A pick-up truck's length is a very important factor to consider when purchasing one of these powerful vehicles. While most pick-up trucks are generally used for light to heavy duty hauling, selecting a truck based on its length is important to cater to the daily needs of the truck owner.
Average Truck Length - From Shortest To Longest & Most Popular
Those considering buying the latest pick-up trucks have a wide variety of choices when it comes to length. One of the shortest pick-up trucks today is the Hyundai Santa Cruz with a length of 195.7 inches while the longest available for daily consumer use is the GM Sierra Heavy Duty measured at 266.77 inches.
The most popular truck in the US today is the Ford F-150 which is a full-size pick-up truck that measures 209 inches with the regular cab option but could be as long as 250 inches with the SuperCab model.
Bed Length & Cab Size
While the overall length of the pick-up truck provides a good idea about what the vehicle can do for you, there are two very important factors to consider about its length: cab size and bed length.
Cab size is basically the pick-up truck's passenger capacity. A truck could have a regular cab, extended cab, crew cab and mega cab. A regular cab is only good for two passengers with two doors while the rest of the cab configuration can seat up to six passengers and has two more doors. The difference is the leg room and additional space at the back of the passengers especially for the mega cab.
Bed length on the other hand refers to the cargo area of the pick-up truck. The most popular trucks are often regular sized such as the F-150 regular cab with a bed length of 5.5 feet. On the other hand, heavy duty trucks can have as much as 8 feet of bed length such as Ram 2500 and the Ford F-250 Super Duty.
The beauty of purchasing a pick-up truck is the wide variety of options when it comes to sizes. There are pick-up trucks that feature bigger cabs with shorter bed length such as the Ford F-150 SuperCrew with an option for 5.5 feet of bed length or the Ram 1500 Crew Cab with 5.7 feet of bed length. On the other hand, regular cab trucks can also come with up to eight feet of bed length.
The Importance Of Pick-up Truck Length
While choosing the right type of truck based on their size is important, there's a common rule any car owner should consider: never purchase a vehicle that you can't drive well. One of the main reasons why Ford F-150 and trucks of similar length are popular is because they are relatively simpler to maneuver. This makes them ideal for parking, turning, off-roading, and long road trips. Longer trucks tend to be a bit more challenging to control and it is extremely dangerous to purchase a heavy duty pick-up truck without any experience.
