History Of The 4-Door F-150

Ford trucks have long set the standard for the US truck market. Ford's design innovations and tech advancements keep them at the head of the truck market pack. One such feature is the 4-door configuration. Recent decades have seen a gradual growth in the size of trucks offered to the consumer market. Thus, 4-door access to the ever-growing cab size of these trucks has become a necessity. Read on to learn about the history of Ford's 4-door truck options.

The SuperCab

The SuperCab has been a longstanding and popular cab configuration for the Ford F-150. For many years the SuperCab, along with extended cab models from other truck makers, had no rear doors. Accessing this area of the cab required sliding the front seats forward. When Ford introduced the redesigned 10th generation F-150 in 1997, it added a rear-hinged door on the curbside of the SuperCab. This door provided convenient access to the rear cab area and easier entry and exit for rear passengers. For the 1999 model year, Ford added a second rear-hinged door on the driver’s side of the cab.

Stricter safety regulations for side and roof impacts have made it more challenging to pass crash tests with no B-pillar support between the front and rear doors on extended cab trucks. Other truck makers have found it easier to meet new safety regulations by adding a B-pillar with conventional front-hinged rear doors. However, Ford has remained committed to the benefits of rear-hinged doors on the SuperCab. They have retained this configuration on the latest F-150 models while meeting or exceeding all current safety regulations.

Learn more about popular accessories for the F-Series pickups.

The SuperCrew Cab

The SuperCrew cab first debuted on the 2001 Ford F-150. It featured a stretched cab with full-size rear doors and a full rear bench seat. With the much larger cab came a shorter bed length of 67.3 inches. The SuperCrew Cab allowed up to six passengers to sit comfortably while still offering most of the utility of the regular and SuperCab models.

The SuperCrew cab would arguably lead the surge in popularity of full-size pickups in the early 2000s. Chevrolet’s crew cab offering would arrive shortly after for the 2002 model year. Dodge wouldn’t offer a proper full crew cab until the “Mega Cab” debuted for the 2006 model year. The SuperCrew cab would continue to cement Ford’s lead as America’s best-selling pickup.

Today, Ford offers a SuperCrew cab configuration across most of the F-Series lineup, including F-150, F-250, F-350, and F-450. The SuperCrew cab increases both passenger capacity and space for carrying more items in the cab, with the rear seats folded up or down. The Ford F-Series has remained the best-selling line of pickup trucks in America for 40+ years.

Do you own a Ford F-150? Be sure to check out our Owner’s Guide for tips on making your truck last longer.

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