Community Forums

jacknife · 03-23-2016, 09:52 PM

You can get a custom long bed Mega cab they do the converson up in Salt Lake Utah. Put an 8 ft bed, then as some say you will have a real heavy duty truck. Amazing what 1ft 6 "Will do for you. LOL

Muncie_6spd · 03-23-2016, 10:28 PM

I believe the Excel is a pretty heavy 5er. You didn't state the length or weight but I believe most of them are known to be heavy. I would suggest you investigate the weight of that trailer, you may find a dually is needed. The weight carrying capacity of a dually rear axle is quite a bit higher than a single rear wheel.

Live 2 Camp · 03-24-2016, 02:06 AM

I was considering the 18k Autoslide with the under-bed system by Demco only because our pin box is a Demco Glide Ride. Any thoughts?

The Excel is a 33 TKE and I believe dry weight is 14k-ish / gross 17k.

Live 2 Camp · 03-24-2016, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muncie_6spd

I believe the Excel is a pretty heavy 5er. You didn't state the length or weight but I believe most of them are known to be heavy. I would suggest you investigate the weight of that trailer, you may find a dually is needed. The weight carrying capacity of a dually rear axle is quite a bit higher than a single rear wheel.

You may very well be right. As much as I didn't want to buy a dually it may be necessary. I need to get some hard numbers and refigure this.

Namlehse · 03-24-2016, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cb1000rider

Some of us need the cab space of the ridiculous-mega-cab. If the had it in a long bed "limo" edition, I would have bought it, but I gave up the bed length, added an auto-slider, and deal with it. I don't spend much time in the bed of the truck, but I do spend a lot of time in the cab... Yea, you give up some tow capacity, but I think you can still get a megacab dodge to tow about 28-29k...

Two kids, a 10 year old that weighs 90 lbs, and a 3 year old that weighs 190 (The latter being the furry kind). Needless to say anything you can do for more storage is a plus. I've put a 42" LED TV still in the box behind the seats, four suitcases, I generally keep quite a few tools behind it, bottle jack, air compressor, and a few other odds and ends. To say it's not a true HD truck is a bit misleading. Quite a few Hot Shots are going to MegaCabs, sleeping in the cab to save money. With the seat folded flat, you can get a full size air mattress down.

Space is right

My weight rating.

Bob1340 · 03-24-2016, 09:17 AM

I think some take the Mega as not being a HD truck from the first examples built being as 1500 models back some years ago.
I stacked 36 of those big Lifetime folding chairs in the back of mine and I think I could of got in more.

head gamez · 03-24-2016, 11:51 AM

Wow. Tough crowd. Can't speak for the other poster, but my post was meant in fun.

I prefer a long bed, but nothing wrong with a short (or shorter) bed if it fits your needs. I can get by fine with the extended cab, wife, 2 kids and a small dog. I preferred a crew cab long bed but as other have pointed out.... Those are not always easy to find when shopping used.

cb1000rider · 03-24-2016, 02:40 PM

My reply was meant in fun too... "limo cab"

glennwest · 03-24-2016, 02:51 PM

Ahh, get an hdt and be done with it.

kesterdaddy · 03-24-2016, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live 2 Camp

I was considering the 18k Autoslide with the under-bed system by Demco only because our pin box is a Demco Glide Ride. Any thoughts?

The Excel is a 33 TKE and I believe dry weight is 14k-ish / gross 17k.

I use a 16k Reese Slider. It works great and is a must have for the short beds, I just keep the moving parts lubed up with fluid film. I wanna say the 03 duramax had injector issues, I would most definitely check the dirtymax forums. I use a 6.4 Powerstroke which has its own problems.

Did you have your original question answered?

Povo · 03-25-2016, 07:03 PM

I may be a relative newbie, but with my 3500 Ram short bed with 6.4 Hemi and a 4.1 gear ratio (rated at 15,500 towing capacity), along with my B&W Companion slider (rated at 18,000), I feel pretty confident towing my 5ver that fully loaded (with a full tank of water) would be maybe 13k lbs. Barely notice its back there (But don't get me wrong, I give it the utmost respect and know I won't be stopping on a dime.) Yeah, feels like a truck to me.

Live 2 Camp · 03-25-2016, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kesterdaddy

....Did you have your original question answered?

Eventually.

FaithBowls · 03-30-2016, 07:32 AM

The way it was explained to me - regular bed is fine with a sliding hitch, which you only use to make a three point / extreme turn. I got the long bed with fixed hitch and I'm glad I did. I've needed it a few times learning to turn around. They say sliding hitch is not a problem but I didn't want to deal with it. I'm glad I got the long bed for the extra storage space, too.

2016 Lifestyle 35' fifth wheel
2016 Chevy Silverado 3500HD Duramax 1 ton

Povo · 03-31-2016, 08:18 AM

Obviously there's no one size fits all. I use my truck as my everyday vehicle. Here in Bend a full size bed can be somewhat inconvenient, especially in our small downtown streets with diagonal parking. Also, with most new 5th wheels having rounded front caps, the turning radius has been improved. That being said, I do like having the slider just in case it is needed. I've heard people say they they've only used theirs a couple of times, but for those times they are glad they had it.