5' or 6'

LB gives you more utility. I put a cap on mine and like to sleep in it a couple times a year while camping. Can also fit a FS mattress; fishing rods, etc that will not fit in a 5-ft bed.

 

Most full sizes are only a 5.5 ft bed LOL. The mid-size truck with a 6-ft bed is still a few inches shorter than a FS.

 

When my son bought his new 2020 Ford Ranger several years ago, there were 2 options: extended cab long bed or double cab with short bed (no double cab long bed like my Tacoma). I asked him point blank - what is more important, hauling people or 'stuff' in the bed??? He said people, so he bought the double cab short bed. To this day, I think the only things that have seen his back seat are 'stuff', the dog and on very rare occasions his future nieces.

 

Finally. Someone older than me.

 

When I bought my Tacoma new in 2011, I was sure I'd be having kids in my future. Seats that were comfortable for kids was important to me, having grown up in the back of a ford ranger with jump seats and then later a very tight extended cab chevrolet. But here I am, 14 years later, happily married for nearly 8 years and the plans for kids has changed. Prolly hauled passengers in the back seat 20 times in over 13 years. Finally pulled the back seats to make room for more STUFF, lol. Things change, but I'm still glad I made the choice I did all those years ago.

 

Long boi is as long as a battleship.

I need long bed but got shorty cab because I can’t fit it here.

If parking and maneuvering isn’t an issue go long.

If I lived anywhere else I’d get DCLB.

 

Unless u pan to sleep in a 6ft bed and haul around couches … wood … and so on then 6 ft is the way . I have 5ft and for a daily use with occasional use of the bed works just fine for me .

 

Yes. From rentals, work fleet and looking up my mother's 1972 Buick wagon length I knew long bed TRD OR was my target for just about perfection.

I also get the overall market. Pickup trucks are bought and used much differently than my 1970s through now experiences and ownership. I just counted up 11 of them all around but within a block of my house. Only 3/11 so 27% are really work oriented or do stuff that our cars or minivans can't or don't. They're just very popular outside of my realm growing up with a farm and scrap yard or how I've had a van or pickup for the small business I own.

 

No right answer between the two honestly - just have to figure what will be best for you for the majority of use. I had a Nissan Frontier back around 2014 with the 5' bed. Was better for commuting and parking, and less useful for everything else. When you need it, you're happy you have the 6' bed.

 

now im not sure if Toyota still makes a bed extender, but the 5ft with a bed extender is nice for those slightly larder items!

 

Short beds are pretty much useless for me…

 

OP still didn’t answer.. lmao

 

I built a bigger garage.

 

Yeah, I think if you are buying the thing for utility, it depends what that means to you. For me, I haul furniture, wood, trees and plants, the occasional motorcycle -- and I want to be able to sleep in the bed on my camping mattress, as well as use the same for drive-in movies, when you back up onto the berm. Even though I have to be in New York City sometimes, I couldn't see how I would do with a without a 6' bed -- which my '06 Ranger Supercab XLT has, and which the THLB is replacing. Trying to find any THLB was an insane process.

 

Your numbers are off unless you are thinking of a regular cab 1/2 ton. A Tacoma DCLB is almost a foot shorter than a 1/2 ton extended cab at 217 inches vs 231 inches. If you want a crew cab short bed it’s still 231 inches but you get less bed space. DCLB Tacoma gives you the most bed space in the shortest length while still having a usable backseat and usable wheelbase off-road. DCLB’s feel a lot smaller than modern 1/2 tons. Unless you need that payload or towing capacity the DCLB is pretty sweet.

 

Thats unfortunate to hear. Looking at a THLB eventually as my next truck, only LB option with the hybrid. Did you have to expand your search to find any TH DCLBs? How do you like it? Looks like the perfect mix of utility, creature comforts and off road capability.

 

I basically talked to the dealer that sold me my 4R and said please find me one. He tried everything but since he still had a THSB he is having a hard time selling, as his is the thrid oldest dealership in the nation, and somewhat remote in Western Mass. But this is the most straight-ahead shooter of a dealer I have ever met in my life --including when I would go with my dad to buy his cars (so as to observe a master negotiator). He is so straight-up, doesn't bother selling you stuff you don't want -- and works hard to get you the one you want. Although I wanted Bronze Oxide (or Silver), I don't mind Underground -- and after some time trying to get an allocation from regional distribution, there were finally only two on the Eastern Seaboard at other dealers that had not been spoken-for as yet -- one in White, which was snatched up in VT by someone from Cape Cod sight unseen and then he asked me if I wanted this one (on its way), as it had been allocated to another friendly dealer with whom he could trade some other stock or allocation. He never even takes a deposit, but in this instance told me the discount he was going to give me and asked if I would by it -- since if he got it, he might not be able to sell it. I'm a man of my word and we have history with the 4R Pro, so he made the deal, and I will buy it when it comes in. So yes, I think in this trim, you'd better not be too beholden to your color preference!

I'll be sure to be more active here once I get delivery next month.

 

Another vote for the 6' bed---- as mentioned above, so much added utility (at least for me). Since I was looking for a short cab/long bed Tacoma from the start my choices were very limited, but definitely ended up being happy w/ what I got.


edit: While the turning radius issue would be a PITA, I'd still go LB on 4-dr truck as well.

 

Actually, the THLB is 227.4" overall. So it is at least close in length if not width and height. These things have gotten large.

 

DCSB for me, but I off road (or like to think I do) and have a small garage. Even the short bed seems like a long wheel base on the trails, if I didn't use the bed constantly I'd have a 4runner or a wrangler.

On the flip side there's been a lot of times I wished I had a 1/2 ton truck for something heavy, e.g., rock, concrete, wood, etc.. Bed size doesn't fix the load capacity. Never have I thought oh I wish I had the 6' ft bed, my mind always jumps to a 1/2 ton truck. Unless you're hauling pillows around I think you'll find weight is your enemy more than bed size.