Long bed or Shortbed for towing 5er? - Diesel Forum

Stephens · 03-11-2008, 02:45 AM

I am looking to buy a used PSD, preferably with a crew cab. Any opinions on a long or short be for towing a 5er would be appreciated. I know that there can be clearance issues with the short bed. Other than that is there much difference?

Since I'm buying used I would like to buy a truck with 50k-80k, for a better chance of less abuse. I have leaned toward the 99-03 7.3's due to the reputation. I am finding that the cost of these older trucks with the mileage that i'm looking for is comparable to the cost of the newer trucks with a 6.0psd and same mileage. I have heard and read quite a few horror stories on the dependability of the 6.0. How do you all feel about their dependability.

I will be traveling around the country towing a 5er between work assignments and daily driving otherwise. Thank you for any insight and opinions.

haul_n_horses2 · 03-11-2008, 06:21 AM

The longer wheelbase gives you a much more comfortable ride over choppy concrete highways with expansion joints. Also, the pin can be mounted a little further in front of the rear axle with the long bed allowing fractionally more weight on the front axle. What size 5'er are you considering? The 7.3 is pretty reliable compared to the 6. A lot of 6s are showing up in the dealer lots right now as they are just coming off engine warranty. The early 6 will need some work even if they have low miles. Later 6s are pretty reliable if you kill the EGR and replace the head bolts with head studs.

**Hensley Ron** · 03-11-2008, 04:18 PM

You didn't mention whether or not you already owned the fiver. If you're shopping for new, several manufacturers are designing them with improved clearance so that you can tow them with a short bed and no slider.

If you already have the fiver and it's the standard "square nose" design, my rule of thumb is: if you can avoid a slider, do it. Go with the long bed. The long bed will also give you more space. A short bed with a slider doesn't give you much cargo space.

Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who sells sliders, but I tell this to all my customers. A fixed hitch is always the better option.

lincster · 03-13-2008, 10:00 AM

Long bed all the way!!!
Better ride, less bouncing.
Don't have to worry about hitting the cab, no matter what 5er you get.
You get the bigger fuel tank with a long bed.

I will only have crew cab, long bed duallys for towing in the future.

JimmyDee · 03-13-2008, 10:24 AM

I have a short bed and I've been towing with a short bed since 1999. My pin box sticks out about 12". It is not the really long one. I have a Reese slider which is a big help but I have only used it about 1/2 doz time in the 9 years I've been towing. I really don't think I would purchase a long bed unless I could find a reason I needed it.
Go either way and you should be fine. I have never hit the cab the one time I came close to it, I moved the slider. The slider cost me about $190 extra for the hitch and is there more for piece of mind than functionality.
Jim

TXiceman · 03-13-2008, 09:58 PM

Long bed 7.3L.

No worry about hitting the cab and better ride.

Ken

HighwayPrisoner · 03-14-2008, 02:50 AM

Long bed 7.3= better ride, handling, no clearance problems, reliability. A dually is more stable when towing.

SmokeyWren · 03-14-2008, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephens

Any opinions on a long or short be for towing a 5er would be appreciated. I know that there can be clearance issues with the short bed. Other than that is there much difference?

Shorty has a smaller fuel tank, and a more "choppy" ride because of the shorter wheelbase. But is has a smaller turning radius, and it's 16" shorter overall, so it's better in tight quarters, and will fit in some garages where the long bed won't fit. The big difference is availability. Ford sells about 10 times as many CrewCab shorties as long beds, because of the Yuppie contingent buying SuperDuty pickups for use as commuter cars with weekend towing, so the long beds are hard to find.

Clearance issue is no problem now, because you can buy an automagic 5er hitch that eliminates that problem. It's called a PullRite SuperGlide hitch. Not cheap, but if you have a shorty pickup and need to tow a big trailer, it's worth it. PullRite has a SAFER, STRONGER, BETTER designed hitch for you

And the smaller fuel tank is no longer a problem. You can replace it with a 46-gallon tank that's even bigger than the standard long-bed tank. Ford pickup replacement tanks

So the best of both worlds is a CrewCab shorty with a SuperGlide hitch and a TransferFlow replacement fuel tank. Yeah, that costs you a few thousand bucks, but you're worth it. That doesn't fix the relatively more choppy ride, but you won't know what you're missing if you never drive a longbed.

I had a shorty and traded it for a long bed because of an extreme fear of driving into a dead-end trail with no place to turn around after a mile or so. Jacknifing a 5er on a shorty pickup without a slider hitch is no go without crunching the cab with the front of the trailer. And backing a 5er a mile or so down a crooked mountain trail is very hard work. And back then I'd never heard of the SuperGlide. So I now have a long bed. But I like the bigger fuel tank, and I don't mind the bigger turning radius. My 22.2' long pickup fits fine in my 24' garage stall.

jhamlin164 · 03-14-2008, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephens

I am looking to buy a used PSD, preferably with a crew cab. Any opinions on a long or short be for towing a 5er would be appreciated. I know that there can be clearance issues with the short bed. Other than that is there much difference?

Since I'm buying used I would like to buy a truck with 50k-80k, for a better chance of less abuse. I have leaned toward the 99-03 7.3's due to the reputation. I am finding that the cost of these older trucks with the mileage that i'm looking for is comparable to the cost of the newer trucks with a 6.0psd and same mileage. I have heard and read quite a few horror stories on the dependability of the 6.0. How do you all feel about their dependability.

I will be traveling around the country towing a 5er between work assignments and daily driving otherwise. Thank you for any insight and opinions.

The longer wheelbase really does make for a much more comfortable ride! The added storage space is always a plus for those of us who pull "Fivers". A fixed hitch just makes for less problems than their sliding hitch counterparts.

haul_n_horses2 · 03-14-2008, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

The big difference is availability. Ford sells about 10 times as many CrewCab shorties as long beds, because of the Yuppie contingent buying SuperDuty pickups for use as commuter cars with weekend towing, so the long beds are hard to find.

Hmm. Maybe you Southern boys need to come up to Michigan. Just about all you can find are long beds. I wouldn't have a short one but my DRW make me park way out in the boonies anyway.

Hook'em Horns! · 03-14-2008, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haul_n_horses2

Hmm. Maybe you Southern boys need to come up to Michigan. Just about all you can find are long beds. I wouldn't have a short one but my DRW make me park way out in the boonies anyway.

I like it out in the boonies, Lots of room for diagonal parking across multiple spaces and a nice walk to stretch the legs!

SmokeyWren · 03-14-2008, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haul_n_horses2

Maybe you Southern boys need to come up to Michigan. Just about all you can find are long beds. I wouldn't have a short one but my DRW make me park way out in the boonies anyway.

Well, of course I was talking about SRW pickups. Dooleys are a different matter. Almost all DRWs are long beds. Ford does make the shorty Dooley, but they sell very few of them. Dealers don't stock them, so if you want a shorty Dooley you have to special-order it.

CAMPINGTOM · 03-22-2008, 02:14 PM

I have a crew cab short bed and a slider hitch. I will get a long bed next time. Dealing with the manual sliding hitch is a pain. Even though I have an extended pin box, I have to use the slider most of the time.

MDarrough · 03-22-2008, 03:13 PM

My last two SDs were long beds, so I definitely wanted a shorty this time.

I have no problem towing the 5er. When I stop at the gate to enter the park, I slide the hitch back. When I stop on the way out to say bye, I slide it back up. No biggie.

I also make sure not to get myself in a position that I would have to turn sharp enough to hit the cab while on the way there and back. I tested it in an empty parking lot, and can get pretty tight with the hitch forward. I just made a mental note of how far I can go.

Granted the long bed IS better for towing a 5er, but I sure am enjoying the manuverablity when I'm not towing.

Mark

96STROKE · 03-23-2008, 09:14 AM

Everyone has already posted the benifits of the long bed, better ride, bigger fuel tank, no need for a slider hitch, room for a tool box/aux fuel tank, ect... but I thought I post anyway.

For towing a 5th, I personally would not concider a short bed, but thats just me. Yes a long bed crew cab is long and some times a pain in a small parking lot, but for towing I think its the only option and worth parking out at the far end of the parking lot. In fact, I bought a $1000 car to drive that gets 40 mpg to do all my running around and drive to work every day to let the truck sit in the garage til I need to tow with it. It sits even more now that diesel is well over $4/gallon vs. $3.19 for gas.

Around here, I see half and half, long vs. short beds towing. It can be done easily enough with the right set up if thats what you want.

Good luck with your search