Hello;
There seems to be a world of choices for side window deflectors, manufactures as well as different types. I'm curious as to what some of you have chosen for your Ranger/B series truck. What's easy to install and stays in place? Have you had any bad experiences like excessive rattles or wind noise? Seems to be a nice option to crack the window open to get some fresh air while it's raining. I'm looking for my 2000 B2500 standard cab.

Thanks, Bill

 

Welcme to FTE Bill

I opted for "Ventshade" visors & bug shield, painted to match the body color. on my 99 Ranger & 94 Taurus.

Put them both on in 99, no problems with the visors.

Your right, it is nice to be able to lower the window when it's raining.

I rarely drive with the side windows down because of wind noise. NOT good for your hearing. Will make you old that way, long before your time.

You'll also notice they obstruct your side view into turns, somewhat, kinda like extra thick "B" pliiars.

I find the side vent shades more useful for keeping the interior temp down, when parked & used with a good reflective aluminum windshield sunshade, as I can leave the side windows down a good bit for good cross ventilation, without it raining in.

The combination of the two keep the interior much cooler. Windshield sunscreen keeps the sun off the dash & upholstry too, so they don't fade.

As I noted above, I also opted for painted to match bug deflecters on the hood. I know you didn't ask about them, but I thought I'd toss in my experience with them as well.

It doesn't do mutch to eliminate windshield bug strikes, just moves them up a little higher on the windshield, has been my expierence, so they don't do much in that regard IMHO.

BUT, it HAS done an unexpectedly good job of deflecting stone strikes to the hood and windshield. I've had two strikes that hit hard enough to crack the Rangers sheld.

Both were repaced under warranty, including the painting, by my local "Leanord" dealer from whom I bought them. Just keep your reciept LOL.

BTW the bug shield is the clear one, painted on the back side to match te vehicle, so the paint isn't chipped by bugs or stone strikes.

I opted to have both vehicle's bug shields installed using the supplied "3M" adheasive structural tape.

It'll hold just fine IF the installer takes the time to PROPERLY CLEAN the surface before installation. If it's dirty or greasy, they'll soon come loose.

The other thing I would advise, is to have the installer hold a product in place, to the vehicle, while you stand back & view it, so you can get an idea how it'll look installed.

I didn't care for the dark "smoke" colored visors on my white Ranger, they kinda took over, so I opted to have them painted white, to match the body color.

On the Taurus, the dark "smoke" visor looked just fine, as it blended right in with the black door frame trim, installed, you hardly notice them at all.

On both vehicles I opted to have the bug shield painted & they both blend in nicely with the vehcles lines & look natural IMHO.

Just some ideas for consideration.

 

Bill,
Can't tell you the brand name on mine, it's just been too long ago that I put them on. But I have had both kinds, one that is applied with a 3M double sided tape and the type that fits into the window seal. Both work the same just install differently. I installed both myself and it only takes a few minutes each. Although the tape was hard to get the backing off, but once started was relative simple. Clean is the word of choice with those, and use the swab that comes with them to clean more prior to installation.
The main difference I see between the two was thickness, but that could be because of different manufacturers. So the channel ones are thicker and don't seem to flex in the wind as much as the others. Neither was a problem.
The only downside is, as mentioned before, cut down on your vision a little. The post seems a little bigger, but you do get used to it very quickly.
I have the smoked channel ones on my current white 96 Ranger and had the smoked attached to the outside on my previous green 93. I happen to like the contrast, and with tinted windows, they don't over power the truck, IMHO. I also have a smoked front bug shield on the front. 4 screws, two rubber standoffs on the ends, and it's in place in about 15 minutes. It lifts the snow to the upper half of the windshield, so for protection, it's not so great from bugs, but great for protecting the front side of the hood from chips and scratches. Oh, the reason none of it overpowers the truck is because I have a cross bed diamond plate tool box in the back with bed caps to match, so it needs a little something to tone down the diamond plate...
I picked mine up at the local auto parts and probably didn't spend more than $35 for the bug shield and $20 for the side window deflectors.
Also I have an extended cab with openning rear side windows, and they make the deflectors for those as well. I didn't like they way they looked with the front ones because to allow the window to open, they stuck out way to far for my tastes.
My best advice would be to look around and mount what ever you like. If you follow the intructions for installation or have them installed, I wouldn't worry about them coming off.

 

The Weathertech brand is nice

http://www.weathertech.com/store/pro...tem_group_id=4

 

I'm on my second set (two different trucks) of the Ventshade in-channel ventvisors. I like the fact that if I want or need to remove them that my paint will still be intact. If you have older/worn window channels you'll find that they tighten them up a bit so they seal again. I just put a pair on my '99 and the windows are a little tight when all the way up, but not enough that I feel it's damaging anything. They install in about 10 minutes, if you really take your time. We don't get that much rain here, but it definately pays off to leave the windows cracked on hot days and know that nobody's going to bother trying to break into the truck with a coathanger!

 

I have Ventshade. They are nice and stick on with 3m double sided tape. I havent had any problems and love them in the rain!