Here is my thinking,
1 ton, better to have to much payload than not enough.
Short bed but only if you get a slider hitch, again better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
We have towed with both long and short bed and even if not needed it felt good to have the slider for those times when it was questionable if needed or not, always used it in those situations for peace of mind and keeping back window in tact.
Now towing with a dully long bed and no slider hitch but, the extra 2 feet of bed space helps but surely makes for difficult parking in small parking lots. We now just park further away and take 2 spaces because of the over hang.