I'm sure this has been talked about some where on the forum but what problems will I run into with a short bed Silverado Pick Up and a fifth wheel.It seems like there are issues, then what length bed is recommended and could I get away with a short bed. Looking at a 2016 Silverado with a short bed of course love this truck has it all and even brown paint with brown leather. That's rare these days everything is black on black. Wish I knew more about this tempted to trust a sales person but I have learned a few lessons doing that. Mostly they don't really know themselves.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29520699/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

Over almost 30 yrs, I've used GM 6-1/2 ft bed trucks (4 of them) to tow fivers. Never had truck to front cap contact. Had a manual slider for a few yrs and the one time I had a tight situation, it didn't help. Ended up backing into the spot w/o the slider. I do not have a slider on the truck now. There is no advantage to jack-knifing the fiver to 90 degrees, it puts a lot of shear stress on the tires (which is the biggest failure on a fiver), suspension and frame. A little extra time jockeying the fiver back and forth will still get it into a tight spot.

Ypu can tow with a sjort bed. The trade off is,,,,,,You loose 2 feet of useable cargo space,You cannot carry a sheet of plywood or sheetrock with the tail gate closed,You may need or want a much heavier slider hitch, thereby reducing your available cargo capacity,You likely could not fit the truck with a folding bed cover,Rarely have I ever seen a 3500 short bed truck. Which indicates to me your interested in a 2500 series truck? Which is fine as long as your looking at a short, light fiver. Once you go over about 12,000 pounds gross your going to want a 3500 series truck.

Chevy/GM is noted for the best axle to cab distance. With new trailers with cutout front corners there is little chance of cab/window contact. Be sure to get a truck that has the factory 5th wheel pucks or have them installed if possible. I put them in our RAM myself, as that was the only missing item on a floored truck that we bought.

Had a short bed Silverado, no problem with it. Had two short bed Dodge's. No problem. Had a slider hitch, only used it once then tore up the tailgate because it slid back to far and the pin box hit the tailgate. I have seen some "short beds" which were really short. Too short. But a normal size short fine should be fine, especially if the fifth-wheel pin box is extended out front of the fiver. I now have a long bed, only thing available in my price range when I bought. Nice, but longggg.

Short Bed Silverado | Good Sam Community

donn0128
Explorer II
May 12, 2018
Ypu can tow with a sjort bed. The trade off is,,,,,,
You loose 2 feet of useable cargo space,
You cannot carry a sheet of plywood or sheetrock with the tail gate closed,
You may need or want a much heavier slider hitch, thereby reducing your available cargo capacity,
You likely could not fit the truck with a folding bed cover,
Rarely have I ever seen a 3500 short bed truck. Which indicates to me your interested in a 2500 series truck? Which is fine as long as your looking at a short, light fiver. Once you go over about 12,000 pounds gross your going to want a 3500 series truck.
Dayle1
Explorer II
May 12, 2018
Over almost 30 yrs, I've used GM 6-1/2 ft bed trucks (4 of them) to tow fivers. Never had truck to front cap contact. Had a manual slider for a few yrs and the one time I had a tight situation, it didn't help. Ended up backing into the spot w/o the slider. I do not have a slider on the truck now. There is no advantage to jack-knifing the fiver to 90 degrees, it puts a lot of shear stress on the tires (which is the biggest failure on a fiver), suspension and frame. A little extra time jockeying the fiver back and forth will still get it into a tight spot.
garyp4951
Explorer III
May 12, 2018
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29520699/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

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