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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350
 
Location: Penrose, Colorado | pulling a 4 horse LQ is there much difference if any at all towing with a short bed dually vs. a long bed? Have been thinking about trading our 2008 long bed for a new one but all the dealers in our area have is the Mega cab models in stock. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 657
Location: Rayne, LA | Are the wheel bases different lengths? |
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Expert
Posts: 3802
 
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | I've always had long bed trucks. In 2010 I bought a short bed 2500 and it will probably be my last.... Once you're hooked to the trailer, there's not much room left for anything else.... All of my "stuff" fits fine in the long bed trucks, not so much in the short bed.... You looking at the RAM trucks only? If your dealer really wants to sell you a truck, he'll find you one... Look at "autotrader" in your area for new listings of 2012 and 2013 3500 Ram, long bed, crew cab, dually trucks.... http://www.autotrader.com/?LNX=SPGOOGBRANDCAMP&cid=SI_460766014_16268419260_1 |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | I'm also a long bed supporter...more room in the bed even when hooked up... Short bed trucks always make me think the driver is about to crush his cab when doing tight maneuvers... |
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 Regular
Posts: 51
| My self I think you would be happier with the long bed in the long run. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
Location: Ottawa, Illinois 61350 | I think you'll find as far as dually beds go; there is only a difference of 12" of length. Not enough to make me wanna buy a shortbed dually. |
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Member
Posts: 19
Location: Noblesville, IN | I have a 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab DRW short bed and love it. We pull a 3 horse goose neck with living quarters (38' overall) and love it. I did have to get the ball 4" extension and the 9" hitch extension because our trailer is 8' wide with no taper at the nose. The Mega Cab gives great cab space for the kids and dogs. Or if we a going a short trip with the bumper pull trailer, the cab space is great for everything the wife takes...lol |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385
Location: high desert, CA. | If you are looking at 3500 dually's, you only get that in the 3500 series. I don't think you can get a 2500 in a dually. so bed length is moot. |
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| Hi, we also have the '08 dually one ton and pull comparable trailer of 38 foot. our trailer is tapered nose and with standard B&W hitch in short bed have NO concern or issues. Love the truck, including engine brake- nice feature. Tons of space in mega cab back for our 'stuff'- the rest goes in third bay of three horse trailer as we typically haul two. |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
Location: Sumas Washington | One of the safety features of a GN trailer hitch is that some of the pin weight is transferd to the front wheels because the hitch pin is located ahead of the center of the rear axle. This is very important for braking and controll. When you use a hitch extender to move the trailer back for cab clerence the pin weight is put behind the center of the rear axle of the truck, thus unloading some weight off of the front axle. When you tow a lighter trailer this will have little effect, with a heavy trailer you lose some controll in emergency situations. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 657
Location: Rayne, LA | I don't use one, but is this true even if the ball is in the proper place? |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | When a hitch extender is utilised, the pin weight is still on the ball and not moved aft. The weight is transfered through the extender to the ball in its original position. |
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Regular
Posts: 80
Location: Central WI | On an earlier comment, traveling home last week after Thanksgiving we passed a dually and I was surprised to see it was marked a 2500. Pretty sure it was a Dodge. I wasn't aware they offered dual rear wheels on 3/4 tons. Must be a very limited number on the road? |
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Expert
Posts: 3802
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | Originally written by dkhunter04 on 2012-11-28 7:55 AM
On an earlier comment, traveling home last week after Thanksgiving we passed a dually and I was surprised to see it was marked a 2500. Pretty sure it was a Dodge. I wasn't aware they offered dual rear wheels on 3/4 tons. Must be a very limited number on the road? Nobody builds a 2500 dually... That was a rebadged 3500 or a 2500 truck with dual wheels added. Both trucks use the same body and frame, so it wouldn't be too hard to convert one to the other. |
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New User
Posts: 3
| A friend of mine has a short bed. You have to be careful turning to sharp cause it will bust your rear window. I've seen him bust his multiple times. I have a long bed and don't have to worry at all on messing anything up on sharp turns. I myself wouldn't own one but, everyone has there own opinions of the subject. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 657
Location: Rayne, LA | We saw a Ford like this in Harrison, Ar. I spotted the F250 on the fender but my buddy did not. I made a bet with him "that dually over there was in a pretty good wreck" and won. It was exactly as stated, an F350 wrecked and a F250 front cap put on it. It pays to be observent |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 322
Location: Fort Madison, Iowa | I've owned both and currently have a short bed F250 4x4 diesel. I wasn't looking to buy a short bed but found someone that needed to sale fast so it was a steal of a deal I couldn't pass up. When I buy another truck someday, I'll probably be looking for a full size bed. I like the short bed for parking but prefer a long bed for the ride. When I bought my truck I had a tapered nose horsetrailer. When I went shopping for a different trailer, I was limited more with having a short bed truck on what trailer I could buy and so I was looking specifically for a tapered nose. I could have used an extender but didn't want to. There have been times when hauling something in the back of the truck that I had to put the tailgate down to get it in and so having a longer bed truck would have been nice plus when going on vacation I'd have more room to put things in the truck. |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
Location: Sumas Washington | Originally written by gard on 2012-11-27 8:29 PM
When a hitch extender is utilised, the pin weight is still on the ball and not moved aft. The weight is transfered through the extender to the ball in its original position. Yes the weight is still put onto the hitch in the original place, HOWEVER that trailer pin weight is now on a lever that is rear of the original pin. This DOES move the center of weight rearward just a lifting a rock with a long bar does. This Does lift weight off of the front wheels. I have tried this on a scale and although is is not huge the transfer is still there. |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | The only physical change when using an extender, is the effective wheel base of the trailer which is lengthened. The sole frontal bed/suspension support, remains completely unchanged. Any minor difference in weights noted between the pin and axles, when using an extender, would be the result of a modified wheel base. Whatever resulting pin weight, will be still affecting the truck's suspension in the same manner, albiet at perhaps a little less loading. A lighter loading, would effectively lessen the rearward bias of the suspension, resulting in a more even and balanced ride. In actuality, the difference in a pin weight change under these conditions, is so minute that it would be unnoticeable to most opperators of the equipment. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350
Location: Penrose, Colorado | thanks for all of the reply's, the long be is the only way I will go, we had a short bed 3/4 ton in the early 2000's and it lost to much space and if I decide to put a flat bed on in the future I sure would want a long one, my big hurdle now is if I want to write a check or not, and if I want to go from a 550 to a one ton. |
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short bed dually vs. long
