Long Bed -vs- Short Bed
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 4,285
Likes: 2,416
From: Everywhere and nowhere
When I was HS, pretty much all trucks were 2 door and 'long bed' meant 10-12'. Probably what is pictured on the left. So, when people ask if my truck is a long bed, I say, Well, it's 8ft.
I don't mind parking it. I took my Texas DL with the CCLB and that includes parallel parking. I did pull forward once but I think the space they give you is maybe 2' longer than the truck.
I don't mind parking it. I took my Texas DL with the CCLB and that includes parallel parking. I did pull forward once but I think the space they give you is maybe 2' longer than the truck.
Cargo Master
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 2,044
Likes: 1,336
and all along you thought you were a real man with an 8ft bed. In reality you’re just a ***** with a soccer mom 8ft bed
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 4,285
Likes: 2,416
From: Everywhere and nowhere
Apparently. I should have been driving a 26' box truck this whole time HOA be damned.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,586
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wellllllll I would say you have a lot of opinion in there
my ccsb tows perfectly fine and upgrading to an 8ft bed would only make my truck fit less places and be harder to maneuver in city conditions (that I do have to operate in at times). Would be a total pain in the *** adding the extra length for no real benefit
like I said larger loads are getting tossed in a trailer to begin with because I’m not throwing thousands of pounds of rocks, debris, materials, etc in a pickup bed in the first place
pickup beds are higher up than trailers and then they don’t have a dump feature meaning it’s sure not convenient to begin with…..then it beats a truck to **** using them like that. A dump trailer just makes everything easier and I can abuse it and haul a real load versus what you can put over a srw axle to begin with
the extra foot of bed length just doesn’t impact my use
again, if I was a handy man who wanted a toolbox or hauled Sheetrock all day….or if I didn’t own trailers I might use an 8 footer but then that truck wouldnt work well in certain scenarios. I can barely park my truck in certain spots especially parallel parking situations that the 8ft bed absolutely isn’t happening
I’ll stick with ccsb as it has never been an issue to get even the heavier jobs done but I am glad both exist for different users for sure
my ccsb tows perfectly fine and upgrading to an 8ft bed would only make my truck fit less places and be harder to maneuver in city conditions (that I do have to operate in at times). Would be a total pain in the *** adding the extra length for no real benefit
like I said larger loads are getting tossed in a trailer to begin with because I’m not throwing thousands of pounds of rocks, debris, materials, etc in a pickup bed in the first place
pickup beds are higher up than trailers and then they don’t have a dump feature meaning it’s sure not convenient to begin with…..then it beats a truck to **** using them like that. A dump trailer just makes everything easier and I can abuse it and haul a real load versus what you can put over a srw axle to begin with
the extra foot of bed length just doesn’t impact my use
again, if I was a handy man who wanted a toolbox or hauled Sheetrock all day….or if I didn’t own trailers I might use an 8 footer but then that truck wouldnt work well in certain scenarios. I can barely park my truck in certain spots especially parallel parking situations that the 8ft bed absolutely isn’t happening
I’ll stick with ccsb as it has never been an issue to get even the heavier jobs done but I am glad both exist for different users for sure
Opinion? ....just facts as far as I can tell. Is there something I said that is erroneous? As I said, the only con for a long box is size related but I'm not suggesting that one reason isn't a big one for some people. Not everyone needs or wants an 8' bed but I'm very happy I have them.
Cheers,
Dave
Mountain Pass
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 235
Likes: 84
From: West TN
The posted picture of shrinking beds is showing F150s instead of super dutys so the discussion of short and long beds isn't as drastic with super dutys.
IMO the influx of the soccer mom crowd moving to trucks is the increasing luxuries that are high profit margins for the manufacturer since the 90s... It was pointed out back then by a boss I had in '96 who complained that it was "getting hard to find a work truck without all the frills".
IMO the influx of the soccer mom crowd moving to trucks is the increasing luxuries that are high profit margins for the manufacturer since the 90s... It was pointed out back then by a boss I had in '96 who complained that it was "getting hard to find a work truck without all the frills".
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,586
Likes: 1,117
The posted picture of shrinking beds is showing F150s instead of super dutys so the discussion of short and long beds isn't as drastic with super dutys.
IMO the influx of the soccer mom crowd moving to trucks is the increasing luxuries that are high profit margins for the manufacturer since the 90s... It was pointed out back then by a boss I had in '96 who complained that it was "getting hard to find a work truck without all the frills".
IMO the influx of the soccer mom crowd moving to trucks is the increasing luxuries that are high profit margins for the manufacturer since the 90s... It was pointed out back then by a boss I had in '96 who complained that it was "getting hard to find a work truck without all the frills".
Dave
Cargo Master
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 2,044
Likes: 1,336
and I’m sure you complained back then so I take it not much has changed lol
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Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2022
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Towing 5th wheel, LB hands down. SB can do it, but with risks I would rather not deal with. Since mine is a 450 Parking is no issue at all, finding a long enough space, well, there is that problem. Reason I went 450 IS for the turning and parking aspect otherwise I would be fine with a 350 since they are the same size. The LB DRW 350 can be a PITA to park in some areas due to the rather large turning radius, where the 450 just fits nicely. Overall though, the LB is better suited for people who actually USE the truck as a truck as intended.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,946
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From: The Great State of Texas
Was up to around the early eighties you could buy a truck w/o AC and radio.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 7,975
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I had a 1979 Ford LTD wagon, no power anything other than steering and brakes, which was just coming around that time as standard equipment. No AC, no power windows, base AM/FM 1 speaker radio. At least it had cloth seats. At least by that time pickup trucks no longer had the gas tank behind the rear seat INSIDE the cab!
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,586
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Super-long beds were discontinued after 1972. (The 1972 Dodge D-Series catalog says you could get a D300 with a 9' Utiline, but there are no actual pictures of that model.) Their place in the lineup was effectively replaced by the new one-ton duallies (8' beds) coming out around that time.
On a full-size truck, the three bed options nowadays are 5.5', 6.5', and 8'. The shorter beds do have some variance across makes and models (± a few inches), but for simplicity's sake, we can just say 5.5' and 6.5'. 5.5' beds haven't been around for even 20 years, so if you look at older full-size trucks (or any heavy-duty truck), the only bed options will be 6.5' or 8'.
Dave
Mountain Pass
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 235
Likes: 84
From: West TN
Everyone mentions sheetrock or plywood for 8 ft beds but another fun fact is most 6.5ft truck bed models are door sized in length. Generally speaking, if you can lay something down in a short bed truck and shut the tailgate, it will fit through a (standard commercial) exterior door, and most interior scaffolds just fit inside a short bed for this reason.
More Turbo
Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 700
Likes: 478
Up until 2008 you could order the 6.8L chassis cab F350 and up without A/C. Pickup trucks went the way of the soft handed man well before that.
Hotshot
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 12,343
Likes: 4,369
From: SW VA
Everyone mentions sheetrock or plywood for 8 ft beds but another fun fact is most 6.5ft truck bed models are door sized in length. Generally speaking, if you can lay something down in a short bed truck and shut the tailgate, it will fit through a (standard commercial) exterior door, and most interior scaffolds just fit inside a short bed for this reason.