F150 can be had with a long bed behind an extended cab. They are hard to find. What some people call a long bed crew cab, is actually just the full size 6.5' bed vs the short 5.5'.

One thing to consider, and this caught me off guard after purchasing my truck, if you have kids in a car seat, the 250 doesn't have the safety hook anchor points. At least the lower trim trucks don't. I had to go find one of the old h-bar things to properly use the seat belt to anchor the car seat. The h-bars are hard to come by nowadays.

I'm personally a huge fan of the 6.2, but the 5.4 served me and my dad well for years, and is a great motor for around town, even pulling. Just not a fan of pulling heavy with it on the interstate.

You may consider looking south for a truck. Very easy to find a completely rust free 10 year old truck, and they want charge extra because of it.

 

I did check the 2012 for those car seat anchors and didn't find them either. Fortunately, our carseats do have those H-hooks for seat belt attachment. Not the most ideal method, but for the frequency and the short distances I'm expecting to drive my children, it's acceptable. The Explorer is the principle kid hauler and it has multiple sets, even a set in the 3rd row.

I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw 2 different "short" beds. Good, I'm not crazy. Regardless, an 8' bed is mandatory. If I find a F150 Crew Cab with an 8' bed, I'll definitely take a look.

I have family in SC. I have considered a SC search as well.

 

Just did an AutoTrader search for back home in SC. Similar equipped trucks with similar miles are like $10k more expensive. And fewer pickings, locally I can find twice as many within 25 miles than back home in 50 miles. I suppose every household back home wants a full sized truck whereas they seem to be an oddity in central NJ unless it's a fleet vehicle. And the new ones are about $20k higher. I was kind of expecting the opposite.

 

You will not find a f150 crew cab 8' bed! Only in a super cab or regular cab.

 

I know you said long bed is mandatory, but as an example, this is practically a new truck

http://www.lancecunninghamford.com/u...7W2B65FED48981

 

If I can find that with an 8' bed, then I'm golden. That listing shows a price drop of $5000 recently. There are some good $35k+ options in my area with less than 75K miles. I'm hoping that incoming 2017 inventory triggers similar price drops after the new year.

 

I'd definitely expand your search to the 6.8 V10, especially the 3V version in 2005+. Arguably the best gas motor Ford ever put in a truck and much more stonk than the 5.4.

 

Just remember, the dealers always leave themselves with a lot of wiggle room on used vehicles. I've always found, their reduced price is never their final price.

I don't know how your community is laid out, but parking with a crew cab long bed can be a real chore, even for the best drivers. I often wish I had ordered a long bed, I've had several in the past. But I've yet to run into a situation that I could not make the short bed work, and overall, I'm happy with my short bed.

 

A lot of truth there. In prep for our first born, we bought a 2012 Escape (great small SUV btw) stickered $24k for $18k with no trade-in nor money down. But they saw a new family and were looking to start a relationship which would bring us back. And it did 2 years later to trade the Escape for an Explorer.

That's a big part of why I keep finding myself looking back at this 2012.
Used 2012 Ford Super Duty F-250 SRW For Sale | Lawrenceville NJ

I feel like I can get it for about $18k or less. And feel confident with them, they're good guys.

I'll still check around more before I commit to any truck, though. $30k is my high end, $20k is very comfortable. I'm searching with a $35k max. I don't think I can get more than $35k down to a comfortable price.

 

VIN question : What digit and where in the VIN indicates 8' bed or 172" WB? About all postings list the VIN, very few specify long bed and some don't show a good enough side photo to illustrate the bed length.

 

I don't believe that info is specified in the VIN. Go to this site and enter the VIN, it should show most or all of the info you are interested in and more.
FordEtis home page

 

Ooo. Fun info. Thanks.

 

A CC w/8 ft bed is like an RV in the parking lot. I've driven my Excursion for 5 years as my daily driver. My F350 supercab w/8 ft bed (22 ft) feels a whole lot longer than just 3 ft more than the Excursion (19 ft).
I also miss not having backup sensors on the pickup, since I prefer backing in to spots, now I find pull through spots BFE. (Beyond, Freaking Everything)

 

I hear you loud and clear. Fortunately, I have open street parking right in front of my house, so that's easy. Work has a parking lot open enough for 2 piece trucks to come through; 16' rack bodies come through daily. Everywhere else I tend to go, with a truck, is large vehicle oriented as well. I always aim for BFE anyway when I'm driving my truck. If I'm going someplace tight, I'll take the Falcon or Explorer.

If a Supercab 8' is 22', the Crewcab has gotten be what 24'?

 

my 2012 F 250 SCLB is 20 feet long.. CC is 2 more.

I came from a Dodge 1500 2 door 6.5 Bed.... the Ford is LONG and does not do tight turns... steering gear box., I think.

to park dodge in car port behind house. just a right turn 90 degrees..
the Ford is a 3 point turn.