Buying 2017 truck, Long bed or Standard?

[Xtrains]

We are new to 5th wheels, just bought our 38' Cedar Creek Silverback... waiting for delivery. And now we are about to buy a new truck. We narrowed down the truck to a 2017 Chevy 3500HD LTZ Crew cab. If we get a standard bed, we would probably get a pull rite slider hitch. If we go long bed, we are thinking the Anderson hitch.

The RV Salesman says that driving either long or standard bed is the same when it comes to the ease of driving.

I would like to hear some feedback from 5th wheel owners about your experiences with long or standard beds. I did the worksheet on truck/trailer weights, and we should be good there... is there anything else we should be considering?

[drdarrin]

Personally, I'd go long bed, but I am a full timer and you never know what you might need to carry in that bed. Your situation may be entirely different.

[wildcatter]

I would go long bed, the ride will be better and the extra space is really nice.

[Cedarmancity]

Originally Posted by Xtrains

We are new to 5th wheels, just bought our 38' Cedar Creek Silverback... waiting for delivery. And now we are about to buy a new truck. We narrowed down the truck to a 2017 Chevy 3500HD LTZ Crew cab. If we get a standard bed, we would probably get a pull rite slider hitch. If we go long bed, we are thinking the Anderson hitch.

The RV Salesman says that driving either long or standard bed is the same when it comes to the ease of driving.

I would like to hear some feedback from 5th wheel owners about your experiences with long or standard beds. I did the worksheet on truck/trailer weights, and we should be good there... is there anything else we should be considering?

I went with the same truck as you are going to buy. I really like the truck. I went with the SB because it fits in my garage. It only has 6'' of extra room, but it fits.

[Xtrains]

Yah, we want it to fit in our garage too. Boy does it ever have a bunch of bells and whistles! Its been a while since we bought a newer vehicle so its a bit overwhelming... the cost and the fun stuff.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Xtrains

Yah, we want it to fit in our garage too.

Then measure the garage to be sure you have at least 22' of open floor space with the door closed.

My garage is 24' deep, but my F-250 CrewCab with 8' bed barely fit in there. For certain I had to remove the WC hitch from the receiver. And my 10' wide garage door with about 9.5' side to side clearance was barely wide enough for the truck with the tow mirrors telescoped in but not folded.

The PullRite SuperGlide hitch is a dear. You'll be glad you have it. But it's heavy. If your tow vehicle is payload challenged, that hitch will absorb a lot of payload capacity.

[09 harley]

Long bed is great but it is looooong. My F250 is 266". I love it!

[ccrewstx]

We are looking at going to the LTZ short bed from a RAM 3500 dually. We had a short bed ram earlier with a 38 foot Montana and now have a 40 foot Jayco but we stay at places and drive to see things and parking a long bed is not always practical at some restaurants and in town places. We loved the 14 Ram dually on hiway but loved our ram short bed for town and other uses. Think about what you want too do but unless you get a dually for road tow then I would say get the sb with pullrite.

[mrgrayaz]

Apparently the LB's tow better then the SB - our SB tows fine....I will say the pathetic fuel capacity on the SB's is something not to be ignored. The LB will have a bigger fuel tank and you will appreciate it.

So to Review:
We paid more for the shortbed truck vs longbed (used the SB's are worth more in my market)
We paid more for the slider hitch
We paid more to have a new Titan Midship tank to make up for the stupid 30 gallon tank.

However, "in theory" it is better around town and parking. *Shrug*

[KD4UPL]

I wish they made a 10' bed. An 8' is just never big enough it seems. Work tools and materials aside think what will be in there when towing the RV. Tools box, hitch, generator, firewood, grill lawn chairs, bikes, chainsaw, etc.
Better ride, larger fuel tank, more room; get the long bed.

[AlexinBC]

I have the standard box on my 3500 Chevy 4x4. I thought I would need a slider hitch but have never used the slider as my 5th has lots of clearance even on tight turns. I have enough room to add an additional 40 gallon fuel tank/tool box behind the cab. Fabulous set up and tows extremely well. Alex

[timetogo]

While short beds are cute, long beds are useful. Enjoy your new outfit

[memtb]

I must be gitt'n old, I thought a long box was standard! BUT... To answer your question, most certainly a long box. There are times when the long box can be a little aggravating, but all of the positives outweigh the negatives.

[cpt_majestic]

I've had both and I prefer my new long bad all day long. A lot of things fit with the tailgate closed, which is nice, motorcycle's, furniture etc...