Buy one of each, that way your covered regardless of the chore or mood

 

couldn't you just build yourself a bed extender out of wood and spray paint it black? you could always use it as a table if you ever needed to when your away from home. hell, you could even put a turbo sticker on the back of it and it would probably make your truck go faster too...

 

Now ya talkin'!


But no fellas, I am not bashing the short bed, I HAVE ONE. But what I am saying, is that most of appear to have trucks for reasons that don't really pertain to work. I got a shortbed for a reason, because I didn't need a longbed, but to me, a shortbed is usually a big sign that the truck isn't really meant for true work. You can't even fit a matress on the bed without it hanging out lol.

 

Having had a '98 ram short bed and now owning a '97 ram long bed, both extended cab, I have to say the long bed is worth it if you put a lot in the bed.....i can keep the tool box on and still have tons of room for anything. It's great, but I will admit my '98 ram with the short bed looked slightly nicer.....

 

I have a 2001 5.2 dual cab w/8' bed and I really like it. I think the long bed helps give a smooth ride. I purposely bought the 8' bed to carry my Indian Scout motorcycle. However now with gas prices I may ride the Scout and keep El Diablo at home.

 

Not really meant for true work? You ain't seen my short bed working. Yes I agree that if I were into construction then an 8 foot bed would be nice. My son-in-law is a contractor and really needs his 8 foot bed. For his purposes it's great.

For my purposes I do not need it. I have a hitch extender and have hauled 36 sheets of 4X12x 1/2 inch drywall at 84 lbs each (3024 lbs, of which 75% was behind the rear axle). Drove it 30 miles home without issue. My truck didn't even grunt or wiggle. I load up 3000 to 3500 lbs of rock or dirt whenever I want and drive it home. I regularly pull a 9000 lb fifth wheel camper and the short wheelbase is great for some of those campsites I get into. A long wheelbase would be a real PITA to get the camper backed into the spot.

There are a couple of real differences I see between 8 foot and 6 foot beds. A extended cab truck with an 8 foot bed needs 40 acres to turn around, the same truck with the 6 foot bed is pretty manueverable. The 8 foot bed is more convenient if you're always hauling longer items. It's not better, just more convenient. I have no issues hauling 8, 10, 12 foot items with my tailgate down.

In regards to tonneau covers, I have the Truxedo roll up cover. Keeps my bed dry all of the time and rolls outta my way in a minute. Trucks with hard toneau's don't have that convenience and that's why I don't have one.

So my response to this post is if you want the convenience of the 8 foot bed, buy a truck with an 8 foot bed. Otherwise, don't cut down our 6 foot bed trucks just cause you're catching it from your family.

That being said, anybody with those so called trucks with the little 4 foot or shorter boxes need to have their heads examined.

 

lol, always the voice of reason.

Iv only ever had one situation where I would have liked a longer bed, that was hauling 12' beams...but then again an 8' bed wouldnt do me any better. Mine works fine for hauling my boat, 3 christmas trees, and furnature...that and the occasional run to home depot is all it needs to do. (and try to go fast)

 

hey now I bought my truck for work purposes... and trust me I can fit enough equipment in it to overlad it even withthe cap on it. honestly, unless your in construction, how often do you really need to fit a full sheet of plywood. and what are you buyinig a new bed every month??? give me a break. so what if evey once in a while you drive with junk on your tailgate. it happens, even with a long box I have had the need to haul 10 or 12 foot long 2x's oh well I just dropped the tailgate and strapped em in. no biggie. if you do it right your not going to damage them. trust me where I work, you aren't getting an extended cab, long bed truck into the sites. a short box is needed if for nothing more than the better turning radius. though I do have to admit dodges are good at pivoting on a back wheel when needed.

 

Just hauled about 50 paint cans and 30 qts of oil to the recycling center, still had half a bed.

 

i've hauled one hundred concrete bricks in my shortbed, i dont think the longbed would have helped simply because it wasn't the size it was the weight. I have a reg cab shortbed, just for turning radius and less weight for offroading. If I want a long bed for work I'll go get the f350 flatbed of my dads