Long-bed vs Short-bed

I needed to haul firewood and be able to sleep in my bed with a softtopper

 

I wanted the extended cab with the jump seat. My wife on the other hand said there's no way our daughter is sitting on a jump seat for our 4-5k mile summer vacation trips. The double cab with cleats can haul anything.from a few drinks for our annual block party and camping gear... It hauls Halloween caskets just fine.

 

Will never go back to a short bed. I’ve owned two, and they are embarrassing. Not only just in function but secondarily in appearance. Now when I see one on the road I shake my head with pity.

 

One could argue you could get the double cab with cleats and an actual proper truck bed.

 

DCSB for me since I wanted a midsize truck. DCLB is too close in size to a full size, might as well get a full size and get all that extra power and capability.

 

And one could also argue that a proper truck bed is actually 8 feet long. Toyota only offers a short bed and shorter bed.

I have all three to choose from at my convenience.

 

Just like my 1st Gen Tacoma, I didn’t have to think about it long - A 2017 DCSB for me! A shorter wheelbase and body makes for better trail use, and I put an extending camping bed in back that makes a 7-foot long sleeping platform. I smile for my buddy who has to make a many-point U-turn with his long bed on some of the narrow roads we go on. But it’s all personal preference, anyway.

 

Lol fair enough. With that logic I guess next would be a 3 ft bed with a bed extender. But, but, but.. I can still hang a 4X8’ plywood sheet off the back with a red flag!!

... says the dude at Home Depot in a Corolla with some 2X12’s strapped to his roof.

 

Toyota up until 1992 offered both a short bed (6') and a useful bed (7'). Back then if you needed a long bed you were forced to get a single cab. Those of us who felt 6' was enough could opt for an extended cab (XtraCab).



If you needed to get real work done you would buy a full size, which was a truck with an 8' bed. But for hauling a few things during the week and climbing gear on the weekends the 6' and 7' compact trucks worked excellent. The idea of losing another foot shorter than a 6' bed was ridiculous. Buy a van you hippie.

 

I've had my DCLB for a couple of weeks, and to my surprise I haven't had a bit of trouble making any turns, including the tight-ass drive thru turns at my favorite burger joint.
I know the radius is larger, but it isn't nearly as big as I was afraid of. No doubt parallel parking and tight trails will be more challenging, though, but the long wheel base makes
my rig smooth as freakin' buttuh so far.

 

DCSB. It depends what you want the truck for. My last truck was a F250 extended cab long bed. While the extended cab is cool, there were many times I wish I had more interior cargo space and less outdoor bed space. The long bed kicked ass and hauled all my toys with the tailgate shut and room to spare. Its a trade off. The other thing to take into consideration is off roading. A long bed will get you hung up in many places a short bed won't if your planning on any intermediate style stuff at least here in the southwest. If you need more space throw a rack on the roof or get a small cargo hitch for those couple times. But if you need a bed and only hit fire roads then a long bed is great. I don't think either is better it just depends on the fit.

 

Negative. Was raised in off-roading and was super into it during my late teens and early twenties. The bed? Pffft! It matters not. What matters is what you have outfitted from the waist down.

 

I think you may not fully appreciate what is meant by tight trails and the reason why even a 127" wheelbase on the DCSB/ACLB can feel rrreeeaaalllyyy long, forget adding more. Burger joint, yeah, OK.

 

And those old single cab long beds were awesome. Just enough cab for you and your girl (and maybe a small dog), and all the camping gear you could possibly carry.
Those were the days!

 

Well if you don't mind dragging the rear bumper than it doesn't...

 

Nice pic. Waiting for one relevant to your post.

 

Ever heard of the Raptor or the Tundra? I’m of course referencing length of the vehicle.

 

I won't lie, when the longer cabs became available in 1984 my 6 foot frame didn't complain about being able to recline the seat a little. Personally, the 122" wheelbase XtraCab like 89-95 Hilux and 95-04 Tacoma was perfect for me, not too battleship long to work on trails, not uncomfortably small either.

 

Different strokes my friend. I've gotten a 122" wheelbase truck through some tight stuff and multiple point turns with the exposure like on Black Bear still make me pucker. I'm still getting hung up sometimes with 127" and can't imagine trying to wheel a 140" wheelbase. I guess some people make it work, more power to ya.

 

Right after graduating college in early '92 and started my first (and only job since) I went and purchased my first Toyota 4x4, a 1985 XtraCab 4x4. Best combo of all the trucks before and since. Leaf sprung solid front axle, manual front hubs, manual trans, carb'd 22R, and the XtraCab all in one package. Only available for two years like that, and then in '86 it went IFS, and EFI.