Know the truck I want, but what bed setup for a new family in the mountains?

[Pikespeak]

Quote," based on my situation, what would you suggest?"

I changed my mind. You need a Subaru Outback.

Find a weed shop on your way home. Hopefully they have big parking spots.

I stated 3 facts and bolded a question. Do you want to tell me to get rid of my dog too to make it easier if all the facts are debatable. “I am getting an F150 with a 5.5 bed” that’s not a question.

 

[browning2480]

Probably not what you want to hear but I learned from experience. I always had to have a truck until I had a couple kids and bought my wife a Tahoe. That thing was the greatest decision ever. You won’t need to rear seats for a while so you will have all the room you need in a full size SUV. It has been my hunting and vacation rig since 2012. I have a trailer for when I need to do truck stuff, which is only a couple times a year.

 

[180ls1]

A. Get a 6.5ft bed. You WILL run out of room with the small bed and you will not have any issues with the wheelbase.

B. Topper. One with an integrated tent if that's your style.

This is easy. And there is a reason everyone gravitates to those two things.

BTW F150 toppers even with integrated tents like GFC, AT Atlas, etc are pretty easy to find on FB marketplace.

This, with the gofast style camper.

Get ready for mama bear mode. She will probably want hard walls and somewhere to feel safe. In turn, you will want that as well.

 

[307]

Long bed electric outback and a bigger pair of panties as the current pair seem a bit too tight.

 

[180ls1]

Oh man. Here we go...

 

[Team4LongGun]

OP-name calling is against out rules.

While I agree sometimes getting an answer for everything you didn't ask can be frustrating, we like to keep it civil here and consider it a family friendly joint.


Before all the memes come out, let's get this back on topic.

 

[Marshfly]

Probably not what you want to hear but I learned from experience. I always had to have a truck until I had a couple kids and bought my wife a Tahoe. That thing was the greatest decision ever. You won’t need to rear seats for a while so you will have all the room you need in a full size SUV. It has been my hunting and vacation rig since 2012. I have a trailer for when I need to do truck stuff, which is only a couple times a year.

Realistically. A LOT of people doing outdoorsy things with a family would be best served with suburbans.

 

[JFK]

 

[eddielasvegas]

A. Get a 6.5ft bed. You WILL run out of room with the small bed and you will not have any issues with the wheelbase.

B. Topper. One with an integrated tent if that's your style.

This is easy. And there is a reason everyone gravitates to those two things.

BTW F150 toppers even with integrated tents like GFC, AT Atlas, etc are pretty easy to find on FB marketplace.

Is that a root top tent? I ask as if they are easy to find, that is usually for a reason.

I never understood carrying a RTT every mile you drive when few will use it more than a handful of times a year.

OTOH, if you are not talking about a RTT, please disregard.


Eddie

 

[swavescatter]

I do think I recall you and marshberry on another thread. You guys just follow each other around tickling each others bellies?

I don't know who that is?

My wife has an F150 with the 5.5' bed. She loves it but when we need truck stuff we use my long bed F350. Tonneau cover is nice but I wouldn't want a decked system. My FIL has one and it almost makes the bed useless.

 

[dreadi]

If you get a Decked and a topper, make sure it's tall enough to fit a kennel for the dog.

 

[Cactus kid]

I have the decked system and LOVE it. Makes bed so much more useful.

 

[fngTony]

A couple points made by the OP. Correct, Seattle has some of the smallest garages. He is right that the wheelbase matters when it comes to height clearance in a garage, so would having a topper especially with anything on top of it. As for the comments about backing in well that’s not allowed in many garages and if he is working out of the truck it’s not ideal to be backed in.

I had a crew cab 6ft bed f150 and it wasn’t bad in the suburbs but in the city it was challenging especially when so many lots are catering to compact cars. Off road wise again the wheelbase would limit you a little bit on ground clearance. The width was the only thing I found that a Tacoma sized truck did better. You’re not going to get any better clearance without a lift kit which makes the garages impossible but that goes for any full sized truck.

 

[wapitibob]

There is less than 1" difference in ground clearance and cab height between 5-1/2 and 6-1/2 bed supercrews. The only difference that matters is turn radius, with a difference of 2'.

 

[displacedtexan]

Camper and bedslide.

You'll need the bedslide to get to the stuff at the front of the 6.5' bed you'll need.



Or, 4 door Ranger with a cap and rack. Buddy of mine hauls a wife, 9 and 12 years old kids with a pile of gear all o er creation and loves it. I don't get half ton trucks.

 

[z987k]

I have my first kid on the way and Im looking into buying a new truck and thinking about the setup I would have for this new sized family. Based on our situation below, What do you suggest?

1. It will be me, my wife, 90lb lab, infant in a car seat.
2. We live in Colorado and are very outdoorsy which means at times we have a lot of gear. Mountain bikes, fly fishing gear, camping gear, hunting gear, all dependent on whats going on. We also do a lot of off-road stuff in the mountains
3. I will be getting a F150 Supercrew with 5.5 ft bed
4. Thinking if I need a bed shell, decked system, bed cover, combination of these, none of these etc. to make my life easier.

Are you towing 8000+lbs? Are you hauling 1500lbs of gravel in the bed? Why the F150? The Ranger has a car like cab now and for that matter the maverick would work really well with the city requirements with the car like cab and ultra short bed.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

OP - watch your payload capacity. You throw a heavy shell and decked on and you’re through at least 1/3 of it. You get a truck to pull or move loads, so losing payload kills that. You might consider a bam bed setup or Pack Rack, since they are easy and modular, although the decked system is kick ass (and secure).

To me, tight = mid size on trucks, but based on your melt down against longer bed recs (which are right, the extra space for camping is nice) I’m guessing that’s out of the cards. You asked for opinions by the way, and a lot of people shared some experiences which may not be 100% applicable, but blasting people offering their time to you is just rude.

GFCs for an integrated camper/truck solution are nice but not if you’re looking a park garages, even with the limited added height. Saw that a few times. For toppers, I’d consider theirs or an RSI Smart cap before any fiberglass job, if you can afford it.

 

[stephen.mutchler]

I went colorado as i liked the truck, but downside is no 6.5’ bed offering so i went with a fiberglass shell with factory rails and i am adding a rtt gear down below and sleep up top when need be. Ill have an awning and annex also

 

[PredatorSlayer]

No, I didn’t ask that AT ALL. Every time I ask a question on rokslide people start answering and debating over a question I didn’t even ask and don’t answer the question I’m asking. I even BOLDED what my question is around.

I’ve driven full sized trucks my whole life, have you seen all the corporate employee parking garages? They aren’t what you see at the airport or the mall, some in the Seattle area you can’t even get into due to the height of a normal truck. I have many clients, many different garages, in different states. Also, I don’t agree with the poster who said the wheelbase won’t matter based on the amount of center hits I’ve had and the state of my side rails. I may go down worse stuff than most in a f150. So now we are debating a question I didn’t even ******* ask! Seriously…W…T…F

There seems to be consensus from the people who did answer my question that I need a cover..got it. Now I want to know should I run a decked type system with it.

ah, I remember you now. You are the guy who asks for advice and then argues with everybody.

 

[bojangles808]

a lot of it depends on your use. I have a 5.5 bed f150 and don't regret it one bit. However my use is a little different. mostly loading up boards to go surf multiple times per week, 1-2 night camping trips, day hunts, beach days, maybe move some furniture every now and then. But im not doing 2 week road trips camping with my family or driving across 8 states to go hunt for 10 days so take it fwiw. i definitely wouldn't get a midsize with a family. put your wife in the back seat with a car seat and see how much she likes it. (she wont)