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Short Bed Silverado

travelnman
Explorer
Explorer
I'm sure this has been talked about some where on the forum but what problems will I run into with a short bed Silverado Pick Up and a fifth wheel.It seems like there are issues, then what length bed is recommended and could I get away with a short bed. Looking at a 2016 Silverado with a short bed of course love this truck has it all
and even brown paint with brown leather. That's rare these days everything is black on black. Wish I knew more about this tempted to trust a sales person but I have learned a few lessons doing that. Mostly they don't really know themselves.
33 REPLIES 33

Me_Again
Explorer II
Explorer II
Chevy/GM is noted for the best axle to cab distance. With new trailers with cutout front corners there is little chance of cab/window contact. Be sure to get a truck that has the factory 5th wheel pucks or have them installed if possible. I put them in our RAM myself, as that was the only missing item on a floored truck that we bought.
2021 F150 2.7 Ecoboost - Summer Home 2017 Bighorn 3575el. Can Am Spyder RT-L Chrome, Kawasaki KRX1000. Retired and enjoying it! RIP DW 07-05-2021

donn0128
Explorer II
Explorer II
Ypu can tow with a sjort bed. The trade off is,,,,,,
You loose 2 feet of useable cargo space,
You cannot carry a sheet of plywood or sheetrock with the tail gate closed,
You may need or want a much heavier slider hitch, thereby reducing your available cargo capacity,
You likely could not fit the truck with a folding bed cover,
Rarely have I ever seen a 3500 short bed truck. Which indicates to me your interested in a 2500 series truck? Which is fine as long as your looking at a short, light fiver. Once you go over about 12,000 pounds gross your going to want a 3500 series truck.

Dayle1
Explorer II
Explorer II
Over almost 30 yrs, I've used GM 6-1/2 ft bed trucks (4 of them) to tow fivers. Never had truck to front cap contact. Had a manual slider for a few yrs and the one time I had a tight situation, it didn't help. Ended up backing into the spot w/o the slider. I do not have a slider on the truck now. There is no advantage to jack-knifing the fiver to 90 degrees, it puts a lot of shear stress on the tires (which is the biggest failure on a fiver), suspension and frame. A little extra time jockeying the fiver back and forth will still get it into a tight spot.
Larry Day
Texas Baptist Men-Retiree Builders since '01
'13 Silverado 3500HD LT 2wd CCSB SRW, custom RKI bed
'19 Starcraft Telluride 292RLS
Rig Photos

garyp4951
Explorer III
Explorer III
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29520699/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm