Short Bed?

[GreatWhite]

With the "new" style front ends on the Montana's.. how do short bet p/u's work without slider hitches. Seems like the critical part was the front outside edges contacting/busting out rear p/u windows and worse.

I'm thinking seriously about getting rid of my 05 Chev diesel CC long bed 4/4. It's a great truck. Currently has the BW Companion hitch and works like a charm.. but.. it's soooo long. IMO

I'd likely stick with diesel 3/4T with either a regular or stretch cab. I need the 4x4 only to back it up my steep driveway.

What say ye? Just trying to shorten my footprint. I'm guessing the overall stability and comfort might be best with the LWB.

[vangoes]

Ive had short beds since 2006 and pulled a SOB and now a Montana and I never have had a problem. I do have a slider hitch but I have never had a situation where I needed to use it.

[drknapp]

I have a Chevy with a standard bed. I've installed a slider but have yet to use it either.

[Recumbent]

Had the short bed single wheel and liked it, but did not have a slider and was always flinching when turning sharp, many have a slider with on issues in a short bed. What I think would be great would be to have a Crew Cab with F450 4x4 capacities in a short bed SRW version.

[BB_TX]

Good friend had a short bed, no slider, and an SOB 5er with squared off front corners. Knocked out his back window on a tight back in turn.
Traded the SOB for a Montana with contoured front corners and no more problem. But I am sure he was a little more conscious of his turns also.

[1retired06]

As long as I am pulling fifth wheels, my truck will be a long bed.

[K0LCB]

I noticed the longer wheel base rides better

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

As long as I am pulling fifth wheels, my truck will be a long bed.

Same here.

[Carole]

FYI, We have always pulled FWs with a short bed diesel truck, but before we signed the papers on our Mountaineer we had them hook it up to check the turns.
Absolutely no problem and we have never used a slider hitch.

[h2ojocky]

I have the older style front and a slider hitch. I have seen several trucks with dents to both sides of rear window due to contact with 5er.
It might not be a problem with newer style front. I didn't want to be in a spot that I need a slide and not have it.

[Emmel]

quote:Originally posted by K0LCB

I noticed the longer wheel base rides better

I had a sb for over 11 years with a slider that I never used. I now have a dually and would never go back to a 3/4 sb. Just MHO.

[DQDick]

Since we have a Maxi Cab we have a long wheelbase and a short bed. I have a slider by never use it even to back the Monty backwards in a U shape around a mobile home where we stayed last year. I do have Joyce watch it and am ready to hit the brake anytime she tells me but we've never had to.

[JandC]

I can't hit my cab of my short bed F350, and I have tried. But like others I purchased the slider thinking I would need it. I guess the only good thing I can say about spending the extra bucks is that I would be good to go if I ever had to pull a SOB that wasn't designed like my Monte's front end.

[jimcol]

I have a shortbed, have a slider, use it often. Don't know that I need it often but it is a simple operation to slide the 5'er and seems to make backing a bit easier. My 06 does not have the newer style front cap and sliding the rig back just gives me one less thing to worry about. Jim

[Rainer]

Add me to the short bed folks.

My 2012 F-250 4x4 crew cab short bed is a big enough pain when parking in parking lots; it always becomes a multi-stage maneuver, I can't imagine how much more of a hassle that would be with a long bed and/or dually.

I've only had to use my slider once this past year, that's when I had to back into my brother-in-law's long driveway from the dirt road in front of his home; the cut I had to make exceeded 90°. Otherwise I works fine. Oh yeah, it gets close, but the Monte doesn't touch the back window of my truck. It's nice that Monte has those truncated corners!

[nosticks]

The amount of time your truck tows vs. doing everyday tasks makes it more attractive for a short bed for the ease of driving, parking, and maneuvering in places designed for cars not long bed dual wheel behemoths. Add to that, your overall hitched length being shorter, will make it easier in tight campsite maneuvering. If your rig can be towed within the overall limitations of a short bed, go for it. As far as the hitch goes, I had a slider installed and have never used it.

[steelpony5555]

If you have a short bed you usually want a slider hitch for those just in case situations. I had one and yes never used it. You can usually avoid turning that tight if you prior plan and avoid tight parking lots. Another reason is you don't want to turn that tight anyways since it puts a lot of stress on your tires.

[maximo]

F250 short bed with the B&W Companion hitch, no slider. My Big Sky has the round nose. The only thing I worried about was the axels when backing using tight turns so I installed the three X - Factor cross braces.

Frank

[dsprik]

GM makes a long bed (8"), standard bed (6.5') and a short beds (

[WeBeFulltime]

Short bed with no slider. Never a problem because I agree with steelpony5555 about not putting too much stress on the tires and suspension.