the center of the truck. It was the damndest thing I'd ever seen.

I was thinking about putting a bug deflector on too, but I'm hearing reports that the newer designs have been damaging paint where the little pads that keep it up off the hood are contacting the truck.

I'll probably put a set of Ventshades on it too.

And yes, as soon as I can afford them a nice set of Putco stainless steel step-bars, but man those puppies are expensive!

TIA

Larry

 

Why is it mangling the url I put in ?

-Larry

 

The Access is made by AgriCover.

Larry

 

Not sure what year you have, but guessing 02-03?
A word on the Bug Deflectors... I put a Lund Interceptor on my 98, and it doesn't touch the top of the hood anywhere. It screws into the bottom of the hood, so it doesn't wear off the paint anywhere. My stepdad's 98 Explorer has a Lund that has rubber stops on the hood so the deflector doesn't hit it, and I haven't seen any paint wearing off, So I wouldn't be concerned about that. Of course, neither one of them do anything, but they look cool
By ventshades, your talking about the window vent things right? You might also look into the company EGR. The sell bug deflectors and window vents, so you can get a matching set from them.
You can see them at;
http://www.truckstuffusa.com/ and search for EGR, go through the pages of results. Here is the slimline window visor;
http://store.yahoo.com/truckstuffusa/slimwinviswi.html


Good luck,
Brian J Wilson
1998 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 4.0L 5spd SuperCab/Off-Road pkg.

 

I'd do the paint on bed protector. Zero rust and you can get it in different colors.

Url was probaly "mangled" because they compete with paying advertisers.

 

Thanks!

-Larry

 

>I'd do the paint on bed protector. Zero rust and you can
>get it in different colors.
>
>Url was probaly "mangled" because they compete with paying
>advertisers.

I thought of the Rhino Lining thing, but that's about as un-reversible as it gets. I don't want to go that far.

As for the URL, if that's the case, I've never seen any such thing like that anywhere, and it's pretty silly.

Thanks!

Larry

 

I got my goodies!

Ordered a set of Putco Stainless Steel Locker Bed Bars, Putco Stainless Steel Tailgate Protector, Protecta Bed Mat and Protecta Tailgate Mat.

$322 including shipping.

Everything except the Bed Bars came from the same place. I got the Bed Bars from a different dealer because they were $50 cheaper, including shipping.

I think the AgriCover ACCESS Tonnue is next, but it's like $450 and it will take a while to save up for it.

I still want a Roll-n-Lock, but the $900 price is something I can't deal with right now.

Does anyone know if the Pace-Edwards Roll Top is as good in quality as the Roll-n-Lock ? Does the Pace-Edwards also extend up over the bed rails? This creates a problem with Bed-Bars. With some creative work with a Dremel and spacer materials, this can be overcome with the Roll-n-Lock but it's a lot of work.

The AgriCover ACCESS Tonnue Cover is a completely between-the-rails design and won't interfere with Bed Rails or Tailgate Protectors at all.

AgriCover says their Tonnue will even hold up to heavy snow coverage. Anyone have any experience with this?

I am a bit scared of Tonnue Covers since a bad experience with an Extang on a 1989 Ford F150 XLT SB. I installed it when I was in San Diego, and it was a decent Tonnue. However, when I left the Navy I returned to Virginia, and during a snow storm the bed cover got a lot of snow on it. The bows collapsed, the Tonnoe Cover Collapsed, and it ripped my bed rails (yes, the actual sides of the truck) out of place and inwards. It was the damndest thing I'd ever seen.

I guess when it comes to Tonnoe's, there's such a thing as being TOO strong

Larry