Bigger is better? Long vs short bed

[jreilly2120]

What's everyone's experience with long vs short bed full sized trucks?

I'd be DDing and offroading an extended cab long bed (200-220 inch overall length) truck. Cant decide if I want the extra 18' of length for an in-bed tank, or the shorter wheelbase. How hard are the long beds to live with in the real world (parking lots, etc?)

Side note, drove a Nissan NV2500 for work (240 inches long) for about 100k miles. Loved the thing, wasn't really that bad to get around in, but it wasn't lifted and I definitely didn't care about running into things as much as I would with my own truck. A good backup camera made it pretty livable.

 

[rruff]

Only 200-220"? My truck is 248" long. When I get the camper built it will be ~280". Parking lots vary. Some are certainly a bear to negotiate, others are no problem. Where you live and park makes a huge difference.

One weird thing: my new truck has a smaller turning circle than the tiny '86 Toyota truck.

 

[lqdchkn]

IMO shorter is always better for complicated/tight places but being 6' myself I cant fit in a SB with the tailgate up.

Best compromise if you can manage it is a Extended cab Long bed. That way youre not any longer than a Club cab Short bed. But have the needed length if you want to sleep in the bed with the tailgate up

 

[Martinjmpr]

Has anyone here made a sleeping platform in a full sized truck that goes across the width of the vehicle rather than lengthways? You couldn't do it in a "compact truck" but some full sized vehicles are nearly 6' wide.
.
I've wondered if it would work to do, for example, a sleeping setup in the back seat of a crew-cab truck, basically kind of like a "sleeper" arrangement in a semi? With the sleeping portion taken care of by the width of the vehicle, length would no longer be an issue (and also you would have the entire space of the bed for equipment, while having a safe and secure interior sleep area.)

 

[rruff]

My bed is width wise, but my interior width (of the future camper) is 78", so plenty of room. The rear seat of the cab is only 65" wide.

 

[leelikesbikes]

I can't imagine a short bed, but I use my truck for work and play, long bed is nice for hauling anything and isn't that what trucks are for. Mines a standard cab so the turning radius is good, real trucks only have 2 doors anyways, these other things guys like to drive are just cars with a bed, especially the little 5' beds!

 

[Theoretician]

I have a regular cab with an 8ft bed, 141in wheelbase. I can follow jeeps pretty well on tight trails if I ignore pinstriping from brush, but I wouldn't want the wheelbase any longer. Maybe an extended cab with a 6.5ft bed, for a 145in wheelbase, but I really wouldn't want it to be any longer. That breakover angle gets nasty really quickly.

 

[D45]

Long bed, all day long

Even with my trucks 6.5 footer, it gets used and filled up fast

I miss my old trucks capability with the 8' bed

 

[TripLeader]

Short bed. It's nice to bring the kitchen sink, but it's nicer to have more mobility.

 

[Betarocker]

Longbed for me. I need the 8' length for building materials for my real job, and the ability to transport a fleet of skis for my part-time seasonal job.

8' = pickup truck, 6.5' (or less) = pickup car.

 

[IdaSHO]

Best compromise if you can manage it is a Extended cab Long bed.

+1

Good luck though, they are getting harder to find.

That's my experience anyhow looking at SuperDuty trucks.


An extended cab long box is the only truck Ill ever own.
Lighter and shorter than a crew cab, room enough to be 100% comfortable in the cab + gear and pup space, and a long box for so many reasons...


Old truck, still in use...

New truck, soon to be fitted with a custom flatbed and to eventually accept camper hauling duties..

 

[rayra]

I've had my long bed C-10 for 31 years. Only very rarely wished it was shorter, maybe 0.01% of the time. High centering or making a 19-point u-turn on a mountainside road. Nearly all the time it's been great. So much so that when it came time for a build vehicle I chose to get a Suburban instead of using our Tahoe, because I really wanted that 4'x8' cargo ability (which the Sub retains)

 

[GoinBoardin]

It's all about what space you need. I have a super cab short box Ford, with a 90" long flatbed (ends at receiver hitch). Plenty of space for my uses. It works well enough off road, at 137" wheelbase. Someone said real trucks have 8' boxes, I say real trucks have flatbeds ;-)

 

[IdaSHO]

More like real trucks have 8' flatbeds :victory:

 

[b9ev]

It's a good thing my truck has a 6.75' bed.

Longbed for me. I need the 8' length for building materials for my real job, and the ability to transport a fleet of skis for my part-time seasonal job.

8' = pickup truck, 6.5' (or less) = pickup car.