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Short Bed Pickup

dlnc
Explorer
Explorer
When I purchase a pickup truck to tow a fifth wheel...I want to stay with a short bed so I can still park the truck in tight areas when we’re out and about. Looking for some advice on using a short bed for towing a fifth wheel. Backing in to a camp site, Do I need a specific fifth wheel & pin box....
14 REPLIES 14

4x4ord
Explorer III
Explorer III
Non slider B&W for me. I wouldn't trade it for a manual slider. If I felt the need for a sliding hitch it would be an automatic one such as the pull rite. Sliding hitches are heavy and use up a lot of box space.
2023 F350 SRW Platinum short box 4x4.
B&W Companion
2008 Citation Platinum XL 34.5

ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Explorer
guidry wrote:
Before you decide may I suggest you go to test drive both. 2 feet isn’t that big a deal as for parking. A big shortbed is the same parking but deficient in towing comfort compared to a long bed. Test drive both and if you get comfortable backing into parking spots you won’t see a difference.



Hmmmmm - my "test drive" of a long bed, 1T SRW, CC - lasted about
ten years.
By then (2005) I decided I didn't need that extra two feet, so the next one was/is a Short Bed, as above, except the CC is a Quad Cab.

Stock factory fuel tank is 35 gallons.
The ride is fine! - All the "bedroom" (pun) I want/need.
Pleasure to park in shopping centers, etc.
(The "preferred" parking places in shopping centers with a LB, is where you can back in and hang that extra 2 feet over a sidewalk, LOL)

Will never have a long bed again!!

I prefer a slider, which for me was/is a PullRite SuperGlide since '05. It's been flawless.
I'm sure there are other hitches which would do just as well.

Have friends who "thought" they didn't need a slider, but paid the price in repairs to windows/cab. At least one of whom is/was a commercial big rig driver - who *knew* he could get r done backing into a tight spot, but didn't quite make it....(had long wait for a back window in Alaska).

Kinda like the 4x4 folks who say, "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it".

I don't miss my (previous) long bed.
I don't need/want a dually but - *if* I ever own a heavy enough trlr, the "dually" will be a singled HDT (see Escapees HDT forum).

......decide whatever works best for you and go for it!..:W

:C

Dave_H_M
Explorer
Explorer
Some urban legend that you need to question but it always touted up front on this forum is:

Long beds ride better --not entirely so, as stated my short bed crew cab has a wheel base comparable to most long beds.

Short beds have tiny fuel tanks. The world changed years ago. My short bed 2012 has right at 37 gal fuel tank.

I have towed fifth wheels for over 18 years now and always with a short bed. Never a slider hitch or one of those air ride ones. A regular ole Reese gets me down the road and going forward I cannot turn sharp enough to get the trailer into the cab.

A lot of it depends, but most of it are folks stating their preference for what ever reason.

My advice is to look at the specs of the vehicle and get what you need, not what I think you should have.

Have fun out there.

JIMNLIN
Explorer
Explorer
I've pulled GN and 5th wheel trailers with short and long bed trucks. I don't prefer one over the other as far as ride comfort or handling or maneuvering.
My current 5th wheel rv is a '97 old very flat/square corner front profile so yeah I have a old '97 manual sliding hitch for those very few times where its needed.
As others say the new gen trailers have the rounded/notched front corners that eliminates the need for a slider.

Check out the Anderson and the PullRite Superlite hitch system.....or the Reese Goosebox system.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers

'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides

centerline
Explorer
Explorer
Njmurvin wrote:
If you have a good reason to go with a short bed, then by all means don't let that stop you from enjoying a fifth wheel. For peace of mind towing, consider the Pullrite Superglide hitch. It costs and weighs a bit more than conventional hitches. But, I think it's well worth it. There are so many things to think and worry about when towing. Hitting the cab with your trailer doesn't need to be one of them.


I agree.... this is the hitch I use, in my LONG bed... and its great. it slides autmatically when you make sharp turns so that the kingpin moves rearward 14 inches.... and the 25lb weight increase is negligable. the system you use to connect it to the pickup will make a bigger difference in weight than the actual hitch does.

I have it because I have side rail boxes mounted along the sides of my bed, and I didnt want the tail end of the pin box contacting the corners of a side rail box on a sharp turn... it all works great.

and I do know that a short bed pickup is a few thousand dollars cheaper than a long bed. and they have sales and discounts on them more often than they do longbeds... so I can understand why some people go for the short bed trucks. but my vote is STILL for the long bed.
2007 M-3705 SLC weekend warrior, 5th wheel
2014 Ram 3500 CC/LB, 6.7 Cummins
2004 Polaris Sportsman 700
2005 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO
1979 Bayliner 2556 FB Convertible Cruiser
Heavy Equipment Repair & Specialty Welding...

dave17352
Explorer
Explorer
I have used both short and long beds to tow fivers. I much prefer the long bed. One reason is it seems like you have twice as much storage in the bed! and better ride. But you certainly can get by with a short bed. I think a short bed for just for parking and being out and about is possibly over thinking it. A person definitely gets used to a long bed and doesn't even think about it. JMHO
NOW 2017 Leprechaun 260ds
2005 Forrest River Cardinal 29rkle FW
1998 Lance 980 11'3" TC
2017 CHEVY 3500 SRW 6.0
B@W turnover ball @ companion Hitch
Honda eu3000 generator mounted on cargo rack
Crestliner 1850 Fish Ski boat mostly fishing now!

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Never had anything else but the CC long bed dually. The tail does not wag the dog. Stability is confidence. We do the SPs & NPs wherever we can. Sometimes the backing is challenging. Not often. Getting around without the trailer with the big truck, you get used to it. You have to park an extra few seconds walk from the door of the market. Big deal. Exercise is good for you.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

Njmurvin
Explorer
Explorer
If you have a good reason to go with a short bed, then by all means don't let that stop you from enjoying a fifth wheel. For peace of mind towing, consider the Pullrite Superglide hitch. It costs and weighs a bit more than conventional hitches. But, I think it's well worth it. There are so many things to think and worry about when towing. Hitting the cab with your trailer doesn't need to be one of them.
2020 Chevy Silverado 3500HD Duramax 4x4 Crew Cab Standard box

2011 Arctic Fox 27.5L

IdaD
Explorer
Explorer
I use a rail mount Andersen flipped to the rear and it works great in my short bed. I think I lost a whopping 1 gallon of fuel capacity compared to the long bed version of my truck. It tows our fifth wheel just as well as a long bed would. I do give a little up on cargo space but as my daily driver that's a very worthwhile tradeoff. It is most certainly easier to park and maneuver in tight spots compared to a long bed.
2015 Cummins Ram 4wd CC/SB

Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Explorer
Get a slider hitch. Cost more than a non-slider but worth it so as not to worry on sharp turns. Even better, one that slides automatically as needed so that you don't get caught having to get out of the truck and manually activate the slider surrounded by traffic. Embarrasing.
Jayco-noslide

Dayle1
Explorer
Explorer
Regarding a hitch, with a short bed a slider would be your best choice, auto slider if you don't mind the weight, or manual slider otherwise. Pick the brand, just make sure the jaws wrap or close around the king pin.

Another option instead of a slider would be the Reese Sidewinder pin box. Less weight since you can use a lighter fixed hitch. Works automatically. Back of the pin box can't hit the tailgate or truck bed sides.

But then if you can be a little more careful when backing up, then a fixed hitch will work also. Sometimes it may require a couple more times jockeying back and forth. Max turning angle depends on the truck's distance from back of the cab to the rear axle (C-A), Ram is the least, GM the longest, with Ford very close. The other variable is the fiver cap design, many are designed to achieve greater turning angle specifically for SB trucks. I've been towing fivers with short bed trucks for almost 30 years and use a fixed hitch, never had truck to fiver contact and never found a site I couldn't get into.

Not all short bed trucks have smaller fuel tanks than the brands long bed trucks and today's SB crew cabs have wheelbases longer than regular cab long beds of years ago, so ride comfort isn't a big issue.
Larry Day
Texas Baptist Men-Retiree Builders since '01
'13 Silverado 3500HD LT 2wd CCSB SRW, custom RKI bed
'19 Starcraft Telluride 292RLS
Rig Photos

guidry
Explorer
Explorer
Before you decide may I suggest you go to test drive both. 2 feet isn’t that big a deal as for parking. A big shortbed is the same parking but deficient in towing comfort compared to a long bed. Test drive both and if you get comfortable backing into parking spots you won’t see a difference.

B92F
Explorer
Explorer
My prior truck was a 2005 F250 with the 6 1/2 foot bed and I had a husky non slider hitch that worked well. Traded that in on a 2015 F250 and it also has the 6 1/2 foot bed, but now have a B & W slider. I can definitely get a tighter turn with the slider, but both seemed to work for the situations I've been in so far.
2022 Ford F250 Super Duty
2020 Cherokee Arctic Wolf 285DRL4
B&W 20K Companion

donn0128
Explorer
Explorer
Depends. Some fifth wheels have cut noses to allow for short beds. Getting a short bed IMHO is like cutting your nose off to spite your face. Decreased ride comfort, loss of in bed storage, and smaller fuel tank are only a few of the down sides. What truck are looking at? What fiver are you considering towing with it?