I'm looking at a used truck cap for my 1994 Ranger. The guy don't know what it came from originally. It's on a 1995 Ranger but the area where it matches up to the cab looks a bit lower, it's ok near the middle on top but the corners round off different. He got it used but isn't sure what it was off of. It's a Leer cap, with no model number tag on it, I assume it's older than 1993 since there's no sign of a third brake light. It matches the bed rails perfect, it's the same length and width as the cap I want to replace. I know its not a newer style S10 cap, those area a lot lower, I hauled one for a buddy and it sat almost 4" lower than my cab did when I had it on top of my bed rails for the ride home. That was for a 1994 S10.

Would an S10 cap work, if that's what it is? Or were they the same? He's got it mounted on top of an over the rail bed liner, which I'm sure is also making it look funny but what concerned me is that it still looks like it's not tall enough in the front to match the roof line.
It's one of those older caps with the raised rear section and twin 'shark' windows in the rear.

The price is right, so if it is for a Ranger, I want it, the cap I've got now is just too low, I'm tired of smacking my head on the top of the hatch every time I need to get something in or out of the truck.

 

Well, I'm thinking no matter what it came off of, you can see right now what it looks like on a Ranger. So if you could live with that then I would get it. And if the price is right and you don't like it then put a for sale sign on it while it's on your truck.

 

S-10 caps are usually about an inch longer. But if it matches your other cap perfectly, then there shouldn't be a problem. Like you said, it'll be lower in the front. They are all like that.

 

That's what I was thinking, it's just that it looks low in the front and the fact that he's got it sitting on top of an over the rail bed liner it makes me wonder. I was under the impression that first generation S10 and Ranger had the same cap dimensions? I did take an old aluminum cap off of a 1987 S10 and put it on my 1992 and it matched up fine, but the aluminum cap was never meant to match the cab in any way. I never really compared how much higher or lower it sat on the Ford.

The big plus to this cap is that it's already the right color, but if it don't match the cab, it's no good to me. I do want a taller cap but don't want it to look like it was thrown together.
The truck is clean, with perfect original paint and low miles. The cap on it now looks good and don't leak but it's too low inside and at the rear door. It replaced an off color aluminum cap I had before. I went through all sorts of trouble to get this one sealed up both with window leaks and an edge seam that leaked and was going to repaint it to match when I spotted the one I'm looking at. If it will line up, it will save me the hassle of repainting the present cap to match the truck.

I don't have the truck here to fit the cap on it and try it, the truck is 1500 miles away right now, and will be for a few months. I'd be picking up the new cap and hauling it back with me on a trailer.

 

Yes they are longer and slightly narrower. I tired to fit a tonneau from a S10 on my ranger and it wouldn't fit.

 

same here. I got it to work, but it never looked right.

 

my cap was from a s-10, it was narrower at the tailgate then my bed.

 

My old 1988 Topper off of my old 88 ranger ended up on an 85 S-10 and it fit like a glove. it was Wierd!

~HJ

 

aren't they also an inch or two shorter?

 

i actually have a tonneau cover from and s10 and it fit on my ranger.

 

I think the one I had was a Truxedo and I tried oh so hard to get it to work but the rails would not fit properly

 

The one I looked at was on a 1995 Ranger, it sat lower than the cab roof in the front, it matched the bed fine. The length looked right, but it could have maybe been a bit wider where it sits on the bed. The part that made me walk away is that the curvature of the sides didn't match the Ranger. I called two cap makers, they told me that the 87" length was only specific to Ranger and Toyota long beds, with the only difference being that the 1992 to 1993 Toyota application was an inch lower at the front cap wall. Which may have been what this was from. It also didn't have the notch for the bed light and center brake light housing. The cap I have now is close, there's no way that would have fit. The guy that had it had the cap touching the light, which must have sounded great going down the road.

I do know though that I took an aluminum cap off a 1987 S10 LB and used it on a 1989 Ranger LB, but since it was much higher than either cab it made no difference. The bed dimensions were close enough to work. It actually fit the Ranger better than the S10 my neighbor had bought it for.

I've been looking for a taller cap for my '94, I've got a cab high one on it that's fine but I need more room. I'd even go for one of those old super tall aluminum caps if one turned up. It's work truck so looks aren't much of an issue. Besides, I miss being able to wash the back window by hand with the aluminum cap on, since the aluminum cap had 90 degree angles on the front and back, there was a good bit of space to get an arm in and wash the back window. Right now my cap is so close leaves get stuck in between and I need to pressure wash them out. With no slider its about impossible to wash.