Short beds - Let Me Explain

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 08/22/2017 at 16:39 • Filed to: Trucks, Rant

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Pickup trucks are for work not for play, so a short bed pickup is stupid...

...is one of the dumber arguments to make about pickup trucks in 2017.

Got my panties in a bunch on the recent discussion re: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! regarding what jeep “should have” done with the bed length. This is that rant. Also applies to other trucks.

Seriously, short beds are fine, they hold plenty of stuff. Would it be cool to have a regular cab Jeep long bed? Sure! Does it make sense to build it given the take rate? Probably not.

People complain and say that a 5.5 foot bed is too small and can’t carry enough. You know what it can carry? A LOT more than any other Jeep, especially wrangler.

I guess I just don’t understand the use case for anything BUT a short bed on a wrangler pickup.

What are you going to put back there? If its something that big, and you do it often enough...should you be looking at a wrangler to start with? Buy a colorado if you want a small offroad diesel pickup. Buy a powerwagon if you NEED solid axles and double lockers. Buy a F150 if you are carting around long stuff alot or towing. A wrangler pickup is, at its heart, going to be a wrangler, which means its only going to be a so/so pickup anyway.

Is it too long? No.

Same goes for midsized trucks. Why hate on short beds? They hold a ton of gear and a family which is more than you get with anything else in its capability class...and if you don’t need to use 4x4 then you still have a lot of usable space for work in a package than isn’t cumbersome to drive around.

My experience with short bed trucks is that they hold more than enough for the family man or outdoorsman, and way more than people give them credit for.

its 2017, trucks are for people.

deekster_caddy > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 16:42

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I’m confused if this is Jeep vs Short Bed pickup or just anti-fullsize trucks. Or saying that jeeps are useless as trucks.

HammerheadFistpunch > deekster_caddy 08/22/2017 at 16:43

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Im confused too. Mostly I am sick of people saying short beds are dumb. They have their place.

deekster_caddy > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 16:46

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Most definitely!

AestheticsInMotion > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 16:48

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I use two short bed trucks for my window washing business. They manage to hold 4 ladders from 16 to 32 ft, a step ladder, extension poles, locking box full of gear, two towel buckets, 2 5 gallon buckets, a cooler and a few other odds and ends.

Short beds rule. I would hate to deal with the extra length in an urban environment

jkm7680 > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 16:48

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My short bed is perfectly fine. It’ll fit an ATV or gear for days and pretty much whatever else you want to stick back there. Unless you’re a tradesman, a short bed on a mid sized truck is perfectly fine.

It’s annoying as hell when people whine about how a real DCSB isn’t a mid sized truck.

HammerheadFistpunch > jkm7680 08/22/2017 at 16:49

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its almost like having 17 square feet and unlimited ceiling is a pittance.

HammerheadFistpunch > AestheticsInMotion 08/22/2017 at 16:50

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Thats the thing...long trucks are long...like really, obnoxiously long. You want long trucks? Cause long beds is how you get long trucks.

marshknute > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 16:50

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I don’t get it either. I transport rear seat passengers more often than plywood. Therefore Crew Cab + short bed is the better option.

Plus I’ve never transported something that fits comfortably in a 6' bed. Lumber is 8' and furniture is always 4mm longer than a 6' bed. If it’s going to stick out anyway, I may as well have some usable rear seats.

Mercedes Streeter > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 16:54

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I suddenly have the strong desire to see these babies back into production:

HammerheadFistpunch > Mercedes Streeter 08/22/2017 at 16:58

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I knew a guy who put a pickup bed on a peterbilt, I guess his dad owned a trucking company and they had a spare so he built it up as his daily. nice dude.

benjrblant > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:01

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“Long beds haul more stuff” is like saying all v8's are better than v6's.

“Pickup trucks are for work not for play” Sure, ok. Of the nearly 2 million pickup trucks sold in the US during 2016, how many of them have never had anything in the back other than a dog or a duffel bag?

It’s not about the length. It’s how you use it. (da dun tssh)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:02

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It would be neat to have a fleet optioned long bed one for remote usage. We have a shortbed Taco, and it’s bed is absolutely useless for work.

Nothing > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:05

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When I drove to NY and got to my camp, one of my sisters commented on the Tacoma. “That’s cute, what can you do with it?” Well, I’ve already taken a load of 30+ lawn bags to the dump, went and picked up enough concrete blocks to build a retaining wall and a fire pit, and brought my 3 passengers with me from Montreal.”

Guess what, with a platform in the bed and a hitch extension, I can carry 4x8 sheets with the tailgate down too, when I need to. After that...it fits in my garage.

About the longest truck I’d want would be a Tacoma DCLB. If I didn’t haul my son around, I would’ve bought an Access Cab Tacoma.

HammerheadFistpunch > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 08/22/2017 at 17:06

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But why? Just buy any number of trucks with long beds. No one is going to be buying these for work except maybe the parks service and it wont be displacing their fleet of superduties and rams either.

shop-teacher > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:09

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Excellent click bait title!

I wholeheartedly agree. I consider my short bed crew cab to be a really good multi tool. It’s not the best for any one job, but it’s good at a huge variety of jobs. I can even parallel park it in the city when I have to (which luckily is rarely).

HammerheadFistpunch > Nothing 08/22/2017 at 17:09

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the “thats cute” attitude is exactly what Im talking about. But I’ve always been a fan of doing the most with the least when it comes to cars.

HammerheadFistpunch > shop-teacher 08/22/2017 at 17:10

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Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:13

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There are plenty of companies that need a small 4WD truck with a decent size bed. There are quite a few mining companies that import Hiluxes for that reason.

HammerheadFistpunch > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 08/22/2017 at 17:17

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Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:20

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I mean, what do you expect to hear from the typical pickup truck consumer? We’re talking about a disappointingly large group of people who buy a ridiculously oversized vehicle that gets used as a family sedan 99% of the time and the other 1% of the time hauls a load of mulch home from the hardware store. Of course they’re going to say something irrational. They’ve made an inherently irrational purchase to begin with.

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 08/22/2017 at 17:22

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Maybe you’ve hit the nail on the head. Irrational purchases deserves irrational justification.

“All trucks that aren’t as big as the one I bought aren’t real trucks because you NEED this much truck, like, all the time...for truck things.”

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:33

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A couple jobs ago, I worked with a bunch of idiot outside sales people. The VP who ran the office wanted people who were going on longer road trips for work to rent cars because it was cheaper for the company to pay for a rental car and gas than to reimburse people for $0.50/mile or whatever the mileage rate was on their personal vehicles. This VP would often rent cars for himself for exactly this reason and never rented anything fancy.

The top sales guy in the office drove an F-150 crew cab. With 2 kid seats in the back. He was a midwestern MURRICA dad who talked shit about his wife who he fought with all the time, lifted lots of weights, played golf, wore bedazzle-butt jeans and other MURRICA-“fashionable” clothing, and had a pistol in a quick-release mount under his steering wheel, because you never know when you might need to pull a gun picking your kids up at soccer practice.

He was supposed to tack a client visit in Minnesota on the end of a family trip to Iowa, or something like that, I forget exactly. The VP told him to rent a car to take on both the family trip and the side visit to MN, instead of expensing the mileage of the part of the trip from IA to MN to WI, and this guy was whining and complaining about how he needed the space of his F-150. Like not even an SUV rental would work. It was ridiculous.

Typical pickup consumer.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Textured Soy Protein 08/22/2017 at 17:33

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They are used as full-sized sedans because full-sized sedans were forced to shrink and become less practical due to laws. If it wasn’t for laws that made SUVs and trucks better than cars, we’d all be able to buy brand new full-size wagons. Pickup trucks and SUVs filled that void because nothing else could.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Textured Soy Protein 08/22/2017 at 17:36

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I pride myself on having a rational ‘truck’ and an irrational trailer for work.

Textured Soy Protein > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 08/22/2017 at 17:38

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No. 

Full size sedans still exist. If someone wants a big, relatively affordable MURRICAN sedan, they can buy a Chevy Impala, Dodge Charger, or their more premium counterparts from Buick and Chrysler. The Toyota Avalon, Hyundai Azera and Kia Cadenza also fit the bill. They are totally practical large sedans.

Full size wagons don’t exist anymore because families decided minivans worked better for toting around families, and then decided minivans were too lame to be seen driving and instead bought full-size SUVs.

Bigass pickups are used as family sedans by typical pickup consumers because typical pickup consumers just want to drive a pickup.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:41

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That’s not very rugged.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 17:42

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My buddy had a 1975 GMC pickup (single cab, long bed) that we kept bashing the tail end of the bed on rocks when crawling. One day he had a wild idea after some body shop class at high high school... He and I cut the tail of the bed off, shortened the frame, welded it back together, painted, undercoated it, and slapped the tube bumper back on. The body work was a little wonky due to a crease in the body, but it was far more functional.

HammerheadFistpunch > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 08/22/2017 at 17:52

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It wouldn’t be hard to get it sufficient... Assuming they come in 4wd too

nermal > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 18:07

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My 3/4 ton diesel truck is used for daily driving, as well as towing on the weekends. I need the truck for the towing, and tolerate it for the daily driving, since it’s cheaper than owning two vehicles. Two vehicles that I would approve of, at least.

I’ve never run into an issue with the short bed being too short for my needs. In fact, I would buy a 3/4 ton truck with a 5 1/2 ft bed for my next one, just so it would be easier to park and whatnot.

HammerheadFistpunch > nermal 08/22/2017 at 18:12

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I can see if you have a specific need for a long bed (lumber or motorcycles or something) but I just don’t see a 6'4" bed of even a 5'6" bed being a showstopper for a truck

TheRealBicycleBuck > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 19:00

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My old extended-cab Mazda was perfect until we had kids. My wife took on all schlepping duties until she had to go back to work. At that point, the kids were big enough to ride in the jump seats of the truck. It wasn’t as safe as I’d like, but it sure made life easier since the kids could ride with either of us.

A double-cab would have been so much better.

The bed was just about perfect. It was big enough for sheets of plywood with the tailgate down and 2x4 spacers to get them up and over the wheel wells. It hauled sand, and dirt, and gravel. And furniture, lots of furniture.

The trailer we have now is functional, but storing it is a pain. I’ve also found it needs to be a bit bigger to fit my mower and to haul uncut lumber.

If I could have only one vehicle, it would probably be a truck. I think that’s what’s missing in most of these arguments. Most people can have only one vehicle per adult, don’t have a place for a trailer, and don’t want to deal with the hassles of renting a truck or trailer as they need it.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 19:01

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if you want a rarity, go to your local (ford dodge, chevy) dealership and ask for a single cab, shortbed pickup, with 4wd and a v8.

A relative who wanted one for thier business, where they have to have to maneuver small side streets requested one and they had to seach 15 different dealers till they found one 100 miles away.

HammerheadFistpunch > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 08/22/2017 at 19:04

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Thats going to be my new unicorn when picking up promotional movie tickets at dealerships.

Stephenson Valve Gear > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 08/22/2017 at 20:26

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I happen to have one of those unicorns... ‘09 Silverado 1500, short bed, regular cab, 4WD, 4.8l V8. It was a leftover from the previous model year, and apparently an unwanted orphan at the dealership - virtually everyone wants something with an extended or crew cab. I got an amazing deal on it, it being the runt of the litter and all... :-D

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > HammerheadFistpunch 08/22/2017 at 21:45

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In Oz, we had a plethora of midsize dual cab trucks. The problem is that all of them come with postage stamp sized trays. The other problem is that most of them put the bulk of the tray behind the rear axle.

By way of example...

This placement of the load area makes these vehicles almost useless for carrying a heavy load (or at least the load for which they are rated) and it makes them not that great at towing either (especially if you are loaded up). They might as well be station wagons as the ute part is almost decorative

The US market mid size short beds are bigger units to start with so may not have this issue. But it is worth keeping in mind as these vehicles become more passenger orientated and less about what they were originally designed for.

This, on the other hand, is how it should be done...

B/Xmrrmvr > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2017 at 11:09

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TIL my friend’s Taco has a short bed. I always thought that was normal sized since our bikes and kayaks have no problem with it.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Nothing 08/23/2017 at 14:46

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Sounds like you just need a bigger garage, not a smaller truck. I mean my crew cab long bed K3500 fits in my garage.

But, seriously, unless you need a long bed there really isn’t any point. I sure don’t need it, but the truck was too good of a deal to pass up.

facw > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2017 at 14:48

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There is a solution... http://jalopnik.com/this-full-length-bed-truck-should-totally-be-a-thing-1564494962

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > HammerheadFistpunch 08/23/2017 at 14:50

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I seem to end up going the overkill route. Wanted a truck a few years ago, was looking at anything from a ranger to an F150...ended up with an F150. Got a boat that the F150 wasn’t up to task for towing...so I started looking at 3/4 and 1 ton trucks...end up with a crew cab long bed dually

Nothing > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/23/2017 at 15:04

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My Tundra CrewMax fit as well, but it was a tighter fit. The joy of suburban garages on relatively new houses. I’d love a large outbuilding, but we’re in this house until at least my son is done with school.

Even then, I have zero large truck need. I initially bought my Tundra when I went to look at a Tacoma, but there were better deals on Tundras. Three years later, (with a FoST in between), I went back and got a Tacoma.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Nothing 08/23/2017 at 15:25

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Yea, I’m lucky with how deep our garage is. I have never measured, but it’s probably 30ft deep, my crew cab long bed fits in with 8-10ft of room in front of it still

6691 zapS > HammerheadFistpunch 08/24/2017 at 05:48

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Plywood and sheetrock. Plus what I used to carry/ deliver was 7 foot long. But yes on a jeep is a different thing.

HammerheadFistpunch > 6691 zapS 08/24/2017 at 10:13

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I’m not saying long beds are dumb out that no one still uses them. Just that short beds are still plenty useful for most folks

6691 zapS > HammerheadFistpunch 08/24/2017 at 15:11

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I get You, they are not work trucks thou.

HammerheadFistpunch > 6691 zapS 08/24/2017 at 15:12

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I know, not all trucks trucks are (or need to be) work truck.

6691 zapS > HammerheadFistpunch 08/24/2017 at 15:19

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I know. So its a off road vehicle. A 7' bed on the jeep would of made it handy. To get out of California on the roads I have taken you need chains or 4wd. So not having to stop would be quicker then stopping and putting on chains for how ever many miles it would be,(3-5 miles).

Commercial sales I thought were only for fleets.

Maybe they changed that.

6691 zapS > 6691 zapS 08/24/2017 at 15:20

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HammerheadFistpunch > 6691 zapS 08/24/2017 at 15:24

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But...there are already 4x4 trucks with long bed, a 4 door jeep with a 7 foot bed becomes totally unwieldy for trails that would be out of place for other 4x4 trucks with long beds. a Jeep with a long bed is a bad jeep, is what Im getting at.

6691 zapS > HammerheadFistpunch 08/28/2017 at 19:21

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Ahh yes I agree if it’s a four door jeep. I was talking two door. I have no need for a four door for commercial use.