Short Box or Long Box

[mopar25]

I currently have a 2008 Ram 4x4 Quad Cab with Long Box which pulls a 31' RKS Cardinal for the past 4 years. I'm getting frustrated with a number older RV resorts that have long enough sites however the roads are narrow and with vehicles parked all over, its difficult to back our unit into the site. One park even allowed me to have a nearby RV repair shop use their forklift to back our unit in as there was a park model with carport support on one side and a fruit tree on the other. Without that fork lift parking our unit, I would have been hooped. A lot of the newer parks have drive thru options but not all.

I began to think -- would a newer short box Ram help me better? From some brochure I looked at it appears that the over all length of our 08 Ram quad cab long box is 249 +inches and a a 2015 extended cab is 248 inches. If these numbers are correct it doesn't seem a newer short box club cab is worth the expense for apporx 1" difference. The larger/longer back seat area is probably responsible for the longer length of the short box version. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[dfredendall]

Short bed = Small fuel tank

[EAW]

I like the long box myself. Finding another campground may be the best solution. Turning the trailer that sharp with the forklift puts an incredible amount of stress on the axles and frame.

[nra4life]

Mopar, We use a short bed pickup. Our trailer won't clear the cab in a sharp turn. We have an automatic sliding hitch, that I like very well. When I sign off, you will see just what we run. Dana is correct. Our tank is 35 gallons. If we want to go places without the trailer, it is convenient to drive around town and park almost anywhere. I would suggest getting the 6 1/2' bed so there is room for a fuel tank. The Megacab has a little bed that looks almost useless. You will be amazed at how many knowledgeable people will have insights that will be valuable. Good luck! Roy

[watkinsk]

Mopar,
I really like having a short bed truck as 90% of my truck driving is without the 5th wheel connected. My 2012 Ford F350 only had a 26 gallon fuel tank...totally unsat for a tow vehicle, so I exchanged the OEM fuel tank with a Titan midship tank that is 50 gallons and is under the bed vs being in the bed. I really like the new tank and would recommend it. Price installed was about $1200 in 2013.
To get around the turning issue with a short bed I installed a Pullrite Superglide and really like it as well. The nice thing about the Pullrite is the slide is automatic so I never worry about having to get out of the cab to manually shift the hitch to turn mode when approaching 37-40 degree turns. The only downside to the Pullrite is it's weight so pulling it out of the bed is not a one person job. I found this on Craigslist nearly new and paid $300.

Also, my 37ft rig's dry weight is 12k lbs and loaded weight (which I never get to) is 14.5K. I tend to pull the rig loaded to about 13.2K lbs. I have no stability issues with the F350 and a short bed....but if the rig were 40ft or heavier I would probably look hard at a dually.

Bottom line, because I use the truck for driving around town and hauling small items like trash or furniture, I have no regrets buying the short bed with the mods above.

[jacknife]

The Mega Cab comes with a 6.6 inch bed. No shorter or longer. I had a n 06 and now a 14 both equipped with 6.6 ft , it just looks shorter because of the cab length. you can put a 50 gal fuel tank in the bed behind cab. Have a manual slider but have never used it but it is there if need be.

[nra4life]

Nick, I guess the megacab just makes the bed look shorter. Somewhere I got the idea that the megacab has a 5'6" bed. I will remember the correct numbers! Roy