Just picked up my new F150 Powerboost SuperCrew 6.5ft bed. (First Ford I’ve ever owned) I’ve never owned a 5.5ft bed and don’t plan to. Previous truck 2019 Ram 1500 Classic quad cab had a 6.5ft bed as well. Truck before that was an 02 Dodge 2500 Cummins quad cab with an 8ft bed (loved this truck). Before that was a 1996 Chevy 1-ton Crew Cab long bed (8ft). Just a bit tooo long. and way underpowered. Truck before that was my very first truck, 1976 Dodge D100 Custom 2wd single cab with 8ft bed that I bought in high school.

My 2022 F150 XLT SuperCrew 6.5ft bed fits my needs well. Drop the tailgate for 8ft lumber and steel and other things I move and haul fit well with the tail gate up. I’m fortunate that it fits in my garage with a couple feet of space to spare. I’d have bought it regardless, but still fortunate none the less.

Funny side note, We used to own a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan with stow and go seating……….You should have seen the look on peoples faces at home depot when we loaded several 4x8 sheets of plywood into the back and a half dozed 10’ long 2x4’s on top of the plywood down the middle between the two front seats. . That was a severely underrated vehicle.

 

I prefer the longer 6.5ft bed over the 5.5ft bed. Much easier to load up ice fishing gear (house and sled, auger, etc) in the longer bed than the short 5.5ft. Sure it needs more space in the parking lot, long as you are a competent driver, it's a non issue. Unless really needed, I would opt against the tail gate step. I've seen way too many of them broken over the years to say they are worth it. People abuse the crap out of those steps and they just break.

If a 4x8 sheet of plywood or drywall needs to be hauled, much easier with the tail gate dropped in the 6.5ft bed. But most people these days don't buy a truck to actually use it as a truck, just a glorified station wagon.

 

I spent the last 12 years with my Ram 2500 Cummins with the 6.5 bed. I agree with the others the the 6.5 is just more useable. We travel a lot and didn’t want to sacrifice the storage.

 

And now your in a super duty ?

 

No I downsized to 1500. I sold the 5th wheel and will move to a small travel trailer. No more kids around.

 

How's the boat towing attributes of the 5.5 vs the 6.5' supercrew? Looking to replace my 2012 5.5 F150 supercrew and considering the longer bed this time along with all the same max tow options, big mirrors, and 3.55 axle again. My current truck just squeaks by for local towing (maintenance and hurricanes) of my offshore boat. Not sure if the longer wheelbase will help towing or lead to less weight on the rear tires at the ramp for more slippage?

 

I have ordered 2023 XLT with Regular Cab and 8 ft bed with big ecoboost. I will be towing small fiberglass camper.

 

About 1% of the F-150 trucks ordered by dealers have the super cab instead of the super crew cab. The extra foot of wheelbase increases the turning radius enough that I need to back up much of the time to make a U-turn or to get into a space in a parking lot. My GM 2500 with its double cab and 6.5 ft bed was never a problem and when towing a boat being able to make a turn in one pass is a very big deal. The Garmin Truck/RV GPS that has a setting for a vehicle towing a trailer helps a great deal to avoid a route where a U turn needs to be made but for general use the shorter wheelbase saves a lot of grief.

When I bought my 2022 in May the only trucks available were ones with the super crew cab. With pickups replacing mini vans people with families want the super crew cab and that is what the dealers are ordering. I wanted the 6.5 bed and the max tow package with the larger gas tanks and the locking rear differential and that is what I found, eventually. I would have had to order a new truck and wait a year to get exactly what I wanted and I decided to forego the shorter wheelbase. But I would hate to tow a trailer on a regular basis with my truck.

I use my truck as a work vehicle and the 6.5 ft bed will hold a 4x8 sheet of material with the tailgate lowered and will hold our two road bicycles with the tires left on and the tailgate closed. With a 5.5 bed I would have less cargo space than with the Chevy SUV I had at the time.

 

I will not have longer wheelbase, this is regular cab, instead of super cab or super crew cab,.

 

I've had the 5.5' bed in the past and it is difficult to use it in a practical sense, you're always wishing for more space. I've had a few trucks with the 6.5' bed, and that extra foot makes a world of difference. Awhile back I had a 250 with an 8' bed which was magical! I plan my next 150 to have an 8' bed as well, even though driving in the city is going to be tougher.

 

I just took delivery of my SuperScrew 6.5ft bed. As many have noted the extra foot of bed length translates into a lot of extra volume for storage. I am coming from a Subaru Outback and the turn radius is definitely something to get used to, but not a negative. As a novice larger(ish) truck driver I find the 360 camera package to be invaluable to help with the longer vehicle.

Getting a shorter bed with a trailer is also an option but in our situation storing the trailer was going to be a PITA.

 

I love my 2021 Super Cab with an 8 ft bed. After decades of owning and daily driving pick ups, I always back in when parking. Makes life much easier, and I can't recommend it enough. And I just don't do U-turns. I've seen way too many people have accidents so it's safer to drive around the block or turn around in a parking lot. U-turns are a regional thing. When I lived in California I was shocked by how many people and how often they did u-turns.

 

My two Fords, one a 78 150 and the other a 03 250 are standard cabs 8’ box trucks, I like how much firewood I can put in them and that’s my heat source in the cold northern Wisconsin territory I live in. Do they still offer a standard cab 8 foot box F-150?I see some newer Super Duty’s up here configured that way yet. My work trucks a 2021 F-150 6.5 foot box with a glide slide in it and that’s fine for my tools and parts I keep in it along with a cargo topper.

 

They absolutely do offer it, but you can't get all the high-trims in that configuration. XLT mid and below I think.

 

When I bought my Chevy Silverado diesel pickup in 2011 the only way to get a "supercab" and have the shorter wheelbase was with the 2500 model so that is what I bought. Added supersprings to provide the payload capacity of the 3500 pickup as the shorter wheelbase was very important.

I concur that with my supercrew and 6.5' bed the 360 camera setup is critical for parking with the much greater turning radius of the F-150 truck. Seldom can I get into a parking space at a shopping center on the first try with my 2022 truck and rely on the camera system to make two or three more efforts to align the truck with the parking space and to get in as far as possible (even then the truck sticks out 2-3 feet more than most other vehicles in the parking area. An 8' bed would be like driving a dualie when it comes to parking. The truck length would also prevent being able to park in the allotted spaces on city streets without sticking past the end and getting a ticket.

In 2018 when I was looking at a SUV to carry our two road bikes with their wheels left on, I found that only two vehicles that had large enough cargo areas, the Subaru Outback with its two-row seating arrangement, and the Chevy Traverse. With my 2022 F-150 the 6.5' bed provides as much cargo space as these two cars.