Long Box vs Short Box and slip hitch for 5th wheel

My all time favorite fifth tow truck was a short bed quad cab with a Superglide.
No worries and very maneuverable. Being able to make a u-turn on a city street or two lane country road was nice.

And the short truck was great off road and easy to garage.

We have an F350, LB, SRW truck and have been happy with it. Does the extra length give us some challenges? Yes, but along with the challenges comes some benefits like more storage in the truck bed and not having to be concerned about any tight turns we might have to make. In the end, as others have stated, it really is a personal choice...either configuration will probably work for you.

I had a 5-1/2' bed in the F150 with my old FW and used a Pullrite Superglide auto and never had to worry about mating the FW corner with the TV roof. I have a 6-3/4' bed with my current truck and have a manual slider, if needed. I've only needed it twice. I am a bit concerned that one day I'll need it and forget. If you're concerned, then I recommend an auto slider for your own peace of mind.

Get the short bed ,and the Andersen Ultimate fifth wheel hitch , and don't look back. The Andersen is a lightweight fifth wheel hitch that MANY are using with the short bed trucks, and no slider is required . You gain payload with the Andersen over the conventional heavy expensive fifth wheel hitches, and adding the slider makes them worse. Do yourself a favor ,and check into the Andersen hitches .

hemismith wrote:
I used a Superglide hitch and it was awesome. Except you can't hitch/unhitch at an angle, which only occasionally was an issue (but a real pain when it was). And you have to keep it lubricated, which attracts dirt, so I got a bed cover. But a dry lube would probably work.

If the relatively small extra weight of a sliding hitch is an issue from a capacity standpoint, then IMO you've got the wrong truck or trailer.

Yeah mine got hung up too on a couple of out of angle occasions, still loved it though, I liked seeing it slide back by itself.

I used a Superglide hitch and it was awesome. Except you can't hitch/unhitch at an angle, which only occasionally was an issue (but a real pain when it was). And you have to keep it lubricated, which attracts dirt, so I got a bed cover. But a dry lube would probably work.

If the relatively small extra weight of a sliding hitch is an issue from a capacity standpoint, then IMO you've got the wrong truck or trailer.

More room with the 8ft box and you can use a regular non-slider hitch, but with a crew cab (which is what most people require), it makes for a long truck. I second the Pullrite auto slider had one on our old truck, great hitch, but heavy. The Anderson is a nice light hitch that a lot of people like, but its unclear, to me anyway, if it has an advantage for a 6.5 box

I've had a shortbed pickup and one of the old fullsize ramchargers used for towing TT and cargo trailers. I felt the ride on both were choppy especially on highways where the cement was poured in sections or other bumpy roads. I equated this choppy ride to the short wheelbase.

For the past 30 plus years I have had many longbed pickups and find the ride to be a lot smoother both empty and when towing a 5th wheel or TT. Plus I choose dually and find the towing to be much more stable than a SRW truck.

My first truck for pulling a fifth wheel trailer was a crew cab long box. I'm now on my third shortbox. I've never used a sliding hitch and find the shortbox a bit of an inconvenience but obviously not a real big deal. If I ever get a sliding hitch it will be an automatic one such as the Pullrite Superglide, or I may purchase a Reese Sidewinder....Unless I end up going to a dually at some point I'll be sticking with a 6.75 ft box.

They both work, they just have different strong suits. I'm happy with my short bed - it works great with my longish pinbox and a rail mount Andersen flipped toward the back, and my fifth wheel has a pretty square front. The main reason I got a short bed is just to make the truck more manageable in daily driving, parking garages and on tight forest service roads. If I could do it all over again I'd still get a short bed.