short bed vs long bed

[Montana_1648]

Hi,
we don't have a truck yet but are anxious to get started. My delemma is I will usse the truck as a daily driver. A shortbed would be more convinient, but I have no idea if I can pull a 5er with a shortbed safely. The montana dealer says that with a slider hitch its no problem.
Please give some feedback, any of you all pulling thes rigs with a shortbed? Any problems?

Thanking you all in advance,
Fred

[mobrownies]

Funny nobody mentioned the fuel tank. The LB typically has an 8 to 10 gallon bigger tank. I think the larger fuel tank and bigger bed do reduce payload, but I didn't want to stop every 250 miles or so.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

quote:Originally posted by mobrownies

Funny nobody mentioned the fuel tank. The LB typically has an 8 to 10 gallon bigger tank. I think the larger fuel tank and bigger bed do reduce payload, but I didn't want to stop every 250 miles or so.

I initially felt the same way about stopping every 250 plus miles but considering 250 miles is over 3 hours of driving and a fuel stop forces you to take a break. It is too easy to pass up a rest area when tired but NOT fuel stops. It is absolutely necessary to take a brake from driving every few hours and stopping for fuel gets me that much needed break.

[Flastro]

All good points Glenn and Lorraine, and if fuel capacity is an issue, a combo tool box and aux fuel tank or aftermarket replacement fuel tankcan easily solve the fuel issue.

[sreigle]

We, too, find we stop at least once, maybe twice, between fuel stops. We don't have to hurry and most of the time we don't. But even when in a hurry, a stop every 200 to 300 miles is in order for us. Our tank is 29 gallons.

[Montana_1683]

All of the RV dealers I talked with before going to a 5er, suggested a long bed. This allows the hitch to be place slight in front of the rear axle to distribute the weight evenly throughout the truck. I know that many 5ers can be mounted with an extended hitch pin plate to account for a short wheel base truck. But again when I started shopping for a 5er all different brands, Hitchhiker, Cedar Creek, Jayco, Montana, etc. all the dealers reccommended a long wheel base to get a better balance for setting up the 5th wheel. I shopped around a long time before I found my Crew Cab GMC 2500HD with a long wheel base. Unfortuneatly it doesn't fit well in my garage. Since we have a 3-car garage, I can angle it in far enough to get the door closed; otherwise the curvature of the rear bumper hits the metal brace of the garage door when it comes down. Of course this is when the bumper is touching the front wall of the garage. My truck is just short of 20 feet long, bumper to bumper.

[sreigle]

Actually, the key to balance is location of the hitch and wheelbase rather than length of the bed. If you think about it, my supercab *short*bed truck is longer than a standard cab *long*bed truck and has a longer wheelbase, too. So I don't know where those dealers are coming from. In any case, the longbed eliminates the need for a slider and that's worth something in itself and is probably more what the dealers are thinking. But personally I think the shortbed/longbed issue is more one of personal preference and what best fits for that person. Just my opinion, of course. As far as I know, all of the Montanas come with the extended pinbox, at least all those I've seen.

Keep in mind shortbed is not the same as short wheelbase. As noted above, my shortbed supercab truck has a longer wheelbase than the standardcab longbed truck of the same vintage and make. Easy mistake to make. Short wheelbase as in standardcab shortbed might not be a good choice for towing a fifthwheel of size but the supercab version is plenty capable.

[chopstyx57]

We pull with a short box crew cab 4x4 and have the Pullrite superglide slider hitch....sweet setup. This hitch is a must if you go short box. We would'nt have anything else. Short box fits in the gargage.

[Montana_1826]

We have a 2955RL we pull with a F-350 crew cab short bed. It is equiped with a slider and I have never used the slider option on the hitch. As long as we are going forward, there is no issues. When we back up, I am always careful to keep an eye on the corner of the camper to make sure it doesn't hit the cab of the truck. It clears the cab by about 6". If I was backing the camper up a hill in a turn, that may be a situation when I would need to slide the hitch. As of now, we have never had to use the slider. I do not regret getting the slider because 6" is close and if I ever need it, it is there.