Plain and simple (you said it yourself), if you are running jeep trails with your truck, then the short bed would be a must... the extra WB of a LB will definately put you against a tree or something in turns.

I bumper pull with my SWB and love that I can still turn around at the end of my court with a trailer and not have to back up (a LWB would out me in a bind at the same place). I also like to be able to fit into these new little garages and pull into short driveways without having to get "recentered" like me neighbors do with thier LWB's.

Both trucks have thier places, you have to look at your past hauling experiences and ask if you have ever hauled anything that "had to have" a 8' foot bed to do it with.

I can't remember any time ever having to call in a 8' truck to do a job my 6.5' couldn't, and I bet you would be hard pressed to find a LWB guy that could say he has been called in just to use that extra 1.5' foot of his truck...

Around my area, the SWB seem to be alot easier to sell, since most trucks around here are more of a "tow rig" then a "hauling rig".

Save the extra cost of your LWB option and buy yourself a 2k capacity / 6 x 10 utility trailer. I have found this to be the best of both worlds and a 6 x 10 trailer bed blows away ANY LWB truck bed for hauling big stuff and you don't have to loan your $35K+ truck out to friends that need to haul something, instead you let them use the $1K- trailer and keep your baby safe and happy at home.

Fact is you can easily overload a 6.5' bed truck (dirt, gravel, etc) just as easy as you can a 8' bed. So is the bed to small??? If I need to haul the very occasional "couple pieces of ply wood" then I will either drop the gate or just let it rest on the top of the tail gate and place the rest of my stuff under the "make shift" trunk area under the wood. If I am picking up a "load of plywood or drywall" then I would take my trailer and let the lumber store load it with thier fork truck and not worry about them getting close to the truck with those forks. Same thing would go with a load of rock, dirt, etc; if I needed a 8' foot bed worth then I am not going to load it myself and don't want really want it in my bed or the equipement close to my truck anyway...

Sorry for going a little sideways on the subject, but I have always been told to get a LWB when I was growing up (because, "a truck is not a real truck with a 6 foot bed") and the only real reason I was given was because of the 4 x 8 foot ply wood / dry wall issue... well most people would be lucky to haul 1 piece of plywood/drywall a year and a 6 foot bed will do it just fine.

I think the SWB is a better looking truck, I only added some bed rails to mine to bring the bed lines up with the hood line, and it looks perfect for my taste. Next set of tires will be 1 size bigger but other than that I am very pleased with the look. To me the LWB are good looking trucks but look alittle to much like a pack horse/mule with it's long back (but it is still a good looking truck).


Good luck with your decision and enjoy your new beast,
Dave

 

Well I have had LOTS of things I could NOT put in a short box.Or worry about loosing it.

 

I do lots of home projects. 6' bed + tailgate down = 8'+

= rock chips on tailgate. Longbed, shortbed, if your going hunting use an old 4x4 beater. If your pulling 14,000 lbs the dually is the only safe way to go with the extra tires in case of a blow out. There's more things to hit out there besides trees, like me and others. Besides theres nothing meaner and nicer looking than a dually in a pickup truck configuration especially with a quad cab. The big cab short box thing is ugly. Too much cab for the box configuration. That last half is just my personal preference. I know alot of people think the shortbox looks nicer.

 

Ive filled my long bed up numerous times, leaving the tailgate down all those times, keeping it packed all the way to the end of the down tailgate, and having to tie it down to keep it from going anywhere.. I needed that extra 1.5 feet every time.
Scott

 

Well im glad that we live in America and have all the abundant choices of vehicles from which to choose.

Personally I like the long bed trucks for the ride and I think they look better. Once you put a tool box in the bed, that leaves darn little room for much else on a short bed. To me, the biggest downside is I can't park it in the garage due to length.....so it has to sit in the hot sun.

 

TexasCTD, funny you mention tool box, I saw a pic of one in the spray in bedliner thread and thought, yea I need one of those. Then I went down to the dealer last night after they closed and saw a gold longbed with 315's, fender flares, chrome nerfs, and I had to say wow I like that! Even better if it was red! I then looked at the shortbeds and to admit that they look out of proportion bed vs cab but hey like everyone says its whatever floats your boat so I am going with the longbed that will ship next week. Now I have to go price bling bling bling! Thanks for all the input.

 

Long Bed, room for tools, rides better, no need for slider hitch & room room room

 

I also drive a longbed DRW. and love it but like everyone states is what is best for you. My 2 cents on the whole parking thing. I have no problem with it have not found too many places where i cant park this one where i could park my dads SWB. In fact My dad had a 2001 4x4 1500, SWB 4door, and he swears that my truck has a better turnning radius than his. maybe because his is a 2001 and mine is a 2005.

Just buy two. one for work and one for play.