2015 To most truck owners, the most important thing is performance. You want a truck that can put in a full day’s work year after year without quitting on you. Performance comes first, but carrying capacity is a close second. If the cab and bed of a truck aren’t roomy enough for you, you might as well be driving a compact car.
The 2015 Ford F-150 is a powerful truck no matter which trim you go with, but will it carry what you need it to carry? Let’s find out.
How much can I fit in the bed of a 2015 Ford F-150?
- XL: 52.8 to 77.4 cu. ft. with a payload capacity of 1,600 to 2,070 lbs.
- XLT: 52.8 to 77.4 cu. ft. with a payload capacity of 1,600 to 2,070 lbs.
- King Ranch: 52.8 to 62.3 cu. ft. with a payload capacity of 2,070 to 2,230 lbs.
- Lariat: 52.8 to 77.4 cu. ft. with a payload capacity of 1,640 to 2,070 lbs.
- Platinum: 52.8 to 62.3 cu. ft. with a payload capacity of 2,070 to 2,230 lbs.
For reference, the XL and XLT are good all-around trucks, just as suited to work as they are to a grocery trip. The King Ranch is the most powerful of the 2015 Ford F-150s with a 5.0-liter engine, and it’s really intended to be a dedicated work truck. The Lariat is more of a luxury-inspired model, while the Platinum is basically a straight-up luxury car with a truck bed attached.
If you’re looking to get some work done with your truck, you’re probably shopping for an XL, XLT or a King Ranch. While the King Ranch is actually the most powerful F-150, it also has a little less space in the back if you compare the fully loaded options. Whereas XL and XLT can go up to 77.4 cu. ft., the King Ranch caps off at the same cargo capacity as the Platinum luxury trim.
Note that the cargo capacity includes not just the truck’s bed but also the cargo space in the cab. The Platinum sacrifices a bit of cargo space in exchange for modern gadgets like a flow-through console.
Of course, at 62.3 cu. ft., that should be more than enough room for most jobs. Any F-150 can make up the difference with a trailer. Still, if you’re looking for the most cargo space possible, you’re probably after an XLT.
With the XL and XLT trims, you have a towing capacity of 5,000 to 9,000 pounds. The Lariat’s towing capacity comes in at 7,600 to 9,000 pounds, and the King Ranch and the Platinum trim can tow 8,900 to 9,100 pounds. With any F-150, you’re going to have no problem pulling your camper out to the woods for a weekend getaway or hauling your friend’s car home.
This is, again, a benefit of the aluminum body. Everything under the hood is precision engineered for raw power, but because of the relatively light body panels, you have a little more hauling power left over for the cargo and the trailer hitch.
Will it Fit in My Garage?
All trims fall within the following:
- Width: 79.9″
- Height: 74.8″ to 76.9″
- Length: 209.3″ to 250.5″
- Wheelbase: 122″ to 163″
- Gross vehicle weight: 6,010 to 7,050 lbs.
“Gross Vehicle Weight” refers to the estimated weight when the truck is loaded up with people. That’s not the actual weight of the truck when empty and parked. The curb weight of the F-150 is generally going to be under 5,000 pounds, which, in 2015, was a little unusual for a full-size truck standing over 6 feet at its smallest. Heavy-duty trucks regularly go up past 5 tons, like the GMC Sierras. The F-150’s relatively lightweight is thanks in part to the aluminum body panels.
The 2015 Ford F-150s are built on a steel frame with a military-grade aluminum-alloy body, resulting in a truck that’s lighter than it looks, which means two things: Better mileage, with the XLT getting 19/26 mpg city/highway and more horsepower.
Since your truck has less of its own weight to haul around, it has more power left over to haul trailers, cargo, and crew. Basically, you’re getting the big truck style, big truck space, and most importantly, big truck performance, with a small bill to pay at the gas pump.
Will it Fit My Crew?
Even in a full-size pickup, the cab can get a little crowded. But comparatively speaking, the F-150 is roomy enough inside the cab. With the XL and XLT, you have a seating capacity of three to six. You get seating for five or six with the Lariat, and the King Ranch and Platinum seat five. All trim levels have 40.8 inches of headroom up front.
The rear seating uses a fold-up bench design, so if you need some space for your toolbox, you can easily move the seating out of the way in seconds. In legroom, you have 43.9 inches in the front, with 33.5 to 43.6 in the back.
In short: Yes, it’ll fit your crew. Depending on trim and options, you’ve got more than enough space to comfortably seat up to six full-grown people inside. In other words, you won’t be going back and forth, making multiple trips to get everybody from point A to point B.
A Perfect Balance
The King Ranch and Platinum have plenty to recommend them, but the 2015 Ford F-150’s real strength lies in being an all-around, general-purpose vehicle. Take an F-150 out on the farm, and it’s going to be able to handle just about any task you want to throw at it.
Take it off-roading, and it can do that too. But it also gets the kids to school without burning through a tank of gas. The F-150 is designed to be a great everyday vehicle that’s up to the task of hard work, but it’s fuel-efficient and light enough for smaller jobs and day trips.
In that sense, the XL, XLT, and Lariat probably express best what makes the F-150 such a popular truck, a truck that’s just as suited to a life on the ranch as it is to a life in the suburbs. That well-roundedness is seen in the perfectly balanced dimensions of the truck.
At just under 80 inches across and just over 6 feet tall, it’s big enough for your family and for everything you need to carry in the back. Still, it’s not so big that it takes a half-hour to find a good parking space. Likewise, it’s a straightforward truck to drive. You have the comfort and security of a large truck, but with a smaller build’s lighter weight and maneuverability.
With the XL, XLT, and Lariat, you get 19/26 miles to the gallon, city/highway, while the Platinum and King Ranch give you 17/24. This wouldn’t have been possible in 2015 in a standard-sized truck with a more conventional steel body, but the aluminum panels in the F-150 make it work.
Which Size Fits Your Needs?
Within all the trims and options, there are a lot of variables at play and a lot of ways to customize the perfect fit for you, whether that means an F-150 optimized to serve as the family truck or a three-seater for work and shopping.
According to Ford’s official specs, your most spacious cab is the SuperCrew, either the 5.5- or 6.5-foot version, which gives you up to six seats with over 43.6 inches of legroom in the back.
But the biggest cargo box comes with the 8-foot Regular or SuperCab, which gives you 97.6 inches of inside cargo box length, with the tradeoff that the Regular only seats three, and the SuperCab only has 33.5 inches of legroom in the back seats. The SuperCrew 5.5-foot model has 67.1 inches of inside cargo box length, while the 6.5 foot has 78.9.
These may sound like minor differences, but how often have you found yourself wanting just 10, 15 more inches of space in your truck bed? It’s worth taking some time to consider just how much cargo space you need before you settle on one option or the other.
All truck bodies have 21.4 inches of inside cargo box height, which, with some tie-downs, should be more than enough to move anything that needs moving.
We’d recommend the 6.5-foot SuperCrew if your truck is going to serve as the family vehicle. That will give the kids plenty of room without banging their knees against the back of the driver’s seat. If you’re looking for a great work truck, the extra space in the back of the 8-foot SuperCab goes a long way without having to sacrifice the back seats.
One of the great things about the 2015 Ford F-150 is how customizable it is. Between five trims and three cabs with two variations each (6.5 and 8 foot for Regular, 6.5 and 8 foot for SuperCab, and 5.5 and 6.5 for SuperCrew), not to mention all the interior options, you can really fine-tune this vehicle to whatever it is that you need it to do.
Master of Jack-of-all-trades
What you’re getting with a 2015 F-150 is one of the most versatile vehicles on the market today. The truck can be customized to whatever end you like, whether that means a work-oriented XLT with a bigger cargo box or a family-focused Lariat with more legroom in the back. But the truck’s appeal essentially comes down to the fact that it can do anything and everything.
There may be trucks with better mileage; there may be SUVs with more seating; there may be work trucks with bigger beds and higher horsepower; but if you need to work, shop and pick up the kids all in the same vehicle, the F-150s, especially the XLT and Lariat, are hard to beat.
To that end, the size and space available with the 2015 Ford F-150 are really perfect for what it needs to do, which is strike the right balance between power and economy, comfort and capability. Just like the story of Goldilocks, the F-150 is “just right.”
Photos: Ford
