What length Pick up bed is best to pull a 5th wheel toy hauler?

[Lak]

I need to purchase a heavy duty diesel to pull a 40' 5th wheel toy hauler.
What size bed should I get and why?
At an RV show I recently attended one salesman told me an average length bed tows easier then a long 8' bed. Another salesmen told me you no longer need to worry about hitting the cab with the 5th wheel while making a turn so there is no need for a long 8' bed.
I appreciate any assistance you can give me.

[smiller]

Generally a longer wheelbase vehicle will tow better, and with a longbed you have more room for stuff like a toolbox and will never have to worry about clearance issues or messing with a sliding hitch. OTOH people tow with short beds all the time without problem and there is no absolute 'need' for a longbed so it pretty much comes down to your own preference.

[bsjulestad]

For a 40' you will want at least a 350/3500 DRW

[Superslif]

My brother has a Ram 3500 Mega Cab with the 6-1/2' bed and hates it. We is on his 2nd automatic slider hitch....(first one failed $4k). But other than towing his 5er toy hauler, the bed is too small for his ATV's if he wanted to put one in the bed for a local ride. Myself I went with a 6-1/2' bed in my Tundra to tow my tt. Personally if I were using it to tow a 5er, I would get the 8' bed. Use it to tow, but also have the use of a full sized bed to do other things with.

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by Superslif

My brother has a Ram 3500 Mega Cab with the 5-1/2' bed and hates it. We is on his 2nd automatic slider hitch....(first one failed $4k). But other than towing his 5er toy hauler, the bed is too small for his ATV's if he wanted to put one in the bed for a local ride. Myself I went with a 6-1/2' bed in my Tundra to tow my tt. Personally if I were using it to tow a 5er, I would get the 8' bed. Use it to tow, but also have the use of a full sized bed to do other things with.

The mega cab has a 6'4" bed, the exact same bed as a crew cab short bed truck. Has always had that size bed since it came out in 2005 or 2006, can't remember the year.
Chad

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by onechaddude

The mega cab has a 6'4" bed, the exact same bed as a crew cab short bed truck. Has always had that size bed since it came out in 2005 or 2006, can't remember the year.
Chad

Sorry, just reread my post and that sounded kinda strong. Didn't mean it that way. Anyway I thought maybe I should prove my post.
Chad

[Superslif]

He has always had 8' bed trucks, but when you have 4 kids the only option was a bigger cab. I think he had the Quad cab / 8' bed before that with the V-10. But it wouldn't pull his 5er...Had to go diesel....His biggest issue has been all the trouble he has had with the automatic slider hitch...From day one it's not been good. His toy hauler is a wide body (8-1/2' wide) so anything under a 8' bed needed a slider hitch.

I could have ordered a 8' bed with my Tundra Double Cab, but we do mostly State and Federal parks so like a little shorter turning radius to get my 25' tt into spots. It's my first pick-up so anything with a bed is going to help when I need to haul stuff. I buy a lot of stuff at garage sales and would pack my SUV to the roof.

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by Superslif

He has always had 8' bed trucks, but when you have 4 kids the only option was a bigger cab. I think he had the Quad cab / 8' bed before that with the V-10. But it wouldn't pull his 5er...Had to go diesel....His biggest issue has been all the trouble he has had with the automatic slider hitch...From day one it's not been good. His toy hauler is a wide body (8-1/2' wide) so anything under a 8' bed needed a slider hitch.

I agree. That big of hauler needs a long bed. I always had long beds when I had the fiver before the MH. I do like the megacab space inside. The cab is huge compared to crew cabs. Rear seats even recline to 35 degrees. I thought I had heard that ram was gonna start making megacabs with long beds, but not sure about that. That would be a LONG truck.
Chad

[TXiceman]

A 40' toy hauler will need a 1 ton dually minimum. Ford and Chevy only come with an 8' bed. Dodge Ram offers a shorter bed with the Mega cab.

First thing is to not believe the RV salesman. A longer wheel base will be an easier ride when towing than a shorter wheelbase.

Ken

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

A 40' toy hauler will need a 1 ton dually minimum. Ford and Chevy only come with an 8' bed. Dodge Ram offers a shorter bed with the Mega cab.

First thing is to not believe the RV salesman. A longer wheel base will be an easier ride when towing than a shorter wheelbase.

Ken

FWIW, the megacab uses same wheelbase chassis as crew cab long bed. It just puts the 6'4" bed on it and puts extra 20" into the cab. So if they made a long bed then it would be 20" longer than ford or gm crew long bed. Be fun parking that at Walmart huh!
Chad

[TXiceman]

As for parking my F350 crew cab DRW, it is not really and issue. It is our only vehicle.

I drop my wife at the door (bad knee) and I park out in the lot. Most drive throughs are a no-no.

Ken

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Lak

I need to purchase a heavy duty diesel to pull a 40' 5th wheel toy hauler.
What size bed should I get and why?

As someone mentioned, you want a dually as a minimum. Ford and GM duallys come only with an 8' bed. No choice. Ram has some duallys with a shorter bed.

Ignorant uninformed salesmen will mislead you. The longer the bed (and thus the longer the wheelbase) the better the ride, and the more stable you'll be in crosswinds.

I have towed 5ers with a 6.5 bed and with an 8' bed. I would never on purpose tie onto a 5er with a short-bed truck unless I had a slider hitch installed. But slider hitches are heavier, more complicated, and more expensive. So when I bought my truck to use for towing a 5er, it had an 8' bed. My current pickup has a 6.5' bed, but I normally tow a TT with it, not a 5er.

Another salesmen told me you no longer need to worry about hitting the cab with the 5th wheel while making a turn so there is no need for a long 8' bed.

You probably cannot hit the cab with the trailer when going forward. But put that puppy in reverse gear and you can jackknife in a heart beat and CRUNCH.

There is a small grain of truth to that PROVIDED you are talking about a specific 5er that's designed to be towed by a shorty pickup. Most are not. And I doubt your 40' toy hauler is either. So if you go for a Ram truck, then consider the shorty only if you plan to also invest in a slider hitch - preferably an automatic slider hitch. If you go for a Ford or GM tow vehicle, and have enough sense to insist on a dually so you won' be overloaded with that huge trailer, then a shorty is not available, so your decision is made for you.

[caissiel]

Get a DRW Long bed and you will not regret.
The salesman might not have the Ram long bed on stock so he wants to get rid of a slow moving short bed.
Industry only buys long beds so it could be easier to trade in the future if it's DRW.

[onechaddude]

Ram also has a crew cab truck with a long bed in single rear wheel and also in dually just like ford and gm. You are not restricted to a short bed if you want a ram.
Chad