Short bed vs long bed for fifth wheel?

[Kerryscottsdale]

We just bought a Reflections237 fifth wheel. We’re going to buy a new truck and we were going to order a long bed which might be easier to back up in tight turns. But long beds seem extremely uncommon in the rv parks we’ve been in. Is there a reason why everyone has short beds?

[phonemannn]

Because they do not know any better? Just guessing.....
You need just over 4 feet of space from pin center to edge of cab. Trailer is over 8 feet across. No way to get the needed clearance with a short bed truck. Technology
in hitches has made it possible to tow with a short bed truck, but not optimal, at all....
all my opinion...
And a long bed tows better, hands down...More weight in front of the rear axle, keeps the load balanced better...

[Steven@147]

We just bought a Reflections237 fifth wheel. We’re going to buy a new truck and we were going to order a long bed which might be easier to back up in tight turns. But long beds seem extremely uncommon in the rv parks we’ve been in. Is there a reason why everyone has short beds?

Well not everyone has a short bed, and long beds do not necessarily turn sharper than short beds, depends on the truck. Some Ford trucks I hear have a better turning radius than Ram or GM.
Most full time RVers that we hang around with have long beds. Most that go full time, and did not already have a short bed truck they had used for combined purposes, opted for purchasing the long bed truck for full time RV hauling. For us going full time, we had to buy a new truck and we were only going to buy a new truck once! Cotton picking things are expensive! We wanted a long bed because we do not want to mess with a slider hitch and we have a big in bed tool box which might get switched out to an aux fuel tank. No room in a short bed for that, eventually all our truck will do is haul the RV across country. Just my observation but in the full time RV community that we hang with the main difference is SRW Vs DRW in the long bed variety.

Some people use their truck for daily commute driving or other things so they opt for the short bed, more practical for their combined needs.

I will add this, parking a long bed beast can end up being a pain. We went to the Austin RV show last weekend and the gravel parking lot wasn't very crowded when we went in. We came back to our truck several hours later and the lot was jammed full parking way too close to other vehicles. Took me forever to back and maneuver our long bed DRW beast out of the space we were in, but I would rather have it than not.

[backtrack2015]

The long bed will make turning a no-brainer (no worries about hitting the cab) with any hitch you like. Secondly, for Ford, the long-beds get a bigger fuel tank. If I was buying primarily for towing, I'd get a long bed. It's the mixed-use folks (daily driver plus towing) that struggle the most with this decision.

[MN-Mark]

Welcome to the forum Kerryscottsdale! Lots of good info here.

We tow a Reflection 303RLS with a Silverado 3500 short bed with a fixed (non-sliding) B&W Companion hitch. I have never had an issue where I can’t get into or out of a spot. I cannot turn 90 degrees but so far I haven’t needed to. Just need to be very aware when turning tight.

Given a choice, I would have preferred a long bed truck but it wouldn’t fit in my garage.

Mark

[tamrick]

Another vote for long bed. Better towing experience. No need for slider hitch or constantly watching the cab-to-trailer clearance while backing. It also leaves more room if you buy a tool box or extra fuel tank. I used to tow with a short bed. Short beds are popular because they are easier to drive around when not towing.

[LV Naturist]

One of the biggest complaints about a long bed is the difficulty in parking. We have a long bed crew cab dually, about as big a pick-up as you can get. We have found it's far easier to park and leave a parking space if we just back in instead of pulling in frontward. Just the voice of experience. Oh, and BTW... The truck is my wife's daily driver, not mine, and she handles it like a pro!

John

[bertschb]

..Is there a reason why everyone has short beds?

1- Inability to park in many (most) garages
2- Larger turning radius (more difficult to navigate parking lots)
3- Many people have 3/4 ton trucks and some models aren't available in a long bed

[LV Naturist]

1- Inability to park in many (most) garages
2- Larger turning radius (more difficult to navigate parking lots)
3- Many people have 3/4 ton trucks and some models aren't available in a long bed

Wait... There are actually people who put their vehicles in their garage?



John

[bertschb]

Wait... There are actually people who put their vehicles in their garage?

Hah! Thanks for the laugh!