Load Box Reinforcement Brackets... What the Heck, Ford Accessories?

[SubaruRaptor]

The point I was trying to make is that we seem to have really lowered the bar on our expectations from Ford. If an organization accepts an order for parts and/or labor and charges (pending) your card for said order, any reasonable consumer would expect that order to be fulfilled AS AGREED UPON. Let's macro scale this. How would you feel if you'd ordered your shiny new raptor, waiting almost a year after the time of ordering for your turn to finally roll around and then, just as you start to see similar trucks finally being delivered to the lots in your neighborhood, you find out that your order has been cancelled. But hey, you can place another order. would just take a few minutes. Should be ready in about 9 months...

I mean that is a thing that happens though. I did enough research to make sure I put myself in a position where I could minimize all the issues that were in my control. No extra add ons, confirmed allocation, confirmed low priority code.

What I did have to do, which is vastly more annoying, is I had to have the truck already repainted. Mine had the chip from the factor, which is a 1000 dollar repair. Yes it was covered by Ford, but now it has a repainted panel. I now have to wait another 3 months before I can get it ceramic coated.

So in the grand scheme of things, having to re-order a part that is optional and wait, is far down the list of things I wish Ford would fix.

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[SubaruRaptor]

All valid.

Ford really should have a black eye for how they have handled this and for stripping the grab handles from the US market trucks.

I wish some outlet like Car&Driver or Consumer Reports would publish an inflammatory article like “Ford Ranger- a ‘truck’ that can’t carry more that 88 lbs”

Yes lets blow out what the problem actually instead of being honest.

 

[Zangor]

Yes lets blow out what the problem actually instead of being honest.

You want the little man to be honest when the big company isn’t?

In the times we live, companies don’t take action unless there is bad press.

They won’t “do the right thing” unless someone holds them accountable for the decisions they are knowingly making

 

[Jason B]

The point I was trying to make is that we seem to have really lowered the bar on our expectations from Ford. If an organization accepts an order for parts and/or labor and charges (pending) your card for said order, any reasonable consumer would expect that order to be fulfilled AS AGREED UPON. Let's macro scale this. How would you feel if you'd ordered your shiny new raptor, waiting almost a year after the time of ordering for your turn to finally roll around and then, just as you start to see similar trucks finally being delivered to the lots in your neighborhood, you find out that your order has been cancelled. But hey, you can place another order. would just take a few minutes. Should be ready in about 9 months...

I understand the frustration with this problem, but using Ranger Raptor is a bad example, because what you stated has happen. Some orders were cancelled, other got their Raptors before some that ordered Raptors earlier, and some got hit with ADM on orders.
Bad business practice, no doubt.

 

[stemplar]

a minority use toppers and racks and even a smaller minority go through 'extreme offroad conditions' with those items.

why should >90% of truck buyers be required to pay for a part that only <10% of truck owners actually require?

if i didn't plan on getting a bed rack or topper, i'd much rather save $400 (cost of part + installation) than pay for something i'll never need.

This is really poor logic. Do you know how many parts Ford can make weaker to the extent that "only <10%" would be affected?

 

[MTN_WZRD]

a minority use toppers and racks and even a smaller minority go through 'extreme offroad conditions' with those items.

why should >90% of truck buyers be required to pay for a part that only <10% of truck owners actually require?

if i didn't plan on getting a bed rack or topper, i'd much rather save $400 (cost of part + installation) than pay for something i'll never need.

Maybe where you live. But in Colorado. Most trucks have some sort of topper/bed rack and RTT. Toyota made a specific truck just for overlanding. I’m not saying that’s what the Ranger is but my point was that there’s no way that a manufacturer should be making the customer put reinforcement brackets on their vehicle to use a topper. It’s been a standard for as long as I can remember. Why remove that standard?! Doesn’t make sense to me. I could maybe see it if this was just a Ranger Raptor thing a little bit more but still payload is up there, towing is up there. All trucks stuff. Really weird customer relations thing. I can agree to disagree though.

 

[Wayfaring Ranger]

This is really poor logic. Do you know how many parts Ford can make weaker to the extent that "only <10%" would be affected?

and if it would save me money and not effect how I use the truck, I'd welcome it. anything to lower the price of vehicles as we can all agree prices are too high.

if you planned to use the truck differently, you could opt for additional upgrades to suit your needs instead of making everyone else have parts that you need but they may not need.

there is no reason you shouldn't be able to buy a very bare-bones truck for cheap and then add optional reinforcements or features as needed. following this mindset would put these trucks in reach for people who couldn't afford them otherwise and it allow more personalized customization for everyone.

sounds like a win/win to me. quit bundling unnecessary stuff and driving the prices up for people who don't use the truck like you want to use it.

 

[Wayfaring Ranger]

Maybe where you live. But in Colorado. Most trucks have some sort of topper/bed rack and RTT. Toyota made a specific truck just for overlanding. I’m not saying that’s what the Ranger is but my point was that there’s no way that a manufacturer should be making the customer put reinforcement brackets on their vehicle to use a topper. It’s been a standard for as long as I can remember. Why remove that standard?! Doesn’t make sense to me. I could maybe see it if this was just a Ranger Raptor thing a little bit more but still payload is up there, towing is up there. All trucks stuff. Really weird customer relations thing. I can agree to disagree though.

I've been to colorado many times and the majority of trucks I saw do not have RTT and camper shells. Not only are you overstating how popular those accessories are, but even fewer people are actually going offroad.

Even if colorado did have the majority of people doing these things, there's 49 other states where that isn't true. Ford isn't designing trucks for people in one state, especially when most colorado residents are too busy larping with their overland rigged toyotas and never even considered a ranger as a truck.

 

[SubaruRaptor]

Maybe where you live. But in Colorado. Most trucks have some sort of topper/bed rack and RTT. Toyota made a specific truck just for overlanding. I’m not saying that’s what the Ranger is but my point was that there’s no way that a manufacturer should be making the customer put reinforcement brackets on their vehicle to use a topper. It’s been a standard for as long as I can remember. Why remove that standard?! Doesn’t make sense to me. I could maybe see it if this was just a Ranger Raptor thing a little bit more but still payload is up there, towing is up there. All trucks stuff. Really weird customer relations thing. I can agree to disagree though.

There is no standard though. Literally it is not written any where that trucks must be able to have a topper. It is an assumption.

 

[Zangor]

There is no standard though. Literally it is not written any where that trucks must be able to have a topper. It is an assumption.

They literally advertise the truck with a topper and sell one on the Ford accessories page.

Do you assume food is edible when you go to a restaurant? I’ve never seen a disclaimer on a menu “this food is edible”, yet, any reasonable person would assume it is edible.

Is it an assumption? Yes. Is the rest of the truck designed to be conducive to fitting a topper? Yes. Have trucks been using toppers for 40+ years without the need of chassis reinforcement? Yes.

These are all reasonable assumptions that any logical person would make.

Why are we making excuses for a big company on something that is clearly deceptive to its customers?

 

[SparkyTWS]

A lot of the responses to this post contain a variation of "Most people don't use toppers" or "Most people don't need to worry about offroad capability because they rarely go offroad".

let's address these 1 at a time.

1. I would go as far as to say that *many* if not *most* truck owners that live in an area that gets snow in the winter will use a topper or tonneau cover *of some kind*. Without it, that cargo space is wasted for 5-6 months. And ford is adding this *upgrade* for free for anyone that buys a topper from ford **regardless of how they intend to use the truck**. If they acknowledge that anyone who buys a topper from them should have this reinforcement, then it's not a stretch that anyone who intends to use a topper from any source might need one.

2. I never intend to go rock crawling with my truck. I didn't buy the FX4 package. That doesn't mean that I will NEVER find myself in a situation where the truck bed may be forced to flex in an extreme manner. (snow ruts, ditches, farm tracks, random massive and unexpected pothole, who knows what the next 12 years of driving might bring.) I shouldn't have to go through my (truck) life wondering "is this the rut that's going to break my trucks back?"

All of this is still ignoring the point. While I object to the fact that this isn't part of every truck (doubly so a premium truck trim like the lariat, FX4 or Raptor), I get it. stuff happens. Mistakes are made. People who want it will just order it. My main objection was (and still is) the incredibly poor customer service in cancelling orders just so they can jack up the installation price. I don't understand why so many people on this forum feel the need to defend or normalize this sort of behavior.

 

[Bigmess]

How is it an engineering mistake? A lot of people are never going to do anything or put anything on top of it to cause an issue.

You can’t be serious? It’s a truck, of course they will and yes it’s an engineering error and a big one. I wanted to put a retractable bed cover on mine but Im worried to even do that. I think it’s pure shit that ford did this and then wants to charge us for it.

 

[SubaruRaptor]

They literally advertise the truck with a topper and sell one on the Ford accessories page.

Do you assume food is edible when you go to a restaurant? I’ve never seen a disclaimer on a menu “this food is edible”, yet, any reasonable person would assume it is edible.

Is it an assumption? Yes. Is the rest of the truck designed to be conducive to fitting a topper? Yes. Have trucks been using toppers for 40+ years without the need of chassis reinforcement? Yes.

These are all reasonable assumptions that any logical person would make.

Why are we making excuses for a big company on something that is clearly deceptive to its customers?

Subaru advertises drifting the STI. Toyota advertises racing and drifting the GR Corolla. If you drift an STI, youll have a bad time. If you race the Corolla, if you go above 88 mphs you warranty is voided along with the tracked ay they give you also voiding the warranty.

Im not arguing that they are not reasonable assumptions. But no one cares if its an assumption. There is not standard, people should read the manual. Ford has not done wrong to anyone, its a less than ideal situation. They arent being deceptive, it is SUPER clear that you need the brackets if you read the manual YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO READ.

 

[SubaruRaptor]

A lot of the responses to this post contain a variation of "Most people don't use toppers" or "Most people don't need to worry about offroad capability because they rarely go offroad".

let's address these 1 at a time.

1. I would go as far as to say that *many* if not *most* truck owners that live in an area that gets snow in the winter will use a topper or tonneau cover *of some kind*. Without it, that cargo space is wasted for 5-6 months. And ford is adding this *upgrade* for free for anyone that buys a topper from ford **regardless of how they intend to use the truck**. If they acknowledge that anyone who buys a topper from them should have this reinforcement, then it's not a stretch that anyone who intends to use a topper from any source might need one.

2. I never intend to go rock crawling with my truck. I didn't buy the FX4 package. That doesn't mean that I will NEVER find myself in a situation where the truck bed may be forced to flex in an extreme manner. (snow ruts, ditches, farm tracks, random massive and unexpected pothole, who knows what the next 12 years of driving might bring.) I shouldn't have to go through my (truck) life wondering "is this the rut that's going to break my trucks back?"

All of this is still ignoring the point. While I object to the fact that this isn't part of every truck (doubly so a premium truck trim like the lariat, FX4 or Raptor), I get it. stuff happens. Mistakes are made. People who want it will just order it. My main objection was (and still is) the incredibly poor customer service in cancelling orders just so they can jack up the installation price. I don't understand why so many people on this forum feel the need to defend or normalize this sort of behavior.

1. Tonneau covers dont require the braces.
2. You wont even if you never installed them. Lets be real none of this is paying rent in anyones mind.
3. They didnt cancel your order to just change the price.

 

[SubaruRaptor]

You can’t be serious? It’s a truck, of course they will and yes it’s an engineering error and a big one. I wanted to put a retractable bed cover on mine but Im worried to even do that. I think it’s pure shit that ford did this and then wants to charge us for it.

Covers dont require them, you can go ahead and do that. Its fine if you think that, but you are wrong worrying about a cover will break your truck.

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