24 OffRoad LB vs SB?

Currently have a deposit down on a 24 OR Premium Package LB and keep going back and forth between LB and SB. For those of you that went LB with the 24's what drove you to make that decision? For those that went the other way after considering both, what made you decide on SB?

I don't plan on doing any serious off-roading, mostly just fire roads or some light stuff in the PNW. I do plan to put bikes in the bed and do occasional camping. Main concern is if the long bed will be a hinderance driving around cities/parking lots or if that concern is generally overblown.

Thanks!

 

I don’t have a 4th gen yet but I’ve been driving a 2023 OR longbed for a year now. My opinion is that the difficulty of driving the long bed is completely overblown. It’s not much longer, if any, than most of your full-size trucks who do just fine in every city. I take mine into airport parking garages, downtown high-rise garages, crowded city streets, fire roads in the mountains, whatever. It’s not as easy to park as my old shortbed was, but it’s not so hard that it makes me wish I didn’t have it. 90% of the time it’s just a matter of swinging wide when I pull into the spot, no big deal. Every now and then I get into a situation where I just need to back into the spot instead of going forward. It’s really not that difficult.

The pros of the long bed are that if you are less than 6 feet tall you can sleep in it with a partner on a normal air mattress and not have to wedge yourselves in diagonal. As a mountain biker, I can put my 29 inch mountain bike in it without having to hang it over the tailgate. I have a camper shell on mine and my bike goes on the fork mount completely enclosed in the shell. With my bike, I could not do that with a short bed.

And of course the long bed just looks a lot better. I know we’ve been looking at these little 5 foot beds for quite a long time now but I have never gotten used to the look of them. The bed is almost the same size as the hood and the cab is kind of right in the middle of the truck. It just looks incredibly goofy to me. I used to own one and I still thought it looked goofy then.

 

Get the LB imo.

 

Pure and simple. Storage capacity. Maneuverability is a non-issue, same as a full sized truck. And yeah, I agree that the SB looks goofy but those owners say the same thing about the LB.

 

I thought about a DCLB in 2007. My old 2002 F150 crewcab had a 145" wheelbase. Exactly the same as a long bed DC Tacoma. The short bed Tacoma has 131" wheelbase. Just about the same as a full size truck with a 6.5' bed. If I'm going to have a 145" wheelbase I'd much rather have it in a 1/2 ton truck. It doesn't make sense to drive the same length Tacoma and have a smaller cab, and about 1/2 the towing and payload capability.

I thought the shorter bed would be a handicap, but I've been driving sub 6' bed trucks since 2002. I've yet to find anything that wouldn't fit in the short bed where another 12" would matter. If it won't fit in a 5' bed chances are good, you'll need 8' or a trailer. But that shorter wheelbase is a lot more maneuverable in traffic and off road.

The narrow shallow beds on any Tacoma along with embarrassingly low payloads you aren't going to haul much in the bed of a Tacoma anyway. But you can haul more weight and volume in a small utility trailer than you could put in the bed of a 3/4 ton truck and easily tow it with a Tacoma. If you want to haul anything in a Tacoma that's really the only way to go.

 

Do you want to be able to fit normal size bicycles in the back of your truck? Or have to remove wheels or have the bike hanging halfway out of your bed?

 

The DCLBs do look dope with a fat tire on it. As for bed size, better to have too much and not need it, than not enough and do.

Have a 6’ bed there are times I wish it was little bigger.

 

I’ve lived in and traveled to plenty of huge cities with my DCLB Tundra. You’ll be fine with the DCLB Taco anywhere in the country. Having more bed room over less if you plan to use it makes more sense considering either Taco can be parked in all the same spaces just fine.

 

Long bed all day. Bought a SB twice and both times wished the bed were longer afterwards. Short bed is too short to camp in. Unless you know you aren't going to use the bed much or you have a garage I'd take the long bed.

Case in point I had an ext cab 8ft bed half ton and it wasn't harder to park, you just have to remember it's longer. I'd love to have a long bed taco. Trucks are all about usefulness and utility.

 

I had a 3rd gen SB, then for a long time I thought I wanted a LB and even put a deposit down on a solar octane TRD LB, and then I flip-flopped when I had the chance to get a loaded 6MT, SDM, premium offroad, moonroof, cool color, but they (6MT) don't come with a LB! I slept on it, and decided to go for it. Cancelled my LB allocation. In thinking about it, I always made due with my short bed when I had it. I can always open the tailgate, or stack the stuff higher, etc. Definitely done some tight parallel parking downtown where there wasn't an extra foot to spare, but that's not a good reason either. You'll be happy with either one. Don't feel like you have to settle for something, get what checks the most boxes.

 

I also had this debate back in 2019. Went LB. Maneuverability is something you'll need to adjust in parking spots, to but its still a few inches shorter than an F-150. Many advantages of the LB, though. Think moving a full-size mattress and box spring (it'll fit); transporting fishing rods/gear; truck camping, hauling a kayak, etc etc. My next Tacoma will a LB.

 

I got a long bed for doing truck stuff. I thought it looked a little awkward on my 3rd gen, but it's nice on my 4th gen

 

x 2

I have a removeable hard cover on my 2013 longbed. I always carry a large tool box filled with, jumpers, 4-way wrench, extra jack, straps, gloves, etc and its bungee'd to the front of the bed, so I lose about a foot of space, leaving 5' for hauling stuff. You will never regret having the extra bed space. I also tow a boat and the longer wheel base pulls stable & smooth.

 

If you don't NEED/want a manual, just go for the LB. More storage IMO is worth it, though in my use case I've been just fine with the short bed (won't say I wouldn't have done things different if it were one year ago and I was shopping again, however...).

Maneuverability wise, YMMV. Tacoma with an LB as stated I believe is still a tick shorter than a 1/2 ton. Not sure it would be as easy to throw around in town as a DCSB Tacoma but by no means a land yacht. Also on the highway over the expansion joints and lovely NJ roads, the longer wheelbase trucks just rode better.

EDIT: Missed where you said some camping... I'm a little over 6' and straight away I'd want a bed long enough to sleep comfortably in

 

Long bed for me because of the bikes. You can toss a MTB in the back and leave the front wheel on.

 

Looks more in proportion than the DCSB, they look like a chunky stylized matchbox car to me.

 

True, beauty is in the eyes of the beer holder.

 

I would have preferred a 6' bed but settled with the 5 footer. The LB fits in my garage but it only left me exactly one inch of error. Too close for comfort.

 

Your garage is only 19’ long?

 

Less people will ask you to help them move when you have the short bed!

This is my first short bed and I’m still on the fence about it, but time will tell

I absolutely had to have a manual for my OCD.

I’m going to add a Yakima rack in case I decide to buy a 2x4 or need to carry a ladder somewhere.

I’m coming from a 6’ bed 2nd gen with a leer cap and I still had to open the open the hatch and let stuff hang out the back a lot.

Once I put a 1300lb pallet of tile in the 2nd gen and it wasn’t something I’d do again.

I did do the camping in the back a lot with the shell and I have to say that while it was nice to be in a solid space to sleep, I was jealous of my friends with the rooftop tents. Once we got to camp, I would have to unload all my gear and put it outside and then crawl inside and make a place to sleep, while they just flipped their tent open. And then if it rained, I would be dry inside but all my gear was getting rained on. The RTT guys have all their stuff under the tent staying semi dry. And then when it was time to leave in the morning, I’d have to load up all my dirty wet gear again, while RTT just closed the tent. On a short excursion(1 or 2 nights) it wasn’t terrible, but it started become a chore if doing a long trip. And after a day or so you end up with a bunch of dirt/mud inside where you’re making your bed from all this switching around.

The camper shell does keep your center of gravity lower when loaded w gear as opposed to the RTT though, so there is also that.

My thinking is that if you’re just using the truck for your own personal adventures, the 5’ bed should be fine. But if you use the truck for any kind of work, it would eventually become a problem.

My plan is to add the rack, a tool box, and a bed divider to totally kill the chances of my truck being used for anything but my own personal adventures. I only plan to haul camping gear and/or gas cans for bikes or jet skis in my bed and use my trailers for all the real hauling.

This is my 4th pickup and all of the 1st 3 took damage doing truck stuff for adventures, work and other people.

I’m eliminating 2 out of the 3 so it can take more damage on my adventures!