To pull at trailer of course! I have a 2012 with the 3.5 eco. Has 70k miles with 20+k towing a trailer. I tow 6-10k on a regular basis. Its a great truck. By far the best i have owned.
I'm not worried about that. Audi's made all aluminum cars for decades. No issues. Ford's made enough aluminum panels where they figured it out over the last decade and a half.
Have you thought about a roll up tonneau cover? They are pretty much weather proof. If you need an open bed just roll it up. If you need to haul something big hard tonneaus are a pain. If you check into a roll up look an an Acess Lorado.
Yep, the roll up is definitely on my radar. So you like the access lorado, eh? It looks like a nice unit. I definitely don't want a big fiberglass hard tonneau. Either a roll up or tri fold make sense.
Yes, I have an Acess Lorado. I don't like the trifolds because if you need to leave the bed open the cover blocks the back glass and also rubs the cab, scratching it.
I have the Truxedo Duece II on my Silverado. All of the access of a roll up without actually having to roll it up to access the front of the bed. It was pricey but I like it more than a little bit. TruXedo Deuce 2 Truck Bed Cover - Rollup & Folding
Congrats my friend Horkn and I too believe the fun is in the research though those "less-informed" look at us like nutbags-my best friend golfing buddy has a white diamond Platinum and it is a jewel, leather heated and cooled seats and all the other bells and whistles, think his is a '15-I too love the leather color on the King Ranch, extra thick top grain My only advice is get everything you want or you'll regret it later-you're paying more than half of a good house so dont sweat an extra grand here or there or you'll be sorry quickly-Do it, you deserve it!
Buddy of mine got the American Roll Cover. I'm quite impressed with it, even through our the winter weather. Truck Covers USA | The Finest Roll Covers & Accessories on Earth
Guess I am too old school - There is no replacement for Displacement. The fact that eventually I am going to be stuck with some little puffed up wizzer up front is not a very comforting thought. Maybe I will get lucky and there will be an electric drive around 250 bhp /wheel with and 300 mile range perhaps more with regeneration and solar panels to augment charging as well as a universal plug in charging system not tied to one particular type of power source. ( I can dream can't I , might as well be big about it also). Now I am not a dodge fan ( 98% of my equipment has been fords) but have a friend that has a 9 speed with what ever up front that he is pretty happy with so far. Only other thing I can say is there are a fair number of new alternative designs breaking out in the internal combustion eng. department most do away with up to 50% of the internal parts commonly associated with same. Most will not make it to market in my lifetime if at all. Then again I am still burning logs for heat same as my grate grandfather - pause for thought EH?
I'm not sure of brand, it is a electric roll up one. With our local weather it Ice's stuck quite easily. I'll make a call and get a maker.
I also have the Access Lorado, Horkn . I just went from a leveled 1500 with a 5.3 to a new Canyon with the Duramax. It doesn't have much for a bed so I didn't want a box in it. To make a long story short, The Lorado was easy to put on, stays nice and snug and seems to be well built. I've only had it 3 weeks though so the jury is still out.
I imagine so. I can see that area right behind the cab getting crusty. Not too long ago, my family had a 2wd reg cab 94 Chevy 2500 with an 8ft bed. When my wife and I first bought our house, I'd load that truck, whitey, all the way up with wood to heat my house, as best as you can with a fireplace with a blower. The truck was stripped beside the auto transmission and a 350. I'll see if I can dig up pics of it loaded. It had a contractor pipe rack, and I'd cut logs log so they'd hit the top rack brace when stacked vertically. From there, I'd fill the rest of the bed. It took a lot to get that truck squatting in back, but I managed to do that a few times. While loads like that were impressive, I'd rather be able to grab quick road side scrounges, tow a trailer, and be able to take suppliers/ bosses, etc out, on a whim.
The hard roll up tonneaus are made about like an overhead door. With it laying on your truck bed, it is susceptible to rain or snow freezing in between each section. Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk
Not to mention in the way when it comes time to stack the bed full of something like, say, firewood! That's the reason I went with the Duece 2. It rolls up or two latches and I can completely remove the cover from the truck. And it's one small lever to flip it backwards and have great access to the front of the bed. It's a good teammate for the wheel to wheel stepbars I have.
Good luck on the truck hunt OP. Personally I cannot fathom how much new trucks are going for and they are not being optioned out for what trucks are for, hauling stuff and utility. 8' box are very rare. I looked for a couple years and found a used F250, Crew Cab, Long box with 50,400 miles that came from a salt free state. Rubber floors and what they call the steel vinyl seats, perfect! Granted mileage is poor, but I only put on 3,000 miles a year as this is no grocery getter. Heck of a wood hauler.
I am in Horkn shoes guy that built garage it's only 22 feet .. so 8 foot bed is out.. I have driven double cabs with 8 foot bed.. I wouldn't want it for a daily driver works parking lot or bring it to a BBS cause parking that thing was a PITA! and if I need a big bed hook up trailer.. lot easier and cheaper than adding 6 feet to garage
You are on to a big factor there. I built a 2nd garage (where the truck is pictured) and it measures 30 x 40' and it just barely fits, clears the 7' door by 2".
That's exactly why the crew cabs only had 5.5' beds. Until recently when you can now get a 6.5' bed on Crew cabs. Most garages won't fit a longer bed on a full size crew.