Pickup Truck as Ski and Adventure Vehicle

[Doug Briggs]

My solution to the short bed is going to be a custom (home) made cap that extends over the tail gate, which will be lowered. It will be made of wood and not have any built in interior features. It will look like a camper from the outside but will not have the 'tub' part that fills the space below the rails. I'll post pictures when I get it built. Hopefully next spring. The size will be determined by how tall it has to be to fit mt. bikes standing up, with the front wheel on.

 

[Eleeski]

!

Eric

 

[Cameron]

I'm a truck guy these days but I went much bigger when I bought my first last year, a 2016 F350 crew cab, short bed, diesel. The primary function when buying it was towing since we also purchased a travel trailer that tips the scales at almost 10,000 lbs when loaded but I drive it most days. We've had very little snow since I bought it but with the little bit that we've had I've found 4wd is rarely needed.

 

[LegacyGT]

Back in the day my wife and I would rent Ford Rangers whenever we traveled West for ski adventures. Budget would rent Rangers for about 1/4 the price of a Ford Explorer. There were only two of us so, if we wanted/needed 4WD this was perfect. Budget's Rangers had covers over the cargo area and they were Supercabs which allowed for a good amount of storage in the cab and/or little sideways-facing fold down seats that would let two extra skiers tag along as long as the drive was short.

 

[Andy Mink]

I've had a p/u for the last 30 years. Started with a Dodge D-50, then a 94 regular cab 2500 gasser, then a 97 extended cab 2500 diesel, and now a 2006 Megacab 3500 diesel. Cruising on the highway I can get around 20-21mpg. Usually not that good though. We now pull a 5th wheel toy hauler with it and added a Thule box for the skiing time.

 

[SShore]

No kids, great option. If you have 3-4 passengers and boot bags you'd like to keep in the climate controlled part of the vehicle, not a great option.

Have you been in a modern club cab pickup??? My RAM 1500 has way more room in it than any car and is way more comfortable, especially for the people in the back seat. There is more than enough room to put rug rats and boot bags back there.

 

[Philpug]

Have you been in a modern club cab pickup??? My RAM 1500 has way more room in it than any car and is way more comfortable, especially for the people in the back seat. There is more than enough room to put rug rats and boot bags back there.

This is why we like traveling with our Yukon XL, the rear buckets are very comfortable. We do prefer the Yukon XL to that of a pick-up as an option, because all of our gear will stay in the heated cabin verses the bed...even with a cap on it. At that point, I really don't understand the benefits of even a quad cab truck that has a cap on it over a Suburban or YXL. If we need to haul mulch or such, I can go to U-Haul and rent a full size bed truck for $19.95/day and the other 364 days in the year, we have more usable and secure space.

 

[SShore]

This is why we like traveling with our Yukon XL, the rear buckets are very comfortable. We do prefer the Yukon XL to that of a pick-up as an option, because all of our gear will stay in the heated cabin verses the bed...even with a cap on it. At that point, I really don't understand the benefits of even a quad cab truck that has a cap on it over a Suburban or YXL. If we need to haul mulch or such, I can go to U-Haul and rent a full size bed truck for $19.95/day and the other 364 days in the year, we have more usable and secure space.

Our situation is probably a little unique in that we live in a county that doesn't have trash pickup so we have to haul our own to the dump. In the summer it quickly becomes apparent why a pickup is preferable to a large SUV

 

[Andy Mink]

If we need to haul mulch or such, I can go to U-Haul and rent a full size bed truck for $19.95/day

Or you make a call...

 

[Andy Mink]

Have you been in a modern club cab pickup??? My RAM 1500 has way more room in it than any car and is way more comfortable, especially for the people in the back seat. There is more than enough room to put rug rats and boot bags back there.

The back seat in our Mega is huge and folds flat. One of the reasons we got it is because I can sleep back there if necessary, usually while hunting on a quick overnighter.