F350, cabover - long or short bed?

[saltamontes]

f350, cabover - long or short bed?

granted this is a little less expedition than ya'll may be used to.. but i am looking to get a new SRW truck and hard-side cabover since the family now includes 2 yougins.

my interest is in a lightweight nothern-lite hardside cabover (which is on par weight-wise w/ most pop-ups) and taking the rig on class 1-2+ dirt roads.

gotta go crew cab so the truck is long to begin w/.
its now just an issue of short or long bed.
would the long bed crew cab be just way to long a wheelbase?
the approach/departure angles are the same; its all about breakover and overall manuverability.
the overhang of the northern-lites are high enough not to affect departure as much as a lance (for example) so that is not as much an issue.

anyone else boonie-bashing w/ a cabover?

thanks for any input.

 

[Scott Brady]

I like the northern lite units. I know that Mark on this forum is using a non-hardside camper with his 4-door short bed.

My recommendation would be maximum comfort and convenience for your family at the sacrifice of off-highway performance. Go with the 4 door long bed, which will give you 2' more living space.

Then install some 255/85 R16 tires and some good shocks and enjoy the adventure! :camping:

 

[blupaddler]

I agree with Scott.

Go Longbed, CrewCab. If anything, you'll get more room out of the cabover. That extra couple feet makes a huge difference.


My family spent many years in an F250 with a cabover camper. We only took it on basic dirt roads, i.e. fire roads. The only trouble we had was when my mom ran the camper into a tree and put a six inch hole in the roof.

 

[shawkins]

My dad recently ordered a '06 crew cab long bed. the thing is huge! I would reccomend to you the same stuff I recomended to him:
2.5" front leveling kit (for get which brand), all it is is a spacer that goes UNDER the spring perch. This is the only spacer that does that and doesnt go on TOP of the spring.
315/75 (i think otherwise they are 85's) R18's on the stock rims
ARB front and rear air lockers.

With that, your SD should go pretty much anywhere you can FIT it. LOL

 

[shawkins]

I like the northern lite units. I know that Mark on this forum is using a non-hardside camper with his 4-door short bed.

My recommendation would be maximum comfort and convenience for your family at the sacrifice of off-highway performance. Go with the 4 door long bed, which will give you 2' more living space.

Then install some 255/85 R16 tires and some good shocks and enjoy the adventure! :camping:

Scott, with how big the brakes are getting on these things these days, they are putting either 17" or 18" wheels on them stock and that is the smallest whel you can fit on them. My dad really wanted 16" wheels but they wont fit!

 

[OutbacKamper]

f350, cabover - long or short bed?
gotta go crew cab so the truck is long to begin w/.
its now just an issue of short or long bed.
would the long bed crew cab be just way to long a wheelbase?
the approach/departure angles are the same; its all about breakover and overall manuverability.
the overhang of the northern-lites are high enough not to affect departure as much as a lance (for example) so that is not as much an issue.

anyone else boonie-bashing w/ a cabover?

thanks for any input.

I would have to strongly disagree with the advise the others have given you..GO WITH THE SHORT BED...The actual diference in box length is only 15" (96" - 81" = 15") but that is 15" of extra wheel base added on to an already lousy break over angle (with the crew cab short box). Break over is the biggest problem with my rig (cc short box) and second biggest problem is overall length. As you know northern lites are available in various lengths for a short bed (all the way up to 8'11") So the size of bed does not really limit your camper size as much as it used to.
Other advantages of the short bed: tighter turning radius, easier to park, higher resale value (because very few people want cc long beds).
Whichever you decide, have a great time, and look out for those low hanging branches...pop-ups rule off road:elkgrin:
Cheers
Mark

 

[saltamontes]

great responses, thanks!

higher shortbox resale is a benefit i was not aware of.. it certainly makes sense since most crewcabs i see are shortbed.

re the 18" wheels, yes, there was a time where rickson 19.5 upgrading the stock 16" greatly benefited load capacity however w/ the stock 18" on the 05+ superduty and the prevalence of rubber now avail in 18".. keeping the stock 18" wheels is plenty for most cabovers. the '06 srw diesel long bed has 4000+ lbs rated load capacity and 35" tires are rated ~3500lbs ea.

i hear the comments about the added room avail to cabovers meant for the long bed.. however the largest i want to go is 9'-6". so its really an issue of 9'-6" longbox and the 8'-11" shortbox. i have attached images of both as well as floorplans although the floorplan images from their website appear to exactly the same for the 9-6 and the 8-11 which cannot be true.

typically in cabovers, the added len gives you an extra storage shelf and a larger bathroom (and lots more weight). the dinette, bed and (until you go 10'+) refrig are the same size in most 8 & 9' models.

i am leaning toward shortbed, adding roof storage and possibly a utility bed (would be very cool). thanks, for all the feedback.. once i get it going i will share some pics here.

 

[robert]

JMHO A shortbed is easier to drive around town etc when you have the camper off of it. My brother's longbed GMCc (regular cab) is a bear to park as was my former neighbor's longbed extra cab Dodge that I used to drive occasionally.

 

[Capt Eddie]

Get the long bed and get a 2 inch lift. Don't forget the airbags like I did.

 

[BigAl]

Look at the plow package too. The front springs are heavier and it sits level from the factory. Mine fit 305s on stock suspension

 

[Bella PSD]

I would have to strongly disagree with the advise the others have given you..GO WITH THE SHORT BED...The actual diference in box length is only 15" (96" - 81" = 15") but that is 15" of extra wheel base added on to an already lousy break over angle (with the crew cab short box). Break over is the biggest problem with my rig (cc short box) and second biggest problem is overall length.
Cheers
Mark

As I read through this thread I was thinking the same thing. Short to long bed now days is only about 15'', not 24". I chose the 6'9" bed. If I was planning on NEVER going off road, I would have got the 8 foot bed.

Louie

 

[masterplumber]

On the other hand... I wanted a short bed when I bought mine but I couldn't afford new in 2000 & the older Ford F350s were only available in long bed - so far I haven't found a trail I couldn't take due to length. Yes it does require careful attention to the line you take in tight sections & sometimes you have to climb higher up a rock than your passengers are comfortable with to be able to make the turn but if your already driving a full size I personally don't think that extra lengh is that big a deal on the trail. I do know that all other things being equal the long bed will feel more stable on the road. All that to say you'll love the family space of any crew cab so find a truck you like first - long or short bed & then buy a camper to fit it. Also as I believe Mark mentioned height is really the bigger issue, especially if you like to frequent the more forested areas of the nation - only real reason I have a popup rather than a hardside as the hardside would definitley be more comfortable in bad or cold weather. Most important advise of all - enjoy whatever you get & get out with the kids as often as possible - they grow up way to fast.
Doug

 

[redthies]

I have done a lot of traveling in a dodge short bed 3500 cummins with level kit and 35's with 8'6" pop-up. If you get the right one you get toilet shower and the kitchen sink too. I don't think one NEEDS a long bed. There is so little difference between campers in the size you want that the drive/parkability of the short box is a great asset. Check out Hallmark pop-up campers. They are the best around...by far! They are in colorado and don't have a huge dealer network but they are worth looking for.

 

[eljefe640]

I have a late '99 F250 CC 4x4 Short bed. I run an 8' sun-lite that have modified pretty extensively. I would not want a longer wheelbase. In fact, I have been looking Dodges b/c they have a significantly shorter wheelbase than the Ford. An '03+ Dodge CC long bed is the same wheel base and overall length as my Ford CC short bed. The cab is smaller and farther forward. Just my $.02.

 

[RocKrawler]

I gotta chime in and say if its going off road and you want to minimize damage go with the short bed, as stated its about a 15-16" difference and you do get the better breakover AND better manuverability both on & off road. I'd stick with the Ford, yes the bigger overall truck, but the extra cab room (unless we're talking mega cab) is worth the trade off for me (coming from a dad with a 5'11" 12yr old thats growing like a weed and a 5'10" daughter, we need a comfy cab). I just dont want the Dodges corrosion issues, & although the Cummins is a great powerplant the IH is no slouch.