Tried to search the topic but not much came up. I'm sure there's a lot of information on this already but if you feel like sounding off on your choice of LB or SB CC that'd be cool.
So discussion of:
-Ride Quality
-Utility
-Convenience
-Etc............

 

I wish I would have gotten a short bed. I used to be a dodge guy and ran a long bed with an over the rail tool box effectively a short bed, with this ford I have enough room under and behind the back seats that I don't need the tool box, I would buy a short bed if buying again.

 

The short beds are much easier to drive. Turning radius is way better. I would only get the long bed if you actually need the space. Long beds do look more proportionate with a crew cab IMO.

 

I used to own a 2003 F250 CC SB Lariat. I liked it and it served its purpose while I owned it. Last August I special ordered a 2012 F350 CC LB Lariat. For me, the only drawback of the LB is a slightly larger turning radius. No big deal--I always back in to/pull through parking spaces anyway. As for your questions:

-Ride Quality: Take this with a grain of salt as I am comparing 2 different types of suspensions, but I prefer the LB. It feels more stable and handles the same load better. You also have more room in the bed in front of the rear axle. This adds to load stability.
-Utility: 8 feet of space vs. 6 1/2. I like more space. What I once had to leave the tailgate down for now easily fits in the bed with the tailgate up.
-Convenience: See above. I can put more in the bed so that I don't encroach on back seat space inside the truck.
And for one of the greatest reasons--larger fuel tank!! iirc, I just drove 550+ miles on one tank and still had a substantial DTE remaining.

 

I forgot one drawback to the LB. The longer wheel base does not promote better off road performance as compared to the SB. It is waaaaay easier to get high centered with a LB vs a SB. I took my LB through the trails I used to take my SB and I was scraping the underside a little bit more than I did with the SB.

With that being said, I still love the LB!!

 

My father once told me: "You can always fit a short bed into a long bed but you can never fit a long bed into a short bed."

 

I find pulling my 36Ft Raptor Toy Hauler around on roads here in the mountains is much easier with a SB. I turn sharply left and right to avoid trees branches from tearing up the roof and the SB allows for the trailer following me quicker. I had a long bed F150 and didnt pull much big stuff, my boat, but i enjoyed it. The slider I have is a breeze to operate and is electrically operated from in the cab so I hit a switch, slide and manuver. We use our truck for towing and hauling so the ride isnt a big deal. Good topic for discussion

 

That is a very good question; although I like the looks of the short bed, I don't like the small fuel tank. And I always wondered - why have a big truck with a small bed?
I had a 2000 F350 long bed dually (now that's a BIG truck) and replaced it with a 2008 short bed (SRW), both crew cabs.
When I replaced the 2008, I decided to go back to the long bed.
For my use (mostly highway trailering, very little around town), the long bed/big tank suits me better. I can see why offroaders and local/daily driving might be different.
But I can see why so many people by short beds (dealer told me way more shorts sold than longs).

 

Excuse me if my Confucius cap is not on this morning...what exactly does this mean?


Besides the bigger fuel tank and the extra room for putting things in the bed...I was told that unless you have a slider with some 5th wheel trailers you run the risk of hitting the cab during sharp turns.

 

I've always owned nothing but long beds throught my construction career. The switch to a short bed was hard at first, then as soon as i pulled into a parking lot in downtown NOLA, my attitude changed. The turning radius of my shortbed is much better compaired to my '03 250 Xcab longbed. Funny thing is it about the same length as my '11 C/C SB.Cant lie the extra bed space is missed. I did buy a more shallow rail mount toolbox so 6' ladders will fit underneath.

A little off topic, but how do u like the f150 with the ecoboost V6?

I considered the f-150, but opted out due to how muck weight i haul in the bed. My 97 f-150 just started coming apart too early at 6yrs old. Not to mention the V6 of old grenaided at 90K miles.

 

It's this topic again...
Long bed is not a question... but I could give up cab size if I had to.
I avoid trailering whenever possible - which is whenever I can put the cargo on the vehicle itself. Those little 8' utility trailers always seem flimsy and bounce around way too much when you unload them, furthermore they are more difficult to manage in deep snow or bad icing conditions when you're having enough trouble keeping the vehicle itself under control, let alone with something hanging off the end of it.
I feel that it's only when you get into double/triple axle, 20' and longer trailers then it's justifiable and there's no real other option. For example moving another vehicle or picking up metal material like flat bar or tube (sold in 20' or 24' denominations) the trailer makes sense but for everything else, like metal plate or other building materials, the standard size is 4'x8' and that's why it's a common benchmark for cargo space.
If the vehicle is used ONLY for trailer pulling purposes I could understand the short bed, and there are many that use it for such applications.
The vehicle is my daily driver and everything, so the crew cab long bed was meant to be the best of both worlds. With a regular cab long bed it's fine for me, but the random occasion that people need to be moved around you can't just add cab space or turn it into a E-350 Club Wagon on demand. With a 1/2 ton class truck, when it is configured with more cab space, often the payload goes down as a compromise because it's designed to be a 7000lb GVWR vehicle and it has a heavier curb weight, while HD pickups just increase the total GVWR so that you can maintain the same 3400lb payload rating while having both a crew cab and long bed.
As mentioned, often the fuel tank is larger on a longer vehicle, and I think crew cab short bed trucks look weird and disproportionate... never have more cab than bed (weak argument, I know).
This is all my opinion.

 

I cannot agree more.

It is a lot easier hauling stuff with a long bed. Most everything is sold in 8' or 10' lengths. I can carry 8' stock with the tailgate up and easily carry 10' stock with it down. I would do my best to never buy a short bed.

But then again when my truck is driven it is being used as a truck so maybe the cargo capacity means more to me than short turning radius and parking ease.


---Aaron

 

Same here. We bought SB because back in the day we wanted to get the daily driver into the garage. Now we have three vehicles and the big truck either sits in the drive waiting to tow/haul or goes out to actually do it. Because of that my next truck will probably be a LB because we also moved to a new house where I have to use the slider each and every time I back the 5er into the driveway. I also could use more bed space for camping stuff.

Now I @#$@# when I have to make a tight turn with the 5er. Then I'll probably @#$#@ when I have to make a tight turn without it in town Can't have both SB and LB I guess...

 

I've had both. And they both serve there purpose.short turning radius is better. Long bed means wifey won't drive it. To big and don't turn good. I as well like the room for the load to fit in long bed, and I feel the long bed has a much less choppy ride.and hated the midget fuel tank in short bed. I mean I still have 94 f-150 and has 2 tanks factory capacity 34.5 gln's. Ford didn't think on short bed fuel capacity. Just my 002 worth.

 

Turning radius will mean a lot to you if you are pulling a trailer through residential areas. You will find you have to back out of many places rather than turn around with the long bed.