Considering a new Colorado. Currently have 2015 Colorado with a long bed. Dealer proposing I get a 2019 Crew Cab but with a short bed OR go with a 2018 CrewCab Long Bec model. So my question is for anyone either considering the same scenario or those that went from a long to a short bed, any regrets?
Short Bed vs Long Bed
Bartlett16
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Do I haul long stuff often? Nope.
Would a 1 foot longer bed help? A little.
When I go camping with the dogs and take the folded wire crate that is 32" x 48", would the longer bed be nice? Yes.
When I was towing that rental trailer and was trying to figure out how to back it down that driveway with the 90 deg turn, it was sure nice to just pull in and whip it around in a u-turn. Long bed or full size would not have pulled 5hat off.
Hey, if LB works for you, go for it. As far as looks, I think proportionally the ECLB looks best. The CCLB looks too long and narrow and the CCSB like I have doesn't look proportionally correct.
Would a 1 foot longer bed help? A little.
When I go camping with the dogs and take the folded wire crate that is 32" x 48", would the longer bed be nice? Yes.
When I was towing that rental trailer and was trying to figure out how to back it down that driveway with the 90 deg turn, it was sure nice to just pull in and whip it around in a u-turn. Long bed or full size would not have pulled 5hat off.
Hey, if LB works for you, go for it. As far as looks, I think proportionally the ECLB looks best. The CCLB looks too long and narrow and the CCSB like I have doesn't look proportionally correct.
I had three full sized trucks with 6.5' bed before my CCSB, and I don't miss the room. I feel like I'm parking a car now, and if I need extra space I can get a trailer. Both the short and long bed still wont fit a sheet of plywood because of the narrower wheel base, which was my measure of usefulness on the farm.
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This is my first Crew Cab with a short bed. All the other trucks I've owned (3 of them) all had extended cabs and fullsize beds.
I don't miss the long bed..... The ability to carry fullsize people in the truck is a huge benefit. Before - My husband and I would have to 'plan' and/or jokey vehicles around just to be able to carry more than 2 people (his SUV).
Anything that we've needed to haul in the bed (that was larger) - we've been able to drop the tailgate and a few extra straps. Not a problem at all.
....and.... I didn't want a Crew Cab Long Bed cuz it doesn't fit in my garage. We finally got a house that I can have my truck inside the garage!!
I don't miss the long bed..... The ability to carry fullsize people in the truck is a huge benefit. Before - My husband and I would have to 'plan' and/or jokey vehicles around just to be able to carry more than 2 people (his SUV).
Anything that we've needed to haul in the bed (that was larger) - we've been able to drop the tailgate and a few extra straps. Not a problem at all.
....and.... I didn't want a Crew Cab Long Bed cuz it doesn't fit in my garage. We finally got a house that I can have my truck inside the garage!!
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Seriously??
Your garage must be bare...with nothing else in it.
We've had to re-organize our garage a gazillion times to fit everything AND our toys. Got rid of a workbench so we could fit the 19' bass boat, my CCSB, and husbands SUV. Need enough room up front so people can walk around vehicles and shelving units.
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380 Posts
Lot of personal opinions out there lol. So my opinion is, I dont care what anyone else thinks of the proportion of my truck, but i dont like the crew cab on a midsize truck, so ECLB was the best choice for me, I dont have a garage for my truck but if I did, having to re organize a foot of clutter to fit my $30k + is a silly think to whine about, or sacrifice functionality...
However if you live with more congested driving conditions, length is a factor for sure, if you're lugging Christmas presents or groceries but WANT a truck, go for price, dont ever pay for something you wont use, unless you have money to waste. I use my bed for a living, this truck was bought to make money, not only cost it(and I "haul" full sheets of plywood with my 6' bed) and cant imagine not having the room I need.
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However if you live with more congested driving conditions, length is a factor for sure, if you're lugging Christmas presents or groceries but WANT a truck, go for price, dont ever pay for something you wont use, unless you have money to waste. I use my bed for a living, this truck was bought to make money, not only cost it(and I "haul" full sheets of plywood with my 6' bed) and cant imagine not having the room I need.
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969 Posts
I bought the Colorado thinking I was downsizing from my Suburban, and it turns out my CCSB is only a tiny bit shorter. Even so, I wish I'd held out for a long box (which would have been a bit longer, overall). I think the short box looks better on the mid-size truck (regardless of cab type), but in just 18 months of ownership I've had several occasions where I've wanted just a bit more bed space. A long box wouldn't have been so much longer that it matters much for parking and manuverability (and if those are your primary concerns, you probably don't need a truck in the first place).
But as plenty of others have already said, nobody can make the decision for you. As I get older the short box is probably better, my days of hauling pavers and stacks of OSB are behind me. It all depends on why you need (or just want) a truck.
But as plenty of others have already said, nobody can make the decision for you. As I get older the short box is probably better, my days of hauling pavers and stacks of OSB are behind me. It all depends on why you need (or just want) a truck.
Sooo...you fit your truck, an undisclosed SUV, and a 19' boat (I'll assume the boat with outdrive and tongue is a few feet longer than a CCLB....) and lots of shelving.. you've got a far bigger garage than me and I'm not the one saying a CCLB doesn't fit is my entire point...
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There's about 5 thread on this subject.
I've had both. long bed is better but it comes to personal prefference
I've had both. long bed is better but it comes to personal prefference
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I’m in Florida. My last house had a 19’ garage and my truck just barely didn’t fit inside the garage door with hurricane reinforcements intruding on space. That’s with the bumper up against the wall btw, so no walking around.
Brand new home, now listed as 20’ and it will fit, but again up against the wall. Crew cab long bed wouldn’t fit. I park my crown Vic and wife’s car in the garage, along with a small tool box and two shelves, which only fit on her side because her car is smaller. My crown Vic the garage door has to be open for me to get to the drivers door. (Car is very close dimensionally to the Colorado). Almost all new houses and quite a lot of the older ones too are this way. Given time to build my own home, I’d have changed the garage. But life.
For all those who claim this garage issue isn’t real, I assure you it very much is. Wish it wasn’t that way, as I’ve also seen houses with plenty of room, but not down here. 19-21’ is the norm here.
For the record, I’m ECLB and wouldn’t ever have a shorter bed than this. Last truck had an 8ft. Also, imo this is a ‘full-size’, as it’s bigger than and more capable than (2 trucks ago) f150. Maybe slightly narrower in the bed. The new 1500s were the same size or bigger than the 250 with 8ft I was getting out of.
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You're the one who isn't accepting our excuse of ...***it won't fit in the garage**
Length...my friend....Length. BTW - the boat has a colapsable tonque.
OH hell, I'm in that kinda mood....Besides, I like to have a little room to walk around in the garage.
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I can weigh in on this, even though i'm 4 days late.
I traded in my 2015 Crew Cab Long box LT for a 2016 Crew Cab Short Box Z71. Honestly, I dont regret it. I hauled moto's in the Long box and still couldnt close the tailgate. I never parked in the garage to begin with, but while i lived in florida, even with the short box, attempting to avoid a hurricane, I had to park diagonal to get the brand new truck in the garage while Irma came barreling thru.
I'm actually happy I upgraded though. my 2015 was having quite a few warranty problems which were all eliminated when I upgraded years. Now i'm in denver and tight trails would have been more difficult with the Long box.
I dont haul too much in the bed of the truck though. I added decked to the bed of my short box and that handles 90% of my storage needs, and I can still put lumber and other projects in the bed with nothing to worry about. And if worst comes to worst, I rent a uhaul trailer for $15 to pick up what I need if it doesn't fit in the bed which is almost never.
EDIT: I've got enough photos of my current truck littered over this forum so i'll just post a few pics of when i had the 2015.
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I traded in my 2015 Crew Cab Long box LT for a 2016 Crew Cab Short Box Z71. Honestly, I dont regret it. I hauled moto's in the Long box and still couldnt close the tailgate. I never parked in the garage to begin with, but while i lived in florida, even with the short box, attempting to avoid a hurricane, I had to park diagonal to get the brand new truck in the garage while Irma came barreling thru.
I'm actually happy I upgraded though. my 2015 was having quite a few warranty problems which were all eliminated when I upgraded years. Now i'm in denver and tight trails would have been more difficult with the Long box.
I dont haul too much in the bed of the truck though. I added decked to the bed of my short box and that handles 90% of my storage needs, and I can still put lumber and other projects in the bed with nothing to worry about. And if worst comes to worst, I rent a uhaul trailer for $15 to pick up what I need if it doesn't fit in the bed which is almost never.
EDIT: I've got enough photos of my current truck littered over this forum so i'll just post a few pics of when i had the 2015.
I have noticed on many of the new houses friend have built the garages are smaller than my 24x24 attatched.
I did build my ne 24x36 length wise with the double door on the one 24 end and a single door on the back 24 wall. This was different than my last 24x36 that had the doors on the long size. I fine the new garage much more useable in space.
I had a Silverado and Malibu end to end in it last weekend still with room to move.
I know some contractors are cutting size because it cuts cost and with so many smaller cars they can get away with it. If you do not work in it you just need to get the car in.
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For me, the CCLB is the perfect size because I l live in the city with narrow streets and crazy divers. If I didn't live in an urban environment, I would have bought a full size truck. The CCLB is similar proportions to a regular full size, just a bit narrower. The long wheelbase of the CCLB can sometimes be a challenge in tight city blocks, but the utility of the extra doors (family) and long bed (stuff) outweighs that. To each his own.
Your boat even with the tongue collapsed and motor down is longer than your truck... and who cares anyway, boats come in a billion different sizes, so the fact yours is tight says absolutely nothing here.
Your truck fits fine, it's the shelving unit in front of it causing a tight space...I can't put a shelf in front, I never said that you could store a large shelving unit and a truck. But you're right, I'm full of crap.
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My truck is a CREW CAB SHORT BOX. Yea, it fits GREAT. I didn't buy a Crew Cab Long box because it won't fit.
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