At Home Depot the other day I saw a unicorn in the parking lot: a regular cab, short bed pickup owned by a contractor. It’s usually a sea of giant double cab trucks, as I’ll show you below, but this was a surprising exception.
It’s actually a very logical truck for a contracting company to have, as with the rack it can haul long lumber and such, and it can haul a trailer, as seen here. Probably not a huge one, but big enough.
This is my more typical HD parking lot experience.
I’d park the xBox shallower if I were you. Maybe not quite with the back bumper level with those of the crewcabs but certainly not level with the fronts.
He needs space to load the long hoods that won’t fit in a 5.5’ double cab bed.
Oops, I meant long GOODS. Though HD probably has some big range hoods.
Why?
Folks may be half paying attention and think it’s an open space. Then the back of your car gets hit. I learned from experience.
Quite right; my Miata just missed being hit that way.
So you pulled in far enough to AVOID being hit! 🙂
I almost backed into and got rear ended while pulling out of my space, they couldn’t see me and I couldn’t see them, same situation, big long pickups towered over the focus.
Another reason to park “flush with long bed truck rear bumper” —
Avoid door dings
a big tex trailer is a mighty fine trailer!
A couple of times I’ve seen a short bed late-model single-cab Ford F150 on the road. Only one, a silver 2WD. I didn’t realize they still sold those but there it was. Never seen another yet.
Ford’s recent unveiling of the next-gen F-150 naturally only showed the mainstream SuperCrew/5.5′ models, and I found one picture of an STX SuperCab/6.5′. But we know from test mules that a regular cab/6.5′ will still be produced.
GM still makes RCSBs, but no longer sells them in the US, only long beds (and only in base trim for the 1500s).
One of the local HD’s is more frequented by tradespeople than diy’ers so they frequently have tool reps in the store with a little display talking to customers. The Milwaukee truck is a regular cab short bed Ford, in Milwaukee Red of course. I definitely did a double take the first time I saw it because it is such a rare combination.
So much so that RAM hasn’t bothered to make a regular cab (regardless of bed length) in their current generation of trucks – the only regular cab they build is in their “Classic” line.
Would be cool if there was a counterpart of the Flareside (Ford) and Stepside (Chevrolet/GMC) at Ram. Dodge used to have one in the D100/D150 days.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1203cct-1965-dodge-d100/
Unless I’m mistaken Ford and Chevrolet haven’t used a flareside/stepside in at least 10 years, last ones I remember anyway were on the jellybean F-series and GMT800. Dodge called theirs utiline.
These are my personal favorite bed configuration on old pickups, but once companies streamlined the designs from their original simple 50s stampings in the 90s they really lost the plot on what made them appealing
F150 had one on the 2004- chassis up until around ’09. So it was a decade or so ago but the generation after the jellybean. It’s a more subtle look but definitely still stepside including little steps at the front and rear of the bed.
I guess they did, I remember the stillborn 2004 SVT Lightning featured in Magazines at the time having that new flareside bed, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or noticed one in person before. Definitely more subtle looking as you said, so probably the latter.
You’ll undoubtedly now see one later today or tomorrow at the latest 🙂
I always though the 2005 era Tundra styleside was a great looking truck…
3+ Feet off the ground is not a step.
Makes sense though. Regular cab truck sales have to be pretty small, and I would guess that market would tend to gravitate to the “Classic” line anyway.
I guess the real question will be once the “Classic” goes away, will they add a regular cab to the current generation RAM to fill that gap or not?
Well, considering you can buy one today, with the Hemi for $27,235 per the configurator… That’s one screaming deal on MSRP.
Excellent find! Though these full-sized standard cab short bed pickups often look dumpy in standard form, they can be among the best looking pickups in raised four by four versions. They look more robust. While more agile than Supercabs with long beds.
Today while at the gas station, this regular cab, short-bed Ram pulled in right next to me. It’s a newer one, since it’s badged as a “Ram 1500 Classic”:
Nice to see a truck being used as a truck. My dad and brother, genuine truck guys, would approve.
GM offers a regular cab long bed 1500’s in both Chevy and GMC brands, but regular cab short beds are export only. Supposedly the reason is current EPA/CARB GHG emissions standards are factored on vehicle ‘footprint’ (track X wheelbase). Extended cab/short box and regular cab long box trucks have enough footprint area to put them in a less stringent class. There is talk GM may introduce regular cab short box trucks with turbo 4/ V-6 only or possibly hybrid powertrains in the future.
CC Effect strikes again. Went to Home Depot this afternoon and what do I see a Regular Cab, Short Bed Ram with an open tandem axle trailer no less.
Wow, a pickup given that all I see nowadays are moving vans masquerading as pickups. I even think I could reach over the bed rail and actually pick something on the bed. Wonder of wonders.
I like it as it is. All work and no play…
FCA’s equivalent here would be this. Plain white, unpainted bumper, single cab, short bed.
They are not a unicorn in central Kentucky. My partner Valerie had a 2008 Dodge Ram, short bed, white, black bumpers “contractor’s” truck with the V6. She got it when she moved back to Kentucky from Texas. We pulled a small U-Haul trailer with it and it had no trouble hauling anything else we needed to. It was a nice truck but it seemed to be an accident magnet. People were constantly hitting it. We kept it until 2012. Our neighbour across the street is on his second white short bed Ram “contractor’s” truck. The first was a 2009, not sure what year the current one is, I think it’s a 2017. Both of them V6s. We see them often and most of them don’t have the name of a contractor on the side, just a basic work vehicle for people who just want a truck as a truck and not a luxury car with an enormous open trunk. On one level we wouldn’t mind having another one but since I bought my late dad’s 1989 Dodge Dakota from my mom three years ago, that truck has met those same needs very nicely.
That pickup would be at it’s limits pulling a dump trailer with a load of dirt or rock. I’m sure the driver is aware of that, and good for him for putting his truck to work.
Here in the middle of truck country, reg cab short boxes are almost always “fun trucks” or commuters, not work trucks. It’s rare to see them in stripper trim.
Saw a single cab RAM at the HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS parking lot on Friday. I did a double take – as you said you normally see the big trucks.
I drive a 2016 F150 reg cab, short bed.
I’ve had folks say it’s nice to see a old school truck.
You can still get an F150 std cab short box, main option missing is the 3.5L EcoBoost, 3.3L NA, 2.7L EcoBoost or the 5.0L NA V8. I’d buy the 2.7L, nice little hot rod in a 2wd and you might be able to reach into the box from the side, or put a lowering kit on it.
Reminds me of one of the last standard cabs I bought. Purchased a 5th wheel trailer for a portable training class room. Two people drive the truck around the territory training operators. Trailer weighed 12,500 loaded. The operators wanted a F450 Diesel 4×4 dually with an 8′ box. Got them a F350 6.2L gas 4×2 std cab 8′ box, all tricked out with the best options for towing a 5th wheel. Suggested if they wanted the F450 their department could pick up the difference in cost, they declined. Their reasoning for the 4×4 was what happens if we get plowed in, how will we get the trailer out. So that explains some of the damage on the previous trailer. We need a crew cab, where are we going to put our luggage, how about that 5th wheel trailer your pulling, any room in there? Tonneau cover on the box, drop trailer, throw luggage in box and roll the cover shut. Always interesting managing a fleet.
I live in small town Ontario and almost all trucks are crew-cab short box, whether they are being used by a contractor or as personal transport. The drivers of the few regular cab short box seem to be guys in their 20s, who in previous times would have driven Mustangs or Camaros. Now most of the Mustangs are driven by retired guys.
Champion Dodge in Downey always has a white Ram 1500 regular cab in Tradesman trim in stock, an “ad special”.
Yes they sure do, currently it’s a 2019 model advertised/discounted at $26998.
The photos show every angle EXCEPT the full side one, so you can’t see how short it looks. (by design?)
https://www.gochampiondodge.com/detail.html?vin=3C6JR6ATXKG621743
I quite like it, actually, even though when clicking through to the sticker shows it has over $4k in options. I wonder where they’d be on the really base one with the V6 and no chrome package.
That is the truck driven by my newspaper Delivery guy. He made the last payment in October and he said he will drive it until the wheels fall off. He will not get another Ram after lots of transmission problems. His Father, another newspaper delivery profesional, drives a Nissan Frontier so he is looking at that for his next purchase.