> For the Ford F150 the long bed is only available in the lowest trim XL and XLT models
In other words, they do exist.
I was able to configure a long (8ft) bed pickup at the Ford, Chevy and Ram websites, so all of them appear to sell them. Not every model/package combination exists, but it did appear easy to build a 8ft bed model if that's what I wanted.
The ford website literally pops up a warning "Due to a combination of high demand and global supply-chain constraints, not all models and trims or features are available to order. Contact your dealer for available inventory stock or future availability" and asks you to acknowledge that before you start doing a build.
The fact that the website lets you configure it doesn't indicate that you can actually get it delivered--which is why I used dealer stock instead.
> The ford website literally pops up a warning ...
I saw that; it doesn't specifically say that long beds are not available though and I was able to configure many long bed configurations so I'd guess they are available. There were some configurations the tool says not available, but didn't see that for long beds. Inventory is fickle, but you could always order one.
That all said, even if it's true that Ford has stopped building long beds (I have not ordered from Ford, I have a long bed Ram), there are other brands which also show long bed options available.
> it doesn't specifically say that long beds are not available though and I was able to configure many long bed configurations so I'd guess they are available.
That warning is explicitly stating that you may be able to configure something that is not available.
In other words, they do exist.
I was able to configure a long (8ft) bed pickup at the Ford, Chevy and Ram websites, so all of them appear to sell them. Not every model/package combination exists, but it did appear easy to build a 8ft bed model if that's what I wanted.