My RCSB is getting to be a bit small for me and the fiancee going on trips, errands around town, etc. I'll still keep it as my project truck, but I'm kicking around getting a bigger truck with more room.

At first, I was dead set on full size bed AND crew cab (e.g. 1500HD or perhaps 2500HD), but finding a good one seems to be a little tough plus they get low fuel mileage for a daily driver. So I started looking at 1/2 ton crew cabs and found a pretty nice Vortec Max near me. Only thing is its got the stubby 5'9" bed.

So I'm thinking the 1/2 ton crew might be a better buy for a daily driver truck, but as the title says, has anybody with a crew cab found they miss the full size 6'6" bed? Thats the only thing I'm held up on. Putting a load of dirt in the back, motorcycles on rare occasion, etc...

 

I thought I would and I was worried about getting one when my wife had our son because of limited space but I have enjoyed it! I have a tailgate extender when I need it but I ended up taking it out cuz it was just in the way. My truck will fit a dirt bike with the bed extender and some quads! But when I out weighed the benefit of cab space versus bed space I'm glad I got it! Plus you can find good 5x10 trailers for a descent price if it comes down to it...IMO though!

 

Thanks, man. That first hand experience is exactly what I'm looking for.

 

Mileage difference between a 3.73 geared 1500HD and a Vortec max is probably a lot less than you think..... if any, lol. If you want to haul anything, or actually use it as a truck, the HD is the way to go....... not to mention no $hitty 4L70E either. 8" of length between the beds ( 5' 8" versus 6' 6") is a quite noticable amount.

But hey whatever floats your boat.

 

Yeah, the 1500HD I'm looking is 4x4, 3.73. Seems a lot of folks get low teens for mileage in them, yet others yield high teens? I'll be getting whatever I'm driving tuned, so I honestly figured I could get respectable mileage outta it. But then again, there seems to be quite a lot of folks with tuned VMax's getting close to 20mpg or so.

I don't necessarily need another fast truck. That's what my RCSB is gonna be for eventually. But I can't bring myself to stick a 5.3 or lower in a big *** 4x4 crew cab and hope it can get outta its way on the road, hence my looking at the 6.0 trucks. And unfortunately, diesel is outta the price range at the moment...

 

Mine is 4wd with 3:73 gears and it had a 5.3 and I hated it! But was bone stock and a dog...man was it sluggish feeling...lol! I'm sure a tune would make a world ofmdifference but I got my hands on a low mileage lq9 and cammed it and did some other stuff and boy do I love it now! I weighed it without me in it and it was 5485...I think I forgot exactly, but that heavy *** thing moves now!

 

yes I do wish I had a longer bed. My truck has a full size toolbox in the bed and I now have a 4'x4' bed lol. i use my truck for everything, my quad doesn't fit in the bed even with the tailgate down lol..

 

Yea if you put a toolbox back there your definitely short on space...lol! I put a slim low profile box for a mdsize truck in the back of mine that is a little over a foot wide to save me some room. I dont put a whole lock back there except the necessities though so it works good for me.

 

My 01 dodge has the short bed and a 18" tool box leaves 5' and it gets tight but when I was riding atv's the banshee was not a problem and the Big Bear with the big tires would still fit.
Wouldn't give up the ext cab for 3 reg cab trucks.

 

A lot of people can't calculate mileage either. The weight difference is negligible when it boils right down to it and if you tune your LQ4 you would have a hard time noticing any sort of difference between it and a tuned LQ9. When my truck was just a truck and empty highway mileage of 15 mpg driving up to 75 mph was not hard. Slow down and I could achieve better than that. I also don't lift, crank T bars, add big stupid tires and etc....... and then wonder why I get 12 mpg. City is crap, but that is any truck. The 4L70E tranny is hardly any better than the 60E, and it's nice having the 80E, better suspension and bigger front diff.

If you want the truth I get low teens now with my truck. But now it has a headache rack and around 1500 lbs of equipment and tools in it.

I go through phases where I want a Max too....... but it passes. I need a second truck for a backup to my 05 and I started looking Max....... then it's like just buy the HD and be done with it, Lol.