it's killing me having this damn stepside bed.

earlier tonight was the 4th time this week i've had to get 20+ sheets of drywall in my bed.

my truck can handle the weight... it's just annoyying as hell having to put the entire pile propped up on the one side because my bed is too narrow.

if i could afford to step up to an F150 or something larger, i would in a heart beat. this truck is seeming too damn small all around now


anyways... while driving home with my load... i was wondering if i should even bother trying to find someone to trade beds with, or if it would even matter.

so.... can a normal 4x8 sheet of drywall... or plywood, lay flat in the bed???

thanks guys!

 

nope not with the wheel wells in our fleet sides but they dont hang out as much

 

get a trailor???

 

damn. that's what i thought. ......damn.

nah, i'd have no where to keep it while it's not in use.. plus its hard enough getting my truck down some of the smaller streets (yeah... imagin a ranger being "large" lol)... trying to get a trailor behind me, plus being able to park it somewhere while working at someone's house can be a hassle. i'd rather just make do with the ranger until i can get myself into a full size truck.

 

width between wheel wells is the limiting factor (it's the same on a flareside as it is on a styleside). I think there is less than 48'' between, so a 4x8 sheet still won't lay flat.

 

Geez. Ok, sorry, I understand now. Well... How about just cutting an inch off the drywall?? J/K!!!

 

that would make sense.


any idea what the width is in front or behind the wheel wells on a styleside?

 

lol... i would look funny as hell sitting in home depot's parking lot cutting a couple of inches off of 20+ sheets of drywall all the time, lol.

 

It is more than 48". I put drywall and plywood back there all the time angled upwards from front to back. The only problem is the drywall will hit the wheel wells before it lays on the tail gate so there is a risk for breakage. Thats why I always bring 3 or 4 2x4's with me to use as support for the drywall. If you were going to buy a lot however, you could build some supports kind of like what that guy is doing on here for putting a matress in the back of his truck to hold up the drywall.

 

i feel your pain. sometimes i wish i wouldn't have bought a stepside cause of how limiting it is.

 

width bet. wheel well is 40.04'' and the width wall to wall is about* 54''


*the ranger brochure says the rear opening at the top is 54.3''

 

thats exactly what i'd do if i had a styleside, since it's not wide enough as is.


dammit i need a bigger bed, lol.

 

thats exactly what i'd do if i had a styleside, since it's not wide enough as is.

cool... so they'd fit like the other guy mentioned (angled front to back)

dammit i need a bigger bed, lol.

 

Well, if your truck doesn't fit your needs, find a friend with one that does.

Home Depot rents out the flat bed pickups. Something like $20 an hour. It's better than damaging a few sheets of drywall. Just make the drop off quick.

 

my friend has his 250 and 350... he said i can use one of them whenever i need... but it's not the same... if it were a one time thing... like i needed to borrow the truck for the day or something, then yeah, i would....

but lately, i've been finding myself needing the full size bed more and more.... enough that renting the truck from home depot wouldn't be worth it, and neither would taking my friends truck from him all the time.

 

Not sure how high the wheel wells are rangers, but get some 2x8's or however high the wells are and makeup a frame for the bed so it's leveled out. That way you could slide a full sheet in without a problem. Plus, you could use it to keep salt bags, sand bags, dirt, snow, or whatever else you use during the winter to keep traction from sliding around.

 

well, see... that's what i would end up doing if i got a styleside bed.

there'd be no point in doing that with a flareside bed because it would still be too narrow after all is said and done.

 

"Ah, now I see", says the non-ranger owner

 

lol..

 

As youve heard the answer is no on the flatsides also.

I built a framework with 2x10s and put ramp ends on and a made a cable leash to keep the dogs inside when I leave the back window open if I take them somewhere in the summer.

You can also take some 2x6s and cut them to slip in the pockets the Ford did design into our beds

I think someone at Ford Blew it when they designed the stepside bed allowing only 46 or 47 between the sides

 

I do something similar. I just put a 2x10 across the rear for the sheetrock, plywood. etc to lay on, then just rest on that and the wheel wells. It sticks out the back, but a simple rachet strap from the bumper to the tie down will the sheets from sliding out the rear.

And if I need 12' sheets, I just use my trailer

 

bagh you beat me to it! lol

 

or get a ladder rack up top...fab it so i can easily disconnect..then you can put anything up top..including ladders and what not...it may no be pretty but it will get the job done quicker..and if u fab up some brackets and make for a easy disconnect then all your probs will be solved =D

 

As for hauling the 8' sheets, here's an easy and quick mod that I have found to be of much benefit:

What you do is replace the top bolt on each tailgate latch (on the bed) with the same type of bolt found on the bottom of the latch (the one that holds the cable). As a result of this mod, you now have an adjustable tailgate. By unhooking the cables off the lower bolt and hooking them back onto the higher bolt, that leaves the tailgate at an upward angle so you can haul the longer items and they won't slide out. Part # N806909S100 at the dealer (a few bucks each) or just grab some at the junkyard like I did.

 

lol.. that would get annoyying trying to lift those sheets up and over the truck everytime i wanted to put them up there on the ladder rack.