I am lookin to get a crew cab with the 4 full doors. I have talked to quite a few people who say that the short bed is a pain. But if you get the crew cab with an 8' bed, the truck turns into the titanic. Anyone with the short bed wish they would have gotten the long bed, and if so what experience made you wish that? Thanks!

 

short bed quad cab. Not as good for hauling stuff, but a 100 times better for daily driving. Love my short bed.

 

i was on the fence when i was shopping for mine. i opted for the short bed and have no regrets. i have a toolbox which eats up a fair amount of space, but i can still fit pretty much whatver i need in the bed. if i put a 4 wheeler back there, i either have to put it sideways or leave the tailgate down. but, most of the time if im taking one, im gonna take two and just throw em on the trailer. even with a short bed this isnt the most parking friendly vehicle when i have to drive it in the city...long bed would have required a ground crew to assist me with the tiny parking spots at my work....

 

Mine is a shortbed, ours at work is a longbed dually.....I dont really notice the greater length, but I do have to pay attention to the huge butt cheeks on the dually....

 

I love my shortbed. If I used mine as a work truck on a daily basis, then I probably would have went with a longbed. But for what I do with mine, daily driver, weekend trips to home depot, pulling trailers it works perfect. You can park it without the rear end sticking out, and plus when I'm pulling trailers with it, it's easier to manuever, get in/out of places.

 

I value everyone's opinion. I camp and fish as much as most people I know and think the sb works fine. There have been a couple occassions where the extra length would have helped carry more stuff. I really think if the truck is a daily driver go shorty. If not, long is probably more functional. Oh yeah short bed's look way better. I don't think many on here would dispute that. Take care and good luck on your decision.

 

Wouldn't even consider a short bed. When I was younger my dad had one and reminded me all the time about how he wished he had a full size bed. When I was looking, the short beds seemed just too short for me anyway. I like to be able to carry 8'+ things and not have a lot sticking out the back.
Just a matter of preference I suppose.
I pitty the fool that gets a long bed Mega Cab when they are available, no way I would want to park that thing!

 

Well, I've had both. I had an 03 QC short bed. I think they look better than the long beds. I did find it easier to navigate parking spaces and such with the short bed. I now have an 03 QC long bed. The long bed works better for my purposes (hauling motorcycles, wood, longer things). It's not hard to navigate the long bed around a parking lot...I just have to remind myself that there is 2+ feet more truck back there. I came close to hitting some cars in parking lots when I first got the long bed b/c I forgot it was there.

I think it comes down to personal preference. If you need a long bed or just like the look of them then get one. Otherwise I'd just stick with the short bed. JMO.

 

Wow, what a trauma it was for me deciding which I wanted, and I still sometimes second-guess myself.

I ended up buying the shortbed, but I've often wondered if I did the right thing.



But every time I get to wondering, I realize that the shorty was the right choice for me.

I've never yet come across a scenario where I needed the longer bed. I've hauled stuff (not often) and always been able to get it in there and secured. I've moved Queen mattresses, and even a 7'x4' booskshelf-- no problems.

To me, the only time you NEED a longbed is if you tow a Fiver and want an aux tank, or if you need a big toolbox or aux tank or both.



The nice thing about the shorty is that I get the benefits of a smaller, more manueverable truck EVERY DAY, while I'd rarely if ever see the benefits of another 18inches in the bed.

Just look at the MegaCab. Even with no longbed offered, they can't make them fast enough to keep up with demand!

The reality is that people in general value cab space over bed space unless you are using that bed ALL THE TIME.

For a contractor or a farm truck, I'd think a long bed is a must-have.


But for all the rest of us, a shorty will work well in most cases. Just make sure your GN has a triangulated front

 

I have the short bed and like it better than my previous long beds. Daily driving in the city is much easier. I dont normally haul a lot so for me it is not a big loss. The few times when the long bed would have helped I managed to figure out a way.

 

My 99.5 and 04 Ford's were both short beds.

This one is a long bed, and I love it.

its one of those things, if you are going to be hauling stuff.....long bed.
If you are in-town all of the time, and haul stuff.......long bed.
If you are in-tonw and haul nothing most of the time.....short bed.

 

I have the short bed 04 QC and my father a long bed 04 QC. He loves his and I love mine! I can (and have) hauled lots in the short bed. Standard length 8' material stacked to the top of the bed, with tailgate down is no biggie for me. I just ratchet strap from the bumper over the top to the other side of the bumper.

If I have something I really need more room for, I just hook up to the flatbed and away I go....with lots more than in the long bed.

I feel the short bed is worth not having the parking hassle and as mentioned by others, I think the short bed QC looks lots better!

 

You really should consider what you intend to use the truck for in making your decision. My buddy has an '03 SWB and I have an '05 LWB, so I have experience with both. The SWB is a little easier to maneuver in congested city streets and tight parking lots. But I have found, with some practice, I can maneuver my LWB in all those same tight parking spots and city streets too. Sometimes I have to do a 3-pointer to get into or out of a tight spot but it's really not too bad.

The reason I got the LWB is for a couple reasons. I need to haul my motorcycles around in the bed and be able to tow my travel trailer at the same time. A motorcycle only fits in the SWB with the tailgate down, and if you need to tow a trailer, the tailgate will interfere with the trailer, so you have to remove the tailgate alltogether then. I wanted to be able to get a motorcycle all the way into the bed and close the tailgate. I also wanted to be able to carry more stuff in the bed, as well as longer items like lumber, etc. Finally, an LWB makes a better tow vehicle if you have a travel trailer like me, or a fifth wheel. To me, the SWB bed just isn't big enough to make it worthwhile, but if you aren't using it for the things I mentioned above and only need it on an occasional basis to say, get your big screen TV or recliner home from the store, you'll probably perfer the SWB. I thought the SWB looked better too initially, but my LWB's looks have really grown on me and I think it looks great. Honestly, I think the LWB DRW 3500 looks the best , but my wife put her foot down and said absolutely no trucks with hips!

I'm happy with my decision to get the LWB and I can manuever it around just as easily as my buddy's SWB. Even my wife is able to get around in the city easily in the LWB.

 

Before my shorty Dodge, I used to have a ford crew cab long bed. I use the truck to pull my boat, not haul work supplies etc..... It was such a pain to manuever during daily driving.

I have no regrets on buying the shortbed. If I ever need to replace this truck, another shorty will replace it.

 

Love my shortbed.

Hauls what I need, makes driving easy, etc etc.

Most have already covered it.