Quote:
Originally Posted by Live 2 Camp
And all this time I thought size didn't matter. Wait, wrong topic.
Seriously, I am one nod from the DW away from signing the line on a new short box (only because double cab / long boxes are so hard to find. Probably drive it home Friday. Somebody please tell me a short box will do fine.
Now I need to lead about sliding hitches.
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Ditto with me, I ain't owned a long bed since my 1974 Club Cab D250 Dodge.
Many many folks tow with short bed trucks without a slider. It seems to be 50%/50% from what I am seeing around here. I always ask them about it. Some guys without a slider say they wish they had one some times. Many of the guys with sliders say they hardly ever use it.
Many of the older trailers absolutely need a slider as the front cap won't allow a sharp turn. Many of the newer 96" wide trailers have what is called a Max Turn front cap and no slider is needed except in extreme backing up situations.
I don't have a 5'er yet but I do an extreme amount of research. I am worse than my wife shopping for a purse.
As far as the need for a short bed truck and turning a trailer that will hit scenario it seems the best sliders are the automatic ones. Pullrite is popular. Demco makes one many people like. A combo I have seen in action that was very cool is the Companion BW hitch and Airborne Sidewinder. What I liked about that combo is you never have to worry about the pin box contacting the truck bed sides and you also have storage room in your truck bed with it.
If you don't feel the need for a sliding hitch in your short bed the BW hitch is pretty solid, and heavy. The Andersen Ultimate (which will be my choice) is absolutely loved by those who use it due to the smoothness of ride and ease of putting the hitch in and out of the truck bed. It is also hated by those who don't use it cause it'll bend and fold up like a limp noodle if you hit a bump or slam on the brakes and many children and puppies will die.
My Mega Cab has a wheelbase only 9" less than a Crew Cab long bed truck. I like the long wheel base I have for better stability and better ride, but it is not real happy doing U-turns. That extra 9" on a long bed would be a killer to do a U-turn with.
On today's trucks you very seldom see a 2 door regular cab rig. Most folks drive 4 door trucks. But many of the short bed 4 door trucks have a longer wheel base than the regular cab long bed trucks do.
For example---I use RAM trucks as that is what I know.
A regular cab 8' bed truck has a wheel base of 140.5" and turn radius of 45.1"
A 4 door Crew cab short bed has a wheel base of 149.4" long and turn radius of 47.5
A Mega Cab short bed is 160.5" wheel base and turn of 50.7
So with this you can see the turn radius gets longer along with wheel base. This only makes sense. And if you have a 4X4 the radius gets longer.
For this reason a longer wheelbase truck with a short bed will have a difficult time hitting the cab against the trailer while moving forward than a short wheel base short bed truck.
I spoke with a guy at a trailer park last summer with a Mega Cab 3500 SRW 4X4 with a non-sliding hitch pulling a Cougar trailer and he said he could turn his steering wheel to full lock and drive in circles and the trailer would never hit. Backing up at a severe angle would be a different story. But of course if you tried you could even bash in the cab with a long bed backing up if you tried.
I'd never get a long bed. I need to use my truck for a lot more than pulling a trailer. I can haul all the 8' long plywood I want in my 6'4" bed with the tail gate down. I have a hard enough time as it is parking this Mega Cab the way it is.