Long or short bed for 5th wheel towing?

[lmarcrum]

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.

[Itching2go]

Agree with most of the posts above. Both long and short can work, but it all depends on your preferences and situation. We had both. The short bed (6.5 foot) had the advantage in parking without the fiver/TT attached. There are also more of them out there if you're in the used truck market. The long bed had the advantage in ride (IMHO, seems to be more stable when towing), and gives more room in the bed for carrying things like bikes, generators, etc. Neither option is a clear winner for every situation. But having said all of this, on balance, our preference is for the long bed.

[mountainsam]

I tow with a 6-1/2 foot bed using a side winder pin. couldn't be happier. The side winder makes backing easier and the shorter bed is great in parking lots, especially since parking spaces are getting smaller all the time.

[4x4ord]

I am happy with my short bed and nonslider hitch

[Boxer_Lovers]

I prefer the ride and control of a long bed. Had a short bed briefly and for towing it didn't have the stability or ride quality.

My long bed is a DRW which provides more lateral stability towing a 5er than a SRW does. Also the longer wheel base provides a smoother ride when towing.

[Bionic_Man]

Short beds work fine. I did it for over 10 years. Wether you need a sliding hitch or not will depend on the trailer you get. I need one with mine.

And there are plenty of reports of people with 2500 RAMs with the new suspension that are doing very well towing 5ers.

Personally, I prefer the long bed crew over the regular bed Mega. There is considerably more room in the back seat of my crew cab than there is in the back seat of my wife's Chrysler 300. To each their own.

[jody_h]

I have pulled both of my 5ers with short beds. The truck i have now is a mega cab. Unless you want to make a 90 deg turn you will not have a problem. At least i haven't had any problems with it.

[SDcampowneroper]

In the latest previous thread of this question, I iterated that an 8' bed is standard, anything less is short. Guess I'm getting old. I always thought a real pickup truck is 8'.
Seems today a 6 1/2' bed is considered standard, 8' long, less than 6 1/2', short.
Don't cut yourself 'short' without good reason.

[rhagfo]

donn0128 wrote:
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?

Donn0128, way to brake in early with the only correct answer!!!

[azdryheat]

We looked at the Ram Mega-cab in 2013 but the payload wasn't much better than the Chevy 2500 it would be replacing and we needed payload. I got the long bed Chevy dually, 5,000 pound payload, for my toy hauler. My previous Chevy 2500 was a short bed and it pulled our 37' 5th wheel with ease. Never had to use the slider. Just make sure you have enough truck for your trailer.

[outdoorlovers]

We have truck in our signature - 3/4 ton short bed. Haved towed our 5th wheel for a year now and never had to activate the slide hitch.

[amandasgramma]

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. 🙂 🙂

[blt2ski]

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

[Golden_HVAC]

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.

[donn0128]

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?