Is a long bed really that bad for 4wheeling? I know it won't be the greatest rock climber but will it do ok?

Oh yea how come no one ever posts in these forums?!

Wes

 

A longbed has its advantages and disadvantages. First off, the disadvantage is turning radius and articulation differences. For example, if you were to take you rig on Black Bear pass in Colorado, you probley would have a lot of problems making the switchback. On the other hand, shorter vehices can sometimes get cought up, where a long bed might place each tire in a better spot. These are just a few examples, but you should be able to do just about everything a short bed will due.

Have fun.

 

What is everybodys favorite winch?

Just to keep this one at the top of this massively over crowded forum.


Wes

 

Ive rarely gone offroading with a longbed.. and I help organize offroading events in my area almost every week.. and attend them all over texas.. as big as our trucks are.. I think its just less convenient to park the longbeds, vs actually offroading with them

Im guessing it would just get more damage on the bed sides..

as far as winches.. WARN..

 

The only problem with the longbed is making turns where obstacles come into play. Like trees, bushes, fence posts. All you have to do is back up and re-approach, no biggie.

 

In some situations when crawling over big rocks, trees, etc, i've seen the frame tweak enough for the bed to scrape the cab. It seems to happen more easily on longbeds then shortbeds because of the greater leverage on the frame, but if your just mudding and trailrunning i think a longbed is fine.

-Jon

 

More chance of getting a long bed high centered. Instead of the rear wheels going over a hump while the front wheels are going down, the long wheelbase of the long bed might cause both wheels to be on low spots and cause the hump to high center it. In most cases, you can compensate for it. The larger issue, as others have stated, deals with the monstrous turning radius.

 

Had a 1-ton Crew Cab 4X4 long wheel base. I used the truck in the hill country and when coming down one of our mountains my bed cap would scrape the cab. I guess because of the weight of the truck and its length would allow it to bend far enough to allow them to touch.

Now we use 4 wheelers, a jeep, a Toyota Tucoma, and F-150 Super Cab 4X4's short wheel base. Haven't had the problem with any of these.

 

You could alwas bob the bed, but you would still have the wheel base issue.

 

I love my F150 Lonbed Beast. I think it's great to offroad with a longbed cause you can really impress people with your driving skills. Naturally, it helps if you're not afraid of a little damage. But hey, I bought my truck for offroading and I'll be darned if I'm going to treat it like a baby....

 

Cowboy
Nice pics of gettin into it. I've got a longbed and I agree use the truck for a truck and play with all four wheels.