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lmarcrum's avatar
lmarcrum
Explorer
Oct 12, 2014

Long or short bed for 5th wheel towing?

I am looking into buying a Ram truck. The Mega cab only comes with a short bed. I currently tow a TT but in the future would like to get a 5th wheel. Are long bed trucks better for 5th wheel towing? Any input would be great! Thank you.
  • We have a Dodge Ram, Quad cab, short bed. We're towing a 34 foot Open Range. We DO have the sliding hitch, but, in all the towing we've done (this is our 3rd 5er), we've never had to let the hitch slide out. Take it easy, slowly around tight corners and try to avoid tight corners.

    blt2ski..........our pick up (short bed - 6 1/2 feet) is NOT useless. We can get all the wood, pipes, etc, we needed to fix up our last s&b house. We also, while towing, stow things in the bed of the pickup. :) :)
  • I thought pickups only had 8' beds. And with a cab and chassis, one could get upwards of a 12' bed. They come shorter than this?!?! wow. why? pretty useless rig they would be!

    marty
  • The short bed, you might be able to use a extended pin box, or a automatic slide hitch, or both.

    You would want a 1 ton truck to tow a fifth wheel, and from what I hear, the Mega cab is 3/4 ton with coil springs in the back (like a car or station wagon rear suspension) and is not really highly recommended for loads that might try to steer the rear of the truck into the corners.

    When going downhill you will notice it most, where the trailer wants to not turn into the curve, and will make the rear seem like it is wiggling. . .

    When pulling up a hill, the trailer will follow the leader, and there is no problems.

    Good luck!

    Fred.
  • Age old question with no right or wrong answer. What do you prefer and to what lengths are you willing to go to achieve your goal?
  • I have a Ford short bed which is longer than the Megacabs, however I still use an autoslde hitch.
    Other wise it is no worse than my long bed I used to have.