Purchasing Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab (undecided on bed size)

[clh1220]

Just took delivery of 2017 CC, 6.4 bed and couldn't be happier. Previous truck was a 2015 QC, 6.4 bed. Great truck

You did the same thing I did. Mine was a 14 big horn qc. Only thing you did wrong was get that grill. Just kidding you. Lol

 

[TruckNut]

Drive them both. These things are huge enough that I decided on the 5' 7" bed, despite the more proportionate look of the 6' 4". I barely fit in the garage now. Besides I have a flatbed trailer for hauling anything large. Sixteen foot boards don't fit in a longbed

 

[TerraNewf]

You did the same thing I did. Mine was a 14 big horn qc. Only thing you did wrong was get that grill. Just kidding you. Lol

Lol, the grill has grown on me already. It's a keeper

 

[RamInfo]

Hell truck 2 has the 3.92 gears dual exhaust 32 gallon tank.

^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Plus the hitch and tow equipment--a truck not equipped to tow, even when you yourself don't plan on towing, is not a truck--it's an SUV. Go for truck#2!

Best,
DG

 

[clh1220]

^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Plus the hitch and tow equipment--a truck not equipped to tow, even when you yourself don't plan on towing, is not a truck--it's an SUV. Go for truck#2!

Best,
DG

Or you could say a truck that can't haul a 6ft ladder , is not a truck you might as well go with a SUV. I don't have 3.92 and have no problem towing boat and trailer. That's what the 8 speed does for you.

 

[bryan28]

If i'm not mistaken the quad cab with 6'4 bed and crew with 5'7 bed are the same overall length. That means the crew with 6'4 bed is only 9" longer correct? How much harder can it really be to park with only 9" more length? If it would fit in my garage i would've gotten the crew with 6'4 bed instead of the quad cab.

 

[clh1220]

If i'm not mistaken the quad cab with 6'4 bed and crew with 5'7 bed are the same overall length. That means the crew with 6'4 bed is only 9" longer correct? How much harder can it really be to park with only 9" more length? If it would fit in my garage i would've gotten the crew with 6'4 bed instead of the quad cab.

Ya it's not that hard to park.

 

[VB712]

I have a crew cab 6'5" bed 4x4 sport. Mine was an ordered truck so I have every option available and I absolutely love it.

 

[yillbs]

so... it's yesterday, today. What did you end up buying ? I prefer the 5.7 too, and I tow / haul things. The 3.92 gears are nice, but not a deal breaker, hope you grabbed truck 2, it was much -much- better

 

[Curlyp]

Drive both and get on some side roads with it, pull into someone's driveway to turn around or even go for a 3 point turn and see how you think each one maneuvers. The bigger gas tank is a plus but is it much different than just filling up more frequently? I have the crew cab with 6.4, it was a must for me and to me the 5.7 bed looks so strange on a crew cab.

If you prefer the features of the shorter bed go for it, it doesn't sound like you are going to regret it and you can always hang something longer off the tailgate with the infrequency you'll need to do it you shouldn't have any issues.

Either way congrats and enjoy the new truck!

Its a valid point and I def get where youre coming from. There have been a small number of times I could have used the extra length. But only with awkwardly long things. I dont even know if they would have fit in the 6'4 tbh. I guess it depends on what you are using the truck for. The main thing i put in the bed through out the year are loaded pallets and they have no trouble fitting but I'd like more payload. So im probably looking at a 2500 soon. But for this guy and his uses and what both trucks are equipped with, i just dont see the point of going with the 6'4 bed. If both had the same options, id say have at the 6'4 I suppose.

For me, the looks of the short bed arent an issue. I guess it looks a little stumpy if you really stare at the truck, but IMO the 6'4 bed also doesnt look quite right on a stock 1500 because the trucks are way too low to the ground from the factory.


Out of curiosity I was actually just checking the bed lengths for Ford and Chevy, the F-150 short box is 5 1/2 ft and Chevys site SUCKS so i gave up. But it looks like a similar 5 1/2 ft size. I think Chevy just usually has their longer bed stocked on dealer lots a lot more than the short bed. Ford's seem to usually have the short bed as well when I see them on the road. So its not like Ram is the only truck running around with a short bed.

I opted for the crew cab with the 6'4 bed. Two reasons

1). I do use the bed often so I wanted the extra space.

2). Crew cabs with short beds like odd to me, like something is missing. it makes the truck look silly in my opinion.......and that's just my opinion.

When I look at my crew cab sport with the 6'4 bed, it just looks so much more "complete" in its stance with the bigger bed.

Just my 2 cents

Drive them both. These things are huge enough that I decided on the 5' 7" bed, despite the more proportionate look of the 6' 4". I barely fit in the garage now. Besides I have a flatbed trailer for hauling anything large. Sixteen foot boards don't fit in a longbed ��

^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Plus the hitch and tow equipment--a truck not equipped to tow, even when you yourself don't plan on towing, is not a truck--it's an SUV. Go for truck#2!

Best,
DG

so... it's yesterday, today. What did you end up buying ? I prefer the 5.7 too, and I tow / haul things. The 3.92 gears are nice, but not a deal breaker, hope you grabbed truck 2, it was much -much- better

First, I would like to thank everyone who gave their opinion on which truck to purchase and whether I should get the 6'4" or 5'7" bed. As I mentioned in the original post, I have never owned a tuck before, so I was not really sure where to start.

I test drove both trucks yesterday; pulled in and out of driveways, made u-turns in a cul-de-sac, and just general left and right turning down streets. I really didn't notice a difference in the wheel radius of turning (but then again, new to trucks, I really didn't know what I should be feeling/seeing). Both trucks seem great, but I did notice truck # 2 with the 5'7" bed and the 3.92 gear ratio had better "pickup" when I gave it some heavy gas.

I parked both trucks side by side after I drove them to fully see the difference in the 9"s (see pic below of both trucks side-by-side). Honestly, I really didn't look that much different. My wife and I liked both trucks. I did end up purchasing truck #2 with the 5'7" bed and the better options.

Here is a link to my new truck thread. Again, THANK YOU all for your opinion and help with me deciding on my first truck!

 

[dRAMbuie]

Hello Community,

I am new to this community and new to trucks. I have also owned cars and full size SUVs. I am undecided between two trucks and could use some advice.

I am looking at purchasing a 2017 Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab tomorrow. The two Sport trucks that I like are VERY similar in packages (plus and minus a few things i.e. bigger gas tank, trailer brake, moon roof, front parking sensors, etc.), but the main difference is the bed size. One truck has a 6'4" bed, while the other is a 5'7" bed.

I am completely undecided on which bed size to purchase. I have read some posts online where folks have said the turning radius is much wider with the 6'4" over the 5'7" bed. I don't work in construction, or own a farm, or am constantly picking up large items from Home Depot/Lowes. I could see using the 6"4' for the time I might purchase something big, or have to move something; however, this is NOT all the time, but is a reason I am using to say I want the 6'4" bed.

Some posts that I have read, folks have said that the 6'4" bed doesn't look balanced right with the Crew Cab. To me, I really can't see the difference, but also, I have never owned a truck either.

If anyone could chime in with some advice/suggestions I would really appreciatre it.

For most people I would recommend the 5'-7" box.
For me it came down to intended use.

If this is your daily driver and you live in an urban area, then I would go with the shorter box.
If you want it for light duty utility and general towing purposes, you'll rarely miss that extra space.
I briefly wished I'd had the extra length to load an ATV in the box while pulling my trailer, until I realized how far over GVWR that would put me.

Another thing to keep in mind is that many attached garages are 20' deep, which makes the shorter box more practical.

On the other hand, if you plan to regularly load the box with construction materials like 2x4's and sheets of drywall, or if you want to tow a long 5th wheel trailer, then the longer bed might be the better option.

Regularly hauling a quad or side by side ATV may be another reason for the longer bed, but there are other ways to accomplish that without the daily inconvenience of the longer bed. i.e. tailgate down, trailer, diamondback.

 

[2012Lamarie]

The turning radius is poor but you get used to it. I don't like parking around crowds anyway so I rarely have a problem. IMO the 5'7 box looks silly small on a crew cab and disproportionate but everyone has their own opinion/likes. Mine barely fits in my garage so that may be something to consider as well.

See I think the exact opposite. I love my little 5'7" box. I think it makes it look more aggressive. I don't like the longer boxes especially the 8' box. But like you said everyone has their own likes.

 

[2012Lamarie]

looks like truck 1 with the 6'4 bed doesn't have a tow hitch. Seems silly not to have one on a truck that costs that much.

To the people saying the turning radius is poor, how is it different from the 5'7 bed? Don't they have the same wheel base? It's only 7 inches of bed sticking out how could that make much of a difference?

No they do not have the same wheelbase. The Shortbed has a 140.5" wheelbase the 6'4" bed has 149.5. You wouldn't think it would make a big difference but it does.

 

[dbrock34]

My last truck had the 5'7" bed and every time I loaded something in the bed I was irritated by it being just a few inches too short. I now have 6'4" bed and love it.

 

[SilverRam11]

I was irritated by it being just a few inches too short

*insert ***** joke here*

 

[AtomicDog]

I was irritated by it being just a few inches too short

Sadly so is my wife...

 

[SAABseanSCANIA]

I haven't lived with the longer bed, so I can't speak to actually having one....... but I'm constantly wanting one when my bed is just a little too short, and that condition has happened quite a bit between my sport crew and my previous sierra denali. Not enough to be a deal breaker but something I would consider if buying another one.

One major point is that I don't think the longer bed would fit in the bigger bay of my garage as my truck now barely fits comfortably with enough room to move around it. But, sadly, my truck lives outside anyways (my vette and the wifes GC live inside), so I guess it's a moot point and I should upgrade to a 3/4 ton....

 

[TerraNewf]

For most people I would recommend the 5'-7" box.
For me it came down to intended use.

If this is your daily driver and you live in an urban area, then I would go with the shorter box.
If you want it for light duty utility and general towing purposes, you'll rarely miss that extra space.
I briefly wished I'd had the extra length to load an ATV in the box while pulling my trailer, until I realized how far over GVWR that would put me.

Another thing to keep in mind is that many attached garages are 20' deep, which makes the shorter box more practical.

On the other hand, if you plan to regularly load the box with construction materials like 2x4's and sheets of drywall, or if you want to tow a long 5th wheel trailer, then the longer bed might be the better option.

Regularly hauling a quad or side by side ATV may be another reason for the longer bed, but there are other ways to accomplish that without the daily inconvenience of the longer bed. i.e. tailgate down, trailer, diamondback.

You're bang on about the ATV's, My Can Am 650 max XT being a 2 up would be too far out on the tailgate in a 5.7 bed.

 

[2012Lamarie]

"I was irritated by it being just a few inches too short."

Thats what she said....