TV bed length for Fifth Wheel?

[NMWildcat]

This a pickup bed length thread

[LLMRPh]

I think I got my answer on bed length: 6.5" bed should be fine with most 5ers; but get a sliding hitch just to be sure; get an 8" bed if I need to go buy lumber or if I just want to have a manly truck. Thanks, y'all!! [emoji6][emoji1306][emoji1309][emoji1303]

[Gm Mike]

Enjoy whatever you buy and go and have some camping fun. Can never have enough camping days and travelling to and from just adds to the pleasure.

[ben31]

With the modern rounded-nosed 5ers, a 6-3/4' bed works fine. I have a manual slide, which I use, when backing into a site or my driveway. I tried it once without it and it worked, but I wasn't real comfortable with how close it got to the windows.

Short bed 3/4 or 1 ton works just fine.

[ksmith954]

Originally Posted by LLMRPh

The open tailgate to ground distance for a 2015 CC F250 4x4 is 35.1". On the 2017, the same measurement is 38.1". So it has indeed gotten 3" higher. What is your Chevy? And would that make a difference for the 5er leveling? Interesting.

Just measured our Chevy 2500 HD gas looks like 34" to 35". We also have 20" tires. As you can see by several posts raising the trailer is an additional expense/ higher center of gravity/ higher steps. That being said our 5er has a additional spring bracket hole which will raise the coach an 1" or so. I'am going to replace the shackles with the MORryde UO12-016 Heavy Duty Shackle Upgrade Kit. (the stock shackles have nylon bushings that wear out quickly) and raise the coach a bit and closer to level. Another consideration that I have had to deal with is achieving the recommended 6" between the truck bed rails and the coach. Right now I have 5" clearance and has been sufficient in many situations ( I owe that to the Revolution pin). If I raise the hitch to get the 6", the nose of the coach would be higher then the current 1.5" Not acceptable to me !

[creolekid]

I've been pulling with a shortbed for 11 years. We have always pulled a fifth-wheel, first a 28' then a 36' and currently we are pulling a 42' with a 2500 Ram shortbed. I have always had great luck with this combination, I have a slider, but have never had to move it. The cones on the newer fift-wheel allows me to be able to put my rig at a 90 and not have to move the hitch.

[shorthorn]

Shorted would be fine with slider and modern 5er cap designs... I personally would just go to a 3500 SRW and be future proof.

[m35a2]

Originally Posted by gastan

What does HP have to do with it? Most of the big rig semi's on the road have only 300-400 hp and they're pulling 60 to 80 thousand pounds. HP isn't so important - torque is important.

They (semis) are also almost exclusively 6 cylinder inline diesels.

I went from short bed (the 2 previous 3/4 trucks, one Ford and one Ram) to a long bed. I like the extra room in the long bed when we are loading up for a trip. And the ride is nicer.

If I were still offroading, I might have stuck with short bed for smaller turn radius.

If I'm hauling lumber, mulch or gravel or pretty much anything except the camper, I'm loading it on a trailer because it's so much easier to load and unload. (In response to the earlier post wondering why anyone would ever have a shortbed over a long bed)

[KingFisher]

Originally Posted by gastan

Since a lot are sharing their preference and opinion, I'll chime in with mine, too.

I am currently researching new tow vehicles and plan on purchasing in the next 12 - 18 months. New or used is still open. Gas or diesel? Still undecided. May depend on what's available in the used market at the time. 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton or 1 ton? Definitely at least 3/4 ton. Bed length? DEFINITELY 8' long-bed.

I do not understand why anyone would choose a short bed truck. For most of us, the ratio of tow vs everyday use is far and away weighed on the everyday use side. When I go to the lumber store for sheet rock or plywood or lumber or similar stuff, I want ALL of it (or as much as I can get) in the bed - - not hanging out the back-end. When I pick up bark dust or gravel for the yard, I want to get as much in a trip as I can.

If all you use a truck for is towing - - I guess a short-bed is okay. But anyone that actually uses a truck? They don't make sense.

I've got a crew cab with a 6ft 6in bed. It's a beast to turn and park in these parking lots that are designed for scooters. I can imagine how much harder it would be with an 8 ft bed.
My truck has a bed rug in it, I won't be hauling mulch or gravel. I have a 16 ft trailer for hauling stuff like that.

[Ted1516]

Yes 5 1/2 foot bed works on a 1/2 ton my boss pulls his 5th wheel all over the place and it's 36ft long. F150 5.0L .

[mwdilday]

For me it's a diesel. Just sold my 2002 F-250 Crew Cab with a quarter of a million miles on it and now have a 2017 F-350 Crew Cab Dually. When I get my Cedar Creek 38EL which is on order now I will be all set. Diesels work hard, little maintenance and less fuel.

[mwdilday]

If you are buying go long bed for a 5er.

[QCCowboy]

Having had both a a short bed gasser F250 and long bed diesel F350, I can tell you either will pull a fifth wheel just fine, but do be cognizant of payload abilities and your own personal thoughts on risk of exceeding sticker values.

These may have already been mentioned, but here are a couple of things to think about.

In my opinion sliders are a must for short bed trucks. While much of the time I didn't have to use it, some campgrounds/sites are very tight backing in to and being able to be nearly perpendicular while backing in is something you must think about. With the long bed I never worry about it and don't have to get out of the truck, unlock the slider, and move it into position/relock it. More convenience than anything.

In addition to that where I have really found the advantage (aside from use outside of camping) is the ability to load more in the bed while taking a trip. When you lose a couple square feet from the hitch itself, if have items you don't always store in your camper, the extra room in the bed helps. I've had multiple bicycles, scooters, grills, coolers, pop up canopies, charcoal, etc where that bed was slammed full.

The age old debate over gas vs. diesel, well that's a personal decision. I don't think maintenance costs have really been any higher, but I do love the additional torque at low RPM's when going up hills and mountains or even just cruising along the highway. My MPG are better with the diesel, but my V10 gasser was know to suck fuel....makes fuel costs about the same.

You have to make own decision on both, but good to think about it from a future proof standpoint. If I'd have done that I may not be on truck #3

[LLMRPh]

Update: thanks for all the great thoughts from everyone! I ended up trading my Expedition for a 2014 F250 Crew Cab 6.5 ft bed gas engine. For now, I stayed with gas only to save some money up front and because I'm just not familiar with all the nuances of Diesel engines. Per everyone's suggestion, I did skip getting the really cool F150 and went right for the 250 ... planning for the next camper! . I figure if I really love the 250, then I'll upgrade in a couple years to one of the newly revised 2017 F250's with all the cool cameras and aluminum body ... and maybe diesel. The true test will be next weekend when we hitch up the camper and see if there is less sway and "tail wagging." If not, you will all hear me crying. :-)

[JohnNJean]

You'll enjoy the F250. The scales are your friend when it comes to setting up a WDH. Just measuring the body height wasn't precise enough in my case. Until I got some weight transferred on to the front axle it felt like I was driving on ice. As soon as I got about 40# added to the front axle it pulled like a champ.

[RPCP]

Bought a Ultra light 5er "rated" for 1/2 ton. A month later bought a gasoline 250. It did ok and was comfortable pulling. 10 months later and the wife wanted a 42' 5er. Now I had to switch trucks again and have a F350 diesel. Wish I would have gotten the upgrade to 350 to start with. Even had to replace the hitch from a 15k to a 20 k. From now on I will never get something just big enough to get by with.

[LLMRPh]

Originally Posted by JohnNJean

You'll enjoy the F250. The scales are your friend when it comes to setting up a WDH. Just measuring the body height wasn't precise enough in my case. Until I got some weight transferred on to the front axle it felt like I was driving on ice. As soon as I got about 40# added to the front axle it pulled like a champ.

I weighed my new F250! By itself as soon as I got it. Unloaded except for a few gallons of water in the rear bed up front toward the cab. It was: 4240 steer axle; 3460 drive axle; total 7700. I was surprised how much weight is up front already. But you're saying I still need to shift more weight up front? My trailer has about 900 lb tongue weight (less now that I shifted some stuff maybe). I plan to measure the front wheel well height and adjust the chains from that as a ballpark estimate when I first hitch it up. But I'll weigh it in a couple weeks after the first trip (when I'm near the scales again).

[JohnNJean]

My 16 F250 is pretty close to those weights, just a little lighter (I don't have the exact numbers at hand).

When I first got it I was pulling a 6600 lb TT. I measured the body height to set up the WDH and it was miserable to drive. First time across the scales I found that the front axle was about 20 lbs lighter with the TT. I readjusted the WDH to add about 40 lbs (60 from where I started) and it made all the difference in the world.

(FWIW, I had 800# bars and I had to jack up the F250 to where both rear wheels were several inches off the ground in order to get enough weight transfer. Electric jack was a lifesaver.)

Soon after that I traded for a fiver and I went straight to the scales from the dealer. Figured I'd never get another chance to get a good dry weight. Once you have GOOD empty weights (which may require three trips across the scales), it just takes one weighing to compute where you're at.

[Trainman6899]

New to 5th towing looking at a new Colombus 383fb have a new 350 diesel , what is a puck system ?

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Trainman6899

New to 5th towing looking at a new Colombus 383fb have a new 350 diesel , what is a puck system ?

It is the factory installed mounting system that eliminates the drilling/mounting to the frame/bed to install a hitch.



There are several companies that make hitches that install in the "pucks."
Here is one such by Companion.