5' or 6'

I have the 6ft bed Trailhunter.

Just got rid of a Gladiator with 5 ft bed.

Before that I owned a 2nd Gen Taco with 5 ft bed for 11 years.

Said all that to say this: The 6ft bed does not have a great turning radius. It’s taking some getting used to. Parking can be a chore. 5ft bed will be more nimble due to wheelbase. I have not been offroad in mine yet but assume belly pan/break over angle sucks and will require lift.

That said, way more room in the bed. Can sleep in the bed if needed. Rides super smooth on the highway. I do not regret getting the long bed.

 

If you intend to put a light shell/camper on it for your use, the 6ft bed is probably right for you. That’s why I got mine, and because if I’m honest my hardcore off-roading days are over. I just need a truck to carry things to cool camping spots.

 

Is the 79 inch width measured from the fenders? They talked about how they kept the door to door width the same in press releases. Track got wider for sure and cab is taller. Drove a trd DCLB off-road back to back with the new tundra and a ford f150 crew cab. The taco still felt comparatively smaller. I need to test drive a TH or pro and see if the track width is noticeable.

 

Thanks Everybody
A lot to think about
I still camp when Im out West fishing so sleeping in the 6' is good My Tundras had 6' beds with a shell , very comfortable sleeping
I have a very small Tear Drop (Little Guy 4 Wide )so that does eliminate the need for the 6'
Any way I go it will be good
Thanks All

PS ; I dont own a 24. Dont know how that got in my profile

 

I have both a 6’ bed and a 5’ bed. 2008 AC 6’ bed. 2015 DCSB.
The ‘08 works great for work, tolls and parts in the backseat area and 6’ of bed for equipment and chemicals.
The ‘15 I bought for more cab space. A 6’ bed would be much better for me, but I wanted a 6sp manual. Since Toyota doesn’t make DCLB with manuals 5’ bed was for me. Tend to have to pull a trailer if I need to pick up anything long or anything big because I have a shell also.
It all depends on what you need to use it for.

 

There’s no comparison really between 2nd and 3rd gen double cabs to the 4th gen with 6ft bed because of the back seat. The 4th gen back seat is WAY smaller than my 2005 was, and that’s saying a lot.

At least earlier gens could fit kids in back. The only way I’m doing that now is if the front seats are WAY forward.

 

After driving around a longbed for a year I now know why people buy shortbeds. But I live in a city. And when I leave the city I take a lot of stuff.

 

Can you post a picture of the backseat area of your 4th gen?

 

For anyone having trouble in parking lots with a 6 foot bed, perhaps a small Subaru would suit your needs…

 

I went with the DCLB. I love it. I’ve parked it in a city parking garage as well. Takes some finesse. If that’s too difficult for people…..don’t drive a truck.
I had a ‘09 Honda Civic. I used to fold down the rear seat to get my 6-1/2’ to 7’ long fishing rods in it. They would not fit in a 5’ bed. I couldn’t fathom the idea of replacing the Civic with a truck that could not handle the length of some fishing gear that a tiny Civic could handle. I’ve also shoved a full size mattress back in the truck bed and closed the tail gate. Not doing that with a 5’ bed.
Never heard anyone ever complain; “I wish my truck bed was shorter “.

 

The problem with the DCLB for me isn't the bed it's the wheelbase. A truck that long isn't really a mid size truck anymore in my opinion. If I'm going to put up with not being able to park it in the garage, have to take every turn wide, and get high centered easier offroard then I'd rather have the added bed capacity of a full size truck. DCLB is all the disadvantages of a mid size truck and disadvantages of a full size in one package. It's not like gas mileage is better so what's the advantage, it's narrower?

Access cab is where it's at if you need a mid size truck with a longer bed. Toyota killed that though with the 4th gen and having a 2 seater is kind of a pain... If I didn't have kids in car seats I'd be looking at a 3rd gen access cab.

I will say this, I slept in the back of my short bed once and it sucked. You can sort of stretch out diagonally but a 6' bed is way better for that. Could just bring a tent though, might be a squeeze but I'm sure at least that'd fit in the short bed.

 

To me, a 4 door short bed midsize makes as much sense as a MINI Countryman.

 

Where do I put the bike in a mini?

 

It depends on where you live.

And more and more places around America are making smaller parking spots and smaller garages even though cars have gotten huge in the last 20 years.

 

There are options if you want to stay off the ground and keep it simple:

 

what is that tent thing? been looking for something like that for my Tacoma and topper!

 

But, for $5-600 less, you could do the Malvolio hinged plywood foot box as seen on the sick red truck!

Uh, looks less cool but…hides your wealth?

 

very cool may need to take a look and research that a bit!

 

This thread with @vecdran talks about the end user experience a bit. It’s for the third gen. Not sure if they’ve rolled out a 4g iteration or if the 3g works on the new truck.