TV: 8' truck bed, or shorter?

[4RXLA]

CCSB has plenty of wheelbase to handle your 27 footer. Unless you need the extra storage capacity, go with the 6.5 bed.

[sheriff1]

2022 F350 CC short bed, just installed a 60 gallon replacement tank. Best combination in my opinion.

[Ken G]

I sometimes wish that I had an 8ft. bed in order to take along a motorcycle.

[AKNate]

I prefer a short bed because it can fit in a standard parking spot. I can take it into towns, parallel park it, go in parking garages, maneuver through tight lots, etc. Many things are simply impossible with a long bed, and the rest are much harder.
Even if you never plan to go near a city, a short bed is still better for towing since it has a tighter turn radius. When you’re backing the trailer into a tight spot that can become very important.
The long bed obviously holds more, but just how much stuff do you plan to bring? We spend up to 6 months at a time on the road and fit everything we need (and some things we probably don’t need) in a short bed.
My brother had a short bed. He always said how a long bed would be nice because he could fit wood in there with the tailgate up. His truck was totaled one day and he went and bought a long bed. He now wishes he had a short bed again. The long bed crew cab is just too long.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Longer bed gets you a bigger fuel tank with several brands. Might be standard, might be an option, depending. In the case of a Ford, it goes to 48 gallons. That range adder when towing is a very nice thing.

Longer bed is more stable running down the road. It's not the bed that does that, it's the wheelbase. It also might add a bit to stability when towing. If so, that's hard to detect.

Obviously, it adds more room. We went from a 6.5' to an 8' both the cargo space and fuel pushed us in that direction.

Chugging around the typical town in the 8' works for me. I would not want to live in a big city and use it as my daily driver.

Bob

[Silvr_Bullet]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi



Longer bed gets you a bigger fuel tank with several brands. Might be standard, might be an option, depending. In the case of a Ford, it goes to 48 gallons. That range adder when towing is a very nice thing.



Longer bed is more stable running down the road. It's not the bed that does that, it's the wheelbase. It also might add a bit to stability when towing. If so, that's hard to detect.



Obviously, it adds more room. We went from a 6.5' to an 8' both the cargo space and fuel pushed us in that direction.



Chugging around the typical town in the 8' works for me. I would not want to live in a big city and use it as my daily driver.



Bob

Yea, it depends but it depends[emoji28]

[Applej]

I’m on my 2nd long bed crew cab. 2019 Ford F350 diesel.
8’ bed: 48 gallon stock tank (great!). I carry a cross bed toolbox to stow gear, leaves 6’ bed space for bikes, firewood, barbecue, propane tanks, lawn chairs.
Rides like a luxury sedan.
Comes down to hauling space you need.
I’ve taken this and my 28’ GT trailer in many small campgrounds, and driving it without trailer can take it anywhere (including parking garages downtown).
Parking sometimes requires finding a long enough spot, which mostly means a 1-2 minutes longer walk in parking lots (which can be a good thing not being in the packed close to the storefront spaces, and door dingers!)

[cbburke]

Think of your truck bed as your on the road shed. Put a cap on it. Look for a pull out Bed Slide or Cargo Glide. Add these to an 8' bed and you can haul all kinds of stuff. Works for me.

[tjdonahoe]

3/4 ram 4x4 6.7. Crew cab 6.5 box excellent all we need we don’t carry around extra junk we don’t need … every town has a parts house

[Gibson3798]

Originally Posted by glenrms

And the turning radius is about the same as a freight train!

You may need to re-measure.

[wilsodf]

Originally Posted by sheriff1

2022 F350 CC short bed, just installed a 60 gallon replacement tank. Best combination in my opinion.

We also have the Ford F350 with the 6 1/2 bed. We also had the factory tank (34 Gal) replaced with an SB Filters (60 Gal). That way we get the best of both, better turning radius and plenty of fuel. When I fill up, my 'Miles to Empty" show around 1048.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

3/4 ram 4x4 6.7. Crew cab 6.5 box excellent all we need we don’t carry around extra junk we don’t need … every town has a parts house

Hi

If you are talking about an Airstream, not even every AS dealer has the parts you might be looking for. I've proven that a number of times. Finding them at a local hardware .... yikes ....

Bob

[foobar]

Originally Posted by wilsodf

We also have the Ford F350 with the 6 1/2 bed. We also had the factory tank (34 Gal) replaced with an SB Filters (60 Gal). That way we get the best of both, better turning radius and plenty of fuel. When I fill up, my 'Miles to Empty" show around 1048.

Is your F350 a diesel?

Can you retrofit larger gasoline tanks? Or do regulations prohibit aftermarket gasoline tank upgrades? I recall reading somewhere that was true.

[joevdb]

I have a standard bed double cab Silverado, and as others have said, parking in a typical big box store lot is challenging. I always look for 4 vacant spots to pull through.

The biggest downside though, is backing into a camping site with a narrow drive or trees on either side. You simply can't make a tight backward entry with all that turning radius to manage. Too much distance from the hitch inflection point to the front of the truck.

If I had the choice again, I would go with the shortest crew cab I could.

[wilsodf]

Originally Posted by foobar

Is your F350 a diesel?

Can you retrofit larger gasoline tanks? Or do regulations prohibit aftermarket gasoline tank upgrades? I recall reading somewhere that was true.

Our 2020 Ford F350 is the Powerstroke Diesel 6.7. I looked on SBfilters site and didn't see any options for gasoline tanks, they were all for diesel. They sell bigger diesel tanks for Ford, Ram and Chevy/GMC

[DavidsonOverlander]

The longer truck is better for your health. It will force you to park farther from stores, so you'll get more exercise!

We have a crew cab F350 with the long bed and haven't regretted it. We wouldn't put it in the garage anyway. It's far more often that I appreciate the extra space than wish I had a shorter truck.

[4RXLA]

Transfer Flow offers a 58 gallon replacement gasoline tank for the CCSB Ford. It is expensive though. About $3300 installed.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Putting in an aftermarket fuel tank hits your payload. It also has to go somewhere. Some fit into odd places. Many drop right into the bed of the truck. Just how you fit / fill / use this or that one with a cap or cover on the truck can be exciting. I'd definitely look into the "how do you fill" and "how do you use" details before spending a couple thousand dollars ....

Bob

[gypsydad]

So now you have some good feedback; I like the short bed on the F250 (6 1/2') and it served us well. Parking challenges aside, I do have a 34gal tank on my 6.7L and get reasonable mileage while towing. I can go 350-400 miles while towing depending on wind. I don't find "stopping for fuel" to be an issue; provides opportunity for stretching, eating, and bathroom breaks along the way.

I would suggest going out and driving both of them; go to a parking lot like a grocery store, and check out the differences navigating and parking. See if you can tolerate parking and maneuvering around. That wheel base of 1 extra foot in the 6 1/2ft standard bed" on the 3/4T was/is noticeable vs the 1/2T I drove for 5 years towing my AS's. I can't imagine the long bed being easier than the 6/12" bed.

[Silvr_Bullet]

Originally Posted by 4RXLA

Transfer Flow offers a 58 gallon replacement gasoline tank for the CCSB Ford. It is expensive though. About $3300 installed.

Unless you really need it for some other reason $3300 buys many gallons of fuel. Cost effective (?)