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Message: [QUOTE="me2, post: 410600, member: 3825"] We discussed things last night and came to the conclusion that a stretched crew cab Superduty is the best solution for us. Our family is at a point where we have a 10 year window of family trips in front of us and we need a vehicle to support them. We only live life once and this is something we want to enjoy while we have the chance. If this truck is the price of admission, so be it. After a lot of thought, I have decided that the stretch will be a full crew cab section extension together with a short box bed. This will require a 191 inch wheelbase, versus the 172 inch wheelbase of a CC LB and the 156 inch wheel base of a CC SB. There will obviously be some trade offs in doing this. Should the stretched truck be too unweildly as a daily driver, I'll revert to using my '99 CC SB for tasks requiring a more nimble truck. I didn't want to sell it anyway and my wife likes having an extra vehicle for contingencies. The question then becomes is my 08 F350 King Ranch long box crew cab the right truck for the stretch/swap ? - a long box truck will require 2 frame splices versus 1 for a short box truck. - a long box truck needs a box swap or cut to become a short box. - my 08 is in really nice condition. The cab stretch will require repainting the cab anyway, so could make use of a (less expensive) truck that is in less good condition and/or is damaged a bit. - I'm unsure if it being a King Ranch is good or not. King Ranch seats are very expensive and we want the new truck to have 6 bucket seats, 1 console in the front and 2 fold down middle seats like those used in the 40/20/40 seating setups in the back 2 rows. If one replaces all the seats from a King Ranch truck with non King Ranch seats, one gets to sell the King Ranch seats and recoup some cost. If one uses King Ranch seats in the stretched truck, it gets expensive. - I find the 2011/2012 Superduties a bit more appealing because of the electric locking rear axle, they are newer, I like the look at bit better, better nav system, Sync, which my 08 doesn't have and cannot be easily added, they already have a 6R140 transmission, heated and cooled seats, and rear seat vents. Yes, I would swap out the Ford 6.7 for the Cummins 6.7. Having said all that about the 11/12s, I love the 08-10 trucks. The 2011-12 trucks have a few drawbacks as a stretch/swap candidate including that they use a water to air intercooler, there are fewer of them around for used donor parts, especially interior parts and I think the passenger seat area is smaller on a 11/12 than on an 08-10. I think the hood is bigger though and that would make fitting the TT6.7 easier. The fuel tank is also smaller due to the DEF tank, but if I use a short box truck, I'll probably swap in a long box fuel tank anyway, as I'll have plenty of length to do so. - if I bought a different truck for the stretch/swap project, I could chose a color other than white, though I am not against having a white truck. Bottom line is that I believe I could sell my 08 for what I have in it and thus I'm going to look around a bit to see if there is a better stretch/swap candidate out there. In the mean time, in addition to all the other things going on in my life, I'll gather information about doing the stretch, get the CNC plasma cutter going and work on the Cummins 6.7. At this point my plan is to do the swap and the stretch at the same time. If I did them separately, I'd have to deal with the rear driveshaft twice and it might be nicer doing the swap with the cab off. I'll probably also do the rear air ride suspension before the box is put back on. It would also be easier to do that way. I have a lot of work ahead of me. [/QUOTE]