ArcticRoze@aol.com wrote:
: Hello All,
: Problem: 5' 3" truck bed and 9' 1" surfboard Solution: bed extender
: I was wondering if those of you that have purchased bed extenders for your
: trucks might give me your opinions on the ones you have purchased.
: Manufacturer, price, where it was purchased from and any installation
: problems.
: So far I have checked out the dealership one (which is the X-Tender from AMP
: Research), but the best price I could get from them was $209. It mounted
: directly to the Dakota tailgate without any added drilling. I then saw,
: thanks to another DMLr, that Truckperformance.com is having a sale on all
: there stuff and found they have an extender by Steel Horse Auto for $170.00.
: but don't know anything about this manufacturer.
: Any information and opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.
Julie,
You might want to consider something along the lines of the
"Extend-A-Truck". This is a unit that fits into your trailer hitch
receiver, and sits a couple of feet behind your tailgate, which
allows you to carry long loads. That might be better for something
like a surfboard since it can lay flat. They have them at Northern
Tool for $100, so its a lot cheaper than the extenders also.
Here's a link with a picture and info:
http://www.northerntool.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=19670&prmenbr=6970
I made one of these for my truck and it works great, recently I hauled
some 20' long culverts home in the 8' bed of my Ram. Mine's all welded
together though, the bought ones appear to be able to be folded up
so you can store them in a small space. Plus, the one above can be adjusted
to the level of your roof, so you could carry a ladder or something up there
if you wanted to. (Or I suppose you could put your surfboard up there and
leave the bed free for other stuff.) Bed or roof level, either method would
also allow you to add a tonneau cover at a later point and still carry your
surfboard, since it won't need to stick up at the back. One problem I have
with the tailgate style bed extenders is that when you're not using them,
they take up a lot of space. I guess it really depends on personal
preference though and the type of cargo you need to haul. Something to
think about, anyway...
---Jon-
.---- Jon Steiger ------- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -----. | Affiliations: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA; Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | | '92 Ram 150 4x4 V8, '96 Dakota V8, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly 447 | `------------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'
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