Will a longbed regular cab F150 be prone to understeer due to the long, lightweight rear end? I’m thinking it would need a front sway bar to induce more neutral handling. The last long bed truck I had ( a Dodge) would really scrub the front tires on fast cornering.

 

you need to add a rear sway bar to counter understeer (oversteer) .... A Hellwig rear bar on the most stiff setting induces slight oversteer

 

Are swaybars available from the factory on any F150s? I realize a swaybar may limit wheel travel off-road and may result in a rougher ride, but it seems that the factory should offer something without having to go aftermarket.

 

Ford makes the truck to do typical things that people do in trucks. Hardly any of those people drive their truck around corners so fast that they will induce under steer since, you know, it's a 2 1/2 ton truck, not a sports car. You cant seriously expect Ford to cater to few percent of their customers that lie on either end of the bell curve do you? The aftermarket is precisely for this reason and provides better options.

 

Well, I already knew all of that. Ford did offer a rear swaybar way back when. I have dealt with aftermarket swaybars before, just hate the idea of messing around with a brand-new truck. It belongs to a friend. He didn’t like it ‘plowing’ thru corners, so I was just trying to offer some advice. Maybe some tube sand from Lowe’s in the bed would help. Our trucks are extremely light in the rear, especially his with a regular cab and 8’ bed.

 

Seems like the best solution is "get over it" when it comes to "messing around with a brand-new truck". Hell, I gutted the majority of my interior before 10K.

 

The weight and high center of gravity are working against you too. It’s never going to handle anything like a real sports car, even though it has an independent front suspension.

 

The trucks already have front sway bars. Depending on the "package" there are two different ones that come with the truck. Currently Hellwig offers an upgrade IF you have the lower package. If you have the offroad or towing you most likely already have the "beefiest" sway bar. Adding the Hellwig rear will help with handling but not to the extent of the plowing they seem to be concerned with. That is managed better with different coilovers, tires.

In stock form, there will be no tire scrub cornering, at any speed.