DCSB vs.DCLB (Ride/products/personal)

Yeah, there are definitely nuanced scenarios where the dimensions work for people. Half the reason people seem to buy these trucks is that they fit better in garages, no arguments there. Mine wouldn't fit length-wise in my garage if I had a DCLB unless I moved a bunch of shelves and work benches around. I just think DCLB's are so similar in size and footprint to full sizes that the benefits no longer outweigh the drawbacks of a mid-size. If you want space in the cab for 4 people and 6+ feet of bed length, full sizes do both better for only a slightly bigger footprint. But that's for my specific use case, and also why Toyota sells 3 different configurations.

Was the Tundra a regular cab? I've never seen bigger doors on a vehicle than a 2nd gen regular cab Tundra, they look like they are 6 feet wide.

 

If you have never run into a situation where a 6 foot bed can fit what a 5 foot bed could not, then you've: a) never slept in your truck bed; b) never loaded it with fishing rods and/or ice-fishing gear; c) don't hall kayaks in your bed (where that extra 12 inches helps a lot). Many uses for the extra 13 inches of bed length and virtually no drawbacks unless you are always on tight trails (which many are).

 

SB here, and the reason when i bought was city and parking garage and general maneuverability which has held up. The only time i could think i would want a long bed is if i was hauling dirtbikes/motorcycle or if i camped in the bed. I do neither.
I have a 8' trailer with gate which makes more sense anyway for hauling my motorcycle and plywood. I have a hitch extender so if i needed to haul something long like boards, i could and have.

I really enjoy the length and would get another shortbed. I also plow my difficult hilly winding driveway, and again am happy with the SB.

you do you man, thats my thought process.

 

Correct. I have no desire to sleep in my truck bed when my ground tent is set up in 5 minutes, of which I can also fully stand up in when I'm putting my pants on in the morning. My fishing rod breaks down so it can fit anywhere in the truck or bed. I don't ice fish. I don't kayak. I camp a few times in the summer and go on offroading trips about once a year. My truck works great for my specific use case.

Maybe I'm phrasing all of this poorly, but these are just my opinions on how I use my truck and why I would have seriously looked into a full size in lieu of a DCLB if I needed that space. I'm glad Toyota makes a DCLB because clearly people find them to meet their needs. That's totally fine. I like the size of my DCSB, so do literally millions of others as it's the most popular size configuration, and I have nothing against DCLB's or those that buy them. I just never would, and therefore didn't.

 

After 6+ years with my 16 DCLB, i’ve come to realize since i went with smaller truck (Tacoma), for me 5ft bed would have been better suited. I realized for me, it kinda defeats the purpose of owning small truck like Tacoma. And yup i read all the comments about Pros of 6ft bed which is why I bought it.

 

Given the turning radius, overall length/size, etc. - if I was in the market for a DCLB, I'd just get a full-size truck.

 

I’ve had both beds on the 3rd gen and I personally think the long bed is a little smoother on the road and more stable while towing. Looks are subjective obviously, but I think bigger tires are pretty much mandatory on the long bed. I have 265/75r16’s on mine with no lift and it looks way more proportionate than it did stock.

 

I struggled with this aspect, b/c I do believe the long bed has tangible advantages in these situations which are important to me (towing). The OAL vs. a full size (not much shorter) and the higher GVWR of the DCSB over the DCLB won me over.

 

Tacomas whether its a 6 foot bed or a 5 foot bed are still not as big as a full size, this is my buddies Chevy, can pull over 30K pounds and put 7K pounds in the bed, thats a truck.

 

I had a long bed sport for almost 7 years. I recently decided to go with a short bed offroad. When I first got the long bed I was doing a lot of fire wood/atv hauling, and unplanned moving. The long bed was the best choice for me at that time. Then I transitioned to going camping in it and road trips/Offroad stuff, it was great for that but I did feel like I wanted to do more Offroad and have a better turning radius after a couple 90 point turns on some tight trails that turned out to be impassable. I chose the short bed and the Offroad package primarily for turning radius and because I have access to multiple trailers for if I need to haul something really long or tall (I had a leer cap on my 6ft bed so I needed a trailer for anything tall). I am also getting a GFC platform camper to satisfy my road trip/camping needs. The other thing I noticed was that if you wanted to buy things like rock sliders or caps (or any accessories that bed length matters for), in my area I basically had to buy them new. It is very hard where I live to buy/sell anything long bed related. Hope this helps some, but it really comes down to what you plan to use the truck for most often. For me 7 years ago the long bed was amazing, for me right now I feel the shortbed will allow me to do everything I could in the long bed and then some.

 

I keep going back and forth myself. Ultimately, off roading you’ll want SB and LB as your utility truck. Love my LB but hate it for the tight trails.

 

Completely agree. I went SB bc of garage space, but love the look of the lifted LB’s with bigger tires. Stock config’d LB’s just don’t look great proportionally IMO, but with the right lift and tires, damn they look good.

 

Longbed so tailgate doesn't get covered in dirt

 

Work horse action!

 

I like the comparison of a midsize truck to a 3500 lol

the vast majority will not use the 3500 to its capacity. It is a real truck though.


I enjoy my DCLB. The extra bed space is nice. I like the look more than the 5’ bed. Extremely tight fit for the garage but it doesn’t get to stay in there much anyhow. I do wish there was more cab space, but that leads to a full size truck.

 

Yeah baby, listen guys, this truck is heavily modified, don't try this at home.



But do check out the Tacomas doing work thread here. There are a lot of 5' beds being put to the test.