Short bed or standard bed?

bogie514 wrote:
I went with the 5.3. The 6.2 was a little pricey, but what a blast to drive! That is an amazing engine that makes any truck with it scoot!

Yeah the wifes new '16 1500 crew cab 4wd 5.3 replaced a '06 1500 crew cab Z71 5.3.....huge difference in towing ability from the new 5.3 especially down low in the rpms compared to her old '06 5.3 engine. This truck is super quiet on the road towing or cruising.

Did the truck come with the NHT max tow option with a higher gvwr/rawr with 3.73 gears ??

I went with a 5.5' bed this round by choice, not by what was available.

6.5' bed is only 1' longer obviously but it determines your turning angle but also gives a longer wheelbase for a better ride and tow experience.

For my needs, I camp in small camp sites that you need sharp angles to get into. My home driveway is the same as our road is really about 1 1/2 lanes wide and my driveway is 1 lane wide. I have to do almost a jack knife to get my trailer into the driveway.

Having a longer wheelbase would make it much harder to maneuver into my driveway let alone the camp sites I like to get.

The bed size addition in a 6.5' length is insignificant. If I was a contractor that needed to move plywood sheets and dry wall, I wouldn't be buying anything less than a 8' bed anyhow.

I've been able to haul and move everything and anything I've needed without problem in my 5.5' bed so having a 6.5' bed gains nothing but inconvenience maneuvering my trailer into my driveway and the smaller camp sites.

I originally wanted a 6.5' bed for a truck cap to maybe camp in, but realistic it would be too hot and cramped to be comfortable next to an open and airy tent. Then if I'm not camping in the Jay Flight, I'd want to use a tent anyhow to get deeper into the woods where I couldn't get the truck anyhow.

Where I come from, anything shorter than 8 feet is a short bed.

Just as an interesting point, way back in the day you could buy 9' step sides!
And Chevy used to make an 8 1/2 foot bed on the '68-'72 models.

I went with the 5.3. The 6.2 was a little pricey, but what a blast to drive! That is an amazing engine that makes any truck with it scoot!

The OP choice was never about a short bed vs a long bed so there was never a need to even bring up anyones opinions for a long bed.

The OP decided on the std bed last year which is the 1500 6' 6" bed..... and not the short 5' 8" bed.

Did you decide on the 6.2 or the 5.3 engines ?? and also the NHT package with its higher 7600 gvwr and 4600 rawr.

^^^^ A little outside the OP's post but are you able to tow a 5er with a 12' bed and have the pin over the axle or 2' forward?

Honestly have zero issues with my turning radius or the trucks capacity so I don't feel I have compromised at all. I did compromise on my 11 HO Dually since it had "almost" all the features I wanted. Bought it off the lot. This truck is ordered the way I wanted it from the factory.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

deltabravo wrote:

bogie514 wrote:
I decided on the standard bed.

Good choice. Longer wheelbase makes a better tow rig.

Unless you simply enjoy "COMPROMISING". :B

Everything is a compromise. Your 3500 lacks a wide track front axle and an 8' bed is short compared to the 12' bed on my F-550, not to mention woefully short of payload. :)

My 6'4" bed 3500 is my choice for 90% of the inner city job sites I work on as it can go places the 389s, and even the 4WD F550, struggle to.

deltabravo wrote:

bogie514 wrote:
I decided on the standard bed.

Good choice. Longer wheelbase makes a better tow rig.

Unless you simply enjoy "COMPROMISING". :B

bogie514 wrote:
I decided on the standard bed.

Good choice. Longer wheelbase makes a better tow rig.