I think a lot of people just don't want to drive a longer truck, no matter the benefit. At least with an F150 with a 5.5' bed, you can still pull a pretty decent sized utility trailer for the few times that many who buy that bed would need to haul something big or bulky.

So, yeah, a 5.5' bed would be tough to work out of everyday in the trades or on a farm or ranch, but for most people they serve their purpose. Yeah, the truck is overbuilt for the small bed, but most people want the full size cab.

 

I never wanted a crew cab with a 5.5' bed but that's exactly what I got. I don't love the bed, but it really hasn't bothered me either as I tow much more than I haul anymore. Getting too old to hoist things up in the bed anyway and it still hauls a respectable amount of firewood. I have a set of aluminum ladder racks from Harbor Freight that work very well so if I need long lumber and don't feel like dealing with the trailer, I just put those on.

 

Yeah, I hear you it's a disappointment when something you've bought over the years is no longer available. I don't know your situation or the life left in your 2020 with 8' bed, but why not keep that for the long term? I will say I had a 5.5' bed on a 2018, and I hauled lots of lumber just fine, including 8-foot 6x6 cedar timbers. Now I have a 6.5' bed, which is working out nicely. I live in the city, however, so I have noticed it is more difficult to park in some areas compared to the 5.5' bed. But no complaints from me. I love my '23 F150 V8 SuperCrew with 6.5' bed.

 

It’s very possible to haul 8’ lumber in a short box. But things like drywall wall come in 12’ lengths, Hauling 16’ lumber with a 8’ box is very doable. Not so easy with a stubby 5’ . From what I understand there’s even a few trucks with 4’ boxes out there .

I tend to haul things like John boats, canoes and atvs in my truck bed.

We a have hauled plenty of deer home in suvs. I have never owned one. But the best vehicle we ever took on a hunting trip was a Chevy suburban. Nowadays companies like weather tech make rubber cargo liners that can be washed off. I seldom need to haul more than one or two passengers. So the pickup has always worked fine for me.

Like I say I would buy a suv before I would even consider a truck with a sub 6.6’ box. I currently have a crew cab, but my next truck will be a super cab with the 6.8’ box or even a regular cab with an 8’ box. The whole point of having a pickup for hauling stuff in the bed.

 

That's because pick up trucks are no longer used as an actual truck.. They are all mall crawlers and grocery getters... People feel safer in them so they buy them. Its why truck cost as much as a house now, I dont like crew cabs anyways but a 5ft bed is ridiculous and I dont consider it a truck, they literally remind me of an explorer sport trac. I dont like truck with center consoles either... I too am old... I want the ol lady sitting next to me on a country road... So I cant even get an XLT with a bench seat because the upgrade is a center consol.. I also remember the old days when you ordered a truck you could LITERALLY order it ANY way you wanted.. Now the manufacture decides what you get

 

Since trucks have changed so much I think it's also time to change their name to something like "Cross overs" and leave "Pick ups" to the actual work trucks.

 

Truck
1 : a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles: such as
a: a strong horse-drawn or automotive vehicle (such as a pickup) for hauling
b: an automotive vehicle with a short chassis equipped with a swivel for attaching a trailer and used especially for the highway hauling of freight
also : a truck with attached trailer

Definition still fits, no need to change it. Lots of folks use their short bed F-150 supercrew trucks to tow heavy trailers and need the cab space to bring their families along just like my father did with his 1962 Chevy step side crew cab truck when he towed his Airstream trailer around the country for family vacations. That same 1962 pickup hauled all kinds loads including cement and all the concrete blocks, loaded cab high with a utility trailer hooked up behind also loaded cab high, that he used to build a three stall garage. I do the same kind of things with my family pick-up and if the load is going to be too big for the box, I hook my utility trailer up to haul it behind the truck; and sometimes I also load both. Just because some folks don't care for a crew cab or a shorter bed doesn't make what I drive any less of a work truck than what my father drove 70 years ago; as a mater of fact, what I drive is probably more capable than that old 261 straight six truck my father drove. Having less cab room and a long bed just defines it as a less versatile truck.

 

It's wild to me that even though Ford still makes "basic work trucks with an eight foot bed" some people get mad that it's no longer a popular configuration. People are oddly fixated with what other folks are spending money on.

 

It's just that there are no other configurations on the dealer lots than CCSB. The sales people say that is what people want, but there they sit. I think shoppers get exhausted and settle for the 2.7 CCSB with all the bells and whistles at big money, so the company is making their scratch on doo-dads and thingamabobs. It's the new mini-van, but it's also the path toward CAFE compliance.

 

Drive through any one the new cookie cutter subdivisions, or during rush hour traffic and you will see a lot of cubicle working dads driving their F150s and other CC 5.5' bed trucks. It’s just a sign of the times. It is the single most popular configuration for all manufacturers. On dealer lots in big cities, they will have almost no other configurations. Regular cabs are mostly relegated to fleet trucks, SuperCabs are not far behind.

Times change. In the 70s, regular cab long bed trucks took over from the short beds. In the 80s, Ford began to sell far more SuperCabs than they ever did, so GM got in on it. In the 90s, SuperCabs were all the rage, then by the mid 2000s, the SuperCrew began to steal the show. As the cabs got longer, the beds got shorter to keep the overall length the same as a SuperCab 6.5' bed truck. In my opinion a large part of this is due to the fact that the manufacturers can't or wont build the type of cars that people want to drive. Also, the roads are full of SUVs and pickups, so people will join in so that they can see around them on the road. Many women will say they drive the pickup or SUV because they feel safer doing so, as there are so may other large vehicles on the road. Ironically, it's the government that created this mess by meddling with the auto industry.

My father worked for a Ford truck only dealer for decades. They did not stock or sell cars, only two Ford dealers in the country had that privilege. Anyway, his take was that Ford would not build what they could not sell, and would not make changes to a model unless it would benefit sales. So Ford is in fact building what sells the most. And a lot of people don't want to buy something different than what most other people buy. They follow the herd and worry about "resale".

 

I’ve had Lariat, Supercab, 6.5 bed F150 for years. Always ordered. I guess I’ll be holding onto my 2021 for a long time.

 

No doubt Ford is producing what sells best in the big nationwide picture, but where I live, it seems it is 50/50 between crew cab and supercab. My problem is that I get vehicles based on what I need, not what looks good, what others get, or what sells the best nationwide. I purchase everything that way, trucks, tractors, snowmobiles, firearms, backpacks, etc. I figure out what I need, then figure out who makes it best. I used to get a new truck every five years, but it looks like I will keep my current supercab a very long ttime. Rant finished.

 

Guess I ought to make it clear, I see a 6.5 bed as a "short bed" along with that truck with the 5.5 trunk on their "station wagon" where Ford forgot to put on the top in back!

 

Love the whining about not having a 8' bed, on my gosh that 5.5' bed is not making it.

Grew up on RC 8' box F 150's & F250's trucks and converted to 5.5'bed S crew F150's.

Still spend much of my time going to and from the lumber yards and other work places and get the best chuckles from the people that comment on how one can survive with such a short bed truck.

Then while looking into the same peoples vehicles they are STUFFED with STUFF not needed to be hauled around on a daily basis.

Really think a 10' box and a super crew cab would still be STUFFED TO THE GILLS with complaints that Ford just won't listen to them.

 

I can, and have, carried 10 foot lumber without issue in my 5.5 bed. And 8 foot is obviously no issue. If I regularly carried more, I'd buy a super duty and have a 6.5 bed. While I have owned 8 foot bed trucks, I didn't find I needed the extra space for anything that came up. Neat how they sell all the different sizes so each person can make thier own choices.