Dealer called today to say our F350 Lariat, CC, PSD, SB, Dark Stone truck was in. Went to the dealer, saw the truck out in the service bay (looked beautiful), signed all the paperwork, and went out to inspect it. It was everything we hoped for EXCEPT it turned out to be a LB instead of a SB! For numerous reasons, we only want the SB.

In reviewing the paperwork, everything had SB on it until the final order. On that form, it states -F350 4x4 Crew Cab Pickup/172. Neither my wife nor I caught that 172 was refering to inches, but it is very obvious now. We were meticulous about all the options, but we missed the obvious reference to LB.

The dealer has been very good to us. They admitted that the forms are not as clear as they should be. I do believe our salesman should have caught the error, but so should have I. They will take this truck into inventory and order us another. We will miss out on the current rebates, but who knows what will be out there in another 2 months. As this truck will be used mostly for hauling a 5th wheel, it won't hurt us waiting, but what a DISAPPOINTMENT!

So what ever you do, make sure you verify the inches shown on the truck discription line.

 

I'm very sorry to hear of your troubles. That would be a major downer.

 

I just have to comment after I was agreeing with the shame it was you got the wrong truck and then you drop the "As this truck will be used mostly for hauling a 5th wheel" statement...

What part of 38 gallon fuel cell and long bed is most desired for 5th wheel towing am I missing here? Why is an extra 1.5 feet of bed not good for you?

Quote "For numerous reasons, we only want the SB"

I never tried to put in a 5er hitch on any of my SB trucks but I deliberatly got a LB 350 for the new 5th wheel trailer. Part of my decision was all the folks in the tow haul forums with all sorts of clearence and other issues with a 5er in a SB

 

You know that is the great thing about this country. Our choice was to go with the short bed, if you want the long bed, so be it. Read these board will give you lots of reasons for going with the short beds. Thanks for the good wishes - if I ever argue why a short bed is better, then you can make your comments.

 

Well, at least I can understand how the dealer made the error. I just looked up the order guide to see if we actually even offered a F350 CC short-box.
I've honestly never seen one.

 

Please, please check and double check the positioning of that hitch after your new truck arrives. I've had more than one new owner punch out the back window of a short-box in a 5th-wheel application.

 

Fred, Towing a goose neck or a fiver with a short bed is risky. Depending on how far foward the trailer extends past the pin you could put out a window with the corner of the trailer in a tight turn.

 

I, too, had not known a 350 to come in a short bed. I have never owned or pulled a 5th wheel , but believe that most of them have quite a boxy nose that juts forward from the hitch....guaranteeing serious issues with the back of your cab. I'm also not familiar if the 5th wheel people offer a drop back hitch , but if anyone out there is using goosenecks ( as we do ) and love a short bed truck, they now have a drop back hitch insert that you replace the original straight post with. It is fabulous....it drops you back 9 inches from the ball, which we already have installed over the axle....affording us adequate turning radius. If you further purchase a trailer with a tapered nose, you should do very well with your short bed truck....as we have for the last 4 F-250's. As for ordering a new truck ( which we do every three years ), I have found ( sorry, car dealers ) that you should do all your own research on what you want and what is available ( unless, ofcourse , you're dealing with Jeff ! )....the majority of the salesmen I've dealt with, are unfamiliar with what is actually available. To their defense, it changes every year.....but at $ 48,000.00 plus/minus , I'd like to be well informed and get exactly what I want.

 

Excellent point. Try keeping up with the blue oval and the bowtie- there are days it could drive you crazy.

 

Thanks polarbear, we will be getting a Superglide and the front of the Everest is rounded, to give extra room. I've talked with numerous SB owners and know it will work great.

People, my note is about our not checking our order close enough stupidity, not other areas of my life you think is stupid - there are lots of those!

 

I too think this is a good note. There aren't enough excellent salemen like Jeff out there. Had my saleman been better, he would have caught the order error. My dealership seems to also play hide & seek with the rebates, so finding out about them here, should save me money (now we have to wait to see what is available when the truck is delivered). A well informed buyer will come out ahead everytime (even when he needs to reorder the truck!!).

Thank-you to all here that have helped me become more informed!

For those interested, there are numerous travel boards where pulling 5th wheels with a SB vs LB are discussed. When you have 2-3 hours, it makes for lively reading.

 

My Transport company that I hired on to does NOT allow a short box of any style ... the clearance between cab and 5th wheel is very close ... you might think that under "NORMAL" conditions you'll never get into a situation that you need to worry ... but , I have already been in a detour area on a main interstate that required a very sharp right turn that would have had a 5th wheel camper in my cab had it been a shorty box ...

but , yes , the salesman should have caught that ...he was seeing greenbacks and not black ink ...

 

For those that don't know, the Superglide is an automatic slider 5th wheel hitch. Anytime the truck turns more than 16 degrees (I think), it will slide the 5th wheel back 14". No getting out and manually moving the slide back. When the truck straightens back to less than 16 degrees, it moves it forward.

dPrasse01, hopefully, this setup would have worked very well on your detour. (Althought, if I was doing this for a living, I would have a long box also.)

Our Ford dealer states they are working on something to more clearly show the order as a long or short bed. They inferrred that this was being down at Ford.

 

Really? F350 short beds are pretty common around here. Or did you mean a short box dually? Those are kinda rare.

 

Up here, I don't recall ever seeing a F350 Short Box CC- either on the lot or on the road. F250's, on the other hand, are pretty common in the short-box model. That's what rang a bell on the original post.