The crew-cab pickup. Love them or hate them, they have certainly become a prominent fixture in the automotive landscape.
One of my first articles on CC was questioning what had happened to regular cab pickups. What you see here is what has happened – few are the vehicles that can pull, haul, comfortably carry six adults, and go wherever in amazing comfort while doing each of these things simultaneously.
The crew-cab pickup isn’t exactly a new creation, despite its explosion in popularity over the last dozen or so years. Some sources credit the Toyota Stout as being the first crew-cab pickup, being first produced in this configuration in 1962.
However, the Toyota Stout crew-cab was introduced the same year as the Hino Briska. Pictures of a crew-cab Briska are as plentiful as poultry at the hog farm.
Toyota and Hino weren’t the only compact pickup manufacturers to branch out into multiple cab configurations. Mazda had what at first appears to be a crew-cab pickup available in 1961, but with having only two doors it should be thought of more as a double-cab.
However, none of these broke new ground. The Volkswagen Transporter had been available as a double-cab pickup since 1953; first through an outside supplier (Binz), and starting 1959, from the factory. While these didn’t have four-doors as do contemporary crew-cab pickups, the concept remains the same: providing more passenger space and storage inside, out of the weather. The idea has simply been refined since 1953.
In North America, International introduced the double-cab Travelette in 1957. There is reference to the availability of a crew-cab in their 1961 brochure, but there are no pictures of any until 1969. International’s brochures were much like their pickups – all business and no wasteful fluff.
Dodge joined the growing crew-cab chorus in 1963. For several years their featured example was painted a shade of blue long associated with the United States Air Force, which makes one wonder if this body style was produced with government contracts being the prime objective. These Dodge crew-cabs were available in both two- and four-wheel drive.
A crew-cab pickup first appeared in a Ford brochure in 1968. Like Dodge, one could get their crew-cab as a cab-and-chassis unit so any number of items could be planted on its posterior, such as campers or utility beds. Given the diminutive space given to the Dodge and Ford crew-cabs in brochures after their introduction, this cab configuration was undoubtedly a niche product during that period.
General Motors, happily selling their enclosed Suburbans and touting their attributes in brochures throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, finally saw the wave of the future and introduced a crew-cab for the new 1973 Chevrolet and GMC pickups.
It should be noted each of the Big 3 in the U.S. only offered their initial crew cab on a 3/4 ton or heavier chassis. The best you could get on a half-ton was an extended cab starting in the 1970s, and even Chevrolet refrained from extending their half-ton cabs until around 1990.
My references to 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton chassis is a throwback to olden days, when the nominal rating for pickups was 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, or 1 ton. These designations are quite obsolete, but reflect the three different weight ratings currently available at General Motors and FCA.
Things all changed for 2001. Ford, in one of its better ideas to date, introduced the crew cab on a half-ton chassis. Dubbed “Super Crew”, it was planted on a 138.5″ wheelbase that was identical to the regular cab pickups with an 8′ bed available that year. Overall length was within one-half inch that of the regular cab sharing the same wheelbase.
Other than the necessary expansion of sheet metal to accommodate a second set of doors, these half-ton crew-cab pickups have never received any special growth hormones as they all ride the same chassis and share many basic dimensions with their regular- and extended-cab siblings.
Dodge was again quick to join the half-ton crew-cab chorus. Or maybe it was marching to its own drummer as the redesigned 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 skipped any type of extended cab and offered one the choice of regular cab or what was dubbed a QuadCab. For all intents and purposes, the QuadCab was simply an extended cab pickup with four doors for easier access to the rear seat. The amount of legroom in these was considerably less than what was available in the Ford SuperCrew.
To its never ending credit, Dodge started offering more legroom with the optional Mega Cab in 2006. With an extra 22″ (560 mm) of cab length, there were optional recliners – for the rear seats. Having once sat in one, the sheer amount of room in the cab is hard to describe without using words like cavernous and voluminous. Most of these were found on the 3/4 ton and heavier chassis although a few were built on a half-ton chassis.
Dodge Ram has since introduced a true crew-cab in a half-ton, a diesel powered version of which I reviewed here.
Toyota also has a player in this market with the Tundra CrewMax. While dimensions haven’t been compared, visually the Toyota appears to have a longer available cab than Ford, Chevrolet, or Dodge Ram. While this pickup is appealing, based upon sales reports in the Wall Street Journal, the Toyota Tundra isn’t yet a significant player in this market segment.
Another entrant who has not yet realized the heavier market share of Ford, GM, and Dodge Ram is Nissan with their Titan. With sales commencing in December 2003, the first generation remained in production through the 2015 model year. The Titan shown is a new, second generation 2016 model. Interestingly, the Nissan website shows availability of only crew-cab pickups as of January 2016. Nissan is also offering a Cummins V8 diesel engine for this pickups.
General Motors opted to test the waters before taking a swim in the crew-cab pond. In 2002 Chevrolet introduced the Avalanche, a vehicle that was definitely not a car but not exactly a pickup despite it sharing all mechanicals with the 1500 series light trucks.
Created in a vein somewhat similar to the Avalanche, Honda introduced the Ridgeline in 2005. Sales peaked at a hair over 55,000 (United States and Canada combined) in 2006 but were down to just 20,000 in 2009 and bottomed out at 11,400 in 2011. Honda discontinued production of the first generation Ridgeline in 2014, prior to any second generation being introduced.
In 2004 Chevrolet was again fashionably late to the half-ton crew-cab party with the introduction of a four-door Silverado.
Currently, Chevrolet is offering product similar to both Dodge Ram and Toyota. None of the three offer an extended cab; rather, there is the Double Cab (or some derivative of the name for marketing purposes) and the crew-cab. The two versions of Chevrolet cabs can be seen here.
While I’ve invested more focus on the market in the United States, the availability of a crew-cab pickup certainly isn’t limited to North America. In searching a few websites from English speaking countries, one can find the crew-cab Ford Ranger sold in the United Kingdom, among other places. Its specifications are rather intriguing.
The Holden Colorado comes as a crew-cab in Australia to complement the traditional ute. A pickup in Australia named Colorado does seem a bit unusual, but then again Ford in the United States offered a Victoria for years and Subaru still has the Outback.
If it looks familiar, there are Chevrolet and GMC versions of this pickup sold in the United States as the Colorado and Canyon, respectively. Isuzu has their version marketed as the D-Max. This pickups is also sold in Brazil as the S-10.
At toyota-global.com, the very first thing I saw was this crew-cab Hilux, with a similar vehicle called Tacoma sold in the States.
Starting in 2010, Volkswagen entered the crew-cab pickup market with the Amarok. Available in European, Oceania, South African, and South American markets, VW had produced over 100,000 of them in a variety of cab configurations by late 2011. In a sense, VW has gone back to its roots with the Amarok. Great ideas are universal and have no shelf life.
Which this all leads back to my Car Of A Lifetime – or should I say Truck Of A Lifetime?
I purchased this F-150 in February 2012. Purchased new by the Penske Corporation as a company vehicle, it had been assigned to one delightfully fastidious person since new. It started life in Indianapolis and when the person to whom it was assigned was promoted to St. Louis, he brought this pickup with him.
When I started shopping for a pickup, my goal was to find a regular cab pickup with an 8′ bed and four-wheel drive; a far second in preference was an extended cab. However, when my Penske supervisor brother-in-law learned the price and complete history on this pickup, it was a Don Corleone type of moment – it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
My initial concerns about having a crew-cab didn’t last long. When I purchased my F-150, we were enduring a seemingly perpetual relocation as it took nearly 21 months to sell our house. During this time, we were slowly transitioning our belongings from our old house to our temporary residence in Jefferson City.
Having a crew-cab, I could load the bed with all manner of stuff and transport more delicate items in the back seat, out of the wind and weather. We were able to do this while still having ample room for three people for a one-way trip of 110 miles. We did this many times.
Yes, the bed on my pickup is only 5.5′ long. And, yes, I could sometimes benefit from something longer. However, this metal gate can be flipped over to extend usable bed length to nearly 8′. Combined with the roll-up bed cover that was on this pickup when I got it, the disadvantage of the short bed can be lessened.
One common criticism of contemporary four-wheel drive pickups is the height of the bed. On mine, the lift height to the dropped tailgate is 34″, the exact same height as two of the three bathroom vanities in my house.
For comparison purposes, the 1992 Ford F-150 that belongs to my grandfather has a tailgate height of 33″ (as measured by my father). For contrast, my father’s 1998 Dodge Ram has a tailgate height of 32″. Both the 1992 F-150 and 1998 Dodge Ram are two-wheel drive in comparison to my F-150 being four-wheel drive.
In real life use, this tailgate height of 34″ is pretty handy. If this statement sounds odd, think of it from a different direction. Many times I have used the tailgate as an impromptu workbench, something many pickup owners duplicate with great frequency. The height was very good for such tasks and at 5’11”, I’m barely above average height for men in the United States.
Taking the matter of height a step further, I also own this wretched thing. Complaints about the height of vans seem quite rare; however, I have never had to inquire with a hotel about the height of their parking garage when we took the pickup.
Such has not been the case when we took the van somewhere overnight, as Google claims it is 7″ taller than my pickup – while not verified, there is a palpable difference in their height. Both have platforms of comparable weight ratings and the F-150 is sitting on a taller, four-wheel drive chassis.
When I purchased this pickup, it had 92,000 miles. In the 28,000 miles I’ve had it, it has required one ball joint (a weak spot on Fords I had anticipated), a new set of tires, new brake pads, and a repair on a vacuum line. This vacuum line, whose inside diameter equalled the diameter of a toothpick, was mounted under the hood and on the frame. It had been compromised and kept the left front hub locked in at all times. This repair was very simple although finding it was the trick.
It also required a new alternator when the old one started howling upon startup when the ambient temperature was around -10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23.3 Celsius). Cold weather and alternators do not have the most harmonious relationship.
What about fuel mileage? Being a pickup, fuel mileage isn’t exemplary, but it really depends upon what I am doing. If I’m pulling a trailer, it drops to about 12.0 to 12.5 miles per gallon. When doing primarily highway driving, it is getting a smidgeon over 16 miles per gallon, nearly mimicking the EPA estimate of 13 city, 17 highway, and 15 combined.
It should be noted my highway fuel mileage had been over 18 miles per gallon, but dropped around 2 mpg after purchasing new tires. This could likely be attributed to the more aggressive tread pattern and/or rolling resistance of the Cooper Discoverer AT-3 tires that replaced the worn original equipment type tires – which I think were Continental brand. While anecdotal, a coworker experienced similar when he replaced the original tires on his F-150 with a set of these.
All I will say is that for the money I spent, this pickup has been the ultimate in versatility. It easily hauled a few tons of remodeling waste to a friends house and traversed some rough ground with all four wheels coaxing me along to access his burn pit.
It handily pulled an 1,800 pound trailer topped with a 6,200 pound excavator to my new house for installation of a drainage system and to knock down some dead trees. At one point on the way to return the trailer, I realized I was going nearly 65 miles per hour. Its 4.6 liter engine is rated at 250 horsepower and isn’t nearly as weak as some perceive it to be. Like most 4.6 liter Ford engines, it just needs to rev a bit more than the overhead valve engines found in similar vintage Chevrolet Silverados.
As an aside, I am assigned a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado at work. A two-wheel drive extended cab, the Chevrolet and its 5.3 liter V8 simply aren’t as pleasant to live with as is my Ford. It’s all a matter of what works for a person.
We purchased our house in September 2015. Sitting on 0.9 acres, it is quite wooded and nothing in the yard has been maintained for nearly twenty years. I have carted off countless loads of yard waste and all manner of other material to the recycler and this is the only time I truly wished for a longer bed. I’m in the process of buying another 1.2 acres adjacent to me and it is completely wooded, so I’ll be hauling off even more scrub brush for recycling and firewood to the Boy Scouts.
I’ve used my pickup for all manner of things, from snow plow to stump puller – even pulling a sick car over 100 miles to see the doctor. It has done everything asked of it with aplomb and it is one of the best driving tow vehicles I’ve ever encountered. While I anticipate keeping it for many years to come, if I ever do replace this pickup, it will be with another crew-cab.
Pickups have been the best selling vehicles in the United States for years, with Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge Ram pickups being the top three best selling vehicles in the United States through October of calendar year 2015. If looking at dealer inventories is any indication, the bulk of these are crew-cab pickups. With their ability to go anywhere, pull anything needing to be pulled, and easily seating six people (and do all three of these at once) it’s easy to see why the highly versatile crew-cab pickup has helped supplant the traditional family sedan.
“International’s brochures were much like their pickups – all business and no wasteful fluff.”
No kidding. I had a 1975 1-ton IH crew cab with a stepside. Reliable, tough as nails, and certainly the only one in the 1989 high school parking lot. But it was from another planet compared to today’s trucks. Vinyl seats, a metal steering wheel, no a/c, no sound insulation, manual steering, AM radio deleted…man, I miss that truck…until the Texas sun reminds me why I don’t.
Now I’ve got a ’15 Silverado crew cab. It drives more like my grandparents’ Grand Marquis, yet still has all the capability of the truck. And gets a minimum 3x the mpg compared to the old IH.
Can confirm. I had two 4wd IH Scout Travelers (’77 & ’79) Not long on the creature comforts, but could climb like mountain goats.
Photo–not mine but similar.
Technically what is pictured is not a brochure, but a model specification sheet that was a supplement to the brochures that gave the details on one specific model. That was to allow more in depth specifications and dimensions for the buyer than had narrowed their choice down to say between a 1200 series and a 1300 series or between a 1200 and a 1200 4×4.
Despite never buying the camper we planned on towing when we bought our crew cab, I can’t imagine being without it. Like you said, it simply does everything I ask of it and does it well. It literally hauled my finished basement home. Lumber, flooring, drywall, etc. It’s great for camping and it tows very nicely for a half ton. It’s one of very few 2-row vehicles today than can comfortably fit a family of 5.
Be thankful for that 4.6. The 5.4 performs well but is a POS.
I originally was looking at Avalanches as I love the midgate concept. But not having the space outside the wheel wells really makes their beds cramped and they cost quite a bit more.
I was also intrigued by Honda’s new 2017 Ridgeline and I think it’s a great idea. But unfortunately the bed looks very shallow, which would make it tough to fit a lot of common objects under a tonneau cover.
International first started offering the Travelette, their name for a crew cab pickup in 1957, however it only had 3 doors. The 61 brouchers and advertisements said things like New 4dr Travelette referencing the fact that it gained a door and not that the Travelette was new.
Here is a really rare one with the bonus load bed instead of the stepside.
These are the Ford Galaxie/LTD family cars of today, all over shopping center parking lots.
Regarding the loss of MPG with the new tires modern low rolling resistance tires do make a significant difference. My wife’s car lost near 10% in MPG going from the factory LRR touring tires to Ultra High Performance ones. The replacements were Michelin as were the OE tires and I replaced them with the same size. I do know a little of that is due to the new miles being longer than the old miles, but only slightly due to the slightly larger circumference of a tire with full 10/32″ tread vs ones with 5/32″.
Usually the OE tires are specifically designed for better mileage and have poor traction.
I have found the Firestone Destination A/T to be a good mix of economy, traction, and quietness. I didn’t lose much if any economy and they have much better traction than the BF Goodrich OEMs they replaced. I still get around 17 on the interstate with the 5.4 and 3.55 rear end, and 13-14 around town.
Regarding Dodge/Ram, I would say that Dodge was LATE to the crew cab game, or at least getting back into selling crew cabs after their 1994 redesign.
For 1995 they introduced their extended cab version, called the “Club Cab”. For 1998 they added the suicide-style rear doors and renamed it the “Quad Cab”. With the 2001 redesign and the competition offering proper crew cabs, Dodge added a small amount of length so they could add a B-pillar and have the rear doors open normally. This became the new Quad Cab. As you said, this is sort of a hybrid between extended cab and crew cab. The doors are still narrow and the rear legroom is poor, as you noted.
I looked at buying a 2006-07 Dodge quad-cab short box, but when I placed our child seat into the back of one, I knew it wasn’t going to fly. My internet forum research had already shown that the biggest complaint against the Quad Cab was lack of room causing unhappy rear seat passengers on long trips. Quad Cab fans shot back that the Mega Cab has weird looking proportions. Big deal.
Dodge needed a true crew cab offering to compete. The Mega Cab was basically born by taking a Quad Cab long (8′) box chassis, sticking a short (6.5′) box on it, and designing a longer cab to fill in the new-found space. Reclining rear seats are standard in the Mega Cab, not optional. They also flip forward, creating a large flat floor if you need to carry something out of the weather. There are also HVAC vents running under the center console to the rear of the cab. The Quad Cab doesn’t have this, only the Mega cab.
They did offer a RAM1500 Megacab as you said, but it actually used the RAM2500 chassis and even retained the 8-bolt wheels. The 4WD version used a solid front axle, just like the bigger trucks, while other RAM1500 4x4s had IFS. I don’t know what actually differentiates a RAM1500 Mega Cab from the heavy-duty versions, except you can’t get a Cummins diesel in a RAM1500.
With the 4th gen RAM pickups, they dropped the RAM1500 Mega Cab. In the current RAM1500, they still offer the Quad Cab and finally offer a straightforward Crew Cab. Mega Cab is still available in the heavier RAM2500 and 3500 series.
Also, Honda has just announced the replacement for the Ridgeline. Now it looks more “conventional” than the first gen, but still has their signature features such as a lockable compartment under the bed and a tailgate that opens down or to the side.
On the 1500 2500 thing it should be noted that GM introduced a 1500 crew cab in 2001. It was actually a rebadged 2500 called the 1500HD but they did sell it as a half ton. I actually know a couple people who own them.
When we bought our 2011 F150 Super Crew, we had actually been looking for something to tow our large camper (29′) around and still have room for our family of 4 to travel comfortably. We test drove the extended cab version first and it was fine. The salesman showed us the inside of the super crew and the kids were overjoyed (ages 9 and 6 at the time). We went with the Super Crew.
It’s been a very reliable truck for all 160k kms we’ve driven it, and I have seen the exact same drop in Fuel economy with those tires you mention above. They work quite well in the snow, though, so I can live with them.
For the next truck, I think an extended cab with the 6.5′ box will serve our current needs better. Any long trips are now taken in our car, and our large camper doesn’t get towed as far anymore. We have a much smaller one for those trips. The longer bed will be useful for hauling around the ATV without having to have the tailgate down.
This may be the one category of vehicle I have never owned. I had both a regular cab pickup (1963 F-100, that we could call a CrudeCab) and an E series van (which I loved as much as you have hated yours). But a club or crew cab pickup is still in the “yet to do” category.
They are everywhere in Central Indiana. It doesn’t hurt that there is still a pretty decent presence of GM and Chrysler manufacturing capacity around here, so Chevy/GMC and Dodge/Ram are well represented. And Ford’s pickup is, of course, the number one selling vehicle.
For my own lifestyle, I think that the enclosed style of either a Suburban or a big Van gives me the most utility. They can do all of the towing, carry more passengers and can carry probably 85% of the kinds of cargo I could conceivably need to handle. The other 15% can be handled by calling a friend like you or renting one by the hour from Menards. But I know that I am probably in the minority.
Trouble with Suburbans these days is they start out at $50K and they aren’t cheap on the used market either. I like them but don’t know if I could ever justify the cost.
No doubt, the premium for a ‘Burb or an Expedition sells a lot of Silverados and F-150s.
“CrudeCab” – love it!
+1.
My daughter has been admiring a ’67 Ford pick-up that looks very clean from the road, sitting on a suburban used car lot. I’ve tried to explain that it won’t even come close to the experience in my 2012 F-150.
“As an aside, I am assigned a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado at work. A two-wheel drive extended cab, the Chevrolet and its 5.3 liter V8 simply aren’t as pleasant to live with as is my Ford. It’s all a matter of what works for a person.”
Do you get many folks sitting in the rear seats in the extended cab? I looked at a 2000 Silverado and a 2007 Silverado ext cab at the dealer before I bought my little Colorado and as big as the Silverado’s were, they had no room at all in the back seat area and despite the seats being bench seats, it still felt like your ass was hanging off the seat. It looked to me that despite the truck being large, the back of the cab was best left for storing stuff.
I’ve had three people in the backseat of the Silverado – two women who were both about 5’8″ and a 6’2″ man who has been cursed with a 38″ inseam. They weren’t happy and were ecstatic to get out of that rear seat. I was riding shotgun and had a co-worker driving; he and I are about the same height.
That said, I rode in a 2016 Silverado 2500 crew-cab this morning and it was quite roomy. Granted, it is a generation newer.
My dad drives a 2006 Chevy crew cab. It’s no Mega Cab 🙂 but the rear seats seem adequate.
The one at work is an extended cab; I’m sure the crew-cab is much more tolerable for three abreast.
Going from the GMT900 (07-13/14) to K2XX (14/15+) models, there isn’t much difference in interior space for any of the cabs. The new Double Cab (replacing the old extended cab) is harder to get into because of the B-pillars.
I’m not that tall, so for me the problem with any full-size extended cab is not leg room but that the seat back is bolt upright and not very thick. With a crew cab, you’ve got room not just for more leg room, but a more relaxed/cushier seat back.
The crew-cab pickup does seem to be the new “do everything” vehicle, turning up in more and more driveways. A co-worker has one, a ’12 Silverado 1500, and it’s certainly roomy inside–it makes my car feel small by comparison. And the back seat can sit three across without feeling uncomfortably close, assuming none of the three are extra-wide.
Having recently bought my first house, but having only cars in my fleet, I’m starting to get a much clearer idea of the appeal of the carrying capacity of the bed as well. My old argument of “how often would you actually *use* it” gets the answer of “you’d be surprised”. Think I’m going to try to find a wagon instead, for fuel economy among other things, but the utility can’t be beat. You pay at the pump and up front for said utility though–pickups have gotten surprisingly expensive!
Good story and overview, Jason. Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu and Mitsubishi pickups are officially imported here. That’s the Ford Ranger and direct competitors (same size- and weight segment). All of them have diesel engines, from 2.0 to 3.2 liter displacement.
Below another 2007 Ford double cab pickup. It has a 2.4 liter 4-cylinder diesel engine, also used in the contemporary Land Rover Defender. As you will understand, nobody drives this kind of trucks as family cars, in contrast to double cab panel vans.
From the same era, a Ford Transit double cab panel van. A bit dressed up, in a nice shade of light blue.
A typical and widely used combination of a commercial vehicle and a family car.
Holden also built something called the Crewman. Read all about it here:
http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/crewman.htm
I don’t see anywhere in the article how long the bed is, but definitely longer than a Subaru Baja, which should make it considerably more useful.
The biggest problem with these is, although they were long and this suggested a comfortable interior and roomy tray, the rear seat was bolt upright. Just looking at it gave my back sympathy pains.
Holden really expanded their Commodore-based range but it was all a bit of a boondoggle considering the Crewman and Adventra crossover launched so far into the VT/VX/VY/VZ-series run.
Despite that, they seem to have been extremely popular in rural areas. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t see one. The Adventra’s quite a different story – I’ve only seen one.
My brother had a crewman for a company car he hated it uncomfortable on long interstate trips, he was very happy last year when Terex gave him a new Ranger diesel to drive.
I’m pretty sure the bed is 5′ long, or perhaps a tick over. Holden would have been under pressure (internal not government) to contain the length as it was beyond what our car parking spaces are sized for. Mind you the ‘midsize’ pickups today are just as long
I think the earliest US crew cab truck was the International Harvester Travelette. Wikipedia says they started in 1957, although the early cab was 3 doors not 4.
Back to F150 crew cabs, we rented one for a few days in 2008 and it is still one of my wife’s favorite vehicles of all time since it easily swallowed 4 people, their luggage and their bicycles plus she got a good view out. Sooner or later we will buy a crew cab, or a crew van since it meets our needs for hauling 4 adults and their stuff, plus the occasional motorcycle, piece of furniture or 2 cubic yards of bark dust.
The Travelette was certainly the first US built truck to leave its original factory with a back seat and be a standard order item. From the sounds of it the first factory crew cab in the world.
Prior to that a number of rail roads had 53-56 Ford F series commissioned in a crew cab version though those were usually F600s and not pickups or at least that is what has seemed to survive. I’m not sure how they were built whether Ford did it in house off line or if it was done by a 3rd party.
I suspect that IH saw those and thought hey we can use Travelall parts (and part of the name) to make a version of our own and do it cheaper and the Travelette was born.
It is also important to note that IH did offer the crew cab in a 1/2 ton version from the early days of the 3dr until the 70’s though I don’t know if that was continuous. I have seen short short bed versions from the 50’s, with a similar bed length to the original Ford Super Crew. The also offered a full 8′ long bed version in the 70’s.
From what little I’ve seen in later brochures, IH added the normal 6.5′ and 8′ beds as options starting with the ’61 models, but also at the same time only made Travelettes on 3/4 and one-ton chassis.
There are also a few crewcab power wagons from the 40’s around also made for railroads out west apparently.
The 2016 Ford Ranger.
Another thing about today’s pickups: the crew cab offerings from all of the big-3 are available with a 6.5′ “short box” or an even shorter 5.5′ box (approximate lengths). I can see why one would want the extra-short box so to keep the overall length of the truck reasonable. However, it must really limit the usability of the truck as an actual truck.
With mine at 5.5′ there are limitations, such as hauling off brush and any longer items. When pulling trailers it’s a non-issue, other than if I had a gooseneck trailer, which I don’t.
That said, I have still hauled water heaters, appliances, and furniture without a lot of difficulty…it just makes one think more strategically.
My family of four goes tent camping for up to a week at a time, so we bring quite a bit of stuff, including bicycles. We can only take my wife’s CR-V if it has a rooftop carrier and bike rack (then just barely) or if we borrow a friend’s box trailer. In a pickup, I can fit everything easily in an 8′ box with the bike rack, into a 6.5′ box plus bike rack with some planning, but a 5.5′ box probably wouldn’t be big enough.
I figured that 5th-wheel camper trailers would be out of the question with a 5.5′ box. I suppose a set of adult-sized snow skis would fit in diagonally.
I use a hitch rack for bikes because bikes in the bed mean not being able to use the tonneau cover. There’s always the option of a topper/cap too. I’ve seen some people use racks on top of hard tonneau covers. I also use a roof rack for my canoe but admit it’s a PITA to get on and off at that height.
I did say I use a bike rack for the bikes when we take them camping. Also, I do have a “topper” cap on my pickup(s). I wouldn’t own a pickup without one!
I’ve gotten pretty adept at tying down longer items and always have my straps with me. I’ve hauled home 16′ lumber and queen size beds. I wouldn’t drive 100 miles like that, but across town it’s fine.
There’s about 8′ of length with the tailgate down, that’s actually not bad and enough for most things people haul in a 1/2 ton truck. I haven’t really found it very limiting in my use, less so than for example a narrower midsize truck bed.
Another thing to like about the Fords, then: they were the first to offer a half-ton crew cab with a 6.5′ bed, in 2006. GM and Ram didn’t offer this config until 2014, and Toyota still doesn’t.
Yeah that was odd. Nissan did offer a almost 7′ bed with their crew cab in 2008. Also the tundra takes the already blury extended cab crew cab line and blurs it further. My in laws have a 2008 double cab they bought in 2009 it has a lot more rear room then any of the other extended cabs (ram quad cab for example)which puts the crewmax in more like mega cab country. My inlaws by the way haul a 5th wheel with theirs I have ridden in the back seat a few times and it’s close to a crew cab.
At the last few car shows I attended I sat in the back of every extended cab truck they make with the drive seat maxed out. The Tundra had the most rear leg room and comfort of all of the trucks. What I don’t understand is why we don’t call trucks with “extended cabs”, extended cabs anymore. Just because they went to a front opening door doesn’t mean the name should change IMO. Trucks like a Dodge Quad cab, 2014+ GM Double Cab,or a 2007+ Tundra Double cab to me are clearly extended cab trucks. All of these trucks have smaller than normal rear doors and smaller than normal rear benches, which to me defines an extended cab.
It’s all marketing. When Dodge did it first, they were trying to distract people from the fact that they had no real crew cab. When Toyota and GM did it, it was apparently because they couldn’t get acceptable rollover ratings without a B-pillar–and yet Ford still manages to do so. We’ll have to see what Nissan chooses to do with the standard Titan.
I realize the Dodge was about marketing. What I meant most truck enthusiasts don’t call them extended cabs anymore even though that’s what they really are. Just because the doors change from suicide to conventional doesn’t seem to me to change the cab type IMO.
That said, regardless of the reason of these manufacturers went to conventional opening rear doors, they are FAR better for everyday use than the suicide doors that Ford still clings too. I also believe this is part of the reason why Ford Supercrews are far more popular than their extended cabs.
Wow, what an article. Definitely loved the historical lead-in, so many interesting variants like the Stout. From afar, it always been curious to me that the volume sellers in the US are F-series type vehicles. Are the Japanese making any serious inroads in this category?
Learned a lot about the small things that matter. 34″ bed height making for ideal ergonomics – I really get that. And that bed extender cage is ingenious. This article has opened my eyes to what is the ‘everyday’ to so many CC readers. Big (hehehe) thanks Jason.
Neither Toyota, Nissan, nor Honda have made any serious in-roads with full-size pickup sales. The reasons are many; my understanding is Toyota has limited production, Nissan is still relatively new to the game, and Honda had something a bit different. None of these three were in the top ten of sales for CY15 as found in the Wall Street Journal.
I have my own suspicions on why these sell so well, although I’m sure the reasons are many. For a lot of people in middle America, they have always had a car or two and a pickup. The crew-cab can eliminate one of the cars as it can double in the people moving realm. Also, if one is judicious in equipment, a crew-cab can be purchased for about the same money (or a bit more) than a Toyota Avalon. The $60,000 pickups you’ve heard about are readily available but not typical.
Another reason is people moving capacity. You can easily carry five or six people in one of these without being squished together. Once upon a time a person could do that in a car, and while still not impossible, finding those cars isn’t as easy as it used to be.
This type of vehicle is like light beer – it isn’t for everyone. But they are a terrific combination of versatility and ability.
I’ve noticed the VW Amarok more and more over here being used by tradies in the traditionally Japanese ‘Hilux’ category. To be honest, I’m surprised to see them, but they’re probably coming in over the top whilst the Chinese cars are coming up from the bottom, both squeezing the middle ground.
Thanks for the cultural explanation as to why the fullsizers are so popular in the US. I’m not sure many owners would equate their pickups with light beer. hehehe
The Amarok is the most handsome truck in its segment, the Ranger being a close second.
Don, I hope we eventually get the US-style Colorado but given ours is sourced from Thailand, we may not (much like our current Civic and Malibu didn’t receive the refreshes they had in the US). We may have a lot of variety in our market but sometimes we really miss out. The US Colorado is a huge improvement inside and out.
Yep. It is handsome which I think points to a maturation or perhaps a new criteria within the category.
IIRC, GMH dropped the Holden marque in favour of Isuzu in this category a little while back, but now use Holden again. Another marketing fail?
Not quite, Don. Holden continued selling the Isuzu-sourced Rodeo. When Isuzu announced it wanted to sell utes under the Isuzu name in Australia, Holden was forced to change the name to Colorado and they gave it a little restyle. Isuzu then launched the D-Max.
Then, despite GM and Isuzu seemingly severing some ties, they still developed the current D-Max and Colorado together but they are differentiated visually inside and out. There’s also the Isuzu MU-7 and Holden Colorado7; similar story there. From what I’m aware they are both assembled in the same place but Isuzu’s sales are gaining rapidly. They’re doing very well for themselves!
Interesting. I would have thought GMH had veto or at least some input over what GM brands are allowed here. But as you say (and is news to me), Isuzu aren’t subject to this corporate authority. Thanks William.
I really don’t get why they called it Colorado though, instead of giving it an Aussie name we could relate to. Apparently they had a Territory-style vehicle at the idea stage, code-named Nullarbor. Now that would be an excellent name to use!
I’m with you on Amaroks though; it’s surprising how they have taken off. I saw one at the farm supply the other week.
Do we get the Malibu here? You’d never know.
The Isuzu has an Isuzu diesel and the Holden a VM Motori diesel, right ?
We do get the Malibu. They are bizarrely common on the northside of Brisbane. I’ve seen maybe two Altimas here over the past year, I see Malibus daily.
And Johannes, I believe you are correct. I was trying to figure out what the key difference between the two trucks was and it’s the diesel engine.
First, pickup truck buyers are some of the most brand-loyal automotive consumers left in North America.
I wouldn’t call the Honda Ridgeline fullsize, so it’s not a contender. The original Nissan Titan had some good ideas when it came out, but the 1st generation Titan was in production without any significant improvements to the body or drivetrain for way too long. It was noted for having particularly poor fuel economy versus comparable trucks. I’m interested to see how the new 2nd gen Titan is received.
The first gen Toyota Tundra wasn’t seen as being “full-size” and deemed less capable than the domestics. I was also plagued with frame rot problems. The second generation Tundra, truly fullsize this time, was introduced for 2007. It is well regarded and has been the strongest competitor to the big-3 so far.
Today’s Tundra is a refresh of the 2007, essentially making it a generation behind. The main things the Tundra has going for it are reliability and resale. That’s not insignificant of course, but it is otherwise outclassed pretty convincingly.
When it came out in 2007, the 5.7 was a tow monster, but sucked gas. Gas prices went up, Tundra sales went down. Gas prices are down again, but now the Big 3 have engines to rival the Tundra’s power while still getting good mileage.
Typical of Toyota, they will get their money’s worth out of a design. The current truck is a generation behind, even after the 2014 refresh. I think they would have put more money into the 2014 “refresh” had Tundra made serious inroads in the pickup market. That said, living in an area that could be called pick-up country, its seems a lot of pickup buyers are blindly brand loyal. And it also seems that many Pickup buyers still have preconceived notions about “Japanese vehicles” even though a Tundra may have more North American content than many so called domestics.
In regards to fuel economy, although Toyota has low EPA ratings, it seems real world mileage is pretty on par with the domestic 3. I know in Consumer Reports, the Tundra, Ram Hemi, and 2014 Ecoboost Ford all averaged 15 MPG. The Titan was 14 MPG, and the Chev 5.3 was 16 MPG. Car and Driver had similar real world results with their test of the four trucks in the recent past. FWIW, my ’08 Tundra 5.7L 4×4 has a lifetime average of 16.9 MPG, averaging about 16.2 in winter and 17.5 in summer time. Straight highway I see 19.5 MPG averaging 70 MPH and have touched 20 MPG.
Very complete article Jason. I was familiar with the VW when it came out as well as the Dodge and International. I went overseas in 62 but was sort of isolated. When I really became aware of the special universe inhabited by the pickup trucks was when I visited Saipan. The Marines/Seals there were equipped with these little four door trucks from Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and who knows who else.
I wanted either a four door truck or an SUV the last time I went looking. Ran across my 4runner and haven’t looked back. Versatility is the name of the game and you spell that pickup(or SUV)+trailer.
Back in the mid-1960s, circa 1964-66 I recall seeing Ford, Dodge and International crewcab pickups on Air Force bases. They were 3/4-ton with short-beds. The only suburban type vehicles I saw were either Chevrolet or International.
I also recall a neighbor owning a 1965 Dodge W200 crewcab 4×4 with an 8′ bed camper special. Also had a cabover camper on the truck. Pretty long and tall truck.
Air Force bases were one of the first heavy buyers of crew cabs in the ’60s, mostly because they required a heavy-built vehicle that could carry the whole crew of a bomber or similar plane plus any necessary equipment while being easy to get in and out of during a drill. I have no idea why so many of them were 4WDs, though.
Yep, drove or rode in plenty of these in my USAF career – as noted, they transported SAC crews from the alert facility to their aircraft – they were also used to transport missile crews from main base out to the crew capsule sites.
There are still an everyday sight on any USAF base.
Jason, thanks for the education. I’m honestly a little surprised crew cabs didn’t become popular earlier.
I’m no truck guy, but I have to give kudos to the Big 3 for making trucks nowadays that are as plush and comfortable as passenger cars and manage decent fuel economy given their size. For example, a Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with the 5.3 V8 is rated by the EPA at 16/23 mpg. Given the weight and power of the truck, that is impressive and equivalent to, say, a mid/full-size V8 luxury sedan from around 10 years ago, generally speaking.
While I imagine a fair amount (but probably still a minority) of truck buyers do not really use the capability of their vehicles, your point about a crew cab replacing a truck+car combo is logical. Why buy two vehicles when you can get one that does the job of both? Very sensible.
Crew cab pickups are extremely common here now and I dare say they now outsell regular cabs. Navara (Frontier), Amarok, Colorado, D-Max, Ranger, Hilux, Triton… They all do very well. In fact, Commodore Ute and Falcon Ute sales have been declining for years as the buyers they targeted are now buying crew cab utes, the majority of which have efficient diesel engines.
I’m sure there wouldhave been earlier coachbuilt or custom double cabs but the earliest I can think of is the Armstrong Siddeley Station Coupe of 1949 although that was realistically more of an ‘extra’ cab. The normal version was called the Utility Coupe. Not many were built because A-S were a prestigious expensive brand and the Holden ute soon came on the market.
I’m not sure if double cab pickups would be in the majority today, it would be close but I think fleet sales of single cab chassis versions would be hard to overcome.
Great article! Ive had my 2011 F150 XL SuperCrew for almost three years now. The 3.7 V6 has more than adequate power. I only wish it did have the 6.5′ bed. However, it hasn’t stopped me from using it to haul ramp systems or vertical platform lifts for work.
Choosing the 6.5′ bed on a SuperCrew of that vintage automatically upped you to either the 5.0 V8 or the 3.5 EcoBoost. I guess Ford thought it was too much truck for the base V6 to move around. The same is true of the new models, only there’s also the 2.7 EcoBoost too.
The longer bed would be nice, but would make an already massive vehicle even more massive. My garage door clears my 2012 SuperCrew with the standard bed by three inches.
Great post on a great all-American vehicle. Here’s to many more enjoyable miles in your beloved F150.
I sure love my 2015 F150 Lariat 5.0L 4×4 SCREW. It goes anywhere and tows and hauls about anything without so much as breaking a sweat. As you describe so well, it does everything I ask of it with aplomb. And great comfort. It’s one of the most comfortable highway vehicles I’ve ever driven. Even my wife prefers it to her Acura MDX. The miles just peel away in a quiet cabin, seated in supportive heated and cooled captains chairs. Driving seven hours to visit our son in college yields no butt or lower back fatigue whatsoever. Only time will tell what weaknesses reveal themselves.
A trusty pickup, like a good labrador retriever, is a man’s best friend.
“A trusty pickup, like a good labrador retriever, is a man’s best friend.”
So true! Can I steal this?
Please do!
Labradors have voracious appetites, are you sure that’s the best canine similē?
Well, so do big pickups! Goes with the territory.
We purchased our first truck with more than a regular cab about a year ago- a 2000 Chevrolet K3500 crew cab. After having owned it for a year, I really don’t want another regular cab pickup truck. The crew cab can do the same work, but it can offer so much more. Sure, my 1986 Dodge regular cab is nicer for picking up straw in the fields do to length, but for daily usability, I’d much rather have the crew cab.
A local used car lot recently had a 2 door pickup and short box on their lot. It sure looked like a toy compared to the 4 door trucks of today.
Interesting vehicle and insight into how they’re used in the USA.
Europe does have some pickups, mostly Japanese brands the Ford Ranger you refer and this is one way of creating a crew cab the Skoda Felicia Fun.
Ideal in England of course 😉
This is a very interesting concept and I rather like it. I would be curious to hear reactions from persons riding in the rear seat!
If you ever come to the US, I’ll pick you up at the airport in my F-150!
Thanks!
Jason,
How has your roll up tonneau cover held up? I was considering one for my 2011 Colorado but wound up getting a good deal on a fiberglass Lear tonneau cover (yes the cover is blue and my Colorado is white, but I got it for $400(included install) from Cap World) and it has been a wonderful addition to my truck.
I have a roll up tonneau, a Truxedo. It’s not as watertight as I’d like but it’s held up fine over the past 6 years, is easy to use, and adds a lot of versatility.
It has held up very well and was installed on the pickup when it was new. The sides of the cover connect to the frame via Velcro, and the frame is slanted outward to prevent water infiltration.
It definitely has helped keeping the wind off house items when moving them as well as other items when I go long distances.
Jason, you’ve summed it up well.
My 2012 5.0 six speed 4X4 SupeCrew does just a bit better on gas than your 4.6. Whenever I reset the computer, it seems to fall to an average of 14.7 mpg within a few weeks of mixed driving. The 5.0 is VERY responsive, and sounds great going through its paces. We just had a blizzard over the past two days and the 4×4 performed brilliantly.
I have an A / B trip computer. The B trip was set when the vehicle was new, and lifetime mileage is 14.9 after 30,000 miles.
It will pull close to the EPA 19 mpg if on flat interstate if you keep it around 65 mph. Cruising in the upper 70s will yield about 16.
Towing a 5,000 lb trailer long distances runs around 13 – 14 mpg. Hilly terrain in lake country and high speeds on the freeway can yield closer to 12.
I also have the spray-in bed liner, and absolutely love it. My truck is occasionally used as an honest work truck for my rental property and nothing scratches or damages it.
Most of the time, the bed serves as a very large passenger car trunk. The spray-in bed liner gets rid of the tin can effect of the metal bed. I have a “Bed Rug” mat that keeps luggage scratch free and reduces sliding around. I have a full hard top style bed cover that acts as a trunk lid. It is heavy to remove and store when we take it off twice a year or so, but it keeps things clean and dry when using the vehicle as a passenger car.
It is a very bulky vehicle in the inner city, and those parking environments can be tough. I prefer our smaller vehicles for those occasional trips.
Your experience with tires is interesting. My truck has OEM Goodyear Wranglers, and I’ve been very happy with them. When the time comes, I’ll pony up for another set. I assume Ford optimized these tires for performance and gas mileage, you might want to consider Wranglers if you replace your tires again.
Our 2005 Ford Freestyle wagon came new with Continentals, which were TERRIBLE in snow and wore out fast. I swore I’d never buy Continentals. I’ve put on Goodyear Triple Treads and did not notice any change in gas mileage, but got a huge improvement in traction.
Be careful judging tires brands by what comes OE. I certainly wouldn’t judge Goodyear by the awful Integritys that came on our last Grand Caravan. Continental makes some well rated tires.
The Wranglers have proved to be excellent tires. My 2002 Durango came with them, and I drove them to over 70,000 miles. Tread was still decent, but they had become a decade old. It seemed to be time to replace them.
The Wranglers on my F-150 look fantastic at about 30,000 miles.
Agreed that not all tires in a brand are equal. The Goodyear Marathon trailer tires are Chinese junk – as are most (all?) trailer tires. The Marathon used to be the tire to get when they were made in the U.S. Not a fan of Chinese manufacturing.
Yeah and you know the thing is, there’s no reason Chinese manufacturing can’t be good quality. It is, in fact, on many products. But manufacturing is moved there for cost reasons, and cheapening the quality makes those savings more attractive. One of the reasons I still try to by local or domestic when practical. Good quality stuff is getting hard to find at any price these days.
Great article. My first exposure to crew cab pickups was at the Weyerhaeuser (logging) equipment yard that we used to regularly pass on our way to grandpa’s patch of forest in Western WA state back in the 1970s. They had a huge fleet of Ford crew cab pickups (all 2WD – you don’t need 4WD to drive on logging roads that logging trucks regularly use) that the used until they were all used up and then some. I think that they were painted yellow and then later were white, but they were always brown as they never washed them (why bother?).
A few years ago, as a result of having kids, I reluctantly sold my 1979 Chevy 3/4T 4×4 standard cab long box pickup (fantastic truck, except for the 9mpg no matter what) and replaced it with a 1990 F350 crew cab 4×4 long box with single rear wheels. At the time, my kids were young enough that they needed the massive plastic child seats, which no matter what way I measured it, just didn’t fit in the back of any extended-cab pickup (unless the kids sat with their legs criss-cross).
I was initially concerned about its length and difficulty of driving such a beast, but it’s the same length as the 1969 Cadillac ambulance that I owned for ten years, so I haven’t had any issues driving it (haven’t hopped a curve yet). Yes, it can be difficult to park so I have made peace with parking out in the boonies and hoofing it into the store. And personally I must have the 8′ bed because I haul materials for the home remodeling projects and really like being able to close the tailgate while carrying it.
This truck has been incredibly useful, not only for hauling the kids in the full-sized back seat, but even moreso for heavy hauling when I have the bed completely packed, allowing me to carry a passenger in the front and all of my tools in the back seat. I also use the truck to tow flatbed trailers and my car dolly. I towed a one-owner pristine 1999 V70 5-speed manual with a blown motor ($800) 250 miles just a couple of weeks ago, getting about 11.5mpg and taking full advantage of the low gas prices.
I don’t use my truck as a daily driver – sometimes it sits unused for far too long, but I cannot imagine going back to a regular cab truck now, as I really like being able to carry my tools and supplies on the floor of the back seat where I can easily conceal them. Plus the kids really like riding back there as well.
Crew cab pickups truly are the station wagon of the 2000s.
I really was torn between the four door (suicide rear) king or extended cab vs. four door crew cab style. For my needs the king cab proved to be the way to go.
If I did long trips with full size adult back seat passengers, the crew cab would be best. The front seats need to be scooted up some to a compromise position if tall people are in both the front and rear seats.
The advantages on my ’04 king cab Titan are a longer more useful 6.7′ bed. Mine is not equipped with the sliding utility track bed, and I like it better that way as this allows use of full bed capacity. The tracks can get in the way. I have a tubular bed extender such as pictured, but it seems to be more hassle than it’s worth. A few motorcycle straps are much more useful for carrying large loads. And flipping up the back seats makes room for more cargo when the load is big.
In supermarket parking lots, the shorter rear doors need less room to open in tight quarters and will fold almost flat to the side of the bed which is great when parked next to another vehicle. Nissan was the first to allow the rear doors to fold back instead of the room blocking half open position other trucks had at the time. Really works great in tight spots. You can keep the longer front doors closed when the space is tight.
I don’t like the higher lift in even my 2 wheel truck, but it can be made to be an advantage. When loading/unloading appliances at my rentals, backing up to the front porch brings the tailgate nearly level to the 2 step up porch and makes loading and unloading by my self a lot easier. And backing into the low point at the driveway/street connection lowers the load height a lot and is also a big help.
It’s a great advantage over my old ’70 Chevy C10. Items can be stored out of the weather and locked up. 6 instead of 3 passengers are now possible. The 17 inch shorter bed does make for more tailgate down loads, but that room and more is available in the cab with the rear seats folded up.
The final advantage for me is it’s no longer than my old tuck, so parking is not so much of a chore as it would be if it was any longer.
King and crew cabs are both great designs, and it’s not hard to see why single cab longbed pickups are hard to find and in low demand today. I can get 20 MPG at 65 MPH on road trips using 87 octane regular, which is a lot better than the 12-14 that the old Chevy got, and it was a total stripper and not comfortable on long trips, while the Titan rides smooth and has all the modern comfort/safety devices and a lot more power. It’s so quiet with the engine ticking over at 1600 RPM at freeway speeds.
Trucks have come a long way and for the most part are better than ever. I see why Jason loves his truck. Mine is good for both work and play in comfort. I really wish my truck had a steel front bumper instead of a easily damaged plastic cover. But that seems to be the norm on most newer trucks, and I don’t like it, but I refuse to put on a heavy and ugly brush or bull bar just to protect the scratch prone ‘bumper’.
The Titan King Cab was available with an 8′ bed for 2008 and 2009 only. A crew cab with a 7′ bed (!!!) was also availble on the same chassis through 2014.
One of the dads at my sons school has a crew cab 7′ bed titan odd but kind of cool. His is pretty beat as I believe he uses it as his work truck doing handyman work.
Really makes for an odd looking profile. They also came with a larger fuel tank, 36 gal vs, 28. They were a slow seller and I have heard the longer chassis had some NVH issues. IMO the longer wheelbase and body was at best a half hearted effort to extend choices to the customer. PIA to park, as well. Guess it was a somewhat low cost effort to try to increase lagging sales. When the Chrysler based replacement deal fell through, Nissan was stuck with a truck long overdue to be updated.
At least my ’04 still looks (and is) a lot like the 2014’s!
Believe it or not, there was a time when an extended cab/ crew cab with a short bed was an oddity. In modern times it has become the norm. The trouble with the short bed is that some people seem to think that what doesn’t fit into bed can hang out of the bed. Within reason that is true, but 16 foot lumber over the tailgate of a 6 foot bed just ain’t right or safe.
Oh, I can believe it. Apparently before 1990, every pickup in my neck of the woods was a RCLB 4×2 with a topper.
According to the CA Vehicle code, which was the first result on Google, a load can extend past the last point of support no more than 2/3 the wheelbase of the vehicle. Let’s take an ’09 or newer F-150 SuperCrew 5.5′ bed with a 145″ WB–a load could legally extend 96 and 2/3 inches past the last point of support. The depth of an F-150 bed is 21 inches–let’s just say that’s the same length as the tailgate down. So 67″ of bed plus 21″ of tailgate plus 96″ of allowable length means you can legally carry 15’4″ of lumber in a 5.5′ bed in CA.
Repeating these calculations for my favored configuration, a SuperCab/8′ bed F-150, gives us 97″ of bed plus 21″ of tailgate plus (163*.67=)109″ of allowable length=18’11” of legal carrying length in CA.
The bed on an F-150 Crew 5.5′ is 8′ with the tailgate down. Tied down properly, 16′ lumber isn’t ideal but not a problem either…and legal.
67″ of bed plus 21″ of tailgate=88″, or 7’4″, of bed. Or is the tailgate longer than the bed is deep? That may be also the case.
A 6.5′ bed is 8 feet diagonally, and over 8 feet with the tailgate down.
The California Vehicle Code sounds woefully out of date. As the cab gets longer the load gets pushed further back on the truck. The heavier the load, the more weight distribution comes into consideration. A pick up with a %%%% pound cargo weight rating needs to have that weight balanced on the vehicle. On a short box truck with most of the load behind the back wheels the truck becomes quite unbalanced. That is why semi trailers have movable axles. Commercial trucks get weighed not only by the gross vehicle weight but also by individual axle weight. Pick ups do too, but most owners only know their GVW limitations an not their axle limitations. The very nature of a crew cab short box truck puts most of it’s cargo weight on or even worse, behind the back axle.
Well yes that is true PBR, but I am not talking about huge loads here anywhere near the max payload. Which by the way isn’t all that high at 1300 pounds considering the size of the truck, probably due to the reasons you mention. My truck weighs over 5600 pounds dry, heavily biased towards the front, it takes an awful lot to unbalance it.
Drzhivago138, there is a gap between the tailgate and the bed when it’s lowered. I’m not sure offhand exactly where that extra height is, but I have measured the total length at about 8′.
I think that these full size quad cab pickups are probably the most useful and versatile vehicles available. The newer models are so luxurious and comfortable that the only downside compared to a full size sedan is the lower fuel economy of the truck. These are the new suburban status symbols. I would have bought one if I could have afforded it.
And even then, there aren’t really any truly “full-size” sedans left–by which I mean, a vehicle that comfortably sits two rows of three abreast while swallowing all their luggage in a cavernous trunk. What’s more, the newest full-size pickups get MPG rivaling that of some the last “boaty” cars if you drive sensibly.
To be fair, the middle front seat is suitable for kids or short distances only due to the transmission hump. Not that that’s any different from the full size sedans of my youth. It’s nice to have that option instead of a space-wasting floor shifter and console. Economy has improved quite a bit, many are similar to today’s minivans, but at the same time the purchase price has skyrocketed.
I have a 3/4 ton IHC Travelette 4×4 1957. My friend has a 2wd 1/2 ton Travelette 1957. Both trucks are extremely rare, but IHC offered crewcabs as a special order as early as 1953. They were built by a company called Orrville metal. They also built crewcabs for Ford.