Is a long bed a requirement for pulling a 5th wheel?

[Retired_Sailor]

Looks like we're going to switch to a 5th wheel so I need to buy a truck. Do I need a long (8') bed or will a short (6'4") bed be sufficient. Im not worried about other cargo and the short bed would be easier for the wife to drive around town. Thanks

[rtate]

We Cant Wait wrote:
You can make do with the short bed but, you'll have to have a slider hitch in order to back the 5th wheel up into a campsite/parking spot.

WRONG! You might have some problems if it is an old style front cap , but Most manufacturers shape the front cap to accommodate short wheel base fifth wheels.
Dont let anyone tell you you must have a lwb dualy for stability. I dont know how the ride on my short wheel base tow ing a 36' fifth wheel could be more stable. A dualy would only be necessary when the weight might exceede the rear wheel limits.

[noteven]

If I were buying another pickup truck for towing 5th wheel rv:

- flat bed, or ask for step ladder and/or periscope thrown in so you can see in the "mostest cubic feet of capacity best most in class best" box.

- trailer ready to roll weight no more than 1/2 the truck mfg advertising BS rating.

That would make a nice tow pickup.

[Gearitis]

Coach-man wrote:
OK, this may be putting the cart before the horse BUT, IMHO go look and find a 5th wheel that suits your needs, be open consider many things but in the end it will be what meets your needs. Then go buy a TV that will adqeatley tow your rig! Depending on what 5vr you purchase you may be ok without a slider. Although I do not believe a slider is much more expensive than a standard hitch.

I went for a Superglide Auto slider, I do not have to think about wheather I need to slide or not to slide it takes care of itself! I agree the short bed is much eaiser to park and maneuver with or without the 5vr attached! Good luck!

You are spot on here. Look at 5ers then get what it takes to pull it. You may find a great buy, but need a ton and a half truck to tow it legally.

[GoPackGo]

It sounds like you may be truck hunting.

So one thing to know is that the Ford F350 shortbed fuel tank is about 26 gallons. The longbed gets you a 37.5 gallon tank.

If you get 11 mpg (diesel), then that's 286 miles vs 412 miles range. Based on my comfort level, I would travel no further then 200 miles without fueling up if I had the shortbed version. I just don't like being in a situation where I would be forced to look for fuel that often. I like buying fuel WHERE I want to and WHEN I want to.

I know of at least one time that I got maybe 10 mpg for the entire day (headwind across South Dakota), so it can be worse.

My .02 opinion.

Not saying you have to buy Ford, it's just the one I am familiar with.

[C7XR7]

I have a 2006 F250 short bed, a transfer flow fuel tank/tool box combo, a B&M turnover ball hitch with a B&M companion fifth wheel hitch (not a slider) towing a 2003 Keystone Challenger. No issues. I think it does depend on the 5th wheel and if it can make contact with the cab. Mine can't.

[mileshuff]

I have a SB truck and no problems towing my 5'er. I do have an auto-slider hitch which takes the worry out and makes things much easier.

Long beds to have a better ride towing but are a pain to me when using it to run errands and site see without the 5th. They don't fit in many parking lots or drive ways! Just too long for my taste.

In the end its a personal preference thing. Pro's and cons to both. An SB will tow a 5'er just fine.

[newman_fulltime]

be me I would get a short because b& w patriot and a Reese sidewinder air pinbox

[JIMNLIN]

Retired Sailor wrote:
Looks like we're going to switch to a 5th wheel so I need to buy a truck. Do I need a long (8') bed or will a short (6'4") bed be sufficient. Im not worried about other cargo and the short bed would be easier for the wife to drive around town. Thanks

If you notice those with a short bed GM trucks say they may have a slider but its not ever used or have one. Thats because the GM short bed truck has a longer dimension from the back of the cab to the trucks rear axle. So .....when the hitch is installed in the bed with the pin zero over the rear axle you get the full benefit of that longer length.
My son tows a 34' bunk house with three slides with a '02 short bed chevy and now a 2015 2500 chevy short bed 4x4 crew cab with no slider nor is one needed

Now my short bed quad cab Dodge/Cummins needs a slider with my old '97 trailer with a very flat square corner profile. It's never used going forward but when the pin is slid aft 13" behind the trucks rear axle it requires much less steering input when backing around corners. I like that feature. He can back a full 90 if needed on any terrain.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

Like many have stated, the longbed will ride smoother, have more space, so that the trailer is not trying to come in the back window, and have room for cargo too. It might also have a larger fuel tank.

What to be very careful about (I hear this question a dozen times a month) is do not buy a 2500 pickup for towing a fifth wheel. "The dealer said it would tow anything" is something that I hear time and again! Sure it is 'rated' to tow a 15,000 pound fifth wheel, but the cargo rating might be 1985 pounds, or enough for 20% of the hitch weight on a 7,500 pound fifth wheel.

The hitch weight will be around 150 pounds. You know what the passenger weights will be. IT all adds up quickly, and if you are looking at moderate light 12,000 pound fifth wheel with a 20% hitch weight, that is 2,400 pounds!

So look at the fifth wheels first, and then decide on a pickup. If you fall in love with a Montana fifth wheel, and it happens to be 31' long, with a 14,000 GVWR and 2,000 'dry pin weight' you do not want to already own a pickup with a 2,500 pound cargo rating. You will need to install a 150 pound hitch, and carry 2-3 people, so figure about 500 pounds in the cab, 150 hitch, 2,000 pin weight, that is 2,650 pounds! Add to this any options you might select with the pickup, like 4 wheel drive (about 500 additional pounds that the dealership did not tell you about) crewcab models are around 400 - 500 pounds more than a regular cab.

Get a towing guide for whatever pickups you are looking at. On the Ford towing guide, you can look at 'slide in camper max weight ratings' and get an idea of what a SRW F-350 can carry, VS a F-250 or dually F-350 pickup. Max camper weight is pretty close to your max cargo rating.

In 2005, Ford really stepped up to the plate with some heavy duty pickups. While a 2004 F-250 supercab would have a 7,000 pound base weight with 4X4 and diesel engine, it only had a 8,800 GVWR, crewcab was even heavier curb weight, so less cargo capacity. In 2005 and later models, most F-250's have a 10,000 GVWR, while the SRW F-350 was 11,500 or so, and DRW F-350 could carry as much as 5,500 pounds!

GMC and Dodge caught up a few years later. I can recall a friend with a dually work truck, it was a 1985 Dodge with 10,500 GVWR, and it would wallow around corners, as my buddy put it.

God luck, and happy fifth wheel shopping!

Fred.

[broark01]

Had 2 SRW short beds and like many above, hardly ever used the slider. They were fine for most 8-10 hour tows. Now have evolved to a long bed DRW to head out west and cover thousands of miles. It definitely handles better with the 5th than the short beds did but the short beds did fine.

[john_bet]

I am a long bed type. My choice for my reasons. Mine has a 160.5" wheel base and is my DD to where I need to go. Cab length and bed size dictates wheel base and over all length thus ability to get around town in. JMHO.

[Cummins12V98]

Get a truck, that means a standard, long bed. No gimmicks needed with the hitch.

Better ride the longer the wheelbase. Can haul things much easier. Yes short bed people I have owned a short bed before, I hated the bed, loved the truck!

Get the longed with the factory puck system and a hitch like this and you will even have room for a toolbox like this.

[LOFAT36]

I have a short bed and a slider. I've only used the slide a couple times as I prefer pull through sites. However I never thought about it backing up once until I heard the crunch. Dented the cab & broke my power slide rear window. To me the short bed is plenty long enough.

[hbillsmith]

Short bed is 6.4' on the Ram, 6.5' on the Ford and 6.6' on the GMC Chevy. Axle placement relative to cab distance varies also. I am no slider, see my signature below. All this aside, I concur with pick the fiver first.

[donn0128]

Buy what you like. It is your money afterall. Personally I like the long bed for hauling stuff, not just the fiver.