Hello Sport Trac owners. I have several questions.

[Dave In Long Beach]

Hello,
I live here in Southern California and get around in a 2004 Sportrac equipped with a OEM Tonneau cover. I just found and joined the Explorer Forum to see what concerns other owners may have had when they changed from a bed cover to a Camper Shell. Like:

• The two locks with keys that match the ignition, can they be "Re-keyed" and at what cost?
• Not having storage space for the Tonneau cover once replaced, is there a market to sell it?
• Who manufactures camper shells that fit 2004 Sportracs, and which is the best?
• Are there recommendations for professional installers here on the forum?
• Does this change increase or decrease the vehicle's resale value significantly?

That's enough questions out of me for a while,
Dave in Long Beach

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Your thread was renamed & moved into the 2001 -2005 Sport Trac section.

 

[410Fortune]

Not sure about the keys, I am sure a good locksmith can help you. Your ignition key is a security key

Yes there is a market for sport trac camper shells and tonneau covers, a small market, but we are out there. In fact I am looking for one right now as I have a 01 trac I am building for myself

IN long Beach CA there should be PLENTY of shops that can install a camper shell.......... maybe even a forum member here? I would do it if I was closer....

It does not change your re sale value no, in fact you might do better off selling the camper shell separately from the truck. With the camper shell you are limiting your buyers in an already small market. The Sport trac has a following, but it is a small following...they can be difficult to sale! Believe it or not. Those who know (like me) love them, in fact they are my favorite of all the Ranger based trucks........
Usually when I sell a vehicle, something with a bunch of accessories I am going to get more money if I sell the accessories separate from the truck then I would if I leave them all attached. The tonneau and camper shell are not "deal breakers"
I see sport trac camper shells come up for sale every once in a while and when they do they get $3-600 for them USED

I am not sure who makes the camper shells for the trac, I know ARE makes a nice one, they appear to have a normal one and then also a high top and you can get a rear access door that replaces the tail gate

A.R.E. : Truck caps, truck toppers, camper shells, truck canopies, truck bed covers, hard tonneau covers and truck accessories from A.R.E.

A.R.E. Truck Caps & Truck Accessories manufacturer of fiberglass pick-up truck caps, truck canopies, tops, toppers, truck toppers, camper shells, canopies, hard tonneau covers, work caps and truck accessories.

www.4are.com

I plan to get one for my build because I want to give the dogs a place to ride with us.
My trac has a tonneau cover on it now, figures I am in the same boat as you! Recently there was a camper shell on my local craigslist, asking $300 and it is red... I would have to paint it white and I don't have the $300 for that yet since the trac does not even have an engine right now LOL
Very limited market, but sport trac lovers are out there..........

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I have both a 2001 and 2002 Sport Trac, and have topper/shells on both. When I bought the '02 8 years ago, I searched Craigslist for 200 miles around every day for 18 months before finding the A.R.E. that's been on it ever since. It was just a few miles away, and I paid $600 for it. Young guy was buying his uncle's truck and didn't want the topper. At the same time the topper showed up, a 1 piece flat cover was also listed, and I bought it, too. Probably will never use it. I had purchased the '01 a couple of months earlier, and it came with a different style 1 piece flat hard cover. I was fine with having the topper on 1 truck and the flat cover on the other. I swapped beds on the '01 in '17, and got a factory cover with the "new" bed. I used the factory cover for a while, but my job requires me to, once in a great while, haul printers that are too tall to fit under the flat covers. Doesn't happen often, but there's usually no warning, so I was deciding which truck to drive to work based on the weather because you can't haul a printer in the open when it's wet. Searched Craigslist again, and in short time found another A.R.E. 45 miles away. They wanted $350. I offered $300 sight unseen, but there was someone ahead of me. The day the other guy was to look at it, I found one 3 miles away for $125. It needed some work, but matched my black truck, whereas the A.R.E. was white. I don't remember the brand, but it's not one of the major brands everyone knows. The quality of the A.R.E. is MUCH better, but $125 and I didn't have to paint it. I've not taken the topper off either truck since they went on. I have trailers for the big stuff.

As stated above, prices are all over the place from free to $600. The trick is finding one. There are quite a few Sport Tracs in this area, and the used car dealers like to get them because they sell, but there are only 3-5 with toppers/shells on them - and I have 2 of them. I don't think a conventional topper/shell will affect the value of the truck either way. It just depends on the buyer. There was a black ST that spent considerable time on 2 different used car lots that had a topper with a vertical rear door that did away with the tailgate. In that case, the topper probably did kill the sale, even if the tail gate was still with the truck.

Installation is simple. You just need the correct style clamps which are available on Amazon, and some foam camper tape.

 

[410Fortune]

I better get my $300 out and go get this topper....I doubt I will see another for sale anytime soon!!!!!!

 

[N2FORD]

I found one on FB market place a few years ago in my color for $25, had to drive about 3 hours to get it. I have only run it a couple of times, my son doesn't like it much. It hangs from my ceiling.

 

[hondaslave1342]

A locksmith can match the lock to your ignition key it's programmable. I found a stock bed cover in the junkyard and he wanted $100 to key it I just use my fingers and open it. Found another OEM bed on Facebook for $20 and sold it for the next day . The junkyards your best bet

 

[hawk0303]

I found one on FB market place a few years ago in my color for $25, had to drive about 3 hours to get it. I have only run it a couple of times, my son doesn't like it much. It hangs from my ceiling.

Do you still have it and are you willing to sell.

 

[Dave In Long Beach]

I really dropped the ball not thanking those of you who had taken the time to answer my questions, until now. Thanks for your input. The responses were insightful. I do think Facebook Marketplace and Craig's List would have been a great resource. But as it turned out, the whole reason that caused me to look for a topper was that I began doubting that my two brand new soon-to-be-delivered foldable electric bikes would fit under the tonneau cover. But in fact when they arrived back in November and December of 2020 with careful positioning, they both were able to

fit with barely a millimeter to spare. So for now, I'm a happy "Camper-topless" Explorer owner. Thanks again to everyone for your great suggestions. Dave in Long Beach.