Long bed vs. short bed

[ducksquasher]

Hi All,

I am in the market for a new truck (most likely a Super Duty) and I wanted to get any pros/cons as far as bed length goes. We have a 30' travel trailer and are going to step up to a 5th wheel in the future.

Any and all feedback is appreciated!

[mrw8i]

I have a long bed crew cab. It's really long - about 22'. The freeway joints seem to be perfectly spaced to beat you up with that wheel base. Parking lots or parking the 5th wheel at the RV lot can be tight. I'd prefer shorter bed for overall shorter wheel base, keeping the crew cab - for better maneuverability when parking the trailer.

[eluwak]

I got a LB because of the crazy rating games. I wanted something with a minimum of 1600 lbs TW capacity, and my options were:
- Any HD RAM
- LB HD GMs (SB was only 1500 lbs)
- DRW Fords (SRW was ~1250 lbs)

Anything bigger than a Miata won't fit well in our garage, so everything is outside all the time. I will say that a LB CC will pretty much guarantee that you'll be backing in to spaces wherever you go.

[campingken]

We bought a S/B because it fits our needs and, to us, when you get a quad cab they look better. We live on 6 acres with a 65x36 barn and a 60x30 garage so parking the truck wasn't an issue.

[cummins2014]

ppine wrote:
I am a long bed man. Much better for towing and hauling. I slept in the back of my truck last week. My diesel gets better mileage in a one ton truck than all the smaller trucks.

Somehow a short bed 1 ton diesel truck gets worse mileage, I didn't know that, mine is only 19-21 empty . That long bed must be fantastic :R

[ppine]

I am a long bed man. Much better for towing and hauling. I slept in the back of my truck last week. My diesel gets better mileage in a one ton truck than all the smaller trucks.

[DallasSteve]

On Ford's Super Duty Towing Guide it looks like there is a trade-off in hitch capacity and bed length. If you have a longer bed it looks like you have less hitch capacity I suppose because the same motor has to tow more truck. Is that accurate?

Ford's Super Duty Towing Guide

[cummins2014]

travelnutz wrote:
My wife calls a short bed (6.5ft) pickup a "half truck" and says she never wants one!

Our long bed crew cab diesel truck fits in our garage with room to spare behind but we never keep it in the garage as there are other vehicles and things that need the spot more. Therefore, it's only been in the garage once to see if it would even fit and it sure does and just fine. Some people must have tiny short garages. The kind usually found in tight jammed together housing developments with postage stamp sized lots and most often have HOA's so your home is not really your castle as it's actually controlled by others!

I guess :h , but I have no use for a long bed pickup. I enjoy half a truck, to each his own. :B

[phillyg]

Dealer told me he wouldn't say a slider was needed, or not, without seeing a FW mated to the truck. Kind of hard to do if you don't have the truck yet. I've only owned short bed trucks. With my 38' Wildcat I rarely needed to slide. My 40' Montana requires sliding almost all the time so I bought an auto slider after the front of the FW and rear of the cab took to kissing.

[transferred]

Durb wrote:
My previous truck was a Titan crew cab with 5 1/2 ft. bed. My current truck is a long bed. Here are my observations:

5 1/2 ft. bed - useless
8 ft. bed - useful

Agreed on 5.5' beds being useless, but I do find the 6.5' beds a nice middle ground for inner city construction sites.

Also if your 5er fits fine (which most modern ones do) then there's no point having an 8' bed if you're never going to carry full sheets of plywood (like 99% of pickup owners never do)

[Dave_H_M]

I noticed that travelnutz posted that after happy hour. :B

Only thing I could think of. :h

[1jeep]

I don't get where that was going either, my garage is just fine, with 2 motorcycles and 3 ATV's amongst other things. My truck no matter what size stays outside where I drive it.

[troubledwaters]

travelnutz wrote:
... Some people must have tiny short garages. The kind usually found in tight jammed together housing developments with postage stamp sized lots and most often have HOA's so your home is not really your castle as it's actually controlled by others!

What was the point in your diatribe? That would be like me saying if you got too much stuff in your garage for your truck to fit you must be a compulsive hoarder, who's house is so full the overflow is now taking over the garage. Both are stupid suppositions. A bit over the top if you ask me.

[dave17352]

I have had several of both of over the years. Definitely personal preference and your own driving habits and garage size. I have a truck camper and was able to get the 12 foot monster I wanted because I had a long box. I also pull my 5th wheel with it. I am in the long box corner for the moment.

[Grit_dog]

KD4UPL wrote:
I really wish I could get a 10' bed on a truck but they don't make one unless you get a cab & chassis with a custom bed. A truck is for hauling (and towing) things so a bigger bed makes more sense to me. More firewood, tools, building materials, mulch, etc. Longer wheel base rides better. You will never need a slider hitch with a long bed.
Take that truck bed, add FW hitch, grill, bikes, firewood, generator, tool box, cooler, lawn chairs, golf clubs, etc. How much room do you have now.
Yes, my garage happens to be 40 feet deep. I guess I get the "must fit in the garage thing."

Dodge did a concept hauler a few years ago with a looong bed. Never went to market.
I've been in construction all my adult life from residential to 9 figure commercial and civil projects and I believe for the work truck crowd, a 9-10' bed pickup would sell a lot of trucks. Idk why one of the big 3 hasn't done it.
Even a 8' bed , put a slip tank and big tool box in it and it doesn't leave a lot of bed left.
I could envision thousands of these trucks making the grind every morning loaded with whatever the day needed. Construction and landscaping mostly.