carringb wrote:
Definitely need an F450 for that weight. It's only the very newest 350s/3500s that can even come close.
Aftermarket beds are available for the cab-chassis that looks just like stock, or even have built-in storage but mirror the stock bed profile.
That's what I have on my truck. I found a one-piece fiberglass hauler bed that looks like a stock pickup bed and fits on the chassis cab frame. The folks that had it sold it to me (installed!) for $2,500. I think they were happy to get it out of their shop. I only paid $5,000 for the truck before doing any work to it.
The nice thing about an F450 is that the brakes are designed to stop 26,000 pounds without assistance. My brake controller failed last year while I was towing a 15,000 pound fifth wheel on hills and around curves. The truck still stopped perfectly.
