Do you need a slider hitch with a 61/2 ft bed

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Is going to a shorter bed truck an upgrade? please explain how thats an upgrade with the added cost of sliding hitches, concern of working it, and loss of cargo room in a long bed? How about resale value? Used buyers want a truck to haul stuff.

Very simplistic thinking. Everyone I know who has towed or is towing a 5th wheel trailer is doing so with a truck with the standard box. The long bed makes for a 2 foot increase in wheelbase and a much greater turning radius and are not as convenient to drive around when not towing a trailer. Same applies to going with DRW which is not needed for 95% of the trailers.

There is nothing I cannot haul in my standard bed truck and where I need the extra 18 inches of a long bed truck. All I have to do is drop the tailgate if I want to haul 4x8 sheets of plywood. With a 5th wheel trailer and kingpin the bed is not going to hold the sheets of plywood regardless of its length.

The ONLY time I would like a 8' bed is when I have long fishing rods in the truck. The rest of the time the standard bed is more than enough for transporting bicycles with the wheels left one, 14 foot kayaks, building supplies and lumber, and anything else.

Something that is a good investment with any pickup with a 5th wheel trailer is one of the shock absorbing kingpin mounts like the ones from Trailair. They do a great job at preventing trailer movement from getting transmitted to the truck cab and its occupants.

I put a Demco Hijacker auto slide in my 2015 F350 short bed and could not live without it.
My last truck was a long bed and I never thought about the clearance.
My trailer does not have the rounded corners, so tight turns are a problem.
I got the auto slide so I would not have to think about it.
First trip with it I had to make a very tight turn and did not remember to check the clearance.
Works perfectly.

The picture below is of my 2002 F-350 Short Bed truck that once pulled a Keystone Fuzion 362, which does have the corner relief for tight turns. I did have a slider hitch and rarely used it. I should have used the slider right before the turn that allowed the trailer to hit the cab.

Do you need a sliding hitch with a 6 1/2' short bed truck ??

Depends on the brand of truck and as mentioned the trailers front profile.

Truck brand matters.
GM has a longer dimension from the back of the cab to the trucks rear axle than a Ford or Dodge/Ram which can eliminate the need for a sliding hitch. There has been several GM short bed owners buy the expensive Superglide and find they didn't need any type of slider.

I have a '03 short bed Dodge with a older '97 5th wheel trailer that has the square/flat corner profile which requires a sliding hitch.

One size don't fit all so do your homework on the above points.

I mounted a second set of bed rails in my short bed F250 putting the pin 52" behind the cab's rear window. With our relatively light pin weight, I can't tell the difference towing but I can make full lock U-turns without contact. On long trips where I know the maneuvers that we'll encounter ahead of time, I put the hitch in the forward rails.

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Is going to a shorter bed truck an upgrade? please explain how thats an upgrade with the added cost of sliding hitches, concern of working it, and loss of cargo room in a long bed? How about resale value? Used buyers want a truck to haul stuff.

I'm sure the OP was only stating upgrade about a newer truck, not throwing off on a long bed. Everyone has their opinion on trucks for different reasons, some might own several trucks. Personally I would never buy a CC long bed truck to drive, I do however buy only long bed trucks for my business. I actually buy dual wheel long beds, SRW long beds, diesel, and gas engines. My point is their really is no one size fits all truck, I buy only 2WD for my shop, only 4WD for my personal use. It's not just different strokes, it's different applications require different equipment.

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
i'd still like an answer to my question relevant to topic, as revealed here in this topic.
When is a short bed truck an upgrade? How can costs to make a short bed do the duty of a long bed be justified?
do yourself a favor. stay long, simple. no expensive or forgotten hitch to switch . no worries.

When you come to the realization that a long bed truck doesn't fit your lifestyle. Not everyone needs to haul 4x8 sheets of plywood with the tailgate closed. (well, I can, but a lot of people generally have an image issue with driving a minivan for anything but soccer practice and groceries, bless their hearts)

I had an F350 Long Bed Dually in a crew cab... Loved it and hated it...pulling in a straight line was great...maneuvering in a tight parking lot...no fun. At work my truck stuck out 4 plus feet In to the travel lane when parked...while the short bed super duties were tucked in nicely into their parking spots. Out of the way. I worried every day about someone taking the front of my truck out since it was sitting half way into the lane in the parking garage.

For me, a short bed would have been a huge upgrade.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I like to park in my garage. Short bed fits, long bed doesn't.

To the OP, I got by without a slider on my Ford, but needed one for the Ram.

i'd still like an answer to my question relevant to topic, as revealed here in this topic.
When is a short bed truck an upgrade? How can costs to make a short bed do the duty of a long bed be justified?
do yourself a favor. stay long, simple. no expensive or forgotten hitch to switch . no worries.

It depends on the trailer. If it has the extended pin box and rounded or cut-back front corners, you'll probably never use the sliding feature. I had a 2005 F250 6'9" bed crew cab, pulling a KZ toy hauler. Only used the sliding feature twice, but could have gotten it into the spot without it.