Full size wheelbase

[Reno_Nate]

Hi all,
Looking for a new to me used pickup and debating on wheelbase. Currently drive an 04 tacoma extended cab but find myself not being able to take friends or family places and having to rely on my wife's small suv for those trips.
Also would like something I could through a reasonably light weigh camper on when I get the money for it. So that has brought me to getting a full size truck with a crew cab. My question is how much difference does a wheel base between the short and standard bed make to mild-moderate off-roading. I mostly use it to get camping places/trailheads no off-roading for the sake of off-roading. I plan on putting a 2in lift and 33" tires on it so improve some handling off road while also maintaining fuel economy. I love being able to sleep in the back of my 6ft bed currently (I'm 5'10") and like the room for putting my mountain bike and other things in it. However wondering if its just too long with a crew cab and I should just get a short bed.
I'm leaning towards an F150 but not closed off to RAM or GM. Partly I like the idea of getting the heavy duty payload package in the F150 standard bed to not have to worry at all about payload.
Any thoughts? If I get the standard bed am I going to be way to limited? I live in NV and most roads/trails are fairly open.
Thanks!

 

[Grassland]

F150 Supercab 6.5' bed is 145" wheelbase.
Supercrew 5.5' bed is the same.
I seldom need to drive people longer than a couple hours sitting in the back of my Supercab, which has way more room than an extended cab Tacoma. How tall are your family members and friends who tag along?

The supercrew 6.5' bed is a fair bit longer, and you will notice the difference in turning radius, and I've generally not found them to be as commonly available, but that varies by region. I think they were 156" wheelbase or somewhere there abouts.

 

[Reno_Nate]

Guess I should have clarified that I'm only looking at the Supercrew. Folks i out there are average size afults and drives probup to 7 hrs in a day. I drive a supermarket super duty for work and no way I would want to be in the back for any length of time. So wondering if the negatives outweighs the positives for a standard bed 157 wheelbase over the short bed 145 wheelbase. Thanks!

 

[bigeyedfish]

I drive a crew cab F250 with a 6.5' bed. The truck I had right before this one was a crew cab F150 with a 5.5' bed. Off road I don't even notice the wheelbase difference, which says more about the terrain than the truck, but it sounds like your off road driving would be similar. For me, the differences are way more noticeable in parking lots and trying to fit anything in that tiny F150 bed.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Op, are you concerned about mpgs?
The mpg difference 1/2 vs 3/4 ton debate to me is not a factor.
1/2 ton empty gets pretty good mileage, load it up, then not so much.
3/4 ton gets okay mileage, load it up doesn't change much, unless severely overloaded.
Mho, f250 4x4 ccsb sd (what I own ) is a really nice truck. Mine is a 2000, pretty much a cherry. Full-time pop-up @1500lb, 2 dogs, significant other, 2 atvs, never breaks a sweat. Live in Colorado avg mpg @13

 

[deserteagle56]

Just what do you mean by "moderate off-roading"? I've owned a F150 for several years now and I can tell you there is simply not enough ground clearance for anything but driving dirt roads. Your Taco has a lot of ground clearance; any F250/350 will also have abundant ground clearance so unless you plan to do some expensive mods to raise the F150 you'll be pretty limited in where you can go off road. I didn't raise mine - but I did invest in some spendy but strong RCI bash plates to protect the underside.

 

[Reno_Nate]

Thanks! How much do you think the different wheelbase matters for breakover angle? That's my biggest concern I guess. And 1 do care a lot about gas mileage since my truck is my daily driver so an HD isn't practical especially since it will be unloaded most of the time. Also I want the auto 4wd since we get variable road conditions here a lot. Hard to say what I mean ny moderate. Pretty much on dirt roads /tracks but we get some steep inclines, deeper ruts and it's pretty rocky. I was thinking 2in lift and 33s but maybe thay will still be too low? Not doing anything too crazy.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Probably ought to stay with a little truck and make 2 trips if needed.

 

[Reno_Nate]

Probably ought to stay with a little truck and make 2 trips if needed.

Two trips for going camping 5 hours away doesn't work

 

[Joe917]

Turning circle would be a bigger concern than breakover angle.

 

[SDDiver5]

Totally unbiased opinion here, but, F150 with a Fox/Bils/Icon level, 315s and a locker and you can go just about anywhere and look pretty awesome doing it.

This is my first 5.5 bed, have always had the 6.5 and it was almost a deal breaker for me. However, I am glad I went with the shorter bed. It really has not limited me all that much with anything I've hauled or when offroad. Plus, I personally think the super crew with the 6.5 looks kinda long and goofy.

HDPP would be nice to have but I have never felt the desire to want it.

So wondering if the negatives outweighs the positives for a standard bed 157 wheelbase over the short bed 145 wheelbase. Thanks!

The very few negatives of the short bed will likely not hold you back other than sleeping in the bed.

I'm just over 6 foot and one time I flipped up the rear seats and cuddled up on the floor for a few hours. Wasn't great but I still made it work lol.

 

[billiebob]

My question is how much difference does a wheel base between the short and standard bed make to mild-moderate off-roading.

The difference is noticeable but if you are comfortable off road on skinny trails in a Tacoma.... the difference is minor. If you are constantly wishing you had something shorter than the Tacoma don't buy something bigger but otherwise have at 'er. Understand there might be days you will need to back up for a mile or more..... get good mirrors.

 

[Reno_Nate]

Turning circle would be a bigger concern than breakover angle.

Gotcha. I test drove one and turning radius didnt bother me at all. Says there is about 2 degrees difference in breakover angle between the beds but I'm not sure if that is a lot or not?

 

[Reno_Nate]

Turning circle would be a bigger concern than breakover angle.

Gotcha. I test drove one and turning radius didnt bother me at all. Says there is about 2 degrees difference in breakover angle between the beds but I'm not sure if that is a lot or not?

Totally unbiased opinion here, but, F150 with a Fox/Bils/Icon level, 315s and a locker and you can go just about anywhere and look pretty awesome doing it.

This is my first 5.5 bed, have always had the 6.5 and it was almost a deal breaker for me. However, I am glad I went with the shorter bed. It really has not limited me all that much with anything I've hauled or when offroad. Plus, I personally think the super crew with the 6.5 looks kinda long and goofy.

HDPP would be nice to have but I have never felt the desire to want it.




The very few negatives of the short bed will likely not hold you back other than sleeping in the bed.

I'm just over 6 foot and one time I flipped up the rear seats and cuddled up on the floor for a few hours. Wasn't great but I still made it work lol.

Nice! And took a look at your build looks pretty sweet! My main concern besides sleeping in it is I'd like to be able to make sure I can fit my mtn bike in with a tonneau cover and lock it. Maybe I just need to take the mtn bike into a dealer lol

 

[SDDiver5]

Gotcha. I test drove one and turning radius didnt bother me at all. Says there is about 2 degrees difference in breakover angle between the beds but I'm not sure if that is a lot or not?

Nice! And took a look at your build looks pretty sweet! My main concern besides sleeping in it is I'd like to be able to make sure I can fit my mtn bike in with a tonneau cover and lock it. Maybe I just need to take the mtn bike into a dealer lol

Thanks! For what it's worth, I can fit my beach cruiser in my bed. No tonneau of course but will still fit. Def bring the Bike in for fitting. Front tire off and you should be able to lay it down and fit no problem.