I'm new around here. I recently bought an 08 XL longbed to haul my motorcycle. The motorcycle fits in the bed (just) with the tailgate up.

I'd like to add a toolbox without losing the ability to close the tailgate when I'm hauling my motorcycle. This means I'm shopping for a side-mount box that sits on the bed rails.

Ideally, I'd like to fit a large, square topsider box like this: http://www.uwsta.com/products/produc...151.0.0?pp=12&

But when I visited my local accessory dealer they told me that the rails on the Ranger aren't wide or strong enough. Only a smaller L-shaped side mount box like this will work, they said: http://www.uwsta.com/products/produc...151.0.0?pp=12&

Are they right? Does anyone here have experience, or better yet photos, to show that a topside box works on the Ranger? I could really use the extra capacity and convenience of the larger, square-profile box and I assume that either style of box would require legs to support the underside of the box from the bed floor.

Grateful for any help/advice. Thanks.

 

sorry mate, but wouldn't a regular toolbox plus a bed extender do the work just fine?
I imagine the time your bike spends on the bed of your truck might not be worth all that trouble...

 

Thanks - I thought of that already, but I'm planning some pretty long cross-country road trips with the bike, plus regular schleps to the track, so for peace of mind I'd rather be able to close the gate. FWIW it's a 400 pound street bike, not a lighter dirt bike that I'm hauling.

Still grateful for anyone with experience side-mounting toolboxes on a Ranger.