Suggestions for locking tonneau

[Nejtak]

I'm on the market for 2003-08 Ranger and when I find it I'm going to want to buy a locking tonneau cover under $500. Suggestions?

 

[straycat]

You are talking about a hard cover, correct? I had one that was the canvas type material that locked in place at the tailgate. It was black and it was a really nice one. I would look on Craigslist or Ebay and see what you can find. We have a Topper King close buy that has new and nice used ones. Check there as well. You want to buy one that will match your paint or have it painted to match and that costs extra. I see a lot out there for a decent price. Wait until you have the truck before you buy of course.

 

[enjr44]

Well, I have had a cap, a one piece hard cover and a soft cover. The hard one-piece cover was the only one I hated.

The hard one was an absolute pain in the butt. The cap was great, except for looks (you could put a heck of a lot of unneeded stuff in there).

The soft cover I have is a clamp-on folding frame model and I really like it. You can fold it so you can use the bed for taller stuff.

And they make hard folding covers, too. I would have liked one of those; but, I found the soft one on cl for $75 and couldn't say no. If/when I replace it, I think I'll go for a hard folding one using clamps. Hate drilling holes thru the rust protection.

 

[hank857]

I got a hard one for $100 off craigs list for the ranger. Had it on but took it off. I plan to reinstall but I will cut it down so I can have my cross bed box also. I bought a short one for y long bed f350, added my cross bed box and hinged the cover. Have the box for tools and other stuff yet have the security of the hard cover for the rest. Takes maybe 10 mins to take off if needed.

Problem with the cover is that most stuff ends up at the front of the truck and is hard to get. the truck box takes care of that. Also found a bed extender at a swap meet, put it in and it will hold small stuff at rear. Works well on the big truck and did so on the ranger.

Just really depends on what you want. My old truck had a cap but it is like a hard cover and everything get up in front and you have to crawl in to get.

 

[Mark_88]

I've also had both a cap and a hard cover (one piece fiberglass) and neither of them were really lockable to prevent theft.

You can certainly lock both of them with the hardware provided...but they won't stop someone who is after something of value...and you probably know that already so sorry for stating the obvious...but that took me a while to appreciate.

My hard cover tonneau was nice but limited room...if you just want to keep the snow and rain out of the box then they are great for that...carrying anything bigger than a pizza and a box of beer (this is where real thieves get involved) can get a bit challenging...

 

[97RangerXLT]

my friend has a Truxedo folding/ rollup tonneau cover, and it is pretty nice. it is a vinyl/ leather type of cloth but it has bars every so many inches so that it does not sag in the middle, and is held to the rails by velcro.

The rails are c-clamped to the bed. the tailgate locks on the 2005 F150, and you need the tailgate open to open the tonneau cover.

If there is an easy way to put a locking tailgate handle on a ranger, I would vote for the Truxedo cover, as it is very easy to work and you don't have to remove it to haul a tall appliance.

AJ

 

[enjr44]

If there is an easy way to put a locking tailgate handle on a ranger, I would vote for the Truxedo cover, as it is very easy to work and you don't have to remove it to haul a tall appliance.

AJ

http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Lock-PL2310-Tailgate-factory/dp/B000H8BU5Y?tag=959media-20

Don't know anything about it myself!!!

 

[97RangerXLT]

http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Lock-PL2310-Tailgate-factory/dp/B000H8BU5Y?tag=959media-20

Don't know anything about it myself!!!

Cool. I may look into this if I ever get financially ahead to drop a few hundred on a Truxedo cover.

Thanks for the link!

AJ