For those with a DC Long Bed

i was in this dilemma too. i wanted a long bed, but i go off road so the wheel base woulda hurt and i wanted the manual tranny..... i settled for the access cab instead. I think the DC LB's look more proportional, if i hadnt wanted the shorter wheel base for off roading i would have just got a DC LB and not put up too much of a fit over the auto.

 

Really, though, it is going to come down to what you want to use it for. In my opinion, it goes something like this...

Off Roading + Hauling + 1 Passenger = Access Cab Long Bed

Off Roading + Minimal Hauling + 2-4 Passengers = Double Cab Short Bed

Minimal Off Roading + Hauling + 2-4 Passengers = Double Cab Long Bed

 

AND - since everyone else has a beautiful shot of their long bed in their post - I couldn't resist the urge to inundate you with pics of my truck.

(all pics were taken before the New Suspension)

 

007, are you working on that fj 40?

 

nope - my friend Todd at Diesel Toyz is rebuilding it from the ground up - including putting a Toyota Diesel engine in it.

In that picture, we were taking it to get line-x'ed with the original blue color that it came in. Everything on the outside got line-x except for the white roof. I will see if I can't dig up some more recent pictures of it.

 

I don't know if this will help you or not but....

I have an 08 DC SB sport and an 06 DC LB Sport sitting in my driveway.
The shortbed is mine and the longbed is my father and having driven both I must say the short bed has a much better ride and turn radius, However my dad uses his long bed as a truck much more often than I ever do mine. If I could suggest a method of choosing i would go about it this way:

How often to you haul long things in your bed? If its one day a week at most then I would say short bed, but if its often definitly long bed.

P.S. I just got my tacoma after driving a full size chevy silverado z71 for 3 years. The longbed has about the same turn radius as its just as long as my old truck was.

 

That's a good way to look at it, I want something that's not for off roading anyway because that gives me a reason to keep a nice new truck out of the woods I have a 6ft bed now with the bed extender and use up every bit of it so the short bed is out for me. I really want a double cab for extra space in the truck more than just hauling 2 more people. When I have the bikes or a quad in the bed while towing the trailer the tailgate needs to be up anyway.

Also, you guys have some really nice trucks. The black looks awesome but i'm not going that route again (I have black now) and you can see every little thing on it.

 

Sweet I would like to see some pics

 

I said the same thing. Then I saw this truck, and I fell for it. Besides - it matches my black Jetta TDI.

 

I will see what I can do today...

 

If you can get by with a shorter bed, as said, you can get more options. And if you go w/ a 6spd, you save about $2000 over an auto LB. I thought I'd never end up w/ a 5fter (coming from 7 & 6ft), but had to have the manual tranny. Had to get crafty fitting motorcycle or 12 ft kayaks in, but no regrets. Built a solid bed extender to add as needed so I have a full 6.6 ft bed for big loads, of course when I put it on my buddies LB, got a whopping 7.7 ft bed. Test drive, get what really suits your needs. Good luck.