So I have 2002 ford ranger with the access cab suicide doors and seats. I have a hard shell camper top on the bed that ive never taken off. I use the truck as a work truck for electrical work. Ive through the years (210,000) miles broken the slider window on the back between the camper shell and truck and the right window. The style of shell i have makes it hard for me to get to the materials in the back without climbing all the way in. To solve the water leaking issue of a broken window ive already wedged pool noodles between the truck and shell on all sides and used great stuff. its kept the water out. This may sound crazy but since i just broke the right window pane putting pipe in the truck i figured screw it no one ever sits in the suicide seats why don't i take a grinder and cut out the whole back metal panel of the access cab and the back of the bed. lay down some ply wood and sheet metal and seal it all together good maybe even bondo the outside of the truck and paint it and just have one continuous cab into the rear tail bed? Would doing this weaken the structural soundness of the truck? I dont really care how the truck looks at all i dont plan to even sell it just ride it and care for it till she dies. I really think doing this would improve the function of the truck for what I mostly always use it for. I would be able to more easily access stuff in what was the rear of the bed by going through the suicide doors. has anyone ever done such a thing or heard of such a thing. Im pretty confident i can accomplish this on my own and I dont think it would weaken the truck since everything is on the frame anyways right? Theres not even really any wiring to worry about in the back paneling either does anyone have any thoughts or comments? Suggestions thank you so much to all you who participate in this community its my first time posting but ive used these forms to do many repairs and maintenance on my truck myself saving me so much money and keeping it alive to 200+k miles!

 

The Ranger bed is bolted solid to the frame but the cab is on rubber mounts. Unless you do something to change that, the bonding of the two would not last at all.

Any body-on-frame SUV is one continuous, fully welded body structure and that whole assembly is rubber mounted to the frame - front, middle and back.

 

+1 ^^^

Won't work

You could remove all the windows between cab and shell, and use air tubes to seal the gaps.
Problem is shell area can be quite noisy.

If you have slider windows on the shell see if they can be reversed, swap left side to right side, so slider is in the front so you have access to front of bed.