Pirate 4x4 banner

I need more room in my Superduty.

15K views 105 replies 43 participants last post by  kc8ksg 
#1 ·
I bought an 08 F350 CC KR Superduty last fall. I have a Cummins 6.7 almost ready to swap into it.

I put 18,000 miles on this truck since I got it. Mostly long trips. About 40% work and 60% pleasure. 90% of those miles were not towing a trailer. We have a 13K 5th wheel that we pull 6-10,000 miles every summer.

We frequently use the truck for family trips, because the car we have only seats 4.

Here is the problem.

The cab on this truck seats 5.

With me, my wife, 2 kids, a dog and my mother in law (to babysit), the cab is full. Even if we don't take my MIL, if we have another child. Its full again. Even if we don't have another child, as soon as one of our kids wants to take a friend, its full again.

Some of you are going to say, get an SUV or a minivan. But then how do we pull the trailer ? And when we go skiing or mountain biking we don't have enough external storage. And I absolutely need a truck for things other than pulling the trailer anyway, so... ??????

Who else has this problem and how did you get around it ?

Please, no MDT suggestions, because like I said above, 90% of the winter miles are without a trailer and there is no way I am running around with an MDT just to take the family somewhere.

I need an Excursion with a bed and a 5th wheel hitch !

Ideas ?
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Some of you are going to say, get an SUV or a minivan. But then how do we pull the trailer ? And when we go skiing or mountain biking we don't have enough external storage. And I absolutely need a truck for things other than pulling the trailer anyway, so... ??????
Welcome to needing multiple vehicles, my friend. :flipoff2:


Who else has this problem and how did you get around it ?
Fuck, man, most of us have this problem.
That UHaul you hate? It's not my DD. Hell, I don't even pull my boat with it unless we're going camping for a long weekend.

You need another vehicle. You can't make one vehicle do it all.

Please, no MDT suggestions,
:evil:

:flipoff2:

because like I said above, 90% of the winter miles are without a trailer and there is no way I am running around with an MDT just to take the family somewhere.

I need an Excursion with a bed and a 5th wheel hitch !

Ideas ?
Buy just the Excursion, or an Expedition, or a cheaper, older, gas Suburban.

Work GREAT for skiing. Add a roof rack, and they work GREAT for mtn biking.

If you're not running with the trailer 90% of the time, you could save a lot of miles on your '08 and run around in something 1/2 ton that you can pay $8-10k for.


Something that can tow 15k is silly when you're going skiing or mtn biking.
 
#6 · (Edited)
get a HDT :flipoff2:

seriously;
i have a similar problem; we are usually 4 adults and 2 large dogs...
add to that a pile of snacks, beverages, dogfood, water, water bowls as well as a assortment of different clothing and jackets and even a full size E-Van gets crowded very quickly :rolleyes:

so if you obviously hate MDT`s and need to pull a 5er all you have left is to go with a HDT.

btw my Pete seats 6 in total "first class" comfort and would not even notice your 13klbs trailer....
but as usual ; nothing is free :p... you pay at the pump for the power and comfort (but its probably still cheaper then driving with two vehicles ;) )
 
#7 ·
I have the same issues and still don't have a solution. My wife and I caravan out together each driving a tow rig, one of us pulls the toy hauler with the quads and one of us pulls the equipment trailer and my Bronco. There is a company out there that makes a 6 door Superduty conversion. Baker Roofing in the Carolina's has a few of them, I think I have a pic of one somewhere.
 
#11 ·
Run a removable cap... put the dog in back. Pass-through if needed, and structure some boxes/cargo holders in the bed to keep the gear secure and protect the pooch.

You, your wife, and the MIL each need three places. That leaves one each for the kid, or you can probably kit up a center seat up front for occasional 3-kid duty even with 3 adults ... that would also set you up OK for you, the wife, 2-3 kids, and 1-2 friends.

A second vehicle may help... or get a BIG SUV and switch out the trailer to a big tag trailer. Kids are expensive man, you gotta pay to play... unless you want to get your own reality show in which case you'll need to breed up another ten young'uns to be competitive. :flipoff2:

Randii
 
#14 ·
Great replies, people. Thanks.

The only thing I have to say at this point is...

If you're not running with the trailer 90% of the time, you could save a lot of miles on your '08 and run around in something 1/2 ton that you can pay $8-10k for.

Something that can tow 15k is silly when you're going skiing or mtn biking.
The truck I owned before a Superduty was a 1/2 ton. There is a big difference between the cab size on a Superduty and a 1/2 ton. Been there, done that.

We travelled over 400 miles in my Superduty on the weekend with me, wife, 2 kids (in car seats), MIL and a dog and we are pretty comfy. You can't do that in a 1/2 ton. The back seat is too small in the legroom and width department, especially when one of the adults is sitting in the back with the kids.

A Megacab is even bigger (and probably better suited) to this than a Superduty.
 
#19 ·
The truck I owned before a Superduty was a 1/2 ton. There is a big difference between the cab size on a Superduty and a 1/2 ton. Been there, done that.
How old was your half ton? My wife's 2010 F150 crew is as roomy as my mom's 2006 King Ranch F250 crew. For whatever it's worth, my 2011 f250 extended cab has less room than my old 2005 due to all the airbags.
 
#18 ·
Sell the truck. Buy an Excursion. Sell the 5er. Buy a bumper pull trailer. My Excursion pulls the hell out of my 14k 30' flat deck.

With some suspension upgrades they make very good towing platforms. They are much heavier duty than a 2500 Suburban.

If you want more interior room, you need to sacrifice wheelbase (which makes it a pain in the ass for normal parking) or sacrifice the 5er

I gave up the option to tow a goose/5er when I sold my F250 for an Excursion and I have NEVER missed it. A well set up truck will pull a tag trailer just fine.


As an added bonus, the Excursion has about the wheelbase/size of a ECSB, much shorter than a CCLB or CCSB. I have owned a CCSB and CCLB and the Excursion is a much better run around/errand/random stuff vehicle. I love the fact I can throw a mattress in the back of it and take a nap on long trips, much easier than finding a hotel or dragging the trailer if it is not needed.

But, like everyone else said, it is not my only vehicle. We have a car for getting around when we dont feel like messing around with the Excursion, and I have a jeep pickup do to motorized wheelbarrow pickup truck stuff.

If I needed to haul around that many people at one time, I would also look at a E350 van.

Or a minivan for around town and a crew cab International for towing the trailer. The step from F350 cab to crew cab international cab is bigger than the step from F150 to F30 cab size. International cabs are truly huge.
 
#20 · (Edited)
We love our 5th wheel trailer. It sleeps a ton of people and holds all our gear. There is no way I could move back to a bumper pull.

I guess we might need to start taking 2 vehicles in the future. Once you get more than 5-6 people, its likely that there will be conflicts in planning and 2 vehicles would work better anyway.
 
#28 ·
Not gonna lie, that seems like the only "feasible" option that the OP has. Any other option involves adding a vehicle, or getting a different trailer. Both of those the OP doesn't want to do.

Of course I would love to see someone spend coin on stretching a truck to a 6 door, but buying a fiberglass cowtown sleeper for 2k or so is looking like a good option. What I liked about them was that you could have a couch/seat option in them, and a mattress that could fold down in there as well. Kids/dogs could ride in it with full access to the cab, and people could sleep in it as well. You might have to make adjustments to the sleeper length or hitch placement, but that is all stuff that could be fine-tuned.

The only reason I didn't buy one was that the truck I had at the time was worth not much more than the sleeper itself haha.

Good luck to the OP on whatever he decides.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top