Siskiyou

I have a extended cab chevy with the 6.5' bed right now and I am looking at purchasing the super crew Ford with the 5.5' bed. The main concern I have is I have a woodworking hobby and I need to haul 10' lumber home so my question is, do any of you haul wood like that and if so is the bed too short to safely haul it? If I get the super crew with the longer bed it is a little long for my garage. If the shorter cabs had back seats as comfortable as my 02 chevy that would be the way I would go.
Thanks
Mike

mitcdenn

I haul a 14 ft kayak in my 5.5' bed. With the extra length from the tailgate and strapping in the yak I have never had an issue at highway speeds for over an hour.

You may want to keep the tailgate up and use some rope to secure but you should be fine hauling around town.

Scott91370

Get/make a bed extender. They work great! I had some extra 2" laying around and made it to haul this in my last truck (6.5' bed with a tool box). Safe? Not really but I was only going 2 miles and it was all neighborhood streets. Definately would have gone over 40mph with it. The longest boards are 12'.



http://www.cabelas.com/product/Erick...0PXQ&gclsrc=ds

I've used mine in my F150 to haul some 10' lumber and it works fine. It is only hanging out about 3.5' with the tailgate down and this extender holds it just fine.

Siskiyou

Scott,
Now that is a long load!!
Mike

Livnitup

^^ This. I got one of these although there's cheaper options: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Great for hauling long boards or sheets of plywood/drywall

SeatGuru

A common trick that most people forget is loading the boards in Joist mode (aka the longer dimension is vertical). Think of how your deck looks, the 2x8s are with the 8in vertical because it is stronger.

keep up

I built this bed extender for giggles.

covertness

Fellow woodworker here. Just use your tie down points at the back of the bed and by the tail gate.

thais0n

I had the same concerns. I had an 04 with the 6.5 bed. Now I have my 15 with the 5.5. I hauled some 12 footers recently and was a bit nervous on the trip home. So I picked up a bed extender on amazon - and havent looked back. It collapses into several small pieces that you can either store in the bed or in the garage....and grab it when you need it. I'm also a woodworker, so its nice to know I can safely haul longer lumber with no issues.

2015PlatMag

Great thread. Good question with helpful responses.