Short box vs 8 foot box

[dodge man]

I have an 07 Ram Quad Cab. Its a short bed and with a long bed, it would be a lot of truck. My truck can seem big and akward in some parking situations, I'd hate for it to have any longer wheel base. One thing to consider is that a long bed with a tool box in it, is about the same usable length as a short bed without a tool box. The only advatage of a long bed with a tool box in it for hauling stuff is that long sheets of plywood or drywall will slide under the tool box. Of course if you put a tool box and/or fuel tank in a short bed, the bed gets small in a hurry.

I've owned long bed regular cabs in the past, and they are great as long as you don't have the need to haul people. If you have a famliy and kids, the Quad Cab is pretty handy and at times a must have.

 

[dave1949]

Jimmy -
How about a F550 cab/chassis and you build what you want? :laughing: You could have a 12' bed with double decker seats above.

The extended and crew cabs far outnumber reg. cabs, the demand for them is there. I think it's a combination of secure & weatherproof storage and passenger room. For families who use their pickup as a passenger car/truck combination, it makes sense.

I think due to the higher demand for extended/crew cabs, the resale on a reg. cab truck takes a little hit - dollar for dollar of course. That probably doesn't matter if you plan on owning the truck for a long time.

For hauling and nothing else swaying my decision, I would choose the 8' bed hands down, or, get a nice utility trailer and whatever you like to pull it when needed.
Dave.

 

[George2615]

I have an 08 Ext cab Chevy with the 6 1/2' box. (Chevy has 3 size boxes) I don't need an 8' box and the regular box is too small. The ext cab and 6 1/2' box shorter wheelbase makes it easy to move trailers around. The extended cab also holds many tools, clothing, etc. since the seat can be folded up leaving a lot of floor space. Mainly I use the pickup bed to hold some tools, trailer chains, ratchet tie downs, jumper cables etc. It has a locking hard tonneau cover. I use one of my trailers for hauling riding mowers, 4 wheelers, etc. My last truck was an 8' box and I don't miss it at all.
If you have a 5th wheel trailer then the 8' box would probably be better.

 

[brain55]

I can't imagine having a full-size truck without an 8' bed. Trucks are made for doing work, anything else is a compromise. If you need room for the family and can't deal with the extra length, you might as well buy an SUV. I equally don't understand buying a full-size truck and immediately start complaining about mileage. Buying a full-size truck and complaining about the mileage, is like moving next to an airport and complaining about the noise, or becoming a teacher and complaining about the pay. As far as not being able to park your truck in the garage, what part of truck, did I miss? I guess I'm old school, but why would you want, or need to park your truck in the garage? Once again trucks are for work, they are not show cars, hot-rods, babe magnets, station wagons, etc. Sure, they can be those things, but in compromise of their intended purpose.

I have a 2001 GMC 4x4 single cab 1-ton dually with the 8.1L. I really want a new truck. I've been looking at the 2011 GMC K3500HD SLE with the Duramax. I am considering an extended cab. But the reality is, I want the extra room once a year, when we go get a Christmas Tree. Right now, we either all cram into the front seat, or we take 2 cars. My guess is, I will be looking at 2014 trucks before I get to buy something. We have to pay off the wife's new car first.

Brian

 

[Diamondpilot]

As far as not being able to park your truck in the garage, what part of truck, did I miss? I guess I'm old school, but why would you want, or need to park your truck in the garage? Once again trucks are for work, they are not show cars, hot-rods, babe magnets, station wagons, etc. Sure, they can be those things, but in compromise of their intended purpose.


Brian

I guess you Brentwood boys do not get much snow. Spend 2 hours digging out and scraping ice off your truck 2-3 days a week for 4-5 months a year and you will appreciate a garage.

Also, for me its a big investment. I want to take care of that $50,000 truck. Same with all my stuff. Even my equipment trailer is keep in the barn.

Chris

 

[dstig1]

When I was looking for my SD, I had 3 requirements that made it very difficult to find one used - no way I was buying new.
1. Gas engine (maybe 20% of the SDs are gas)
2. Extended cab (not full 4 door crew cab)
3. 8' bed

I looked for 4+ months until I found my truck. If you want a diesel CC short bed F250/350, you can have your pick. 8' beds are rare, other than the regular cab ones, which only have 8' beds. My Ext cab LB is the same length as the CC SB's. I started to come to the realization that most people buy Super Dutys for towing so the SB is fine and teh CC has a lot of room for people. I wanted mine more for hauling, and especially lumber as I do a lot of woodworking, thus the 8' bed. Mine is getting a workout this year as I am clearing land, but generally it is only used for hauling, plus I drive it regularly every couple weeks just so it doesn't sit around if I'm not hauling stuff.

Note - you really don't want an Ext cab if you have passengers regularly (other than kids under 12) as the back seat leg room is poor. Get the CC.

Us 8-footers need to start a club or something

-Dave

 

[buck12]

I've been going through something similar in trying to decide what to buy. I currently have a 98 F250 4x4 regular cab, long bed. It's been a great truck and since it's paid for, I've held on to it a bit longer then I really wanted to. I'm a contractor and I haul tools and supplies to jobs all over the place. I've found that the 8ft bed is either too small, or too exposed.

What I really want is a place to keep all my tool boxes so I don't have to fear they will be stolen, or out in the elements. They also take up a huge amount of room in my bed when going to some jobs, and that's created issues with room to haul materials.

I also don't care for how stiff my ride is. I'm sure it's the 4x4 aspect of it, and maybe that it's a 3/4 ton.

For me, the crew cab solves my tool box issue. I can load up the back seats and have everything that I need with me in a secure location. That leaves the bed open for hauling stuff. With the tailgate down, I think I can haul most anything that I could haul with my 8 ft bed.

I'm currently looking at the newer F-150 crew cab, two wheel drive, short bed trucks. Nicer ride, more enclosed storage and enough room on the bed for most jobs.

I have a 16ft trailer that I use when I need it, and I get matterials delivered on bigger jobs, so for those times that I need more then the short bed will hold, I have plan B.

Since I'm not hauling heavy loads, I'm looking for the smallest gas V8 that I can get. I've thought about a V6, but they don't seem to be very common and Chevy is the only one that I've actualy seen with a V6. I like Ford, so that's pretty much what I'm limiting myself to buying, and that means the 4.6 V8 engine that is suppossed to get 15 city and 20 highway mpg. I get 14 right now with my F250 4x4, 4.6 V8, so those numbers are probably pretty close to being accurate.

I've found that my local dealers have trucks listed on Ebay for less then on their websites. I've aslo fond that for some reason, I can search out in Dallas, which is 100 miles away, and find a very similar truck in miles and features for about $2,000 less then my local dealers. I haven't gone in to negotiate, but for that much money, I'll give them the oportunity to match that price, or drive the two hours.

Good luck on what you decide to buy. I'm still on the fence, but think it's something that I need to do fairly soon.

Eddie

Eddie the 09 and newer F150 crew cabs have the flat back floor which is great for storing tools, hunting gear, etc.

 

[brain55]

I guess you Brentwood boys do not get much snow. Spend 2 hours digging out and scraping ice off your truck 2-3 days a week for 4-5 months a year and you will appreciate a garage.

Also, for me its a big investment. I want to take care of that $50,000 truck. Same with all my stuff. Even my equipment trailer is keep in the barn.

Chris

Didn't think about you boys in the snow, that probably would change my opinion.

Brian

 

[Diamondpilot]

Didn't think about you boys in the snow, that probably would change my opinion.

Brian

Snow is a pain in the butt but Ice is another story. I have spent 2 hours just trying to get into a vehicle once at the Providence RI airport. What a pain.

Chris

 

[framer]

I wont go back to 8' box either.I haul mostly hand and power tools with roll out
bed.All the new trucks have on average of 3 inch deeper boxes.Didn't like that
at first cant reach over the top as easy.Deeper means can stack more makes up
a little for being shorter.