What kind of truck do you use?

[GSPHUNTER]

I always use a SET truck. Someone Elses Truck. They seem to do the job just fine.

 

[TradLife406]

My 2017 F150 with a Prindle bumper did the trick last year on my Montana otc salvage tag.


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[wytx]

Yep, went from long bed to short bed last year. I like it better for parking and general getting around.
Put a topper on it and put a shelf across the bed rails for added storage, a piece of plywood with 2x4 supports underneath resting on the bedrails.
You can double stack stuff that way.
We also used to have dogs and the labs would ride on the shelf and our stuff would be underneath for travelling.

Spouse's F250 with a shelf and lots of gear after a moose hunt.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

For sure I’d be checking payloads, they are decent if you’re not too optioned out, but some trucks in a half ton can’t carry a lot. Certainly half tons ride better, especially if you get a decent day of shocks. They suck on mileage once you put 33s or larger on and any sort of ride height increase.

The GFC camper brought up - expensive “topper” but cheap camper. It REALLY makes good use of space. I have a 6.5ft bed but could see using a 5.5 foot bed with the GFC, simply because your sleeping space is above and not in the bed. Absolutely love mine.

 

[Marshfly]

I tried hunting here in Montana with a Ram 1500 with the 5'7" bed. Sucked. Can't sleep in it. Can't fit enough stuff IMHO. Went back to a Ram 2500 6'4" bed and now in an F350 SRW short bed at 6'9". Never going back to a half ton. I can make an HD truck ride really good on FS roads for not a ton of money. I CAN'T make a half ton bigger nor make it carry more weight comfortably and reliably. And they still get good mileage on 35s, which make the ride even better in the dirt if inflated correctly.

Remember, your topper is going to eat 3-500# of payload. Another guy in the passenger seat is going to eat 200# more. Stuff you should be carrying for the truck, probably another 50-100# (strap, compressor, tools, etc.) That's 550-800# gone and you have zero hunting gear in the truck. My Tremor doesn't even notice that weight.

 

[Jdeck09]

I've got a 5.5 bed on my F150 with a hard shell. You will be fine when it comes to packing gear. I've done the trip out west 4 times without issue. Thats bringing a couple 100QT coolers, gear, bows etc. Its a little crammed with an elk head but not bad. The biggest disadvantage and the reason my next truck with be the 6.5, is you cant sleep in the bed. Its a nice to have if you get to the trailhead late or just want to be able to lay down after a long drive.

I would heavily advise a hard shell to protect your stuff and provide additional vertical storage.

 

[TSimons9]

Went from a 5.5’ bed to a 6.5’ bed and wouldn’t ever go back. Hunting by myself 5.5’ was fine but with a wife and kid now the extra 1’ of space is really nice.

That being said I did not have a topper on the 5.5’ bed and I do on the 6.5’ and the usable space is much greater now. I think 5.5’ would be just fine if you get a topper for it.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I have a 2014 Ford F350 crew cab, short bed, diesel, 4x4. I tow a 27' travel trailer (not usually for hunting.

I have a 20' cargo trailer I made into a hunting trailer. I insulated it, made 2 fold down bunks, 5,000 btu catalytic heater and I carry my Rhino sxs. I have all my camping gear inside and have a generator (if needed) in the bed of my F350. Woks well for me and my hunting partner. The picture is with my old Ranger 4 wheeler.

 

[Fullfan]

My go to for western elk and Midwest spring turkey is a 3500 Ram w the Cummins. At home running around hunting, fishing and screwing off is a Tacoma.

I could not imagine towing heavy w a gas motor, of ever having to tow w a 1/2 ton truck

 

[MountainMan83]

I went out of my way to find a Tacoma with a 6ft bed so I could sleep in the back under the shell for shorter hunting trips. The extra space is nice for hauling hunting gear or family camping gear. That being said you could probably make the shorter bed work especially if you hunt 1-2 weeks per year. Only you know what your priorities are - make a list of pros and cons (besides just hunting gear capacity) and decide from there

 

[Howard94]

I'd like the swap for 2 reasons:
1)F150 more nimble on 4x4 roads (better sharp turning and squeezing thru tight trees)
2)over time I've drastically reduced what I bring on a trip. Started with large trailer, then hitch haul and car top carrier...now just a car top carrier. I've always taken a suburban or yukon xl and now it doubles as my camper as well.

It's crazy how little you really need once you've taken a few elk and got the process down. Pack, Bow, 1 tote of clothes, 1 large cooler with ice, 1 additional cooler with all my dry goods/food that I'll empty into a trash bag once I have meat to put in both coolers. Sleeping bag/pad and pillow...small target and I'm set.

I also like the paid off part of your swap!

Good Luck

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Thanks for the reply and pics! I agree paid off is key here. Especially with plenty of life left in the truck. Getting around the forest service roads can be tight here and we don’t have mountains lol.

 

[Howard94]

I have a 2018 F-150 with 5.5 bed. It’s not perfect for sleeping in, but totally doable.

My biggest concern for you would be making sure you don’t get a lemon. I got my F150 at 60k miles and it has been the worst vehicle I have ever owned. The number of issues I’ve had with that truck in the last 100k miles has been insane. It’s never ending maintenance. If you are looking at a 3.5 eco boost you better made damn sure it doesn’t already have cold start rattle. They didn’t solve that issue until sometime around 2021 or later.

5.0 with 70k miles.

 

[z987k]

I went out of my way to find a Tacoma with a 6ft bed so I could sleep in the back under the shell for shorter hunting trips. The extra space is nice for hauling hunting gear or family camping gear. That being said you could probably make the shorter bed work especially if you hunt 1-2 weeks per year. Only you know what your priorities are - make a list of pros and cons (besides just hunting gear capacity) and decide from there

If people are only using the truck for hunting I don't think the bed size matters at all. An SUV would arguably be better.
Most people buy trucks to haul large things in for their job, for their house, maybe multiple hobbies. On a daily to weekly basis.

If you hunt 2 weeks a year and that's all you use a truck for, it's far cheaper to buy a car and rent the truck for 2 weeks a year.

 

[Howard94]

That load is less than 1,000 lbs and not even half of the F150’s payload. It’s definitely not pushing it for what it will handle.

I have a 2016 F150 (bought new) with the 5.5 bed and a camper shell. I’ve prob made 8 or 9 trips out west in it and never felt I needed more space, but I wouldn’t want to do it without the shell. I do typically bring a hitch hauler with one large cooler on it. The only time I wish I had the longer bed is when sleeping in the shell. I can sleep diagonally but it requires a platform across the entire bed which prevents you from being able to sit up comfortably.

Type x is 120lbs/ sheet. The payload of the f150 is ballpark 1800lbs. So I have close to 1300lbs of drywall. Add me and my tools I’m getting close to max payload.

 

[Marshfly]

Type x is 120lbs/ sheet. The payload of the f150 is ballpark 1800lbs. So I have close to 1300lbs of drywall. Add me and my tools I’m getting close to max payload.

This is the issue that people ignore. Add Load Range E tires instead of factory P-metric because who want's flats all the time, that's another 100#. Add that topper for another 300# plus. Now you're way over and the truck drives like trash and wears out much faster.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

It's heavy...but very functional and bed stays about as secure as you can make a truck bed.
Likely upgrade to a similar set up to Marshfly soon to shave some weight and open up some living space for crappy weather days.
It's a dedicated rig though, not used for anything but camping/hunting/playing.
The f150 Crew cab 5.5 or 6.5 would have been my second choice had I not found the Tundra I did.
The extra 1ft. of bed space would be nice, but we hauled 2 extra persons gear, my wife andvI in truck, 3 elk processed and our supplies for a week in this 5.5' set up with room to sleep in back seat for ride out and home. We took way more than needed in retrospect.
You can do alot with the 5.5 bed and crew cab.
Went places I would no way take or fit my crew cab long bed Ram 3500. Shorter wheelbase and IFS is much better off road

 

[Marshfly]

It's heavy...but very functional and bed stays about as secure as you can make a truck bed.
Likely upgrade to a similar set up to Marshfly soon to shave some weight and open up some living space for crappy weather days.
It's a dedicated rig though, not used for anything but camping/hunting/playing.
The f150 Crew cab 5.5 or 6.5 would have been my second choice had I not found the Tundra I did.
The extra 1ft. of bed space would be nice, but we hauled 2 extra persons gear, my wife andvI in truck, 3 elk processed and our supplies for a week in this 5.5' set up with room to sleep in back seat for ride out and home. We took way more than needed in retrospect.
You can do alot with the 5.5 bed and crew cab.
Went places I would no way take or fit my crew cab long bed Ram 3500. Shorter wheelbase and IFS is much better off road

You are pretty much as long as a longbed truck with that cooler carrier on the back FWIW.

You will love the popup topper over the RTT though. I hang out in mine in the evening a ton, especially when by myself. Read a book. Watch a movie on my phone or laptop. I use a Crazy Creek chair in there and sit on the Bedrug. Super comfy.

 

[taskswap]

This feels like an extremely subjective question. I own an '81 F-250 V8 with an 8' bed (nicknamed Rocky because its steering is squirrely) and a '21 RAM 2500 diesel mega-cab with a 6.5' bed (Bullwinkle - it reminds me of a big, dumb moose). I've never regretted the bed length on either but this is why it's subjective. I don't hunt with Rocky - I literally bring tools when I drive him because I'm always tweaking something to keep it running. And I could never downsize Bullwinkle because we have a fifth-wheel and separate truck camper and it's ideal for both (a shorter bed couldn't handle either).

But along the way I've owned several other trucks - Ford Ranger, Ford F150, etc. The Ranger had what they used to call the "splash short bed" if anyone remembers that. It was pretty tiny. But you make it work, if it fits your lifestyle, and it did at the time.

Suggestion: rather than worrying about bed length, consider cargo carriers. On my RAM I have both rear and front receiver hitches, and you can do that on a lot of trucks even if they're smaller. One of the biggest cargo challenges hunting (for me anyway) is the coolers - they're big and bulky, and elk-sized coolers really eat up bed space. You'd think that would play hell with your balance but if you're thoughtful about it, it actually improves it. I've found about 200lbs on my front carrier nicely balances any manner of sins I'm carrying in my bed and rear carrier. You have to keep the front load low/short to avoid blocking air into your radiator but one cooler is just right for me. And with the coolers out of the way I usually find I have no problem figuring out how to carry/stash everything else, no matter what truck I'm in...

 

[Howard94]

It's heavy...but very functional and bed stays about as secure as you can make a truck bed.
Likely upgrade to a similar set up to Marshfly soon to shave some weight and open up some living space for crappy weather days.
It's a dedicated rig though, not used for anything but camping/hunting/playing.
The f150 Crew cab 5.5 or 6.5 would have been my second choice had I not found the Tundra I did.
The extra 1ft. of bed space would be nice, but we hauled 2 extra persons gear, my wife andvI in truck, 3 elk processed and our supplies for a week in this 5.5' set up with room to sleep in back seat for ride out and home. We took way more than needed in retrospect.
You can do alot with the 5.5 bed and crew cab.
Went places I would no way take or fit my crew cab long bed Ram 3500. Shorter wheelbase and IFS is much better off road

Nice rig dude! Thanks for the info.

 

[Speck1]

This has always been a dilemma for me as well. It’s a long haul from south Texas to elk country and I take a lot of gear. It would be awesome to have a small, nimble vehicle up there but not practical for me due to lack of space. I have a dedicated Ram diesel with an 8 foot bed that gets me most anywhere. I love being able to set up a cot in the back if the weather gets too ugly. No easy answer, just have to find what works for you.