Trucks are meant to haul. Anything with less than an 8' bed are truck-shaped cars for all practical purposes and should be taxed accordingly because they're a waste of resources and contribute to the decline of the environment. Crew cabs are just an excuse to drive around in something truck-shaped. The term is carpool not truckpool. If you're driving to and from a job site with others in the vehicle, it's either part of the fleet or you're not getting paid enough.
WTF? Doesn't your truck have a Hayman-Reese hitch, anti swaybars, various carry racks; don't you have several different trailers - single and double axle, light weight and heavy tonnage, caravans and animal floats?
I'm starting to wonder if, in fact, you've got any kind of working vehicle setup at all.
Crew cabs are so you can haul a fire pump trailer out to spot blazes with four people, tools, along with bulk water tank pumps, etc.
Typically W.Australian setups haul trailers and often use vans, private and fleet.
The advantage of towing is you can have multiple preset ready to go "job type" trailers | floats | caravans that can be detached at work area, leaving vehicle free to travel elsewhere.
I'm just pushing back at the GP insistance on the "one true" working vehicle setup and dislike for crew cabs - getting people to unpaved sites across fields and scrambling is pretty much the reason for getting any kind of high clearance vehicle, be it 2WD or 4WD.
Used to have an old crew cab with 8’ bed, but it was too long for our driveway. I loved that truck, crew cab and all. But that was years ago. I live in an area prone to wildfires, so I can understand the need for 4WD, etc. We have two SUVs in the driveway, but I don’t call them trucks.
I grew up in the Kimberley in the 1960s|70s, our work vehicles included bull buggies (stripped down | rebuilt for purpose vehicles, often 2WD) and Robinson R22's (light helicopters), horses, prime movers, regular cars and trailers, scrub bikes, etc.
1. A bed for hauling.
2. The ability to tow.
3. Off-road capability.
If you value 2 & 3 more than 1, a short bed can be very reasonable. Hell, if you're hauling things that aren't dimensional lumber -- for instance, dirt and gravel -- you're only going to get that 8 foot bed about half full before you exceed the weight capacity of the bed.
Meanwhile, if you have kids, not having a second row to throw car seats into is a bigger limitation than having to leave the tailgate down to pick up plywood.
