Crew cab long bed (8ft) for overlanding??? Is this viable or realistic?

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

I just looked up a 2021 Ford F350, SRW, Crew Long bed, 4x4, MSRP...$89,000! Ouch!

Platinum trim level... it won’t look as good with desert pinstriping.

 

[R22squatch]

Get a Ram or a Ford, put some 37s on and stop thinking about itView attachment 658289

Is that truck in particular an 8 foot box? Cant tell from the picture. If I am to go through with this I’ll definitely be running 37s or larger.

 

[billiebob]

West Coast pin striping and the reason I love skinny trucks.

 

[Alloy]

Curb to Curb / Wall to Wall turning circle for F450/550 are 6' smaller than the F250/350

 

[RangeDrive]

Get a Ram or a Ford, put some 37s on and stop thinking about itView attachment 658289

What he said, but I’d also add a Thuren Kit to the list. The overland extreme kit is by far my favorite upgrade! That’s a 37, almost fully dropped out of the wheel well, not bad for a work truck!

 

[kmcoop7]

Is that truck in particular an 8 foot box? Cant tell from the picture. If I am to go through with this I’ll definitely be running 37s or larger.

That truck had an 8' bed. 170" wheel base. Made it down plenty of atv trails in the rockies

 

[Grassland]

That truck had an 8' bed. 170" wheel base. Made it down plenty of atv trails in the rockies

That's as long as the spaceship in the opening credits of Space Balls

 

[Jsweezy]

Everyone - Is an 8’ bed too long for exploring?

Logging Trucks - Hold my beer...

 

[Todd780]

That's as long as the spaceship in the opening credits of Space Balls

One of my all time favorite flicks. And one of my wifes all time hated...

 

[dbhost]

Like so many other things, the answer is. It depends...

I wouldn't try running the Rubicon trail in a camper based on a long bed crew cab. Your odds of making it without major damage to your rig, and the trail are massively small.

That same rig, assuming 4x4 with some decent ground clearnace, at least 35" tires etc.... I wouldn't hesitate to do the Chivo Falls trail in the Arizona desert. There will be some snug-ish spots, but no tight turns, and breakover angles are usually pretty mild...

Mind you, back in college I ran that trail with a friend in a Baja bug, and he tipped it onto its side. Pick a bad track and not follow your spotter and....

 

[MOAK]

Well here I go reviving an old thread as we are getting ready to order an F350 with 8’ bed as a foundation for a Grandby 4WD camper to tour in for no less than 3 years and probably 5 or more, full time. . Crew cab is basically a foot longer in wheel base and total length than the super cab. Haven’t done the math but I’m thinking 36” tires with 3.73 rears will help with all the angles without killing my mpgs. The ford forum guys don’t understand what we are doing. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[rruff]

What will you use the back seat for? Are there just the two of you? Are you and your wife experienced at long camping trips?

I've posted here before about going with a F450 rather than 350. The main benefits are a much smaller turning radius (which helps a lot with maneuvering), higher payload (not that much though), more large tire options, lower gear ratios possible (I think), and more options for wheelbase. Ideally a custom articulated bed with integrated storage would be the way to go. I'd opt for standard rather than military tires, which would limit the rear axle to 8k lbs, but you could get military if you wanted more.

If you wanted a custom bed anyway, the cost increase isn't much. The F450 bed would need to articulate though (because it's C channel frame), while the 350 would not.

 

[tacollie]

I would probably get 4.30s if you're running 36" tires and carrying a camper full time. If there is a difference in MPGs it'll be minimal. Sticking to 65mph is going to be huge for MPGs.

If you aren't dead set in Ford a crew cab RAM with a 8'bed is shorter and has a better turning radius.

If you have the money and want to spend it Bowen makes a camper bed that fits a 8' camper on a 6.75 bed truck. You get a shorter wheelbase. More importantly you get a ton of storage. Down side is I think they are over $20k which is a lot of gas.

We have been really happy with our SD and its awesome at hauling our camper.

 

[BikePilot]

I have found my Megacab Ram to work well for light off road and amazing for rough dirt roads. It's just a smidge shorter than a crew cab long bed. Quality suspension and 37" tires on 17" wheels is key for soaking up the rocks. I'm not particularly interested in taking any full size into serious off road trails in my area (Colorado Rockies).

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

Well here I go reviving an old thread as we are getting ready to order an F350 with 8’ bed as a foundation for a Grandby 4WD camper to tour in for no less than 3 years and probably 5 or more, full time. . Crew cab is basically a foot longer in wheel base and total length than the super cab. Haven’t done the math but I’m thinking 36” tires with 3.73 rears will help with all the angles without killing my mpgs. The ford forum guys don’t understand what we are doing. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Hey, so the regular FordForums might not be the place for this but the FordTremor forum has a designated truck camper thread for big truck discussions about overlanding.

While it’s mostly Tremors it’s become more of a Superduty forum than just tremors.

One of the members on there has an 8ft bed F350 getting ready for a Rossmonster camper right now. His order had 4.30 gears, with the new 10 speeds there are 3 overdrives 8,9,10 so you really don’t lose anything. He’s on this forum too but this forum just seems less active.

Anyway 8ft bed is doable lots of “expedition” vehicles out there even a little bigger.

FWIW I’m Running an F350 Tremor (6.75’) on 37’s with a Supertramp and consider it about ideal. If i was going to live FT in it I think a Bowen bed would give me more space than I could ever use. I have done a month straight in mine this past April without issue.