6' bed with AT vs 5' bed and a manual?

This is part RANT and part question. Can I live with a 5' bed in a pickup? It's not really big enough to hold a bicycle without going diagonal unless you leave the tailgate open. Or buy a bed extender. BUT, the truck I want, optioned the way I want it otherwise is ONLY available as an either/or. I can have a 6 speed manual OR a 6' bed but not both. The rant here is obvious - why in berkeleys name is the bed choice tied to the transmission choice? Well, because only the sport and off-road packages come with a manual and a 6 cylinder! And those have short beds because... sporty and off-road! Duh.

But, here I am, stuck with that choice if I want that truck (both Nissan and Toyota force this ridiculous choice, BTW, and the Toy is MUCH nicer on the inside). I just sold a Silverado 2500HD that had a 6.5' (75" really) bed and I can count the number of times in 6 years I needed more space on one hand. But who ever wants less space in a truck bed? 60" seems really small. It's shorter than a bicycle and shorter than me so I'm never going to be able to camp in it with the tailgate up. That seems like an arbitrary thing to say - but I've slept in all of my previous pick-up beds at one time or another. It's probably large enough for any single engine/appliance/keg item I'd haul but a washer/dryer combo is two trips. It tows 6800 lbs so I could pull a utility trailer - but I could do that with my 11yr old BMW wagon too. Saving lots of cubic dollars. It has a roof rack for skis and things and I could use that and support at the back to haul a 20' stick of roll cage tube (also like my 11yr old wagon). Bottom line - Do I really care about 1' of bed length if there are work-arounds that aren't too expensive?

But, I CAN get an extra foot of bed space... If I am willing to concede my love for 3 pedals and get an auto. It's a pretty good auto too - six speeds with smooth, fast shifts. Better economy. Lighter weight too. This choice comes with a bump in price for the bigger bed and the auto trans combo. Not only do I give up rowing my own, I'd be paying approx $1000 for the "upgrade" to an extra 4.8 cubic feet of bed space and an auto. It's just enough to lay down in a sleeping bag or carry a motorcycle with the tailgate closed. And it nets an extra 2/4 MPG cty/hwy on the window sticker. And I get magical electronic buggery called "selective terrain modes with crawl feature" whatever that means. I think it means same thing as "choose the correct gear for the conditions" with the manual.

I should tell them to go berkeley themselves and not buy their product but it's a really nice, mid-size truck. Really nice. Precisely what I want except for this contrived dilemma they have put before me otherwise I'd have driven one home yesterday. I know what you are thinking... why don't you just buy a 20 year old rust free Hilux or Hardbody and swap in the driveline from a wrecked modern FJ and the interior/electronics from a 996? Good question. But, see, the whole idea here was to get one reliable do-all, all-weather utility vehicle that can haul dirty stuff and tow reasonable loads like cars, boats, bikes and jet skis, haul kids to VT to slide down mountains on little boards, and with a warranty so I can play with other things instead of working on it myself all the time. I must be getting old.

Wow. THat was wordy. Five coffees might be my limit. So hive:

Six foot bed and automatic OR five foot bed and manual plus $1000 in my pocket?

IMO, when buying a truck, always get the longer bed. I'm personally of the belief that all trucks need an 8' bed, so...

Five foot beds are absolutely worthless. I'd stick with the auto and shell out the extra money to get a cargo area that actually serves a purpose.

AT/6

Five foot bed and a manual. I use the transmission every time I drive, but the full bed only every now and again. I can make a short bed work easier than I can enjoy an auto.

6.5' bed at minimum....otherwise its useless.

rslifkin wrote: IMO, when buying a truck, always get the longer bed. I'm personally of the belief that all trucks need an 8' bed, so...

I don't really need 8' ever. I'm not a contractor - the shorty 6.5 on my diesel silverado was fine. It was mainly for towing but I sold the big trailer and can easily make due pulling an open trailer.

The bed for me is mainly a place for things that would mostly fit in an SUV but are too dirty to put in there. It's only occasionally that I really "haul" stuff. Mostly it's weekend toy stuff like mountain bikes, backpacks, coolers, etc.

the older 1500 CCSB GM's were 5'8". It's short, but usable. It'll haul motorcycles with the tailgate up, 8' sheets of plywood with the tailgate down.

NickD wrote: Five foot beds are absolutely worthless. I'd stick with the auto and shell out the extra money to get a cargo area that actually serves a purpose.

I don't know about worthless... with an extender and the tailgate down I can get a pair of KTM 300EXCs in there along with all the gear. It's Definitely not ideal for sure though driving around with the gate down all the time.

mazdeuce wrote: Five foot bed and a manual. I use the transmission every time I drive, but the full bed only every now and again. I can make a short bed work easier than I can enjoy an auto.

I'm torn. For a bicycle you could fab up some mounts to secure the bicycle forks behind the cab. Motorcycle would fit diagonally with tailgate down? There's probably some workarounds that you could do. Or.. Not bother with workarounds and have a more practical bed.

I don't know if it affects you, but I hate towing something with a manual transmission vehicle.

And I wouldn't have a 5' bed truck.

As long as the bed + tailgate is long enough that a motorcycle won't fall off, it should be fine. So you haul some stuff with the tailgate down. Strap it in. Not a huge deal.

In reply to Huckleberry:

Buy both, swap trans, then profit...or at least make back most of your $$ since an auto/"sports" model is probably more than the manual one?

I like manual transmissions. In sports cars. In a truck they aren't fun, they're just work. That's just my opinion, but hey, you asked. Today's autos are good, as you noted. The price difference will be easily recouped if/when you sell it.

Combine that with the reason one buys a truck - to haul stuff. That may be the washer/dryer combo or it may be a bike or it may be you. If what you want to haul won't fit in the bed, why buy a truck? Buy a Miata and a utility trailer.

If I can't put my bike in the bed (which is in the bed of my truck in the parking lot as we speak) then I might as well just drive my Mustang with a hitch rack.

What about the shorter bed with a bed extender?

I agree that trucks used as trucks are better with an auto, but most trucks are used as cars 98% of the time.

Here is a 5' bed example that makes me lean more with mazdeuce's thinking. If I added a foot - I'd still not be able to close the gate so what would it really buy me?

ultraclyde wrote: I like manual transmissions. In sports cars. In a truck they aren't fun, they're just work. That's just my opinion, but hey, you asked. Today's autos are good, as you noted. The price difference will be easily recouped if/when you sell it. Combine that with the reason one buys a truck - to haul stuff. That may be the washer/dryer combo or it may be a bike or it may be you. If what you want to haul won't fit in the bed, why buy a truck? Buy a Miata and a utility trailer. If I can't put my bike in the bed (which is in the bed of my truck in the parking lot as we speak) then I might as well just drive my Mustang with a hitch rack.

Yeah, this.

I've had a few S-trucks. Some with manuals, some with autos. For truck purposes, auto, hands down. I didn't drive them with "sprorting" intentions. I'll never buy another manual truck again.

I'm also in the "8' bed or don't bother" camp. No, I'm not a contractor, but a truck will also never be my primary vehicle. When I need a truck, I need it to be all truck and how well it can be a car is just fluff that costs money.

At this point, I'm indifferent to the manual vs automatic decision. Really depends on the brand in question and what is available. I learned the hard way that in older Cummins, the manuals behind them are crap and you're better off with an automatic.

Have you driven the long bed? Those things are knocking on full size length territory, kindof ruins the mid size advantages in my opinion. The size of the taco is it's biggest selling point (for me) and having a long box could sap some fun out of fire road shenanigans.

No way to get around the lack of sleeping space in a 5' bed, but for camping/adventure gear it should be more than adequate.

There's always this option in the future:

For the bikes, you can use a tailgate pad if you don't have a topper

Go measure your motorcycle and get your answer.

5' bed? I've owned cars that had trunks bigger than that.

I have a Tacoma with a six foot bed. I can haul a motorcycle in it. I could not with the five foot bed, which I would prefer for plowing but not for trailering. Always a trade off.

mazdeuce wrote: Go measure your motorcycle and get your answer.

Which one? There are several I haven't bought yet

I miss my f150s 8 foot bed often. Moving too the 6.5ft on the current truck often bites me in the ass. But i tend too haul alot of scrap and get stuck moving furniture and appliances often. If i used my truck less often it wouldnt be as bad.

Anyway id get the longest bed you can get on the truck you want. I cant wait too move back to an 8ft bed.