What size box for 5th wheel?

[oldryder]

researching details for a truck order that will be used to pull a 5th wheel camper.

Ford offers a 6-1/2 and 8' box. what are the advantages/disadvantages of the sizes. (Truck will be a crew cab so it gets pretty long with the full size box)

thx to anyone taking the time to offer advice.

mark in MN

 

[Rob&Deryl]

I have a short box. Wish I got the long box. Next truck will be long box.

From what I have heard, the long box rides better. It also has more clearance when turning. Having more space in front of the hitch would be good for me to carry propane, firewood, etc. Many (with dually s) have a aux fuel tank in the bed too.

 

[TonyL]

We have an F350 with 6 3/4 bed. No wish or need for anything longer, and no, we don't use a slider, we're just a little more careful.

 

[steveblonde]

Ive had several of both and 8ft is the only way to go
Better turnability without cab strikes
Higher payload
More box room for tools wood etc.
You really get used to the extra 18 inches

 

[donn]

Short box you loose 2 feet of usable storage space. Short box good chance you will want/need a slider hitch sooner or later.
Short box will give you a shorter wheel base making for shorter turning radius, but a rougher ride.

 

[Great Horned Owl]

I have the 8' bed, and after the hitch, a tool box, a 3kw generator, two fuel cans for the generator, a milk crate with a spare 20# propane tank, and a satellite dish on a tripod, there's no way that I could get along with a shorter bed.

Joel

 

[Memtb]

Just speaking for us.....an 8 ft. bed for a truck. Anything less is just a shopping vehicle ! memtb

 

[Joezeppy]

I ordered my current truck with an 8' bed and I don't think I'll ever go back (had two 6.5 footers). Half the reason I did it was I often haul plywood and other 8' material so it's just easier - shut the gate and your load is contained. I don't mind the extra length - I just park a little further from the stores. Duallys aside, probably 80%of the trucks I see pulling 5th wheels are 6.5' so they are obviously getting the job done.

 

[Milo1]

Just bought a Silverado 6.5 box. Now regretting it. We had a Ram before with 8' bed. Bought a slider hitch but once it was installed and the fiver was hitched up we saw that we didn't need it.

Also if you buy a used fiver make sure the tongue doesn't have the automatic slide adjuster plate attached. If it does and you have a regular hitch or a manual slider hitch and you make a sharp right or left turn you will blow out your hitch, decouple, and damage your truck. Happened to me and the fiver pin took out my tailgate.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The first thing to realize is that some 5W trailers have no risk at all when towed with a shortbed truck. The combination of an extended pin box and angled or rounded front corners can eliminate the possibility of a cab strike altogether. Second, a bit of driver caution can avoid that possibility. That's because cab strikes only occur in extreme turns with most truck/trailer combinations, so you don't need to run afoul of them if you always pay attention. Third, a pin box extension such as the Sidewinder moves the pivot point back far enough that a strike is impossible or rare.

There can be no question that a long (8 ft) box is more capable and nice to have, but it does add 18" to the overall length of the truck. That may be enough so that it doesn't fit in a garage and enough to make it a nuisance in smaller parking lots or maneuvering in dense traffic. The degree to which that is a factor depends greatly on where you drive. Driving in Boston, MA, has different challenges than driving in Amana, Iowa.

 

[wudwork]

When we shopped for new tow vehicle, it was F350 SRW, short/long or F450. I test drove a 450 and said "wow, this turns like a golf cart". The 350 long bed was exactly opposite, very very large turning radius. I settled on 350 short bed as we did not want a DRW so the 450 was no go.

 

[Bill Nourse]

I have a Chev. short bed and don't really have issues. I can get about 75 degrees. Any more than that and you are just side loading the trailer tires anyway. Mine is also a daily driver so the short bed is much more convenient.

 

[Joezeppy]

Bill, I originally had my Andersen set up with the kingpin in front of the ball and could get a full 90*. Could not leave the tailgate down when hitching/unhitching, though, and could not easily walk between the truck and trailer so flipped it around. Worked fine for 2 years and then I was not paying attention backing into a site one day and bang - turned too tightly and the pinbox hit the side rail. That weekend I moved it back to the original position. That's my one beef about the Andersen hitch - the 4" offset. Wish they would come up with an adapter where the ball was directly under the kingpin!

 

[Rob&Deryl]

I have the Andersen in the rear position and it doesn’t touch the side rails. However, going forward and doing a U turn, I can strike the rear window if I keep the wheel hard over. Next truck will be a long box.

 

[Oldgator73]

Why not go with an 8 ‘ bed? More storage. Better ride. Less likely hood of hitting the cab with trailer. What’s the downside? I had an 8’ footer. I could purposefully jackknife to get out of sticky situations.

 

[Hvactech]

researching details for a truck order that will be used to pull a 5th wheel camper.

Ford offers a 6-1/2 and 8' box. what are the advantages/disadvantages of the sizes. (Truck will be a crew cab so it gets pretty long with the full size box)

thx to anyone taking the time to offer advice.

mark in MN

I've had both short beds I plan to own, 1st & last. I pull my 5er with Chevy crewcab long bed but when not pulling 5er I need a truck.

 

[rbrdriver]

First truck was short bed, now I have an 8 ft. bed dually. Would never go back to short bed, especially for pulling fifth wheels.

 

[Bearcatrp]

I came from a short bed and upgraded to a long bed. Went from 3/4 to one ton. More storage options and no close calls taking out my back window. Also, with a 8 foot bed I got a 50 gal gas tank. Can’t get that in a short bed. Rides so much better than a short bed pulling 10,000 lb 5th wheel.

 

[longhaul]

I made a living pulling non rv trailers with short and long beds. I found no advantage of one over the other.
I've had long bed trucks that road rougher than some short bed trucks. IMO wheelbase generally ride smoother however thats not true in every case.
I pull GN and bumper pull non rv trailers...and my 5th wheel rv trailers but I prefer the short bed crew cab trucks.
S/B works fine for my use.

 

[CrosbyDave]

Fords Super Duty "short bed" is 6'9", long bed is 8'.

So with the long you gain 1'3" using my fuzzy math.

I've got a "short", don't regret it at all.

I would like to think the Short bed would have a better turning radius, but it's no peach as it is.