The New Ford Maverick Pickup Has a Low Bed Height, but How Low Is It?
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If there's one thing that excites me about Ford's new small truck, it's the low bed height, especially regarding the side walls of the bed. As pickups have increased in size, the full-size trucks have become kind of a lost cause in terms of this one particular aspect, leaving small pickups as our last hope. And that last hope has begun to fade as most current midsize pickups seem to be right around 52" tall (give or take) on the sides. For me, this takes all the joy out of a "small" truck. It's sad to see that the small trucks are no longer small. They are no longer compact, but midsize.
But now, the Maverick pickup promises to bring back my favorite part of compact pickups, that easy-to-reach-into bed! No stepsides or side steps needed. I'm so excited about this that I'm having a hard time caring about the bed length.
According to this article, "Ford engineered it so fifth-percentile women (read: very short ladies) can access the bed without issue." It's such a major selling point that Ford mentions it in this video: (1:34-1:41)
But despite the awesomeness of this feature and Ford's eagerness to advertise it, I can't find any specs on exactly how tall those side walls are. When Ford claims that "most adults can reach over the side", I start to worry when the very next clip in the video shows the top of the walls nearly even with a woman's shoulders. I just can't get a good sense of how short she is, or how tall the guy is:
In this promo pic, note that she's stepping on her tippytoes as she reaches over:
And then there's this image, which suggests that it's really not much shorter in height than the Ranger:
So far, the only measurements that I've found to help solve this mystery are the overall height (68.7") and that the bed surface stands "less than 30 inches". Anybody seen more thorough specs yet?1995 Mustang GT
1998 Wrangler Sport -
@urambo-tauro I noticed that same thing. The best thing about old small pickups is that the bed sides are so low. This is lower than most but still tall.
Color enthusiast, Citroën fanatic, and Cruze driver
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@urambo-tauro That “How big is the Maverick” picture is excellent. I’m just replying so I can find it again.
Also watching videos it is much lower than almost all current beds. Watch Doug on the ranger and then the maverick and it looks noticeable.
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Solution:
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@100percentjake I'd rock a bagged Maverick.
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@whoistheleader One of the best features of my Rampage for sure!
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@100percentjake - I just nailed the like button on this. Just liked it so damn hard...
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@urambo-tauro THIS THING IS GONNA EAT THE RANGER'S SALES
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@urambo-tauro look at the maverick's tow rating. Wait there isn't one. CVT. It's just a fucking shitcan SUV with a tiny truck bed. My money's on these things clapping out before warranty expires.
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@urambo-tauro I haven't found a spec for this, but I watched Demuro's video on it last night, and the thing I noticed most was how much lower it is than other trucks these days, and that made me happy. It's a little taller than a 2wd Ranger or S-10 of old, but it looks like that is because the bed is deeper. The floor is probably at the same height as those trucks, but the tailgate is TALL. I think the floor is around the height of a 2wd S-10/Ranger, and the top of the bedsides is about where they would be on a 4ed S-10/Ranger (non ZR2).
I'm finding myself genuinely excited for the Maverick, even though it wouldn't really work for me. I'm happy to see a smaller and most importantly lower truck come out. I think they'll sell a bunch of these to people who wouldn't have otherwise bought a truck.
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@nkato The EcoBoost version claims 4,000 lbs towing with the 8-speed auto, but only 2,000 lbs with the Hybrid's CVT.
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@nkato 2000 pounds for the hybrid is fine for what most users of these will do. The Maverick is going after people who would have otherwise bought a CUV. If you opt for the Ecoboost engine, which comes with an 8-speed trans, it'll tow 4000 pounds. That's more than most CUVs will tow, and enough that it can tow a nice sized pop-up camper or boat.
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@urambo-tauro This man's garage confuses me. Why are some tools arbitrarily hung up taking valuable wall space when he has ample toolboxes available? Why are those tool boxes in front of a door?
1981 Pontiac Trans Am
1993 Chevy Corvette
2019 GMC Canyon -
For random comparison, bedside/bed floor - both measured at the tail edge of the bed (5AM accuracy, so YMMV)
2001 Dodge Dakota QuadCab 2WD - 28.5" / 46"
2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 4WD Crew Cab - 35" / 55.5"The ZR2 is ~2" taller than a standard Colorado 4x4. The LT/Z71 trucks are the same height regardless of drive type, so at best the Colorado is somewhere in the ~33"/53" range and likely is quite similar to the Ranger. The 4x4 Dakotas were ~1-1.5" taller IIRC. IMO the Maverick will be much closer to the Dakota, if not lower.
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@100percentjake FOREST SERVICE GREEN ALL THE THINGS!
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@shop-teacher Even the base 2000lb model will still pull a Scamp, or maybe a some A-Liners
2022 Ioniq SE
1964 Corvair Monza -
@urambo-tauro Not that I really need a truck, but if I did need a truck, this piques my interest...
Though, really, the biggest truck I'll likely ever need is a Dodge D50.
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@ranwhenparked It could, but it is ill-advisable to pull something right at a vehicle's capacity. As somebody who did it for a while, it sure isn't much fun for the driver. I'd recommend the ecoboost engine for anybody looking to tow more than a couple of jet skis, or a utility trailer with a bike or two on it.
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So we're finally getting the Mexican quad-cab that all the Ranger fanboys wanted but couldn't have in 2006?
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@urambo-tauro I don't have any answers, but I think your points are all correct. This thing is till too big.
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@nkato why, that's not true at all!
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@100percentjake said in The New Ford Maverick Pickup Has a Low Bed Height, but How Low Is It?:
Solution:
looks mint.
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@nkato said in The New Ford Maverick Pickup Has a Low Bed Height, but How Low Is It?:
@urambo-tauro look at the maverick's tow rating. Wait there isn't one. CVT. It's just a fucking shitcan SUV with a tiny truck bed. My money's on these things clapping out before warranty expires.
2000 lbs towing is on par with most CUVs. That's all this is, is a fancy baja.
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@bandit said in The New Ford Maverick Pickup Has a Low Bed Height, but How Low Is It?:
Why are some tools arbitrarily hung up taking valuable wall space when he has ample toolboxes available? Why are those tool boxes in front of a door?
Because it's a set, not a real garage. Probably raided a hardware store for anything and everything in sight to fill the space. The presence of the rolling tool box in front of the roll up door bothers me more.
Color enthusiast, Citroën fanatic, and Cruze driver
