Short box or long box

[S&D--Forever]

I love my 2017 Super Duty SRW short box. One of the criteria was that it had to fit in our standard residential garage. It's a huge investment and I wanted to protect it. I like the shorter wheelbase for all things non towing. On the other hand it is difficult to haul a street motorcycle and impossible to carry a side by side ATV. I really wrestled with which one to get. Good luck with you research and decision. LOL tight fit!!

[cookinwitdiesel]

Long box (and wheelbase) will provide better stability to counter sway, that and the extra turn clearance (if needed) are the "technical" reasons that come to mind.

[LewisB]

We have a long box crew cab DRW. I love this combo because I can use my 90 gal fuel tank/tool box combo. With 45 gal diesel on board plus 90 gal auxiliary tank, it gives me a practical driving range of over 1,200 miles! Yes, it consumes a lot of space forward of the 5er hitch, but I will sacrifice that space in favor of NEVER having to hunt for a fuel station while in the middle of a trip with our 40' toy hauler in tow!

Parking, driving in town; all are easy as long as you pay attention. The aux tank lets me take advantage of fuel savings, gives me a nice tool box, and gravity feeds into the main tank. The crew cab provides comfortable seating for up to 6. The DRW's allow me to tow anything I want or may buy in the future.

Like trailers, don't under-buy on your truck (and bed space) and regret your decision in the future. We tend to keep our trucks for 10 years or so. I think I'm set for the future.

[Cracker]

If it will fit your garage, and for the small difference in cost, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t stick with the long box. As you can see in my signature, I also have a crew cab and duals. I’ve never once regretted the long bed, the crew cab, or the duals. Fantastic towing stability. The only possible disadvantage is that the dually is a lousy plow truck and, even without a plow, those duals are just big snowshoes that will slip and slide all over the place on ice or snow. Did I mention that I also have 4wd???

[sauerld]

Originally Posted by ptpick

I am looking to upgrade my truck pulling our 5er. We have a 2013 Ram 2500 CC, SRW, Diesel, 6 speed manual, long box, pulling a 2017 35' Sprinter wide body. I need an automatic. I am staying with a Ram at this point but investigating going to a short box. What is the pros and cons, preferences and disadvantages? Any thoughts would be helpful.

We have a short box 2500 HD pulling a 39ft Alpine. No problems at all. It helps when going to some parks that have length limits.

[Snoking]

Originally Posted by ptpick

I am looking to upgrade my truck pulling our 5er. We have a 2013 Ram 2500 CC, SRW, Diesel, 6 speed manual, long box, pulling a 2017 35' Sprinter wide body. I need an automatic. I am staying with a Ram at this point but investigating going to a short box. What is the pros and cons, preferences and disadvantages? Any thoughts would be helpful.

We towed our 16K 39'4" Bighorn to Arizona and back twice with out 2015 3500 4x4 CC SB / Aisin. Towing in varying wind conditions without an issue, 93 in Nevada 40 MPH side winds and I-8 from Yuma to San Diego in really strong winds. I would get the 18" rims and not the 20" ones.

Chris

[Local150]

Think my chevy is a 69 inch I believe,, I love it,, fits easily into garage,, no problems at all with clearance pulling 5ver,, I like the looks of short box better but of course that part is a personal opinion

[Alamen]

Ok just to be clear a 1 ton short box is really a regular box at 82". A 1/2 ton short box is 67", so far shorter. A 1 ton long box is 98". So maybe not as short as some think. If I was looking to buy again I would look at buying a Dually if I could get away with it rather than concern myself with box length on a SRW. I pull a 35' Montana with a short box 1 ton Superduty and have never ever ever even come close to being concerned about sway. High wind, rigs, nothing upsets the truck and trailer. Its incredible how stable it feels BUT like a lot have said in far better terms than I can express that a Dually is as stable as it gets and trust me I would have bought one if the budget allowed at the time.

Things to remember is this. 1) If you go shorter box on 1 ton and decide later you want a camper you will have issues getting a decent length on the truck. 2) If you go long box on a SRW you can get a decent camper but weight is the issue. 3) If you buy a Dually then none of that matters PLUS if you decide you are going to get a bigger trailer or maybe just one with a far superior build you can haul that added weight without issue.

Don't buy a truck that will put you near your max, buy one that you can grow if needed. Our trailer at 35' is big enough for the wife and I for now, BUT to tell the truth we thought our last one was big enough at 26' LOL. See what I mean? At near 14000LBS loaded I doubt I would want to haul more weight with the SRW to be safe and plenty stable without going near max on weights. Hence why I said I really should have looked at a Dually. (for the future)

[Howler]

IMHO, I prefer the log box for the ride. I had a 2001 F-250, auto, 7.3 diesel pulling a 36 ft 4 draft horse trailer. Good ride, good control.

[NevadaRich]

I have a Chevy 3500HD CC DRW, and I tow a 43ft Toy Hauler, when loaded is over 20K, I also in the winter change to a Lance 1181 Truck Camper with a Car Trailer in tow.....Been RVing for over 20 years and have slowly changed RV's (6)Over the years changing Trucks, If I had to do it again, I would have saved money and got a long bed DRW from the start, we said we would never go bigger, but life changes, Jet skis, ATV's, Boat, over the years, so trucks have to adjust with the changes......A lot of people go for the 2500, but when you start getting over 40 ft and weight goes up, your driving and the winds pick up, going from a SRW 2500 to a 3500 DWR is like night and day, big trucks don't move it...ETC. But the main thing is get what is right for you!! Good luck