5.5 vs 6.5 ft bed

I intentionally went with a quadcab and 6.5' bed vs a crewcab and 5.5. As an empty nester the extra bed space is more important than the backseat space. And it still fits in the garage.

I've had a 5.5 bed for 3 years now. Haven't wished for a longer one. There have been a few times when I've been glad for the shorter one, though. Like in parking garages and stuff.

But I haul more groceries than anything else in my truck, so ...

alexleblanc wrote:
most of the Fords I see around over the last 12 years or so are crew/6.5 so they do sell well.

Actually, this is not correct. Most Ford F-150's are crew cabs with 5.5 ft beds. The 6.5 ft bed is much more useful (in my opinion) and looks a lot better (in my opinion).

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
Hi, also as I mentioned before, some if not all, 6.5' bed crew cabs have a two piece drive shaft. These are known for having a shutter on take off, more so when heavily loaded or while pulling a trailer. I chose the 5.5'er with a one piece driveshaft.

Thanks for the reminder, I'll take a look and see how they're set up. Hadn't heard about that.

My 5.5 has been cramped a few times in the last 15 years but I muddle through and get by fine.

Better get the max payload & GVWR option if you plan to camp and have something big in the bed.

hemismith wrote:
I just read a review that had some numbers on turning radius. It doesn't look like the difference between 5.5 and 6.5 is that much, although the Ram appears to turn a lot tighter than either the Ford or Chevy.

:) Hi, also as I mentioned before, some if not all, 6.5' bed crew cabs have a two piece drive shaft. These are known for having a shutter on take off, more so when heavily loaded or while pulling a trailer. I chose the 5.5'er with a one piece driveshaft.

I just read a review that had some numbers on turning radius. It doesn't look like the difference between 5.5 and 6.5 is that much, although the Ram appears to turn a lot tighter than either the Ford or Chevy.

My crew cab 5.5 suits me well now with a TT, but my next truck will have to be at least a 6.5 because we plan to move up to a FW. That's why we are going to start off by building a new house with a larger garage and indoor RV storage. I'm always thinking and planning ahead!

Cab configuration and bed length is all about tradeoffs, whether you're talking Regular-Extended-Crew-Mega or 5.5-6.5-8. Everybody has a different opinion on what's best. I like my crew cab 6.5 overall, but I've been in situations where a shorter truck would be better and I've been in situations where an 8' bed would be better. I couldn't see myself ever buying a 5.5' bed but I would see myself waffling some between a 6.5' and 8'.

Thanks everyone. I'm trying to plan for unforeseen needs. Things like lumber and ATVs are good to know about. In the past I did occasionally sleep in the bed with a shell, and a 6.5 is barely long enough for that, but who knows if I'll do that again. I always thought it would be nice to have a small lightweight camper for day and overnight trips, but that'll probably never happen and I wouldn't want to do that on anything less than a 3/4-ton anyway. A previous job had a parking garage and anything longer than my quad cab short bed would not have fit very well, but I don't know if I'll ever have that situation again.