# New Truck; 6.5ft bed or 8ft. bed?



## fisho

My 2002 Crew Cab Tacoma tranny shit the bed about a week ago. Had 200K miles on it. I'm replacing the tranny w/ one i got on ebay and my plan is to sell it.

I've got an 'in' (family plan bout $10k off) on GMC's and thinking about a brand new 1500 Sierra Extended Cab SLT (5.3 liter). I'm going to get the loaded version w/ all the bells and fish whistles. I'm debating on getting the standard bed which is 6.5 ft vs. the 8ft bed. The truck will be used for towing my 15' jon boat to the river and going to the beach for our extended "no sleep" 4+ day fishing adventures. 

It is my wife, myself and the dog w/ some family planning along the way.... We are thinking that the 8ft bed would be best for comfort, enabling us to sleep comfortably in the back w/out having to move shit around to much. The problem is the 8ft bed means bigger truck... will this bigger bed make the truck feel like mush? Will the 8ft bed make that much difference in comfort sleeping on the beach? 

whatchuthink?


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## roverich

Hi Fisho ...I would opt for the longer bed ...More comfort and if you ever decide to do a suspension lift on it , your drive line angle wont be crushing the U joint in the rear ..Whene you lift the short bed trucks , the drive line angle is pretty extreme ...Just my thoughts ...


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## SkyPup

size does matter when it comes to the length of a pick-up bed. So take the long one.


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## CrawFish

Get the long bed, you just never know when that extra room is needed, like sheetrock, 2x4 and such. Post the Taco up here, I might be interested.


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## Big EL

*I love my Truck........*

A faithful partner it's been. But if I could change one thing it would be the length of the bed. 

Get the long bed.opcorn:

><))))*>


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## fisho

Thanks all! i think it's time to get a long bed on that sweet new truck.....


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## jasonr

Wow. See I'd take the short bed. However, I would opt for a 4 door not just a extended cab. I had a 4 door f150 and how have a ram 2500. Both 4 door and would never think about going back to anything less. Each has their pros and cons. Just depends what you wanna do. To me a 8' bed plus boat is a really long vehicle to be driving around haha


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## fisho

Funny you say that... That's been on my mind.... been thinking about a bay boat. It's easy backing my little boat up w/ my little Tacoma. I bet that won't be easy w/ a truck that is as long or longer than a suburban.... 

Prob is.. The 4 door sierra 1500 comes w/ a the 5.5ft bed only (2500 series you can). The extended cab let's you have 6.5 and 8 ft beds. 

The real deal w/ be test driving them both. maybe i should bring my boat


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## jasonr

I would man. They should let you do a 24 hour test drive  Just think about it the length and keep that in mind.

I just towed the boat for the first time this past weekend with my new to me truck and I felt pretty comfy with it behing me.

Heres a 19' boat behind my 07 Ram2500. Its the 4 door mega cab so it has a 6' bed.










Oh and thats my 6 year old in the bow of the boat haha.


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## Ford Recovery

i do alot of towing with a 06 gmc 1500. ex cab 6 foot bed. love this truck. ive driven long beds and they just dont feel the same. you will know when you drive it what you like. i personably dont think the long bed does as good on the beach either. its all what you feel comforatable with. 5.3 is a great motor. you will be happy either way.


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## Big EL

My camper sits on the tailgate, with a long bed it would fit nicely in the bed. The long bed does great on the beach. I have the 6' bed with a four foot porch off the back and a basket 2 foot off the front . The truck is an F150 Super Cab. When the time comes the replacement will be a quad cab longbed.:fishing:

><))))*>


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## Peixaria

Short beds are better for backing up if you are in tow. Like if you were to get a bigger boat. But the difference between a full size crew cab long bed and a vanilla half ton puddle jumper is dramatic. And don't believe the dealer, he will tell you that they are not in demand[and that is why he has none on his lot] but that is just a line. Its because the owners of the big guns do not recycle them nearly as much as the first time half ton owner. They tend to run them for their full lifetimes. As a carpenter/contractor I swear by the larger versions. Find a dealer that excels in big work trucks and go drive a few and make sure you get that big back seat and the stretch bed, you will not be dissapointed.


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## ste6168

I have a 4 door F150 with a short bed (5.5') and the only thing I ever wished was different about this truck is the bed length! I wish I had AT LEAST the 6.5' bed, if not the 8'. I love everything else about the truck except though... oh and I do also miss my sunroof sometimes!


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