I've got a 2004 Reg. Cab 6ft bed. . . . the truck's white. . . . I'm just looking for some opinions on whether or not to go with a cap or a tonneau cover. . . .Positive or negative feedback about each is welcomed....thanks in advance!

 

tonneau cover....looks cooler, imo

 

Depends. Do you carry tall stuff a lot, or get into your bed a lot? If so, I would get a cap.

Is your truck a style side or flare side?

 

Tonneau cover... I love it.. I can put it over the bed and it gives my metallic silver truck a really complete look... as well as closed cargo space.

As well as that... you can pull it off and put tall things in the back... lets say a lawnmower or snowblower and not have to smash your head on the cap.

Plus I think the covers dont make the truck look like a van.. more like a truck :)

I would suggest getting the one I have.. where the sides have a plastic lip that you bend into the mounting sides... not the snap button kind. Or... if you have lots of cash.. a hard one would be really nice!

 

well I've had both and can tell you from experience

I bought a nice extang cover some time ago and picked up a cap that I found for a great deal on the classifieds to use in the winter

I always used to think caps made a truck look old manish but after having one I loved it.

but it depends how much money your looking to spend. If you feel like spending 100 bucks on a cover, you can find a cheap one floating around. If you feel like spending over a thousand on a cover you can do that by getting a real nice fiberglass one painted to match

same goes for the cap. Inexpensive ones are usually floating around but your most likely going to spend alotta $$ for a new cap painted to match

I used the soft cover in the summer and the cap for the winter. Perfect combo IMO

 

I'm with Jimmeh... really depends on what you're hauling.

I don't haul much so I got a soft tonneau. I like the look better and I don't need the space from a cap. That's what I recommend if you can get away with it... but if you carry tall things that you want to keep covered or if you want to camp in it or anything than a cap is the way to go.

 

Tonneau all the way, especially if it's a roll up one. If you have a big load, then just roll it up.

Caps are ugly and annoying.

 

once you have a topper it's impossible to live without one. They are so handy. I haven't had mine for the last few weeks as it is in MN at a buddy's paint shop getting painted to match my truck and I feel naked when I have to use my truck's bed. I've had tonneau covers before and while they looked good and kept snow out of the bed, the got in the way more than they helped anything.

~HJ

 

I've never had the use for a topper. They are so awkward to load and unload things, having to crawl inside and mess about, and they're only so high and wide that you can't put anything bigger than the topper in it.

A tonneau cover is easier to store somewhere than a topper.

 

matching fiberglass topper looks awesome on trucks

 

They both have their purpose, but it really depends on your needs. I have a cap and love it. I fill the bed often with stuff and it gives me a lot of added space I would not have if I had the t-cover.

 

I had a cap on my last Ranger that I just traded in. It worked great for equipment and such, as well as quick trips to the park with the dog.

I've been back and forth with the same dilemna since getting my current FX4. Either a hard tonneau or a cap. A soft tonneau won't do as I need it to lock and be secure. The hard tonneau covers are quite expensive, even the folding ones.

I found a deal on a used fiberglass cap that's close in color for $200 that I'll have to have painted to match. it's close in color but not exact.

The only other drawback on a cap that wasn't mentioned above is visibility. A lot more blind spots and you have to be careful backing up. I almost ran over a couple people who weren't paying attention to a vehicle backing up. Maybe one of those backup beepers or a camera in the back is in order. :)

 

I've had both, a Tonneau cover on a S-10, and a cap on a Silverado. The Tonneau cover was expensive and was a pain in the neck if I wanted to haul my dj equipment around. The cap was better for that. I didn't like the cap because it blocked my view while backing up, and it added extra weight to my truck. So I vote neither.

So when I got my Ranger, what I ended up doing was putting a toolbox in. It already had a bed liner in it when I bought it, and I'm happy with that. The tool box I bought doesn't go all the way down to the bed, so there's still plenty of room to carry long boards if I need to. The smaller sized tool box also leaves lots of room in the bed for carrying stuff.

So you have to determine what your needs are going to be and make your plans around that.

Here's a picture of my current set up......

 

Cap. I have a tonneau and lately have found it to be in the way more. If I had a cap I wouldn't have had a problem. I never did like the way caps looked but with a ranger bed there is not a lot of space so you need to utilize all of it you can.