It is helpful to know how deep a truck bed is to know how high you should stack cargo so that you can adequately strap it down. Would you like to know how deep a truck bed is? Well, we have researched this question and have answers for you.
Truck beds are between 20 and 22.4 inches deep. Different make and model trucks will vary, but most are 21.4 inches deep.
In this article, we will learn how deep a truck bed is. We will also learn about other interesting related questions like which truck has the deepest bed and what size mattress fits in a truck bed? Keep reading to learn more.
How Deep Is A Truck Bed?
How deep a truck bed is will depend on which make and model your truck is; however, most truck beds, whether full or half-sized trucks are the same depth. The standard depth of a truck bed is 21.4 inches.
Not all trucks are 21.4 inches deep. For example, let's look at Ford's F-series truck line. While the F-150 is 21.4 inches deep from there, the truck bed depths begin to vary.
The F-250 is 20 inches deep. While it offers increased carrying capacity, the truck bed is 1.4 inches shorter than the F-150.
The F-350 truck bed is a little deeper than the F-250, with a depth of 21.1 inches. Now you may wonder why trucks with a higher carry capacity have shallower truck beds, and the answer involves tieing down a load.
Shallower Truck Beds And Tieing Down
When you tie down items in your truck bed, you want to ensure they can't shift while driving. It would be best if, when tieing down these items, they stuck up above the edge of your truck bed walls.
When the items you are carrying stick up above the walls of your truck bed, straps will be able to be run across them and use tension to hold them down. If the items are shorter than the truck bed, the straps won't hold the items down.
Without the items adequately secured to the truck bed, they will be susceptible to sliding and shifting. Depending on what you are transporting, this can be catastrophic.
Since larger trucks are made with heavy loads in mind, they are made with slightly shorter truck bed walls to ensure it's easy to tie down heavy loads.
Now that we understand how deep a truck bed is and why some are shallower, let's learn which truck has the deepest truck bed.
Which Truck has the Deepest Bed?
The truck that has the deepest truck bed is the Silverado 1500. The Silverado 1500 has a truck bed depth of 22.4 inches.
While it is true that a shallower truck bed depth makes it easier to tie down cargo, if you are carrying something that isn't too heavy and will clear the top of the truck bed walls, you will be able to take more of those items.
A perfect example of when a deeper truck bed is advantageous is carrying drywall. When you carry drywall, you want to take as many sheets as possible per load to reduce the number of trips.
Typically, when people transport drywall, it is stacked up to one foot over the truck bed walls. With a Silverado 1500, you will be able to take a few extra drywall sheets per load, possibly saving a trip.
Another reason a deep truck bed could be helpful is when carrying something loose that could spill if it is higher than the walls of the truck bed. Dirt would be an example of carrying something loose that could spill if too high. Once again, it is advantageous to carry as much as possible per load to reduce trips.
Now that we know which truck has the deepest truck bed, let's look at how wide a truck bed is.
How Wide is a Truck Bed?
The width of a truck bed depends on many factors, including make and model. To understand how different sized trucks affect the width of truck beds, let's examine the width of truck beds from Ford's F-series.
The F-150 is a half-ton truck with a truck bed width of 50.6 inches. Next is Ford's F-series three-quarter-ton truck, the F2-250, with a width of 69 inches. Last we will look at the F-350, a one-ton truck with a truck bed width of 64.75 inches.
As you can see, even with all the trucks being from Ford's F-series, the truck bed width can vary greatly. While a wider bed works for an F-250, a less wide bed on the F-350 keeps the weight of the truck bed lower. This allows the F-350 to have a high carrying capacity.
Let's now look at some trucks from Chevy. The Silverado 1500 has a truck bed with a width of 71.4 inches. The Silverado 2500 and the Silverado 3500 have a truck bed width of 50.5 inches.
Larger trucks often have smaller truck beds to reduce weight and increase carrying capacity. If you need to move a large volume of cargo that isn't very heavy, then a half-sized truck would be better than a full-sized truck.
Having explored some of the widths of truck beds from different makes and models, you should now understand that truck bed widths vary much more than truck bed depths. You can expect a truck bed's width to be anywhere between 50 and 72 inches.
We will now discuss how to know what size your truck bed is.
How Do I Know What Size My Truck Bed is?
While you could take out a roll of measuring tape to determine the dimensions of your truck bed, this wouldn't be the fastest way to know.
When determining the size of your truck bed, it would be best to consult your owner's manual. Inside you should find the exact specifications of your truck bed, including width, length, and depth.
This is the most reliable way to be sure you know the exact size of your truck bed. While this method is accurate, there is an even easier way to find this information.
If you go online to your truck's manufacturer's website, you should be able to look up the exact specs on your vehicle. Be sure when searching online for your truck's bed size only to check reliable websites. While the manufacturer's website likely has accurate information, a random blog may not.
Another way to help determine the rough size of your truck bed is by considering the truck's size. If you have a half-ton truck, it likely has a larger truck bed than a one-ton truck. Chevy's also usually have deeper truck beds than Ford's.
If you check multiple sources and keep getting conflicting information, it may be best to measure the old-fashioned way to be sure.
Next, we will discuss what size mattress fits in a truck bed.
What Size Mattress Fits in a Truck Bed?
The largest size mattress you can fit in a truck bed will depend on how large your truck bed is. Different trucks will be able to carry different-sized mattresses. Let's look at the different-sized mattresses and see what trucks are required to fit them in their truck beds.
First, the twin-sized mattress is the smallest of the mattresses. Twin-sized mattresses have a length and width of 75 inches and 38 inches. Any sized truck can fit one of these in their truck bed.
Next, we have the full-sized mattress with a length and width of 75 inches and 54 inches. Almost any truck should have no problem carrying one of these in the truck bed.
Next is the queen-sized mattress with a length and width of 80 inches and 60 inches. Since standard truck beds are 77 inches in length, you will need a long truck bed to fit a queen-sized mattress.
You will also need a truck with a truck bed width of at least 60 inches. So while the F-250 and Silverado 1500 would both work, the F-150 and Silverado 2500 will not.
Last, we will look at the king-sized mattress with a length and width of 80 inches and 74 inches. Since no truck has a 74-inch wide truck bed, you will need a trailer if you want to transport a king-sized mattress.
Now let's look at Ram's RamBox and how it affects truck bed dimensions.
What is a RAMBox?
A RAMBox is a cargo box built into the sides of some Ram truck beds. These boxes give you a large volume to store tools and anything else that you need.
These RAMBoxes do come with a tradeoff. The area around the wheel well is used to fit the RAMBox, which effectively narrows the truck bed to the width between the wheel wells.
The area around the wheel wells is less useful for large items because the wheel wells block some of the space. Since this area is already less functional, some may find that a Ram truck with a RAMBox is more valuable than extra space around the wheels wells.
Whether a RAMBox is right for you will depend on your specific needs, but it may not be suitable for you if you need to carry large wide items. If, however, you need to carry many tools or often don't carry wide objects, then a RAMBox may be perfect for you.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we learned that a truck bed is between 20 and 22.4 inches deep. We also learned that the Silverado 1500 has the deepest truck bed with a depth of 22.4 inches. Remember that a large truck bed on a half-sized truck is better for lighter high-volume loads and a smaller truck bed on a Full-sized truck is better for heavy loads.
We hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to learn more, check out some of these other posts.