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Old 09-18-2021, 05:19 AM   #1
3121RL
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Long Bed vs Short Bed

2022 F350:
Recommendations on:
1) Long Bed 8' vs Short Bed 6 3/4' ... please give your thought.

2) SRW vs DRW?

3) Wheel Base 176", 164", 160"?

4) Gear Ratio ( non slip) 3.55, 3.73, 4.10, 4.30?
Any suggestions?
 
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Old 09-18-2021, 06:07 AM   #2
Dave W
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3121RL View Post
2022 F350:
Recommendations on:
1) Long Bed 8' vs Short Bed 6 3/4' ... please give your thought.

2) SRW vs DRW?

3) Wheel Base 176", 164", 160"?

4) Gear Ratio ( non slip) 3.55, 3.73, 4.10, 4.30?
Any suggestions?



1 After towing with a SB, love the long bed everywhere but a parking lots


2 My personal rule of thumb but others will chime in - SRW up to 12-13K. Still have a SRW and happy but ours is about 12K

3. Wheel base is dependent on bed length and cab type. 176 is LB, crew cab. Longer is more stable. Recall those parking lots and add in garages too.

4. 3.55 final ratio will usually work just fine and has through ~30K miles all over the US for me. 3.73 might be better while 4.10 and is best with a gas truck. Wheel size also plays into that equation.

One added thing to consider - when not towing and camping, you will be touring. A DRW as well as a LB can be a real PITA while wandering, especially in touristy towns. If we are wandering the Maine Coast towns or even some little Atlantic Canada villages, there is a problem driving through congestion on 1700's vintage narrow streets.. While you are towing that DRW truck is nice, but try to find a place to park, say in Booth Bay Maine, Halifax, NS or Lake Placid, NY. The back 40 lot is a long way away. Then if you don't sight-see......


These are opinions but formed from 45 years TT and 5er towing. Other folks will differ
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Old 09-18-2021, 06:16 AM   #3
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Thank you for the great response.
The Keystone 3121RL dry at is 12,273 with max cap additional 4,000lbs which I doubt I'll get that weight but like to calculate on highest numbers. So looking at 16273 maxed out.
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Old 09-18-2021, 07:03 AM   #4
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I have 2020 F350 diesel SRW long bed and 2021 3121RL. The long bed has the most payload capacity (check the Ford towing charts). We're fulltime and have generator, 2 e-bikes, etc.. and we're right at 16k on the Cat scale, but tows great so far. It'll turn on a c-note though.
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Old 09-18-2021, 07:36 AM   #5
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If you care about overloading at all then any SRW 1 ton is out. Mine has a gvwr of 12,300 lbs. and is maxed out on less weight than you are talking about. Most 1 tons have less gvwr than mine. Otherwise, bed length is your discretion. Both can tow with little to no issues.
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Old 09-18-2021, 07:40 AM   #6
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Thank you .... I can only hope to become a full timer at some point. I do appreciate your time and experience .
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Old 09-18-2021, 07:55 AM   #7
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Another story about dullys in small towns - especially in the NE. I was in a town I think in New York. It was very small with a main street with stores about 3 blocks long. I parked on the street (narrow). I don't have a duals. I came back 30 minutes later and my driver side mirror was bent forward and the glass shattered!! It had to be a truck since cars aren't that high. So if I was driving a dually I would have been 1 1/2 to 2 feet further into the street and probably the rear fender would have been mashed too. Just saying.... Oh, I also picked a Chevy because it was 6 inches shorter than one of the others and a foot shorter than the 2nd. I can just barely get the garage door shut with 2-3 inches to spare lenghtwise.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:16 AM   #8
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As mentioned above, we had to consider our garage size when choosing the truck. If we still had our old house and property, I would have bought the dually, but a few years ago we downsized to a townhouse for convenience. Most of the srw trucks come with 20” wheels now and my last truck had 18” wheels and roof clearance lights. My current truck has 20” wheels and no roof lights. If I had the roof lights, it wouldn’t fit under the door moulding at the townhouse.
My garage is plenty deep enough for the length (cc, 8’ bed) but the dually would be too wide to get our car in with it comfortably.
Here are some numbers for you to consider. 2021 F350, 2021 3121rl.
The weight ticket on our way to pick up our new trailer included my 48” toolbox with tools and a few things I wanted for our pdi like a step ladder, creeper as well as wheel chocks, blocking for the jacks and some water hoses etc. It did not include the hitch as that was part of the purchase deal and we got that with the trailer.
The return weigh ticket had nothing in the trailer except the 50 amp cord.
As you can see, I’ve got about 900 pounds left for the truck on both rear axle and gvwr. Not a lot, we should be ok, but it will be on the edge for the truck’s spec.I still have to get it on a scale now that it is “loaded” . Good luck with your choices.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:34 AM   #9
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I'll have to check my numbers I must have missed it .... I show 6.7L V8 Turbo Diesel with 3.55 axle ratio with GCWR (lbs) of 30,000 with a crew cab 4x4 176.0" WB 8'box with 20" all terrain tires,
Maximum load trailer wt of 21,700 ( foot notes 1,2,4)
F350 SRW SuperDuty 5th Wheel gooseneck towing.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:36 AM   #10
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It looks like parking on the back 40 and walking may be in our future��
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:43 AM   #11
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Hitch

I think Dave W hit all of the main points with the exception of hitch considerations and tight maneuvering.

I bought a short bed after 15 years of having to coax a long bed into parking places (albeit in those pre-back up camera days). It was also my daily driver.

I progressed from travel trailers to a 5th wheel and at the time of buying the 5th was fortunate enough to also include a drop-in (factory puck)slider hitch in the deal.

I use the slider (in part because it is so easy) for most parking if it looks in any way tight. It certainly affords great peace of mind being able to get a full 90 degree angle, although I can only think of one or two instances when it was close to necessary. ie If you do go short bed, then consider including a slider or similar as well. Overall, a long bed does tow better I think.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:43 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3121RL View Post
I'll have to check my numbers I must have missed it .... I show 6.7L V8 Turbo Diesel with 3.55 axle ratio with GCWR (lbs) of 30,000 with a crew cab 4x4 176.0" WB 8'box with 20" all terrain tires,
Maximum load trailer wt of 21,700 ( foot notes 1,2,4)
F350 SRW SuperDuty 5th Wheel gooseneck towing.
Don't confuse gvwr with gcvwr. Your immediate concern will be gvwr and rear axle weight rating.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:43 AM   #13
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Thank you ..... pros and cons of each ... SRW & DRW ....
Great information .... I do appreciate the detailed information.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:44 AM   #14
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I liked my long bed because I typically carried various items in the bed with no problem. Even carrying 2 adult bikes (with front wheels removed and laying in front of the hitch) and a child's bike laying behind the hitch. And a folding ramp for loading our aging Goldens in the back seat.

It is long bed SRW and still hard to park in most parking lots because of the not so great turn radius. Don't know if they have improved that or not. Some parking lots such as medical offices, banks, restaurants, and small businesses have tight parking slots and don't have the option of parking far out in the lot.

My 2012 6.7 has the 3.55 gears and towed our 3075RL great even over Colorado mountain passes. And the newer models have even more power than mine.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:46 AM   #15
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The important number is Payload. It will also vary based on trim level. Pin weight can max out payload easily. I moved tools to rear and put our 2 e-bikes on rear hitch (were in basement) to get my payload (pin weight plus my truck toolboxes and us) under the rear axle max and the GVWR. Moving weight aft of the axles has not quite a doubling effect on reducing pin weight since you remove only part of the forward weight (shared by truck and axles) and add total weight behind the axles. Very effective, although there really isn't good storage aft in our 3121RLs (I converted area under sofa to storage for some heavy items by removing the sleeper cushion that folds underneath).
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:50 AM   #16
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Ahhhh .... I think I'm my vision is getting blurred lol
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:52 AM   #17
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Thank you .... the mountain passes are in our future .... good to hear ..... I guess the parking is going to be bit frustrating.
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Old 09-18-2021, 08:54 AM   #18
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I think I'm a gluten for punishment.... leaning toward the long bed ..... I can bang my head on the steering wheel when trying to park.
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Old 09-18-2021, 09:06 AM   #19
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The truck curb wt is 7,675 I'm adding 1300 for passengers and gear in the truck. With max hitch wt of 3270.
Totals 12,245
GVWR is 12400 ..... for this truck ..... is this cutting it too close or am I good?
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Old 09-18-2021, 09:21 AM   #20
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Probably, because unless that curb weight you posted is from an actual scale weight, you'll probably find your truck is actually getting closer to 8,500 than that 7700.
You won't really know until you take the truck ready to tow to a CAT Scale to find out how much payload you have left.
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