# Truck Bed Length



## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

Lets talk about truck bed length. Im looking at getting a newer truck her pretty sonn and what to get you guy's thoughts. I would like to get an extended cab long bed, but it's not the easiest to find one in my area how I would like it equiped. Right now I have a long bed with a large weatherguard box in the front, my last truck had front and full side boxes. I don't do as much construction work as I used to, but still haul lumber and sheet good pretty regularly, and also firewood. I am leaning towards putting a flatbed with a couple of under bed boxes on my next truck though.

So, after having an 8' bed for 15+ years, will I regret going to a 6 3/4' bed? I could put a 7' flatbed on one that length, could I go 7'-6" without having any issues? I see guys put 9' bed flatbeds on an 8' truck.


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

I had 84 F350 w/duals with an 11 ft bed. I currently have a 06 F350 crew cab not a dually with 8' foot bed. I miss my flat bed. It was hard for me to find a crew cab without duals and not 4 wheel drive ... and white in color. I have been wanting a flat bed for my truck ... wife doesn't. My old 84 had fuel tank, tool box, and air compressor. Also, boxes under the bed. I could still have gooseneck hitch. Now I have to be selective. I put the fuel tank and toolbox on a pallet and put it in the bed when I work far off. That means can't pull trailer or load stuff in the back. My overflow goes inside with the back seat down. Yes you will regret the shorter bed. Come down to Texas and you will find what you want.


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## NewBerlinBaler (May 30, 2011)

I've never owned a short bed PU and likely never will. Limited usefulness and limited resale value - what contractor would want a truck that can't haul a full sheet of plywood?

I think people who drive short bed PUs like driving a truck but don't really need one. Prior to the 1990s when light truck popularity took off, you couldn't find a heavy duty Ford PU (F-250 or F-350) in a short box. Today, short beds are the rule rather than the exception.


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## downtownjr (Apr 8, 2008)

I am an 8 foot pickup bed fan. After I put the tool box on I still have enough room to haul things and can take lumber, plywood etc because it fits under the tool box. But I do not have an extended cab. I know what you mean about the extended cab being hard to find on a truck with an 8 foot be. It was hard enough to find an 8 foot bed with a regular cab configured the way I wanted it.

All said, I do not think I could give up the 8 foot bed. I find it very, very useful.


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## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

I guess I just thought of another question. Whats more useful a regular 8' bed, or a 7' flatbed? Right now I can only get 1 4x5 bale in my bed, with a 7' flatbed I could get 2. I know I could haul more firewood, and probably just as many if not more small quare bales.

My area seems to be full of a bunch of yuppies, Nobody wants an extended cap long bed truck because they dont know how to drive. There are some extended cap duallys, but I don't want a dually.


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

_Crewcab with 8' bed is not a problem down here ... unless you want one without 4 wheel drive or dually fully loaded. It was a fluk that I found my 06. I told the guy I wanted a white, crewcab, long bed, not dully, and not 4WD Ford F350 Lariat. He said my chances were slim to none and slim died yesterday. The next day he called and said you would believe. Of course it was more money._


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## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

gradyjohn said:


> _Crewcab with 8' bed is not a problem down here ... unless you want one without 4 wheel drive or dually fully loaded. It was a fluk that I found my 06. I told the guy I wanted a white, crewcab, long bed, not dully, and not 4WD Ford F350 Lariat. He said my chances were slim to none and slim died yesterday. The next day he called and said you would believe. Of course it was more money._


Glad you found what you were looking for. In my area 4wd is a must. My current truck isn't and I'm tired of fighting mud and snow. I'm also getting a little picky though since I want an extended cab & not a crew cab, and I want a V10.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I've always had 8' beds with extended cabs until my new truck, which has a 6 1/2' bed. With an 8'er, I never had problems hauling hay, lumber, grain, etc. But it was a real PITA when stuff slid forward. (I always have caps on my pickups to prevent things like saddles getting stolen.)

Now, I've got a F150 with the 6 1/2' bed. Hauling things like plywood is a little more difficult, but I don't do things like that as much.

The hard part in any decision is figuring out what you're going to be doing most of the time.

Hope this helps.

Ralph


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

Fowllife said:


> Glad you found what you were looking for. In my area 4wd is a must. My current truck isn't and I'm tired of fighting mud and snow. I'm also getting a little picky though since I want an extended cab & not a crew cab, and I want a V10.


More people down here have them but not really needed. I am small enough that I plan ahead and if necessary use my 4wd tractor ... snow is seldom and usually only last a day. Our Ford Fusion FWD does great in the snow. Our roads get icy down here ... we stay at home and keem warm ... next week it will probably 70. Mud ... you gotta have a lot of rain for that ... not often enough to make mud.


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## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

rjmoses said:


> I've always had 8' beds with extended cabs until my new truck, which has a 6 1/2' bed. With an 8'er, I never had problems hauling hay, lumber, grain, etc. But it was a real PITA when stuff slid forward. (I always have caps on my pickups to prevent things like saddles getting stolen.)
> 
> Now, I've got a F150 with the 6 1/2' bed. Hauling things like plywood is a little more difficult, but I don't do things like that as much.
> 
> ...


Well thats half the problem, I use my truck for a lot of different things. I may go from hauling a pallet of feed, to dropping an auger or compactor in with a jib crane, to pulling the trailer, to throwing my ladders, pick, & break in the bed and doing a job, to my wife driving it to work to get some lumber on the way home.

My front toolbox right now is 30" wide, so I only have 5' of bed behind it anyways. Its a pain to clean under it so i have wheat & hay growing under the box most of the year. I can rarely shut the tailgate with 8' material in the back right now. If I had a shortbed I think I would have to put a flatbed on it, I could get by without one with an 8' bed. The flatbed would have front underboxes, and a removable ladder rack. I hope to make a skid up for compressor, fuel, ect that I could drop into either.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

We have a crewcab long box srw. Its got a power tailgate on it that extends the box to just shy of 9'. Without stacking too high we can put 65 bales in the bed with the tailgate up. With the gate down the bed is 11' long and we put 100 bales on it.

I'm strongly considering putting a 7.5 ft wide by 9 ft long flatbed on it but can't figure out how to keep the power tailgate function. We are damaging the box and power gate quite badly loading as forklifts have to drive on the tailgate to load from the rear then push the first pallet forward to load the second. When the push things like pallets of 8" block the gate is pinned by the forklift but they are forcing the truck ahead and straining the box and gate mounts. Side loading a flat bed is much better.


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