Ford Maverick / Ranger / F-150 Side By Side

Jim Oaks

Active member
Administrator
Forum Moderator
Article Contributor
Joined
Jul 15, 2021
Messages
106
Reaction score
99
Points
28
Location
Nocona, Texas
63


64

I really dig this truck. I can't wait to see it up close in person. I want to see what it's like to ditch the fullsize F-150 for a compact Maverick in the busy streets and highways of Dallas Texas, and then enjoy a weekend outing in the beautiful Texas country.
 

wildbill23c

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2021
Messages
76
Reaction score
15
Points
8
Did they ticket the F-150 for parking in a handicap spot? Asking for a friend....

Huge difference between the F150 and Maverick, but not quite as much as I thought there would be between the Ranger and Maverick for size. Extended cab 6 foot bed Ranger or Chevy Colorado with a 6 foot bed and an N/A V6...Trouble is I now own a tractor so I probably better go into the F150 territory.

The Maverick would be something I could be interested in though if I had to commute to work, right now I'm only 4 miles from work, really doesn't matter what I drive, its mostly stop and go traffic anyways, and only about 2 miles of it is a short highway fuel economy is out the window with my short drive to and from work. The Maverick would honestly do quite a bit of what I do anymore, I don't do much in the way of hauling building materials, groceries, and a few bags of salt for the water conditioner...everything else falls into I need a truck territory anyhow LOL.

My problem is I don't have a need to haul people, so I don't need a 4 door pickup of any size LOL. A super cab would be nice to be able to keep tools in and such, but really don't haul anymore than 1 person and myself at a time anymore.
 

wildbill23c

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2021
Messages
76
Reaction score
15
Points
8
That line up is missing one truck... well two if you throw in the Super Duty.

Maybe it's just me...

View attachment 89

I'll be in my corner if anyone needs me.
I'd be interested in a pickup like that, just a simple regular cab with a long bed. Right now you are kind of limited pretty much a mid-size truck you get a 6 foot or shorter bed....so you have to step up to a 1/2 ton to get a longer bed unfortunately...the 7 foot bed on my Ranger seems just about right for a smaller pickup for functionality.
 

sgtsandman

Member
Active Military
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Messages
67
Reaction score
42
Points
18
Location
Aliquippa, PA
I've gotten along just fine with the 6' on the 2011 and 5' on the 2019 but I do have caps with roof racks on both for things to wide or long for the beds. I have the rack more for my canoe and kayaks than for lumber or anything else but they do get used for that from time to time.
 

wildbill23c

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2021
Messages
76
Reaction score
15
Points
8
I was actually thinking about a camper shell with a rack on top, but they're very limited on the amount of weight you can put on them, I guess maybe an aluminum contractor type camper shell would be the best option for something like that, those fiberglass camper shells I think are usually rated for 100-200 pounds on the roof of them, I'd think the contractor aluminum shells would have a higher weight capacity to their roof structures....I may look into something like that but I still think I'd go with an extended cab Ranger with the 6 foot bed, I don't have any need for the back seats in a crew cab Ranger...but I will definitely look into some sort of rack for a camper shell setup for it. Probably going to be a while before I can think about a new truck though LOL. That Maverick with 2 doors and a 5 foot bed or 5-1/2 foot bed honestly would be great for most things I do, it just couldn't tow my trailer with my tractor on it LOL...so I'd still need a pickup for that.
 

sgtsandman

Member
Active Military
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Messages
67
Reaction score
42
Points
18
Location
Aliquippa, PA
It depends on what you are planning to carry on the rack. A roof top tent should be fine since the load limit is for a load on the move. Static, the load can be higher.
 

wildbill23c

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2021
Messages
76
Reaction score
15
Points
8
It depends on what you are planning to carry on the rack. A roof top tent should be fine since the load limit is for a load on the move. Static, the load can be higher.
The reason for having a longer bed, I don't think carrying building materials like sheathing, and dimensional lumber on a roof rack on a camper shell would work very well due to the weight? Most of those racks aren't built very well for that type of stuff, they're more or less built to attach your roof top cargo carrier to I think.

Again, I don't need passenger capacity so chopping off the 2 back doors and removing that seating area isn't an issue in my case, but I can see why automakers just don't really bother with standard cab pickups anymore because many use their truck for family cars LOL. I thought I read/saw somewhere not too long ago that Ford was thinking of offering a 2 door compact or mid-size pickup again, but I was thinking it was a Ranger...maybe I was thinking of something else but I could swear that Ford was or had shown a prototype 2 door long bed Ranger here in the past couple of months. That would be something I'd be interested in, but the regular 2 door extended cab model with a 6 foot bed I think would be fine for most DIY building material hauling jobs, I do have a 14' flat bed and 18' flatbed trailer if I need to haul longer/larger stuff anyways...its just nice to be able to run into a Home Depot or Lowes and get stuff and just put it in the truck and not have to deal with a trailer.
 

sgtsandman

Member
Active Military
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Messages
67
Reaction score
42
Points
18
Location
Aliquippa, PA
The load limit is based on what the rack is mounted too as well as the design of the rack.

The manufacturer of the rack will quote their load limit but will always refer to the vehicle manufacturer for the final determination on what the limit will be.

So, a rack may be rated for say 200 pounds but the roof might only be able to handle 140.

The same would go for bed caps or racks that mount directly to the bed.

Most bed caps are not rated for a load unless they come with a rack from the factory or are ordered specifically with a reinforced roof.

Usually the bed sides are designed to handle a load from things like ladder racks and the like but those are traditional truck beds. I don’t know what kind of rating, if any, a unit body truck bed might have.

One doesn’t see a Subaru Baja or Honda Ridgeline with any kind of rack on them. I think I have seen a Ridgeline or two with a cap but it isn’t a common thing.

Based off my experience with the Rangers, the rack capacity for the caps and the roof isn’t bad. I’m drawing from memory here, so my numbers might be off. I think the load rating for both is about 190 pounds for each set (cap roof and cab roof). So, carrying sheathing or a good bit of dimensional lumber isn’t a problem.

What maybe available for the Maverick may be a different story. Someone will have to dig into the owner’s manual for the answers on the cab roof. Then the information provided by the rack manufacturer or bed cap manufacturer for what applies to the Maverick. Assuming either is ever offered for a Maverick.
 

wildbill23c

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2021
Messages
76
Reaction score
15
Points
8
The load limit is based on what the rack is mounted too as well as the design of the rack.

The manufacturer of the rack will quote their load limit but will always refer to the vehicle manufacturer for the final determination on what the limit will be.

So, a rack may be rated for say 200 pounds but the roof might only be able to handle 140.

The same would go for bed caps or racks that mount directly to the bed.

Most bed caps are not rated for a load unless they come with a rack from the factory or are ordered specifically with a reinforced roof.

Usually the bed sides are designed to handle a load from things like ladder racks and the like but those are traditional truck beds. I don’t know what kind of rating, if any, a unit body truck bed might have.

One doesn’t see a Subaru Baja or Honda Ridgeline with any kind of rack on them. I think I have seen a Ridgeline or two with a cap but it isn’t a common thing.

Based off my experience with the Rangers, the rack capacity for the caps and the roof isn’t bad. I’m drawing from memory here, so my numbers might be off. I think the load rating for both is about 190 pounds for each set (cap roof and cab roof). So, carrying sheathing or a good bit of dimensional lumber isn’t a problem.

What maybe available for the Maverick may be a different story. Someone will have to dig into the owner’s manual for the answers on the cab roof. Then the information provided by the rack manufacturer or bed cap manufacturer for what applies to the Maverick. Assuming either is ever offered for a Maverick.
That's going to be a pretty large limiting factor, and not much useful weight capacity in reality, you don't want 200+ pounds on the roof of your vehicle as it really screws with your center of gravity LOL. A lot easier to load and unload building materials at bed height not over the top of your head, however, if I recall the max towing capacity of the Maverick will be 4,000lbs, which is perfectly within my useful limits for most things other than my tractor/trailer/implements of course....but I think the Maverick towing my 14' flatbed which weighs around 1,000 pounds empty plus building materials on it would certainly be doable...I guess for hauling pipe and that type of stuff if there was a rack option or something for the Maverick that would work but trying to load and unload sheet goods from the roof rack would get old real fast LOL.

If I recall the camper shell I had on my 2008 Toyota Tundra was rated for a rack capacity of 200 pounds, but it would be uncomfortable, very uncomfortable trying to load and unload stuff from up there, it would require a ladder...although I've seen a couple with those roof-top hard box cargo carriers up there but what a pain LOL.

I was thinking more along the lines of a utility bed rack that people use for carrying ladders, pipe, and that type of stuff, mounts to the bed rails and usually extends up over the cab roof....but they're somewhat limited on capacity as well depending like you said upon the capacity of the vehicle's bed rails, they pretty much destroyed the bed rails on a 99 Ranger at the door shop I worked at because they'd use it to haul 3-4 garage doors at a time so it was breaking the bed rails.

I like having a camper shell to keep stuff out of the weather and be able to use it to toss a sleeping bag in for camping and stuff like that, but the Maverick's bed is way too short for that, but a camper shell would still be nice to be able to carry bulky items in and not have them soaked or frozen to the bed of the vehicle by the time you get home in the winter LOL.

For most of my needs if they'd come out with something the size of the Maverick but in a 2 door or at least a longer bed I'd be happy...I love my 1987 Ford Ranger long bed, but its 34 years old, I want to be able to sand it down and repaint it but it seems I'm always needing it for projects. It runs and drives great and only has 129k on it. Just has the typical 1980's paint problems that I'd like to address before they become rust problems. Leaning more towards a Ranger at this point, but it'll be a few years before I'm ready to jump into a newer vehicle.
 
Top