I currently have a 99' F150 extended cab truck and my wife has a Nissan Maxima. I have a four month old and have found the interior layout of the truck to be less than comfortable with all the baby stuff. We plan to have a second child in the future. We also pull a 6000# pound boat (total wt) to the beach along with a dog.

Should I look at a F250 crew cab or the excursion? I realize the obvious differences between the two, but was looking for someone's experiences with either or both and perhaps a perspective that I am not thinking of.

Any help making a decision would be greatly appreciated.

Rick
Tallahassee, Fl

 

Does the wife have a preference? If you don't need the truck for the open bed, the Ex might be better to hold all the baby stuff inside vs. the limited storage space of the truck (even a 4-dr truck).

Just some things to ponder... Hope it helps!

 

If you don't need to haul bulk mulch or gravel get the Excursion, otherwise stick with the open bed. In the event you get a long bed F250 that thing is huge. The Excursion is hard enough to operate in an urban environment. The long bed crew cabs are a disaster.

Just for the record - I have have loaded twenty 4X8 sheets of 1/2" plywood and 8 10 foot 4x4's in the back of my Excursion at one time with the rear doors CLOSED. Not many folks know you can do that with an Excursion. The rear doors open up to 90 degrees. The 4X8 sheets go in with room to spare with the backseat down and the 10 footers go across the top of the back seat extending up between front seats. I use an old moving blanket to pad the seat when I do this. You load up and everything stays nice and dry. I still can haul all the bagged mulch, hay, straw, tools and anything else I need without hassle or worrying about rain.

There is a downside. The Excursion will not carry as much total weight as the F250 because of the greater weight of the vehicle to start with and softer springs, but this can be fixed by putting F250 V code springs on the Excursion front and rear if you really want.

If pulling a boat and hauling your family around is what you are into, you cannot go wrong with the Excursion. You can take everything you want with room to spare and I personally reccomend the V10. Plus since you live in Florida you will have two AC units to keep things nice and cool.

 

F15099,
I was in a similar spot a few years ago. I wanted an X, but the wife thought it was too big for her to drive. Our boys were 4 and 7 then and we also carried alot of STUFF around! So I compromised and we bought a Suburban. However, we soon also purchased an F250 crew cab. In effect, I got my X, only cut-off.

If I could only have one of them and considering everything, I would go with the X. It is much easier and has more inside "living space" My boys love the Sub on long trips, because they each get their own seat to lay down on. That is nice! Also, if you vacation with family, you can take 9 people in one vehicle. Its just more versatile.

I do have a tonneau cover on the F250 and it does us fine. We have taken this on several trips with no problems. The cab room is great and is much roomier than the Sub. The X would have the same great room all around.

Good luck on your decision, the X is simply more versatile in my opinion. However, I would not give up my F250!!! Take care.

 

I had a similar thought awhile back,Which vehicle did I want.

Excursion:
1) Not much leg room in the first row of seats behind the driver.I think that placed all of the seats to close together,then they left 2-3 feet of room in the very back.

2) I also didn't like the back doors,they were very small & swing out.1 big door would have been better.

3) I don't like that big spare tire setting in the interior of the Excursion.They should have put it underneath.

4) Parts availabilty was another concern,(not too many of them are built each year),rumor had it that 2003 was the last year of production,now they will run thru 2004.


F250-F350 truck
1) I like my F-350 crew cab,Mine has a fiberglass tonneu cover.
no complaints here.
My spare tire is where it should be,plenty of leg room,plenty of trucks on the road for future parts.

GO with a f-250 or F350.

 

The excursion drives very nice and turns much tighter than a crewcab short bed. I think an excursion would fit your bill better. I've owned both.

 

Get both, I did!

 

If you can only get one, it seems the difference is passenger capacity.

Isn't the X about $10,000 higher (equal options)?

 

I mainly use my truck for family trips, what I found that works best for us it the F250 Crew cab Long Bed with a fiberglass topper. I have room for my teenagers, my wife, dog and our stuff. Plus we can lay down in the camper top when tired, etc.

I like the all around usefulness of a 6 passenger front with 8 feet of covered bed with a bedrug in the back. It is a really nice setup, you can see what mine looks like in my gallery.

As far as driving it, neither me nor my wife has a problem driving it around town. But to be honest part of that is parking lot strategy, but you will have to do that with the excursion as well.

Go for the truck is what I'd say, but either way both should be nice.

Tony in Alaska

 

Umm - there's more leg room in the second seating row of an Excursion than an F250 SD, the rear bench seat is larger, more comfortable and one section of the seat reclines on the passenger side. Get double buckets and they both recline. Plus you got another bench seat behid that if you want or need it. You get neither in a crew cab SD.

The two rear doors are one of the best features of an Excursion. That's why you can get 4X8 sheets of plywood in the back and you could'nt get the full size third row seat in and out without the feature anyway. It's also nice to just open one half of the door to throw groceries or a couple of guns and ammunition in the back.

The spare tire takes up little if any usable space. What is does is make room for a standard 44.5 gallon gas tank on the Excursion instead of a little bitty 28 gallon unit or whatever it is - I can't remember. Also - if you ever lift your Excursion - you can pretty much forget about roadside tire changes anyway. Your best friend will be a really good patch kit - which I carry everywhere, all the time - and a routine visual check on your tires everytime you get fuel and each morning.

Mechanical parts are the same for all SD's.

And yes - the Excursion handles and turns much better than a crew cab short bed Superduty. I tried them all. It's the same lenght and wheelbase as a standard cab / bed SD.

Price - I think you can get a loaded Excursion for the same as a loaded SD or maybe even get more for your dollar. I could be wrong though cause I'm not in shopping mode. My truck only has 43,000 miles on it and I plan on keeping it till it rots - whick I don't think will happen. I make sure to wash the truck underneath, sides and top. It's clean.

On fiberglass toppers - I can't stand trying to see through the water that beads on three pieces of glass on pickup's with toppers. I just hit a windshield wiper button and defrost for the rear and move on. On the other hand, I'll go back to my original post. If you need a work truck that will double for family duty and vacations get a crew cab SD and use the topper when you need it. Good choice for that.

I really like Excursions - guess ya'll noticed that. I think over four years with one give's me pretty good credentials though, and I have owned pickups before. Actually I've wasted more money on rolling steel than I would ever admit. Ford, GM, BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, Volvo, Honda, Toyota, IH, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Triumph, MGB - not including morocycles - KTM, Honda, Yamaha, Bultaco, Husquvarna, Maico, BMW, Harley, CZ - yeah I'm old, but I won't admit it.

 

With the 2 front seats all the way back & me setting in the 2nd row of seats my knees hit the backs of the front buckets.
I'm only 6'2" tall.

I don't have this problem with my crew cab F350.

 

I don't have an answer. The second row seats on an Excursion sit mounted further back than is physically possible in a crew cab SD. The only thing I can figure is that the rear seat is just that much bigger in the Excursion. I'm 6'4" and I can ride in the back of my Excursion comfortably, but my inseam is 34" - maybe you got some long legs there pardner.

 

Yep long legs & big feet,

I think ford should have made the seats adjustable,Then you could slide the 2nd & 3rd row of seats around a bit.
I think there is still way to much area behind the 3rd row,which in turn cramps the 2nd.

This problem would be solved if they would just listen to people who buy these vehicles.