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The short beds sell more due to the ease of driving and parking. Long beds hang out way too much in many parking stalls and double parking in some areas results in tickets or worse some *****hat messing up your ride.
I wanted a long bed, until I saw my truck, and thought it was a gem. Do I miss the long bed, yes, but only when I'm hauling something that needs the length. How often do I haul something that would best fit in a long bed? Not enough for me to worry about it.
I just went from a 6.5 to a 5.5 and didn't really notice it being easier driving and parking. Maybe because I got used to the 6.5. But ya, the 6.5 do stick out of parking slots. And hell ya, I think it looks better. Who would of thought 12" would make a difference. LOL . As with you, the only time I now miss the 6.5 is when hauling my ATV or other stuff that could use the extra foot.
I’m a fisherman and most of my fishing rods are 7’ long. They just won’t fit in the 5.5’ bed. 3 of the 4 dealers I visited when looking for my new truck didn’t even have a truck with a 6.5’ bed on the lot. I don’t give a fig how the truck looks. I got a truck because I needed a vehicle that could tow my boat and carry the gear I want to take with me. I’m also glad Ford offers enough variety so everyone can have the truck that fits their needs.
For the first 20 years of my life every truck looked like the top picture and many of my trucks over the years did too..well minus the two tone paint. Of the last 5 I've had, three were 6.5 bed supercars, one was a 5.5 Supercrew 5.5 bed. I have the garage space and don't generally park anywhere tight so when looking for a 2020 I knew I wanted at least a 6.5 bed and kinda wanted the full back seat. I had no problem finding one on the lot locally. In fact it was only 2 or 3 minor options away from exactly what I would have ordered if I had to. My must have were Lariat trim, V8, 3.73 gears, no sunroof, 302A package and the 6.5 box. I understand why people get the short box and they are much more common but on top of it all (and I'm sure due to what I said about my early truck memories) I think the 6.5 looks better. I know this is an old thread but I read a lot of different box length threads on several forums and there was some pretty shaky numbers quoted. The turning RADIUS is not several feet more. It's about 18 inches or less.
I have owned a 2019 F-150 with a 5.5ft bed and now a 2020 F-150 with a 6.5ft bed. I would never go back to the 5.5 ft bed. I don't really notice the turning radius difference when parking but I do notice having to crank the wheel a bit more around corners. It would be nice if they fitted the long-bed with a quicker steering rack but it's not that big of a deal.
With the 5.5ft bed there were so many things I could not fit in the bed, or would barely fit crossways such as a typical size ladder, brooms and landscape stuff, and downhill skis.
Funny I used to own a 5'8" bed Silverado and it was never a problem, but just 3 inches shorter with the 5.5ft bed on the F-150 it was amazing how many things would NOT fit in the bed and I'd have to run with the tailgate down, or sticking out over the tailgate.
When we were shopping the used market the bed size wasn't a huge factor. We built a new attached 2 car garage last summer that is 30x40 so fitting in there wasn't an issue either way. The main things we wanted there was the towing mirrors on a Platinum trim and a 2018. There was only truck in the area and that is the one we bought. I have a work bench with my metal lathe behind the truck and I can still work at that with the truck in the garage or drop the tailgate if I need. The longer wheel base will help a bit pulling our 25' (30' overall) camper. Honestly if I am going to the store where I am hauling something big, I will likely hitch up the aluminum utility trailer. One area were another foot will be nice is we go camping along a small river where we go tubing. Last summer we had borrowed a buddy's '16 F150 Plat with the 5.5 bed to see how we liked it pulling our camper. With the longer bed we will be able to fit in a couple more tubes to head up to the start point but not a huge deal. We camp there with a bunch of family so there are sometimes a lot of tubes and not everyone has a pickup.
I do have motorcycles but I would rather ride them not trailer them and I wouldn't want to try and get one in the bed of the truck. The rest of the stuff would be deer hunting and such where it doesn't matter. Sure a little more to deal with in a parking lot but nothing like a crew cab 1 ton dually with 8' bed like my father in law has. That simply takes up 4 parking spots and no way getting around it. From driving that truck around a bit, the "long" box on the F150 and the wheel base on it is like nothing. Though we are coming from a Subaru WRX and Yukon Denali (short one) so I do see a bit of a difference from those.
The SuperCab was the only way to go for me, I think it’s the best compromise between cab space and bed space. If I had kids I probably would have gone for the SuperCrew, but it’s just me and my wife, and there’s enough room behind the front seats for luggage on trips. Plenty of interior space without the stubby 5.5’ bed or hard-to-park 6.5’ bed that come with the SuperCrew. The only thing that’s a PITA sometimes about the SuperCab are the clamshell doors when trying to get something in the backseat when someone is parked next to you.
The only thing that stopped me from the 6.5 was my garage. Next house will have a larger garage and at that point will trade up to a 6.5. I can't imagine driving a sedan ever again.
I just ordered a Platinum with a 6.5 bed.
I don’t know if I made a mistake or not.But I’m trading in a F350 with a 160”
Wheelbase so the 157” wheelbase should feel similar. Honestly didn’t know and hard to tell with the minimal test drives.
But in my mind I also knew if I had the 5.5 there would be times I wished it was bigger...
I just ordered a Platinum with a 6.5 bed.
I don’t know if I made a mistake or not.But I’m trading in a F350 with a 160”
Wheelbase so the 157” wheelbase should feel similar. Honestly didn’t know and hard to tell with the minimal test drives.
But in my mind I also knew if I had the 5.5 there would be times I wished it was bigger...
The only time you will likely notice it would be in the parking lot so on a test drive just try that out. When we did a test drive of the truck we bought, they actually came out to my house with the truck. Partly because of the Covid stuff. So we got to practice parking it in the garage.