Technical Trucks - Long beds vs. Short beds

I am in between,
A Working truck
and
A Hot Rod,

The bed is 7ft long .

 

I own and drive both. At present My daily drivers are both 66 GMC,s one short stepside and the other a long fleetside. My 56 ford is a long bed. I bought a 56 short frame and really nice short bed intending to convert it to a short box. However ive changed my mind. It has16 inch wheels and is a half ton. and dummies look at it and think that its a 3/4 ton. If Im fixing one up to sell its a short bed.

 

A little off topic but I have a story to share about short beds not being able to carry much. I was leaving a Home Depot and an older gentleman came out pushing a cart with some 20' 2 X 4s heading for an ancient C10 short truck. He laid the lumber longwise behind the truck then backed over the stack. Next he tied a rope around the boards and pulled the stack up to the bottom of the front bumper and tied it off. Next he pulled the stack up to the rear bumper and tied it off. He drove off with a few feet sticking out on both ends.

 

Personally ruined this one myself...

 

I like shortbeds as hot rods, but longbeds look better lowered to me. I also am not a huge fan of longbed stepsides. Only the short-steps look good to me.

 

When 8' is not enough

 

If you go with a long bed Ford make it a Camper Special with the storage box in the right hand bedside.
Even if you don't carry camper jacks it's a cool looking bed.
-Dave

 

Funny, this is the same conversation when it comes to....um....you know. The ones with long ones think its the only way to go, the guys with short ones say they still get the job done if you know how to use them, haha!! For what its worth, I have both...

 

I love those fc's


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Personally, I like short beds. But get what you like best and don't worry about what everyone else thinks.

 

I would say, "whatever appeals to you." I like both. I think my extended long bed looks good and is really great for hauling, especially building materials, furniture, etc. To me the most important issue is the quality of the truck.
don

 

I have a short wheel base for a hot rod and a long wheel base for working with. Nothing wrong with whichever you choose- just like hot rodding- it is strictly personal opinion. But typically, the SWB will sell easier and get more $ in the older trucks.

 

I really like short beds.
To me the long bed/short beds is like the two door/four door situation.
And before you jump all over me, I like four doors a lot

 

back in my formative years long beds were your dads work truck and only short bed step sides were modified.

 

I've hauled a lot of junk in my long bed...gotta watch it though width no c notch

 

You could definitely say that a Unibody, couldn't you?

My friend just cleaned this '62 up to sell. I never gave them much thought, but after admiring it in his driveway, I'm won over. The matching front and rear fender treatment makes this a pretty unique combination for 60s Ford trucks.

 

Long beds are the real trucks. The hardest part about owning a short bed is having to explain the maxi pad dispenser attached to the dash

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Had to read THAT a couple times!! Right on!

Ben

 

I like that story up there about the guy hauling long lumber underneath. Missed that the first time around.

 

For utility a long box is king but for a hot rod truck I’m in the short box camp, besides the wife really liked it It is disassembled now to fix rust that I haven’t seen since doing the Stude

 

My work truck is long bed but my “toy truck” is short bed

 

I'm working on a friend's '57 Chev pickup that he mounted on a '77 2wd Jimmy chassis. Takes the short box idea to another level.