This thread is about my Powerstroke, sorry guys. I would still like your opinions though!

I can't decide..

I almost bought a matching truck cap for my truck a couple weeks ago, and probably would have, had we been able to agree on a price. He originally wanted $400, but that's ridiculous for a cap for a older truck, a shortbed nonetheless. I just don't see there being a demand. I got him to say he'd take $200, over the phone he said that. I called 2 days later and offered $175 picked up, that night. I thought for sure he'd agree, being that he was also unemployed, and no longer had the truck the cap was on. He said no, and hasn't contacted me to take me up on the offer since.

A few weeks before that I talked to a guy who has a soft tonneau cover for sale. I forget what brand it is, but it was one of the best brands. He used it for 2 years, and its a snap type tonneau. He wanted $100 but I wasn't THAT interested. He texted me today saying he'd take $75.

Any opinions? I have a cap on my Ranger, my daily driver. I love it. I would like one for my Powerstroke.. I wouldn't use it all of the time, primarily when camping.

I'm torn. I have been saving towards a Dana 60 (rsk, super duty leafs, etc), and I'd like to keep saving. Then again, this stuff would be nice to have..

Cap
-Great for camping, can always throw a mattress in the bed and not need a tent. Would probably be better than a tent when on rainy campouts.. with some sort of dome light it'd be a good place to play cards or something.
-Keeps gear dry
-Keeps gear from blowing away
-Keeps gear out of site when in public
-More room than tonneau

Tonneau
-Keeps gear dry
-Keeps gear from blowing away
-Keeps gear out of site when in public

Opinions? Call the guy with the cap and offer $175 again (2 weeks later). Take the offer on the tonneau, or just forget about it and go back to saving like I have been?

Picture of said Powerstroke

 

keep saving, imo it isnt a truck anymore with a cap or a tonneau

 

Yeah but I can still haul with a soft tonneau..

..and the cap would not be permanent. I could easily remove it..

Just adding that, i dont want to sound biased.

I'm really just second guessing myself. Ever since I got on this whole saving kick, it kills me not to buy stuff I want. Lol. I have my GF reason with me, but I always find some way to justify it. I hate that I do it..

 

I selected tonneau but that was before i read it had snaps. You couldn't pay me to put one of those on, when it gets cold the snaps render it useless if you need to take it off and put it on a lot. If your going to get one get one that is snapless, its so worth it. I love mine, bed and gear stays covered but if I need to haul something big it rolls up in under 30 seconds.

 

to be honest with ya freddie i say keep on saving. You do not want the tonneau. Snap+Cold= pain in the a$$. The next would be the cap, if the guy will go for 175 well Id prolly do it. It would be nice in the winter and if you had to camp. So all and all. If he takes your 175 I say get the cap. If not just move on and keep on saving.

 

Thanks for the advice Trent! I do appreciate it.. I hadn't even thought about the snap thing until you mentioned it, but that's a great point. That sort of rules out the tonneau, I was iffy about it anyways.

I don't really drive my Powerstroke very often in the wintertime anyways, really only to diesel meet and greets, and if I need to use it at work. Other than that it sits..
Cold weather wouldn't be a major problem, but say I did need to drive it, and use the tonneau, that would be a hassle. Great point

EDIT: Thanks for your opinion Scott. I had sort of moved on when he said no the first time, though it was still in the back of my mind. But when the guy texted me today about the tonneau, I sort of thought about that cap again.

 

I would just keep saving.

 

Freddie, first of all, nice truck. I'll own a powerstroke someday lol

It really depends on how much you would plan on taking the truck camping. I don't take out the Ranger too often simply because it's not yet the everyday driver. That happened by accident, so it stays in the garage most of the time. Since that's the case, I have a soft cover for mine. It's a snap cover...which are a pain in the cold weather, but the cover was made by an Amish company and there's been one on my 97 since the day it came home and have never had any issues.

I guess it just depends on if you think you'd get more use out of a cap, a soft cover or nothing at all. Just my experience, I'm happy with the soft cover.

 

I'll trade you the D60 out of my '88 for your powerstroke.........



j/k I'd keep saving for the 60

 

Well getting a guy down 50% of his asking price then asking to take another $25 off of that seems ridiculous, that's a slap in the face. I probably wouldn't contact you back either. Granted the condition of the cap and all, those things are pretty pricey. As for what to get i would go with a soft tonneau. Look at the truxedo truxsport they're really cheap and they're not the snap junk kind. They got that flat sleek non bowed look.

 

I agree with this Freddie. Think about it this way. If you were unemployed think about how far 25 bucks would go. It's bad enough he backed off 200 bucks on it.

 

Hands down I would get more use out of a cap. The only reason I was considering the tonneau is because it costs less. I guess its a trade off.

Ok, I should probably clear this up a little.
When I saw the ad, he had the cap listed for $300. When I talked to him on the phone the first time he said he'd take $250, without me hassling him AT ALL. I called him a few days later, after I thought about an offer, and he said $225. Again, that was without any hassling. He then mentioned that at one point in time he had the cap listed for $400. Before I got off the phone with him he dropped it down to $200, just by me asking if he was sure if he wouldn't go any lower.

At that point I was thinking 2 things:
1. He went from $300 to $200 with me asking maybe twice, what the best he could do on it was. Thats it. No hassling at all.
2. I was still on the fence about it, and wanted to save my money, somehow. I figured "Ok, I'll offer him $175 picked up tonight, and if he says no, thats fine, I'll move on." I called, he said he couldn't go that low, and I told him to let me know if he changed his mind.

I made the decision to offer $175 picked up ASAP with these factors in mind
1. Its a cap for a 80-mid 90's Ford. There isn't a lot of demand for those caps anyways, most people by now, if they own one of those trucks, own a cap as well. It doesnt have the market that a 97-current F150 would have, or a 99-Current Super Duty.
2. Its a cap for a SHORTBED 80's-mid 90's Ford. SHortbed trucks in those body styles are no where near as abundant as the newer model trucks. The demand goes even lower.
3. His listing had been up for nearly a month
4. No longer owns the truck
5. Unemployed. Some money is better than no money right?!?

So.... low demand, and a cap he has no use for, and no job. I dont think it hurt anything to offer him $175.

 

I'd get a tonneau cover but not the kind with snaps, those blow. That has been one of the best investments for my truck. I love it. I just throw the camper shell on the Ranger when I need a little more room. Just wait and you will find a good deal on something. I waited over a year to find my cap. Its the same color as my truck and only paid $50.

 

I see what your saying, but at the same time. If your willing to spend 175 25 bucks isn't that much more.

 

Cap. Although, I do have to say that that gen of truck looks FAR BETTER with a well built headache rack

 

Ha, thanks for the input guys. I realized I had sort of made up my mind, and also found out that a vacation I was planning for March isn't going to happen. That being said, I'm going to go ahead and get the cap. I called him, and he still has it. Hopefully Sunday I'll have time after I get done working overtime.

Jimmeh, I totally agree, they look great with the right headache rack. I thought about it, and maybe I'll still run across one eventually, to rock when I'm not sporting a cap. I think I've posted a picture of the headache rack that came off of my dad's truck... I WAS going to put it on, but it just wouldn't look right. I'm still tempted to install his old brush guard though.

 

i was gonna say cap too.. a friend of mine has the same truck as you but his is a longbox though.. and family friends have a 97 powerstroke also.

yours is a shortbox right??

agree with the other guy's on the price though.

 

i would vote choice D and get a toolbox, i thought about a tonneau and cap a while back but the toolbox would be the most useful for me.

 

i say buy the cap.... and since he already lowered the price by $100 bucks, stop kicking the tires and buy the damned thing. nothing worse when people get offered a deal and still go about pissing and moaning and low balling. plus the guy is unemployed, help a guy when hes down, not kick him some more....

and you see it as demand going down, i would see it as demand going up..... you always want what you cant have.....

 

I would IF it was a longbed, but toolbox's in most shortbed trucks looks ridiculous. Especially in my body style of truck.. it already looks weird enough with a shortbed. Put a toolbox in and its even worse. Inside the cap I'll have a big plastic tool chest on the right side of the bed within reach.

I want to buy a rubber bed mat for a shortbed 80-97 Ford if anyone knows where one is.. I have one in my Ranger thanks to Clayton, and I LOVE it. Nothing slides around

 

Please excuse the dirty truck.. I was going to hit the carwash but didn't have anything smaller than a $20.

Plans..

• Paint the interior of it
• Wire up a dome light switch similiar to that in most cars
  -Open (dome light comes on when rear hatch opens)
  -On (manually turn it on)
  -Off (manually overide the "Open" switch)
• Install some brighter dome lights
• Oh and don't worry, all of those stickers are coming off. An NRA sticker, and Ohio Coal Rollers decal will go on it
• Install reverse lights under the bumper.. with my tint and the cap, I pretty much have to stick my head out the window to back up at night
• I want to put larger mirror heads (with stick on convex mirrors) on those mirror brackets to also assist in covering blind spots which have been slightly increased

 

Looks good freddie!!!!