I personally have thought the Shortbeds look a lot better, and for me its better, cause I want a track truck, and shortbed equal less weight! Which, also might be a problem..

 

You guys crack me up. Short beds can't work? Well, maybe a 2 wheel drive. I had an interchange listing for my F-100 4 wheel drive, possible donors included F-250 4 wheel drive: That's a lotta spring. The 9-inch rear has 3300 lb roller bearings, not the 2800 lb tapered bearings.

I used to drive around the fields east of town and pick up scrap metal (illegal dumping=gas money for me). Not enough cubes? Look up, stop loading when the springs look flat. If a load could make it out of the field, it would make it down the highway. Heaviest payload in the box was 1200 lb, the nose was way up on that trip.

I helped a bud with some concrete work. We started at the rental yard, hitched up a mixer. We went to the gravel yard, filled the bed. We stopped on the scale while he went in and settled. When he came out I asked if he saw the read-out. "Yep, it was ten-thousand something." I'm thinking the GAWR is 5600, "Lets use the back roads, stopping will take longer."

While I don't consider those 2 examples very smart, they do show what a short bed is capable of. Nowdays I use a trailer made from an old 3/4 ton Ford. I've hauled 2000lb payloads with this set-up. Stopping is the only concern I have.

When the truck is empty, that FE engine makes it feel like a sports car- WOOOHOOO.

 

But you're only talking about a foot of sheet metal, that's not enough weight to make any difference at all. Heck, the driver of the truck could go on a diet and lose more weight than that.