What made you choose long or short bed? - Montana Owners Club

Wrenchtraveller · 03-10-2006, 01:38 AM

I am curious what made you choose the bed length of your TV. I am surprized at the number of people pulling Montys with SB trucks.
I had two CC SBs and bought them because they were all I could find in the lot at the time. My 05 was a factory order so I got the LB for the extra wheelbase, larger tank, and in 05 Ford went to a coil spring front end on the 4x4s so they turn much sharper than the earlier model 4x4s so my 05 CC LB has the same turning radius as my 04 CC SB did.

With a SB you need a sliding hitch if you want to have the same turning clearance, you get a smaller gas tank with a Ford but you do get a truck that is easier to park and will allow you to back into smaller campgrounds.

I am just curious what made you decide the length of your box.

jrgwdenner · 03-10-2006, 02:00 AM

Hearing the POP when our neighbor took out his window on his SB while turning around in our cul de sac would have convinced us if we didn't already have a LB.

CountryGuy · 03-10-2006, 02:05 AM

We bought the truck that we felt supported the numbers and requirements needed to haul around Montana. Because this is such an emotional subject for many, we say no more. We are happy with our choice, made whatever adjustments required for parking etc (maybe I will trim a few ounces off my backside -- OK, one can HOPE!! HA HA).

richfaa · 03-10-2006, 02:31 AM

Got the long bed because we wanted all the room we could get, did not want to worry about slider hitches, was not concerned about how long the truck may be and could afford it.Thats our story..only..

Mudchief · 03-10-2006, 02:42 AM

It is like you stated in your closing remarks. You have a shorter turning radus. When backing the trailer will cut faster. In town it is easier to park it and does not stick out. I have 1 crew cab long bed truck on the farm and nobody likes to drive it. A long bed cc is suppose to ride better on the road because of the long wheel base. However when riding on the back seat of this one it will beat you to death. It is a 3/4 ton like all of the other trucks.

tollmann · 03-10-2006, 03:07 AM

I just did not want to need a slider hitch. One more thing to forget and cause a possible crunch.

ols1932 · 03-10-2006, 03:22 AM

I just wanted the better ride of the longer wheelbase, plus cargo carrying capacity. I have two Highway Products tool boxes in the truck.
Orv

rickety · 03-10-2006, 03:24 AM

My long bed met all the criteria, didn't require a slider, had more room,I wasn't concerned about length, so what if it takes a country mile to turn around in?,

Dave e Victoria · 03-10-2006, 03:28 AM

As Al & Carol said, this is a personal choice. We have a long bed because of need for dually due to heavy pin weight of the Cambridge. (There is a rummer afloat that GM is working on a shortbed dually.) Our previous truck was a CC shortbed. To me, slider hitch was no big deal. Small fuel tank was terrible feature. I loved the way the SB parked compared to Bubba. At the end of the day the decision is just a series of compromises each of us has to make for our own situation. Just be sure you get the right color -- for you that is.

Glenn and Lorraine · 03-10-2006, 03:30 AM

Twice I went specifically for a Short bed. My 03 Silverado was a short bed as is my 05 Sierra and for all the reasons stated above....

Quote:

quote:You have a shorter turning radus. When backing the trailer will cut faster. In town it is easier to park it and does not stick out.

And at Wal*Mart I don't have to park at the far end of the lot due to the extra width of a dually

Quote:

quote:A..I just did not want to need a slider hitch. One more thing to forget and cause a possible crunch.
B..did not want to worry about slider hitches,
C..Hearing the POP when our neighbor took out his window on his SB while turning around in our cul de sac would have convinced us if we didn't already have a LB.

With the Pullrite Superglide Automatic Sliding Hitch NONE of the above are concerns.

As far as the smaller fuel tank. At first it was a concern but no longer. The smaller tank forces me to get off the road around 250 to 300 miles and that is just fine as it is as far as I want to travel in any one day.

Wordsmith · 03-10-2006, 04:58 AM

Glenn, you summed up my thoughts exactly, with the exception that I did not want to open the garage door to get to the other side of the truck at night. Even witht he short bed, I have to pull the truck to where the front is almost touching the wall and it is still a tight squeeze with the door down. Aesthetically, and this is most definitely not a practical reason, I find the short bed more pleasing.

Like you say, with the SuperGlide, I do not worry about the Montana's nose kissing the truck cab.

I suppose, though, like 4x4 on trucks, this is a matter of personal taste.

Pete Hanson · 03-10-2006, 05:07 AM

We got a shortbed mainly because 80% of the time we are not towing the Monty and the around town driving and parking seems a lot easier. I need to make it clear that I have gone against the will and advice of my father-inlaw who has been a 5er camper for many years. He still talks to me however. I knew I would need a slider but I wanted it to be automatic which means a higher cost but then again the long bed would have cost me more as well. What I am hearing is that its really a personal choice and I agree with that.

SAndreasen · 03-10-2006, 05:08 AM

Having a TT instead of a 5th, I didn't have to worry about sildering hitches. My problems was my short garage. I wanted an crew cab short box BUT my garage was 9 inches to short. Even with the extended cab short box, when I park it the nose just touches the front of the garage and I have about 1 inch clearance by the overhead door. My 2500 HD 8.1/Allison pulls the TT just great! We're very happy with our rig. I can't have a 5er because my pole building only has a 12 ft door on in. So we're really very happy wiith what we have. And the best thing is its PAID FOR! We just enjoy camping. Our church has the snowbirds then when summer comes we disappear for almost 4 months. Camping and meeting all the wonderful people is so much fun. Hope to meet a lot of you at the fall rally.

Parrothead · 03-10-2006, 05:12 AM

The big thing for us was the larger fuel tank so we always have some fuel to spare. When we had our first TV (short bed) and 5er we got into a really scary situation when we almost ran out of fuel and had to stop in a very hilly old town with narrow streets. We almost didn't get out of the service station. We also, like others, wanted extra room in the bed of the truck (to carry my electric cart) and went with the dually for stability and not having to worry so much about weight. I'm getting real good at driving Brutus and it is amazing how many people will stop and help if I'm having trouble backing out of a parking space! We have also found a long bed very useful for moving things and helping the kids move. And we can have a tool box.
Happy trails.......................

Jeff Heiser · 03-10-2006, 05:14 AM

I have a LB because my 750 Brute Force Kawas. ATV will not fit in a SB - neither will my motorcycle. Like George Carlin says why do you have to get something bigger, it's so you can have/carry more stuff.

God Bless America
Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida

Bill and Bobbi · 03-10-2006, 06:29 AM

I got the long bed for the same reasons as you stated plus I have a reese 20k hitch that I like just fine and didn't want to buy and pay for the slider to be installed. I have the 2500hd d/a and am blessed with the family's GM discount. The selection of SWB trucks was better than LWB ones and it was hard to find my options in anything other than white. Also my 4 wheeler fits inside with the tail gate up now.I like the "plug and play" of not having to do major modifications to the truck so the larger fuel take was a big plus. I've been caught in interstate traffic jams(haven't we all?) and was sweating bullets about running out of fuel so I tend to fill up around half a tank. Down side is that you find new "friends" that need things moved more often. I've had a truck since I was 16 so that's nothing new to me.

Fordzilla · 03-10-2006, 11:28 AM

Well I chose the long box version for some of the reasons mentioned above and beings we are only weekend campers we tend to haul a lot of firewood every weekend and the extra room for a half a cord of wood makes you good campground guests when you have enough wood to keep everyone warm on a chilly night. When I built the garage I built it thinking I wanted some extra room in the front to work on vehicles if needed and now with the longer truck it fits just fine. As for parking I have no problem with the extra length, but I have had a long box CC truck for half my life. And as far as handling, go out and pull a 35-40' fifth wheel in the wind with a regular cab truck some time. Then do it again hooked to a longer wheelbase truck. I have rode with people that have regular cab short box trucks and they are like the tail wagging the dog.

Montana Sky · 03-10-2006, 11:53 AM

I went with a shortbed because I wanted a crew cab and still wanted to be able to put my truck in the garage. The crew longbed was not going to fit. I also had no concern with having a short bed as I knew I was buying a Superglide and since that hitch is fully automatic, there was nothing for me to remember to do except drive. The only thing I do not like about my shortbed truck is the smaller fuel tank. I would rather have a LARGE fuel tank, but Transfer flow has a few nice tanks I am looking at installing in the bed to take care of that. The other reason I went with a shortbed is it has a higher towing capacity than a 2500HD longbed in the crewcab model. Back in 2004 you could not get a 3500 in anything but a dually, and as much as I love the look of the dually it just wont fit in my garage. My Silverado has been a very solid platform for towing my Montana and I have no regrets or concerns about using this truck for towing my Montana.

Broome101 · 03-10-2006, 12:06 PM

Had short bed F250 had to pay close attention to cab when making turns. When 2005 Ford's came out loved Steve R so much started looking, took while to find 350 LB in King Ranch which is what i want. Could find plenty of short beds but wanted LB due to never having to worry about hitting cab, plus wanted the extra room it bed. Love my choice.

Illini Trekker · 03-10-2006, 01:48 PM

Short beds work for me because right now I do not full time, 300 miles per tank is far enough to drive at a time, gas stations are bigger, roads are wider, and camp ground are more big trailer friendly. I have only used the slider a couple of time really just out of convenience, but like I said I don't full time. Good point about the GRVW made earlier.

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