5' or 6'

Good Evening All
Looking at a 2025 TRD OR . Had intended on getting a 5' bed
They have what I want in a 6' bed
Any advantages or disadvantages to a 6"bed like handling , drivability , comfort , etc
Looking for opinions

Thanks All
mike

 

Get the 6
I have 5 and it fills up quickly.
5 foot bed is light beer of pickups

 

Turn radius sucks on a 6ft. Parking and living with it day to day is harder. Worse break over angle and maneuverability off-road. Longer wheelbase rides a little smoother on the highway. Subjective but the long beds look amazing with a slight lift and bigger tires but look like a hotdog in stock configuration.

Pros the 6ft bed is much more useful than the fake little 5 foot bed. It’s more truck than many full size models with the common 5 and half foot bed. The extra bed space is really awesome for gear or things like bikes, surfboards, big loads etc. For camping/overlanding it’s a better platform, more gear and can sleep in the bed. They will go pretty much anywhere the DCSBs go if you give it a mild lift and 33’s.

 

You have a 24 and are shopping a 25?

What's wrong with the 24?

 

the correct question to the OP needs to be this, do they off road? what's the primary use of the truck itself. i mean i come from the world of 6 ft being the small boxes, an 8 being the big option.

the average truck isnt seeing trail duty, i know a TRD PRO T4R with a set of the most aggressive knobby tires and a a roto-pax on the back swingout that has never seen the dirt, because I tried to get the owner to go wheeling with myself and a couple of jeep guys in my office and the owner was disgusted they might get it dirty

 

Currently have 2nd gen access cab 6' bed OR, waiting for 4th gen DCLB OR once the brake line recall is fixed. With access cab discontinued, I went back and forth on the 5' vs 6' bed DC 4th gen. Drove both but in the end I spend far far more time using the bed than doing serious off road fun. Turning radius certainly suffers, but it's a trade off. I can't use a 5' bed for much of anything useful. Not even sufficient for camping storage while towing a small camper. I'll get 33s and a slight lift and do an occasional 5 point turn off road and back into parking spots so I can actually have a useable bed day to day.

 

if it don fit in the garage then it stays on the lot.

 

Hey All
Thanks for the responses
Much appreciated

PS : Thanks lakerman , good point

 

I love my 5’ bed. Don’t like the proportions or the city driving compromises of the 6. And all my gear/bikes/mulch/household shit fits in the 5’ just fine

 

Rock crawling, and hard-core wheeling is the one and only thing that the 5 foot bed is better for.

obviously, garages come in all different sizes, but a long bed Tacoma will fit in most garages. Mine fits in mine, with inches to spare, but it fits.

The hassle of city driving in a long bed is so exaggerated. It’s no hassle at all. You swing a little bit wider when you park. But my long bed fits in every single parking spot that a 5 foot would fit in. I park in tight airport parking garages every single week and it fits fine. I drive downtown in a major city and it goes just fine. People act like these long beds are some really long vehicle, but they’re not.

if you drive places where you might need to know the breakover angle then by all means get the short bed. For every other situation, the long bed is superior. And it looks way better.

The proportions of the short bed with the cab sitting right in the middle of the damn thing and the bed being about the same length as the hood, just looks weird to me. I owned one for 18 years and I thought it looked weird the whole 18 years. I never did get over that. The long bed just looks right.

 

as stated, 5 foot bed fits in the garage if you have washer & dryer on the interior wall...
Also think most folks think the shorted looks better.....
ATleast thats what I was told by multiple people in the "toyota space" when I was contemplating the same...

 

I vote 6'. I don't offroad and I drive into a city and park in a tight garage daily and i have been happy with the size for the last 16 years with my 2009 DCLB. When I use the bed for household hauling, bicycles, or hunting and fishing trips I am thankful to have the extra space. I am currently about to pull the trigger on a 2025 TRD OR DCLB and I'm mildly depressed about getting rid of the old one with 199,750 miles on it.

 

RIP Access cab. I will never sell my 6 foot bed short wheelbase now.

 

Not fitting in the garage, mine stays in the driveway, on the street or in a parking lot.

I gave the short beds consideration for that point of the garage but no way. They could not carry things or as well as our minivan and Outbacks with rear seat down. They didn't ride as nicely. In two iterations of shopping the Ford ranger and Chevy Colorado (short bed only) sales staff tried to convince me otherwise. One had the Sienna there, another the Outback with rear seats down. I asked the dudes to fit same stuff in the short beds - they could not do it well.

Two associates who got a Colorado and a TRD Sport short bed have regrets. They need pickups for their work. They are sick of constantly having a ladder sideways and not fitting stuff in well.

If one can't park a Tacoma long bed I'd suggest revocation of driver's license. They're about as long as my mother's 1972 Buick wagon she could park in same places that exist now.

The short beds for an off road hobbyist can make sense to me but I use my '24 long bed for MTB trail building and ski area crew. I'm driving off road or in rough service areas plus tight situations a lot. Size is never a problem like I'd have with a pickup that can't carry what our minivan or station wagon can.

 

The biggest advantage to owning a Tacoma is the small size. The biggest disadvantage to owning a Tacoma is the small size.

I have an older 5' Tacoma and a newer F150. Different tools for different jobs. I really thought the smaller bed would be a handicap but in the almost 18 years I've had my Tacoma have not found anything that I couldn't haul in the 5' bed where another 1 foot would help. I do have one of these in both trucks, even the bigger Ford, and find it well worth the money. Most of the time it keeps stuff close to the tailgate making it easier to ger out.

https://www.sharptruck.com/amp-research-74811-01a?msclkid=4ecda44e9d6d1c14e3e0c3f325b830ea

I don't have any issues with 12" lumber with my short bed. The next length is 16' and it won't fit in either the 5' or 6' bed. That's what the trailer is for. Speaking of the trailer. You aren't going to haul much in the bed of any Tacoma, not enough payload. I burn a lot of firewood and can carry more wood in my trailer than I could put in a 3/4 ton trucks 8' bed. And tow it with ease. It's easier to load/unload and doesn't beat up my bed.

A DCLB Tacoma is the same overall length as a 1/2 ton extended cab with a 6.8' bed. But you still have the small, cramped interior, limited payload and towing. If a 5' bed is just too short, then a 1/2 ton makes more sense. You get the same overall length, but with a longer, wider, deeper bed with almost double the payload and tow rating. The back seat of an extended cab 1/2 ton is bigger than a DC Tacoma. Fuel mileage is within 1 mpg.

I drove full size trucks for 30+ years before buying my Tacoma. I still drive full size trucks when I need to. I bought the Tacoma because I wanted something smaller.

 

DCSB, if I wanted the longer bed then I would've gone full soze

 

6>5

 

Hey Everybody
Thanks for all of the responses
Ive had trucks for 50 years ( 77 yo )
Last 3 trucks were Tundras. Dont do any serious OR but do go out West every year fly fishing and I do get on some back woods gnarly
roads looking for that quiet dry fly stream
Will have to look at the truck when its on the lot

Again , thanks for all of the responses and help
Much appreciated

 

I traded my pickup for 4Runner when I was a river guide and also needed a very capable rig for my drift boat. Maybe keep in mind how much the same with more interior space a current generation Land Cruiser and 4Runner are??? We only said no to the Land Cruiser for my having a few years of honest light truck needs. Needing the 6+ ft bed too often to rent which is what I did for a while.

My cousin got the new Land Cruiser and is very happy after a POS Jeep but I'd also consider the new Outback is here soon. Ours was super effective as a fishing and ski rig with highway manners and traction better than my 4Runner or pickup truck. I'm certain the new gen model will continue with a turbo option and without. With much experience - the '24 Tacoma OR, 4Runner - Subaru AWD will not slip sideways when a solid axle part-time 4x4 will.

No way would I take the on occasion compromises with an on frame and more traditional 4x4 or pickup if I did not really need it and especially with how well two Outbacks served our family.