pick up truck advice for a skiing family

need to get a new vehicle for my wife and we are trying to decide between an F150 4 door cab with a short bed and an explorer.  We have a ford lease expiring so its best to stick with a Ford.  I'm a buy American guy so won't even consider a Japanese brand.

My kids race skis are longer than anything the rest of us are skiing on - 188 cm for SG now and moving up to 193 for GS in a year or so.  The 5.5 foot bed is 7.2" diagonally.  How well do skis in actually practice fit into a pick up on an angle?

I really like how the F-150 test drove even on a dirt road.  I'm leaning that way.

any words of advise between the 2.7L V6 ecoboost and 3.5L.  Will be towing a 20 ft boat ocassionally.

Also could use advise best type of cover to get for the bed that 1) doesn't leak and 2) locks well and is secure

Harv- hope this meets your criteria for a thread in the WS

How heavy is the boat? The 2.7L ecoboost doesn't offer much more mpg for the cost savings and power loss IMO. Sounds like your biggest decision is what bed and either the Coyote motor or the 3.5L.
    Ram has a lifetime warranty you can buy. Chevy...nevermind.

This is Gear-X Coach, nice try with the loading skis angle though, I appreciate the creativity.

I'll move it later when you aren't looking.

My last truck had a 5 ft bed, slightly narrower then the f-150, and my 187s went in diagonally with room to spare. If you want locking, waterproof coverage for the bed you're looking at a cap or a hard tonneau cover. Buying one new is gonna add 2k or so to your purchase. You can get them cheaper used but you have to hunt for the right one to fit your truck. I had a soft tonneau (non-locking) on my last truck but went with a cap on my new(er) truck. I am MUCH happier with the cap.

And how is small trailer and what to pull it with ski related and thus woodstove then?

Brownski wrote

My last truck had a 5 ft bed, slightly narrower then the f-150, and my 187s went in diagonally with room to spare. If you want locking, waterproof coverage for the bed you're looking at a cap or a hard tonneau cover. Buying one new is gonna add 2k or so to your purchase. You can get them cheaper used but you have to hunt for the right one to fit your truck. I had a soft tonneau (non-locking) on my last truck but went with a cap on my new(er) truck. I am MUCH happier with the cap.

Dealer said hard tonneau cover would run just over a grand and would add some to residue value on a lease so you don't up paying for the full cost of it

Boat is about 3000 lbs with trail and full load of fuel.  It's only about 20 bucks a month diff for bigger engine and both have same 23 hwy mpg rating.  Will go with bigger one then.  

Since it's my wife's vehicle she will get final decision btw truck and Explorer.  I'd get the truck for sure.

It's not.  I'd call that OT. I'm not claiming I catch everything. It's hard for me to run a company and fully keep up. I get this stuff on my phone, and it doesn't tell me WHERE it is posted.

I just went through the most recent 10 pages of Woodstove and that was the only one I found. I moved it. If you find others that slipped through point them out and I will move them.

You've said yourself you don't want to post in other forums because you want your stuff to be seen, so that says to me you know where to post, but you'd rather do what you want.  

I'll move stuff that makes sense to me, if I see it.

A truck that fits a need for a ski family seems more WS to me than Gear x which I think of for ski gear

I use the new posts function so which section it is really doesn't make much difference to me as long as it doesn't end up in OT

But hey you still your baby so have at it

my only regret with my taco is not holding out for a 6' bed. 186 skis in a ski bag fit fine diagonally. bikes are different story. i  don;t use a hitch rack so i can pull the camper, I have a a bar across the bed behind the cab with fork mounts - 26r's and 700c gravel  bike fit ok but not a 29r mtb. not sure if thats a  consideration for you or not. I love my cheapo roll up tonno cover, latching looks a little ghetto but it lets me use full the full bed for hauling

The best threads are in OT bro!  

And my Toyota was manufactured in North Carolina!  Better get the VIN and send to Campie cause Ford manufactures a lot of vehicles in India and Mexico.  I cant believe you would buy a vehicle manufactured by a mexican!!!  Wtf bro!

Coach.  Get the f-150 with a regular bed.  Also get a tool box to use as a "gear box".  you can toss all your stuff you don't want getting wet into the tool box and leave the skis, bikes, and hard gear in the bed.

We tow a 5k lb boat (fiberglass V drive ski boat) with our 4.6 liter f150 and it does fine.  I would choose the larger of engines.


You won't regret the truck at all

looking at a hard folding tonnaue cover which would pretty secure and keep snow out of the bed

A crew cab with a full length bed seems to be very hard to come by according to Chad at Eggleton Ford.  I coached youth sports with Chad and he is a good guy that I trust.

Are you fully committed to a crew cab? The back seat of an extended cab on a full sized truck is a lot bigger then most people expect. It seems like a small difference but I'm a lot happier with the six foot bed then I was with the shorter one

http://www.rileyfordinc.com/new/Ford/2017-Ford-F-150-425030300a0e0a170f6dd0b574ecda42.htm?searchDepth=20:32

Coach Z wrote

We have a ford lease expiring

Dealer said hard tonneau cover would run just over a grand and would add some to residue value on a lease...

It's only about 20 bucks a month diff for bigger engine

Holy shit, you're leasing this thing? And you're coming off a lease?

Coach's financial philosophy is so completely different then mine. Lease expensive trucks with expensive upgrades, avoid index funds.... Amazing.

ScottyJack wrote

I cant believe you would buy a vehicle manufactured by a mexican!!!  Wtf bro!

Hey dude. it's no problem when they are manufactured by Mexicans in Mexico, it's only when it's manufactured by Mexicans here.

Coach gets a free boat, now he needs a big truck to pull it with: Free boats are like free cats - there's no such thing.

Johnnyonthespot wrote

http://www.rileyfordinc.com/new/Ford/2017-Ford-F-150-425030300a0e0a170f6dd0b574ecda42.htm?searchDepth=20:32

Damn that makes me feel old, $46K for a pickup truck! That's about what I paid for my first house.

My parents paid 20k for our house!  And 46k isnt even the most expensive!!  Rednecks up here who I know make no where near what is needed to "afford" these vehicles are taking 72 month car payments on 50-60k vehicles!!!  

I think that is nuts and keeps americans enslaved to the vicious cycle of living beyond their means.  An indebted society has no options but to do and act as their told by the masters

ScottyJack wrote

My parents paid 20k for our house!  And 46k isnt even the most expensive!!  Rednecks up here who I know make no where near what is needed to "afford" these vehicles are taking 72 month car payments on 50-60k vehicles!!!  

I think that is nuts and keeps americans enslaved to the vicious cycle of living beyond their means.  An indebted society has no options but to do and act as their told by the masters

The man speaks the truth!!