Toolboxes, Tonneaus, and Bed Extenders

[BRS]

Hey folks, I thought I'd throw all of these in because they're all up in the air for me right now, and they all work together. First, I've got a '99 long bed F350 supercab. I want a roll-up tonneau cover, a toolbox big enough to carry my chainsaw and its associated crap (for example), and I still need to carry 8' lumber every once in a while. So there are a couple of options:

1. Normal tonneau cover, bed chest (not crossover toolbox), and bed extender.

2. Crossover toolbox and one of those tonneaus that works with your toolbox (I've seen various reviews good and bad). Short enough crossover would let me carry a little bit of 8' lumber, but not that much.

And, I've seen negative reviews of that crossover toolbox with the built-in roll-up tonneau so I'm ignoring it.

So questions:

How well do these bed extenders work (Bestop, etc.)? I see they have a factory one on the new '08 Super Duty; anyone try to adapt it or is it junk? I want to carry lumber to my cabin by interstate, not just around-town trips at 30 mph; can't risk a 2x4 heading into someone's windshield at 70 mph.



Then there's the porkchop (wheel well) toolboxes that run over the wheel well and don't intrude on your lengthwise or widthwise bedspace, but don't carry that much either.

Basically, I don't want to buy something only to get screwed by something else. Everyone I know either runs a crossover toolbox or throws their crap in the cab, so they're no help.

Thanks for any insight you can share,

Ben

[DCSpecial]

You can get a Retrax custom made to work with a tool box.

Had one on my 01.....until I pulled off the tool box and stuck in on my 07 (01 was a short bed and 07 is a long bed so my Retrax is sitting in the corner of the shop)




Just had to give Retrax a couple measurements and they made it accordingly. They'll cut the rails so you can still use the stake pockets if you want as well.

[beisel1111]

How hard would it be to cut that cover yourself?

[DCSpecial]

Not sure.

I know the rails are custom cut to length to bolt up to the canister and have the stop in the right location.
I don't know if the rollout cover itself is custom length or not.
From what I remember they don't charge much to do it.

[BRS]

Wow, that's actually very nice looking. How well did it join to the toolbox? Good, or prone to leaks?

Ben

[DCSpecial]

They give you a piece of angled aluminum to secure to the box with either bolts or screws.....and I used some silicone between the angled aluminum and box and then once installed along the edge where they join. Helps get a water tight seal along the diamond plate.

Only other thing you need is longer tubes for the drain holes for the canister to reach the front of the bed. You run them out the rubber plugs in the front wall of the bed.