I've been doing research for a truck to a tow a 5th wheel in my future. Probably a long time from now, but this is research phase. We will be looking at a crew cab. Does the length of bed have anything to do with its ability to tow the 5th wheel? Any reasons to have one over the other? How about the bed conversions I've seen, what is the reason for these??

Long bed.....no need for sliding hitch. More room forward of hitch for other items (tool box, auxiliary fuel tank, in bed mounted generator etc.)Short bed.......easier to park/put on garage. Might need slider but 5vr cap designs have improved so sliders not as necessary as beforeBed conversions......lots of extra storage, lower deckOptions.......it's all about different needsWhat is yours?

The length of the bed equates to length of the wheel base. It is longer over all so some say it does not fit in their garage. My personal preference is a long bed. I use my truck for more than just 5er towing. In reality it makes no difference. I pull a 32' 5er and I am about 49' bumper to bumper hooked up. I have no problems going where I want to go.

Nothing to do with "ability", but I feel that the longer wheelbase of the LB-CC trucks gives a better ride, particularly when NOT towing.

Old-Biscuit wrote:Long bed.....no need for sliding hitch. More room forward of hitch for other items (tool box, auxiliary fuel tank, in bed mounted generator etc.)Short bed.......easier to park/put on garage. Might need slider but 5vr cap designs have improved so sliders not as necessary as beforeBed conversions......lots of extra storage, lower deckOptions.......it's all about different needsWhat is yours?Thanks! Always wondered about the different hitches also, now I know more about the sliding hitch! Thanks it helps! I've been looking at the longer bed as something i'd like better. So far that's where I am, unless others have drawbacks i've not heard yet.

Some like short beds, some long. I have a Dodge CC short bed because I like the look and it's a little shorter for us to park. My older FW is 8 1/2 feet wide and flat on the front so I went with a sliding hitch.A long bed will make hitch shopping much cheaper. There are even cheaper used ones on Craigslist all the time. I have a metal enclosure for my Honda 3000 generator in front of my hitch and it just fit. If you can live with a long bed, get it.Another important thing to consider is 3/4 or 1 ton. Of course you all ready know what your van can do. If you get a 3/4 and want to stay within the trucks specs you will be shopping for a lighter weight FW. If you want to buy a truck and you dont know what type of FW you will buy, get a one ton. It gives you a lot more pin weight.My 2013 Silverado 1500 had a payload of 1,650My sons Dodge 2500CC long bed is 2,130------480 lb over a 1500My 2014 Dodge 3500 CC SB SRW is 3,840------- 1,710 lb over a 2500

Truck for 5th wheel | Good Sam Community

23 Replies

Redterpos3
Explorer
Jun 23, 2015
GoPackGo wrote:
There are tradeoffs for both.
Just know what they are for each and then pick what works best for you.
Tim

Right, that's what I'm searching for the tradeoff's, positives and negatives. So far for me the long bed is winning out in my mind. Love the idea of having a box for storage or fuel behind the cab, and being able to fix a generator their also. Sounds like it's better for towing and maneuvering with the rig. The larger fuel tank is a keeper also.
GoPackGo
Explorer
Jun 22, 2015
There are tradeoffs for both.

Just know what they are for each and then pick what works best for you.

Tim
Redterpos3
Explorer
Jun 22, 2015
Allworth wrote:
takes a football field to U-turn.

Ah, the first negative on the long bed.
Allworth
Explorer II
Jun 22, 2015
I have 36 (usable) gallons on my 06 long bed Silverado. Of course it takes a football field to U-turn.
Redterpos3
Explorer
Jun 22, 2015
Now for the toughest part. I've been dreaming about a Ford F-350 or F-450 (have traditionally liked their look for a long time). But the Dodge trucks I've seen here are very nice looking also, and the Chevy's aren't too shabby either. I guess I'll just need to go drive some and see what I like! Thanks all! Very helpful!! I'm closer to what I'm looking for now.
Redterpos3
Explorer
Jun 22, 2015
GoPackGo wrote:
Ford puts a much larger fuel tank in their long wheelbase diesel trucks (37.5 gal),

Yeah, this is important to me. One of the reasons for going with a diesel is the distance I can go between fillups!!

rjxj wrote:

A long bed will make hitch shopping much cheaper....If you can live with a long bed, get it....
Another important thing to consider is 3/4 or 1 ton.

Long is looking right for me. I agree a 1 ton is what I am looking for. Right now I'm bouncing between SRW and DRW. I don't need DRW right now, but with over 6,000lbs of payload would be nice when I am looking for a 5th wheel in the future. Though the DRW wouldn't be as easy to roam around in, and not sure I really need it, but price for each is pretty close.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jun 21, 2015
larry barnhart wrote:
We don't have one of those but we tow what we want since 2001.

Just messin with ya.

chevman

YOU DO have a very nice setup!

I always liked my Aunt and Uncles Alpenlite.
larry_barnhart
Explorer
Jun 21, 2015
We don't have one of those but we tow what we want since 2001.

Just messin with ya.

chevman
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jun 21, 2015
Get one of these, with one of these, tow what you want.
RustyJC
Explorer
Jun 21, 2015
With the walk-in front closet design of the new DRV Mobile Suites, the front of the cap extends farther ahead of the kingpin than it did on our 2004 MS 36RE3. In addition, the 102" width also eats into cab-to-5th wheel clearance when turning. The long bed dually doesn't have any clearance problems and can use a standard B&W Companion 5th wheel hitch - no slider required.

We've always used long bed duallies to tow our 5th wheels. That gives us room for a tool box ahead of the hitch and two (2) Yamaha EF2000is generators between the hitch and tailgate.

Rusty

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Truck for 5th wheel

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