Here’s the latest reader question, along with my reply!
T asks: What happened to eight-foot (and larger) truck beds? IMHO new trucks with extended cabs look stupid. How do you haul 12’ sheets of drywall?
My reply: You can still get eight foot beds; all current 1500s offer them. The problem is that many dealers don’t stock them – which makes getting one a pain in the rear, sometimes.
And because some of these trucks are no longer offered in regular cab form (e.g., the 2019 Ram 1500) you’re forced to buy a much longer truck, with an extra pair of doors you may not need or want – in order to get the eight-foot bed that you do.
But my main gripe – to go off track a little bit – is with the bedwall height of all new trucks. I’m much taller than the average man (6ft 3) and even for a guy like me, accessing the bed’s contents is difficult without a step ladder.
Many of the new 1500s actually come with one for just this reason.
It’s as silly as wearing a codpiece.
. . .
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Finding a good used pickup with an 8 foot bed is nearly impossible. People use them up and order a new one.
Last year a new GMC turned off the road and I saw it was an 8 foot bed. I was shocked.
My Z71 is the typical 6.5 foot job. No love for that pickup. I used to have side boxes on every pickup and 8 foot beds. The side boxes allowed you to stack higher and still have the full length.
I’m not sure bed depths are more than they were 20 years ago but the damned pickups are tall as hell unlike my 93 one ton 4wd that was easy to get into and out of. I can’t reach as far into the crossover box on the half ton Z71 as I could in the one ton.
The neighbor has a company work truck that’s a 3/4 ton 4wd. It has no rail or steps so the grab handle is a must for me. I use it to exit too since it’s a long slide to the ground.