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Old 05-24-2017, 08:13 AM   #21
h2ojocky
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I park my short bed truck in the garage. Not many can do that with a crew cab long bed.
 
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Old 05-24-2017, 06:31 PM   #22
beeje
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Well prndl, As mentioned, you can not haul anything 8 foot long with the tail gate closed, like a sheet of plywood etc. Friend of mine has dented his rear window pillar by turning to sharp (almost broke the rear window). Usually the short beds have a much smaller fuel tank forcing you to stop more often for fuel. I for one have a tri fold tonnue cover that I can fold up twice and tow the 5th wheel to my destination and unfold it to cover the fire wood that is in the bed.
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Old 05-24-2017, 10:37 PM   #23
prndl
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Yes, my 6.5 ft bed is shorter than 8'. If I want to haul a 4X8 sheet of something I just put the tailgate down and I am 8', I use some rope to make sure it stays.

My question to you though is you said a short bed will "cause all kinds of issues with towing a fifth wheel" and I am still waiting to hear what those issues are??? Are you saying there is more than the possibility of a cab strike issue?

Also my RAM 2500 has the same size fuel tank as the 3500. It is also on the same frame as the 3500.
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Old 05-25-2017, 04:49 AM   #24
jfaberna
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I have an 8' bed and it gives me options I didn't think I would need. I can store stuff in front and behind the hitch that I could not do with a short bed. Since I had to buy a new truck, it was an easy choice. There is no difference in driving or turning radius that I can tell. You get use to either in time.
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Old 05-25-2017, 04:53 AM   #25
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It's not the capacity of the truck (2500 vs 3500) that determines the size of the fuel tank, it's the length of the box. I had forgotten about that one. We have a very large fuel tank with our truck and it does mean fewer stops for fuel.

As for parking it in the garage, that depends on your garage. We could park it on our garage if we wanted, but we don't because the doors are narrow and we would have to put both mirrors in. On top of that, we would have to remove a lot of stuff from the garage to make room. So we just park the car in the garage and the truck outside. We have a big garage because we built the house and that's how it ended up. Developer built homes have very small garages.

As for the issues that others allude to, I think the possibility of striking your truck cab with the trailer is the biggest. With an 8 foot box you never have to worry about that.
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Old 05-25-2017, 06:23 PM   #26
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prddl, others have already mentioned some of the things that ( to us) with long beds benefit from. As mentioned, simply more room to haul stuff. I can pack enough fire wood around my hitch (front/back/sides and behind to supply us for a 2 week trip. That's having a 5-6 hour fire every nite. I can place our 42 gallon blue tank on the folded up bed cover when towing with no chance of it hitting the camper. Then simply unfold the cover to keep the wood dry. I guess what I am saying is that short beds defiantly cause clearance issues/ hitch issues etc. But not being able to haul as much or keep my bed covered ( with my cover) while on a trip are issues I do not have to deal with having a long bed.
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Old 05-25-2017, 09:27 PM   #27
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I give up!
My question was to beeje who said the short bed caused all kinds of issues with 5th wheels.
Yes the longer bed has more square footage and the non-sliding hitch allows more usage of the bed. What are the all kinds of issues with 5th wheels beeje said were caused by a short bed? Is it towing, stability, bounce, chucking, WHAT?
All the long bed "positives" can be equalized in a short bed with a Reese Revolution hitch.
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Old 05-26-2017, 05:10 AM   #28
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Since I have been a carpenter all my life, I have always had a long bed truck and will never own a short bed. How many contractors do you see running around in short beds. This is like debating who makes the best trucks. For me the positives of my set up are
1- Larger fuel tank
2- more room to haul stuff
3- larger weight capacity
4- while hooked up with the tail gate down, I can easily walk between the tail gate and the camper
5- I can hook up at a much greater angle without the gate contacting the camper.
6- I can open the campers front storage compartments fully without hitting the truck.
7- I can leave the trifold cover on while towing
8- I can open the gate and retrieve stuff form the bed easily while hooked up.
9- Without a doubt, a long bed dually is the most stable towing set up.

I'm sure if I sit here longer I could think of many more things I can do with my set up that most with a short bed cant.
What I meant by issues is that I would not be happy if I could not do most of the things listed above.
There are a lot of people on this and other forums towing heavy trailers with 2500 short bed trucks, that in my opinion should not be doing so. A lot of them are grossly over the towing/cargo capacity of there truck.
I have seen many towing 16-18k triple axle toyhaulers down the road
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Old 05-26-2017, 08:27 AM   #29
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This long vs short bed to me would be what is the owners use of the truck when not towing. A daily driver to work, parking at work in a space designed for a compact car. Do you HAVE to park in a garage (some housing developments require no vehicles out side overnight) and on and on. Do you have a need to haul large items and will remove the hitch between trips? Sliders are usually heavy.

Since we do not know the OP's use of the truck, a short bed will actually tow his new trailer, he will need to be extra careful when turning with out a slider.

I do believe the longer the wheelbase of the tow vehicle, the more stable the combination becomes. Add DRW and it becomes even more stable.

I am on my 3rd DRW so I am a bit biased.
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Old 05-26-2017, 12:33 PM   #30
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I think it's personal preference. I pull a 37 foot Montana with a F-250 CC SRW 6.5 ft bed diesel. I am planning on a 40 gal aux tank which will not interfere with hitch and have room behind. Only a 90 degree turn might get me close to back window and not an issue.

Never an issue when I turn
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Old 05-28-2017, 06:03 AM   #31
mazboy
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if you use the truck a lot get a short box and not a dually.
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Old 05-29-2017, 07:36 AM   #32
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QUOTE=prndl;1063770]I give up!......What are the all kinds of issues with 5th wheels beeje said were caused by a short bed?.....[/QUOTE

I re-read the thread and really, the pros and cons appear to be a rehash of personal preferences. If you choose a shortbed, you'll probably need a slider and you can't carry as much stuff in the bed. Some folks want more hitch choices and to carry more stuff. Okay, I get it, and I suspect so too does the OP.
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Old 06-02-2017, 10:59 PM   #33
Don Rigney
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Thanks for all the help. Have located a truck. 2016 Silverado Crew Cab. Duramax, Short box. Also located a barely used PullRite Slider hitch rated at 16K.

The 2006 M3475RL I'm preparing to tow doesn't have an even contour on front end but rather has an 'indent' as you move down from the top to the kingpin.

Anybody towing this specific trailer with a shortbox?

Any problems?

tks
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Old 06-03-2017, 03:14 PM   #34
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Not real sure with the older units, but if it does not have the newer stile front cap that is contoured way back for tight turns you will defiantly need a slider hitch or you will hit the truck on tight turns. This is one of the big reasons I would go with a long box.
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Old 06-06-2017, 08:07 AM   #35
dfb
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Who's idea is it to make a truck for heavy towing and makes it in a shortbed!?.When looking for a truck to pull our Montana, there WERE NO LONG BED DUALLIES!. Out of 400 trucks... our Ram megacab srw shortbed has a gvwr of 13200. Has auto level, puck system..... We are looking to trade it in on a ram dually 3500 long bed. So far when we do find a long bed dually, they don't have the AISIN, OR NO AUTO LEVEL, ,NO PUCK SYSTEM! What in the world is going on? IF a person is going to pull a large 5th wheel they want a Dually, the AISIN with 900 ldft of torque, auto level puck system etc... ARE THE dealers stupid? My 15 is very stable, pulls great... but sill over rawr by 1 to 200 lbs...
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