Not sure if anyone from Ford is a member of this forum but if they are and if they read this thread I've got a real simple question for them. Why in the heck are they building these pickups so you have to have a friggen step ladder to get into the bed? Not only are they a pain in the *** but they look pretty damned stupid. Way to much room between the top of the tire and the wheel lip. Dont they realize that some folks actually work out of these pickups and that having them so friggen tall is a real pain in the ***. My '95 hits me right at the base of my sternum. My 2000 is right at the nipple line and these newer ones are about 3 inches taller then that!! When you have to start putting step ladders on the tailgates folks its time to lower the damned truck!! I'm in the market for a new truck and all I've ever owned is Fords but I'm seriously considering a GMC but they're not much better when it comes to rediculous bed height. Come on FORD, do us workin' folks a favor and make your trucks more user friendly. JMO.

 

I like it. The deep bed has been a huge plus for me anytime Ive hauled anything. I can double stack boxes and not worry about them tipping over the side.

 

bigger bed sell better, more tools , more dirt, etc

ford does sell the side step

also i never lift nothing over the bed side, because odds are your going to drop it and damage the bed or what your droping, thats what the gate is for

 

only came up to my chest...thought it was perfect. that and the random person can't see inside the bed to see what you got.


Ford added the bedside steps and the tail-gate step and stick. they know these trucks are big...and added some pretty good fixers IMO

 

I checked out this new step ladder. I felt like it was build cheaply and would prob break after several years.

Only time will tell.

 

I think the increased space in the rear wheel well has to do with the increase in payload capacity... The rear leafs have more travel to accomadate heavier loads. I, for one, like a higher truck, just not so damn high you can't turn a corner without tipping over.

 

I think he is saying why so high of a bed not sides. You can have a lower truck with high sides which would be a better way to go.

 

What's the matter you don't want a "man step" I couldn't agree more with the tall beds, it just make the truck look out of proportion and the steps, give me a break.

Until the F150 get's a diesel and loose the tall bed sides, I won't touch one.

 

Yep...i'm a huge fan...

 

if you don't own one, or haven't given it a try...you will never understand. I've had at least 5-6 F-150's over the years and the 04+ setup is the best for bed size.

I miss the 8' bed, but the depth of the bed really makes up for it. you can store more stuff, and proportionally it fits.


if Ford made the bed shallow, then you guys would be whining about how hard it is to haul stuff. if they lowered it, then everyone would whine about no ground clearance.


they got it right IMO

 

I'm uncomfortable talking about nipples and trucks at the same time.

 

I owned the previous gen F150 and currently a Super Duty and no one complains/complained about the bed being too shallow. My F250 was in the shop so I rented an '10 F150 CC and when driving the truck I noticed it was difficult to see behind the truck and the freaken over sized head rests didn't help. Obviously Ford was recieving complaints about the beds on the F150 too high since they installed the side steps. Why? Simple... The bed sides are too high to be able to reach over the side and get something in the bed! BTW this opinion is coming from a 6'3" tall person.

Also because the bed sides are too high it resulted in a rear window that is too small! Put a standard toolbox on the bed and you'll loose ~30% of that already small window view.

 

They are alot higher but like everyone else said they can carry alot more now.

All I could tell you is to lower the truck. I loved when I dropped my 86. The top of the bed was at my belly button Very easy to set things into the bed.

 

It's not just that the top rails of the bed are too high, they are so because the floor of the bed is also too high. Surely there is room for the floor of the bed to be lowered a bit. But I think the main reason the bed rails are so high is so Ford can advertise "XX cubic feet of cargo space." To try and take an edge over the competition. Even though it is not really usable space. It doesn't really make the bed "bigger." It is just like putting side boards on it.

The high sides on the 2004 F150 surprised me at first because the target demographic of the 1997 F150 seemed to be women and old people. Why would they put the bed out of reach of their target demographic? Then I realized the demographic had changed along with the styling...

 

I'm not concerned about the depth of the bed so much as I am about how f#I$king tall the whole damned truck is. WTF!! Like I said in my original post, they have way too much room between the top of the tire and wheel opening lip. It looks STUPID and it makes it a pain the the butt to put something in the bed like weedeaters, blowers, parts, ect.