Gaetan
Jonquiere, Qc. Canada
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I have always had long box pickup, my brother is considering buying a truck camper and a pickup and of course I suggest that he get's a long box but after refection I come to thing that I may not be in a good position because I don't know about short boxes if he was to buy a 5th wheel I would know why a long box but for a TC I would appreciate your comments
Gaetan
Gaetan St-Hilaire
2004 silverado 4/4 2500HD long box Duramax/Allison
2003 everest 323k
2003 northernlite ten 2000 rd
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BrandonR
Oregon
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Joined: 04/12/2006
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If he wants a camper bigger than 9' he has to have a long box. If he's only interested in less than 9' campers then a short box can actually result in more interior space or outside storage since it can use the space behind the tail lights.
Brandon Reed
Albany, OR
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msiminoff
Silicon Valley, CA
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Joined: 12/31/2006
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BrandonR wrote:If he wants a camper bigger than 9' he has to have a long box.
There are exceptions to this statement; My truck is a short-bed and my camper is 9.5'
The long-bed/short-bed topic has been debated ad nauseum in this forum. There are excellent solutions for both bed lengths and at the end of the day it comes down to the personal preference of the owner. What do you (or your brother, or your sister-in-law) want to drive? What size camper do he want to own/store/camp in.
YES you can put a (much) larger camper on a long-bed truck. YES a short bed truck is easier to park at the supermarket (without the camper on-board, that is).
I recommend that your brother do some camper shopping to determine what will work best for him. After he has an idea of what size/type/weight camper he wants, the truck decision will be much more clear.... at least until he has to make the SRW/Dually decision 
Cheers
-Mark
'04 Alpenlite Saratoga 935, 190W Unisolar panels, 300Ah Odyssey batt's, Trimetric, Prosine 2.0
'05 Ram3500, Cummins, Vision 19.5, Michelin XDE's, Dynatrac Hubs, RR airbags w/ping tanks, Superhitch, Roadmaster swaybar, Thuren trackbar, RanchoRS9000XL/MyRide
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kohldad
Goose Creek, SC
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Joined: 07/20/2004
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There are only two advantages to a short box.
1) you don't know how to drive so you need a shorter truck
2) You plan on taking it off-road where break over angle is important.
Other than that, long box wins every way.
I've had friends with short beds that have drooled over my long bed. I've yet to met somebody with a long bed that drooled over a short bed.
Just finished a 12-day trip gathering photos for next report.Photo Albums
2004.5 Ram 3500 4x4 Quad-Cab SRW CTD 6-spd
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DW (homemaker), 1 DD @ Clemson in Civil Eng, 1 DD @ Tech in Acct, 2 DFs (meow)
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narcodog
Georgia
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I have a short bed and would never consider a long bed. Not only can you park it in any parking lot space but you can park it anywhere. It is less weight to pull around. There are some disadvantages for some folks but not me.
Oh, I can drive most anything by the way.
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dadwolf2
Henderson,NV
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My truck is a short bed and I have a 5th wheel and a truck camper. Each (short & long) have their pros and cons.
With my truck's duty being 90% city driving vs 10% RV use, the short bed is what I have and prefer. I haven't even come close to drooling over any long bed truck.
2005 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD,4X4,NV5600,Pullrite superglide
2005 Skyline Rampage 289
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KD4UPL
Swoope, VA
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For my truck camping needs a long bed is too small. I have a 9' flat bed on my dually to haul my 11' camper. It still puts a lot of overhand behind the rear axle. This tends to make the ride kind of "bounce" over rough roads. The next truck I get will hopefully be a cab and chassis truck with an 84" cab to axle measurement. Then I will install an 11' flatbed. This will put the axle in a much better position.
Truck campers are small anyway. I would think you would want a truck that will allow you to get as large a camper as you may need (want).
My vote is for long bed every time.
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3rd Rodeo
NW Oregon
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A short bed truck will fit in most standard garages. My long bed will not...
2005 Dodge 2500 4x4 CTD, 6 speed, PacBrake, SB Clutch, Smarty Jr. programmer,
Ranchos, Timbrens, 315/70/17 BFGs, Line-X
2011 Lance 950-S 270w Kyocera solar, Blue Sky MPPT, T-125s, 1100w inverter
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bobndot
NY
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A stock LB has a larger fuel tank.
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Mello Mike
Mesa, AZ
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When it comes to many things in life, bigger isn't always better. The same goes for truck campers.
2011 Wolf Creek 850N TC/Glow Steps/Polar Cub 9200 AC/240w Solar/
Morningstar SunSaver PWM CC & SureSine-300w Inverter/Honda EU2000i
2011 Ford F-250 CC-SB/4x2/SRW 3.73 RE/6.2L/Air Bags/Torklift TD w/Fastguns
US Navy Ret.
My Truck Camper Adventure Blog
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