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View Full Version : box size 6' 3/4 or 8' and a big Hello!


Harley76
09-04-2011, 08:17 AM
Hello to all, I am new to forum but have visited a lot. This is a great place and have learned many tips and tricks from all the posts.

The time is finally here, my wife and I order our truck Friday, Ford F250 6.2L to pull our new, soon to be Cougar High Country. I ordered the truck with an 8ft bed but am having second thoughts and am wondering if I wouldn't be happier with the shorter bed. I have until this coming Thursday to change anything on the order so any input, pro's and con's would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Harley76

hankpage
09-04-2011, 08:46 AM
Welcome to the forum. :wave: I have had both. The short bed is easier to get around town and fits better in parking lots. I personally like the way the long bed handles when towing so my last two have been long beds. When in parking lots I park away from the building ..... I could use the exercise of a little more walking. :rolleyes: If it's a daily driver you may be happier with the short bed, but my vote (not that it means anything ) goes to the long bed. JM2¢, Hank (If a standard cab - definitely a long bed )

Bigpuddie
09-04-2011, 09:20 AM
To me , its all about wheelbase. If you are getting a crew cab, or in my case a Mega Cab, the wheelbase will be long enough with a short box to handle just fine. Newer coaches have their noses designed for maximum turning angle in mind and todays Fifth Wheel hitches are super easy to slide. I used to drive tractor trailers, and the only advantage to a long wheelbase truck is a little smoother ride. As far as ease of getting around (whether hooked up to trailer or not), the short box will be much easier to make turns and back into RV spots....Your wife will like driving the short box better as well, Im sure. I would only get a long box if I intended on installing a auxilary fuel tank or a tool box in the bed. Keep in mind, however, that if you ordered a Dually, they only come in long bed configurations except for Dodge Mega Cab. If it were my decision, I would order a short box, install Firestone Air Bags, and a nice slider hitch. Just my opinion....Whatever you get, I am sure you will love it. All of the new trucks from the BIG 3 are very nice...Good Luck!:wave:

Festus2
09-04-2011, 09:25 AM
I would echo Hank' s "2cents worth" - I have the short bed and have had no issues turning with the 5th and the short box. Not sure, but does Ford have a slightly larger fuel tank and carrying capacity with the 8ft box? Might be worth looking into and another reason to go for the long box.

cumminsdad08
09-04-2011, 01:28 PM
i have a 6 foot box, and its my everything truck. i do make do with it, but i really wish i had an 8 foot box. i don't pull a 5er, but i do pulll regular with an 8 foot box(work truck) and it does make a difference. i think that you will be happy with the long bed. don't second guess yourself.

JRTJH
09-04-2011, 06:06 PM
In MY opinion (everyone here has one and some of them are the same) Hmmm imagine that.....

Anyway, IMHO, if you're going to tow a travel trailer, then the longer the wheelbase the better stability you'll have passing and being passed by large vehicles on the road. But, if you're towing a fifth wheel, with the new design front caps on the trailers, there's very few times you'll even need a slider hitch. The 6.5ft bed crew cab is about the same wheelbase as the 8ft supercab. Both will give you about the same ride and same maneuverability. The 8ft crew cab is a bit longer and will be harder to maneuver in campgrounds backing into spots, etc, it's also harder to park in most parking lots, which puts you on the "outer fringe" at most, Not a problem if you're towing because any trailer will put you "out there" anyway, but solo driving, the longer the truck, the more problematic it may be.

Use caution about nomenclature on truck bed lengths, it's changed recently, Old style short bed was 6.5ft and long bed was 8ft.

NEW NOMENCLATURE: Short bed = 5.5 ft
Long bed = 6.5 ft
Extended bed = 8 Ft.

Make sure you're talking apples and apples with your salesman.

Pretty much, as others have already said, any truck you get that's rated to tow the trailer you've got/are getting, will be a joy to operate. Even if it is a bit large in town driving, the size is intimidating to other traffic so you still have "some advantage" LOL

RCrawler
09-04-2011, 06:10 PM
I have a CC longbed Ford and a MegaCab shortbed Dodge. Just for running around, the shortbed is a little easier to handle in tight parking lots and close spaces.

I feel that the longbed has a sightly more stable feel while towing a pull trailer. But that may be because my Ford weighs almost 10K on its own, which eliminates any trailer sway issues. So that might be the difference in feel.

If you're looking at a 5th wheel, I would definitely choose the longbed. The hitch selection is cheaper, and there is no issue with cab clearance. Even with an auto slide hitch, my trailer comes pretty close to the cab. May be an issue if I am backing up turning on a incline.

When we were looking to buy, we found that the quad cab didn't have enough back seat room for growing kids. So I picked the Mega. I wish I would have waited a couple more years for the true Dodge crewcab to come out so that I could have had the long bed.

Jason

hankaye
09-04-2011, 08:22 PM
harley76, Howdy;

Welcome.

If you need to put the harley in the back the 8' is the way to go.

If you end up with a pre- 10 trailer you will most likely need to get one of those "slider" style hitches for a 5th wheel. (More moving parts to go flooie).

Should you need to purchase a 4' X 8' chunk of plywood it fits in the 8' bed, kinda like it was made for each other ...

The 8'er's look better ... more porportionally correct.

Your 4-wheeler fits in it better when ya want to take it and not the 5'er.

Your dog will appericate the extra walking around room.

Cargo space is GOOD ... :thumbsup:

That's all for now.

hankaye

Harley76
09-05-2011, 07:21 AM
Thank you all for your reply's. I should have mentioned the truck will be a super-cab (the Grand-kids have grown up and don't think we need the four-doors any more) Also the Cougar will be a 5'er

Harley

hankaye
09-05-2011, 07:36 AM
Harley76, Howdy;

My '04 F-250 is also a "Super Cab" ...no kids, NO wife (4 ex's), no Grand kids.

Dog 'OWNES' the pax seat. ;)

hankaye

jerseyphil
09-05-2011, 02:17 PM
I have a 2011 F-250 Short Bed (6'9") Crew Cab. The only negative thing I can agree with as indicated by a previous responder is the smaller fuel tank. Mine is 26 gallons and I wish it was larger. When pulling my 5th wheel, the fuel runs out pretty quickly at 12 1/2 to 13 MPG.

What I've done to compensate is carry a 5 gallon fuel container for an emergency, although I'd probably do the same thing even if I had a larger tank.

I have a slider hitch, but have never had to use it since my 5th wheel front cap is sculpted to enable turns.

Hope this helps,
Phil