Pickup trucks come in all different shapes and styles, well not really. Full-size trucks are typically larger than mid-size trucks, but when it comes to bed space, there isn’t as much of a difference.
The one metric where the biggest difference was observed was in the width. The mid-size trucks seemed to be much thinner than the full size with a minimum width of 56.8 in and the full-size trucks with a width of 71.4 inches.
Truck beds typically come in about 3 sizes: 5-5.5 ft, 6.5 ft, and 8 ft. This dimension is all dependent on the truck bed you select when you purchase.
Most truck beds are between 19.1 and 21.7 inches high setting a fairly consistent standard.
Cargo space varied greatly depending primarily on the bed length but ranged from 35.5 cu ft at the minimum to 89.1 cu ft in total cargo volume.
The size of a pickup truck bed is dependent on the model and bed size of your truck. Though there are some consistencies, each truck is slightly different. You should confirm the size of your truck bed if you are in need of the exact measurements.
In this article, we collected data on the top 10 pickup trucks currently on the road to report the dimensions of each truck bed to compare.
I have another article on the overall dimension of the average truck if that is more of what you’re interested in, otherwise, keep reading.
Pickup Truck Bed Dimensions Chart
Truck beds have 5 main metrics for measuring their size. As they are three-dimensional they have regular length, width, and height.
The length is shown in the diagram in blue and the width is shown in red. The height is the distance from the bottom of the truck bed to the top of the walls of the bed.
The other two metrics are volume and width between wheel wells. Many of the most popular pickup trucks on the market have wheel wells protruding into cargo space. Because the wheels do not sit outside of the truck bed, they have to take up some of the space in the bed.
This distance, shown in green, is the distance between wheel wells.
And the last measurement is volume. This tells you how much space you could fill up within the truck bed.
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers report all of these numbers, and the one they seem to never report is the height of the wheel wells.
What are the Different Truck Bed Sizes?
There are two main ways in which a truck bed is classified. The first is in the length, and the second is the placement of the tires (also known as style).
Length
Truck beds typically fall into three main lengths: short, standard, and long.
There is not a specific length that specifies each of these categories, but short beds typically range from 5.5 ft to 6.5 ft, standard beds are between 6 ft and 6.5 ft, and long beds are over 6.5 ft and up to 8 ft.
Not all companies use these terms to distinguish the different bed sizes.
Style
The style of the truck bed is dependent on one factor. That is whether or not the wheels are under the truck bed or on the side.
A truck bed that has wheels under the bed is called a fleetside bed. This type of truck bed loses volume due to the wheel wells sticking up. The benefit to this type of bed is that the side of the truck is flat. The wheels are flush with the side of the truck.
The type of truck with wheels on the side is called a stepside truck. This type of arrangement allows for a completely rectangular truck bed. However, the truck wheels site wider than the truck bed and often are wider than the cabin as well.
With a fleetside truck, a driver needs to be more conscious of the width of their truck fitting in spots and garages.
What is the Average Width of a Truck Bed?
Of the top 10 most popular pickup trucks, these truck beds ranged between 56.8 in and 71.4 inches. The width of the inside of the truck was manufacturer-specific.
All of these trucks are fleetside trucks, so they do include the distance between the wheel wells. These were between 41.5 in and 51 inches.
bed size width comparison of most popular trucks
| Full Width in (ft) | Width between wheel well in (ft) | |
| Ford F150 (2021) | Not listed | 50.6 (4′ 2.6″) |
| Dodge Ram (2022) | 66.4 (5 ‘6.4″) | 51 (4′ 3″) |
| GMC Sierra (2022) | 71.4 (5′ 11.4″) | 50.63 (4′ 2.63″) |
| Chevy Silverado 1500 (2022) | 71.4 (5′ 11.4″) | 50.63 (4′ 2.63″) |
| Toyota Tundra (2022) | 58.7 (4′ 10.7″) | 48.7 (4′ 0.7″) |
| Chevy Colorado (2022) | 57.8 (4′ 9.8″) | 44.4 (3″ 8.4″) |
| Ford Ranger (2021) | Not Listed | 44.8 (3″ 8.8″) |
| Jeep Gladiator (2021) | 56.8 (4′ 7.8″) | 44.8 (3″ 8.8″) |
| Toyota Tacoma (2022) | Not listed | 41.5 (3′ 5.5″) |
| Nissan Frontier (2022) | 61.4 (5′ 1.4″) | 44.5 (3′ 8.5′) |
How Long is a Standard Pickup Truck Bed?
As mentioned before there are typically 3 main bed lengths for a pickup truck. Most people would consider a standard pickup truck bed to be around 6 – 6.5 ft.
The actual length of the truck bed will vary by a few inches. Most trucks that report a measurement in feet tend to actually report an extra inch or two of bed length.
For example, the Ford F150 has a 6.5 ft bed length and the actual length of the truck bed interior is 6 ft 6.9 inches.
Bed size length comparison of most popular trucks
| Bed Length | |
| Ford F150 (2021) 5.5 ft 6.5 ft 8 ft | 67.1 in (5 ft 7.1 in) 78.9 in (6 ft 7.9 in) 97.6 in (8 ft1.6 in) |
| Dodge Ram (2022) 5 ft 7 in 6 ft 4 in | 67.4 in (5 ft 7.4 in) 76.3 in (6 ft 4.3 in) |
| GMC Sierra (2022) Short Standard Long | 69.92 in (5 ft 9.92 in) 79.44 in (6 ft 7.44 in) 98.2 in (8 ft 2.2 in) |
| Chevy Silverado 1500 (2022) Short Standard Long | 69.92 in (5 ft 9.92 in) 79.44 in (6 ft 7.44 in) 98.18 in (8 ft 2.18 in) |
| Toyota Tundra (2022) 5.5 ft 6.5 ft 8.1 ft | 65.6 in (5 ft 5.6 in) 77.6 in ( 6 ft 5.6 in) 96.5 in (8 ft 0.5 in) |
| Chevy Colorado (2022) Short Long | 61.7 in (5 ft 1.7 in) 74 in ( 6 ft 2 in) |
| Ford Ranger (2021) 5 ft 6 ft | 61.7 in (5 ft 1.7 in) 72.8 in (6 ft 0.8 in) |
| Jeep Gladiator (2021) | 60.3 in ( 5 ft 0.3 in) |
| Toyota Tacoma (2022) 5 ft 6 ft | 60.5 in (5 ft 0.5 in) 73.7 in (6 ft 1.7 in) |
| Nissan Frontier (2022) | 73.3 in (6ft 1.3 in) |
How tall is the average truck bed?
Truck beds are usually only 19.1-21.7 inches high.
The one truck which stands apart in height, however, is the Jeep Gladiator sitting at a 33.9 inches.
This amount of truck bed height provides extra security and protection for your equipment but doesn’t fully secure anything in your truck bed.
If you plan to place things into your bed often and you know that your cargo will be taller than 21 inches, you should consider a cargo net.
A cargo net will help to keep your items of your truck secure during transport without the need to individually secure every item.
They usually are elastic and can stretch to fit any cargo shape.
Just type in your model or bed size below to find the right net for you!
What is the volume of a standard truck bed?
The volume of a truck bed depends mostly on the length of the truck.
For the most common trucks, the cargo space ranges from 35.5 cu ft to 89.1 cu ft.
To no surprise, the Jeep Gladiator has the smallest truck bed out of all the other mid-size and full-size pickup trucks.
Tied for the largest are the long beds on the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado with 89.1 cu ft.
Bed size length comparison of most popular trucks
| Cargo Volume Cu. ft | |
| Ford F150 (2021) 5.5 ft 6.5 ft 8 ft | 52.8 62.3 77.4 |
| Dodge Ram (2022) 5 ft 7 in 6 ft 4 in | 52.9 61.5 |
| GMC Sierra (2022) Short Standard Long | 62.9 71.7 89.1 |
| Chevy Silverado 1500 (2022) Short Standard Long | 62.9 71.7 89.1 |
| Toyota Tundra (2022) | Not listed |
| Chevy Colorado (2022) Short Long | 41.3 49.9 |
| Ford Ranger (2021) 5 ft 6 ft | 43.3 51.8 |
| Jeep Gladiator (2021) | 35.5 |
| Toyota Tacoma (2022) | Not listed |
| Nissan Frontier (2022) | Not listed |
Do I need a truck bed cover?
I personally recommend having a cover for your truck to keep everything you want out and anything you want in. Filling a truck with water or snow during a storm can be a pain. There’s also nothing worse than driving your ice hockey equipment to practice only to find it became wet on the way.
Truck bed covers are great because they can protect the bed of your truck from weather damage. It can also protect your cargo when full and it improves fuel efficiency.
There are soft, hard, folding, and tarp style covers to fit every need. I wrote an entire article on the 10 different types of truck bed covers and it will really help you determine the best option for you.
When choosing a truck bed cover, you want to consider a few main things:
- accessibility
- ease of installation
- proper size
- hard vs soft cover
Cargo nets are great for those who want to secure their belongings in their truck bed if they stick out of the top, but bed covers are better for everyday drivers with a limited need for large cargo spaces.
Need a truck bed cover? Doesn’t hurt to start looking?
Just type in your bed dimensions or model and find a cover that fits your needs!
Hi there I’m wondering what pickup truck handles a 66 and 3/4 in wide tailgate
You may not consider it to be a truck. I could care less about B.O.F. “advantages,” it’s an ancient design. The second generation Honda Ridgeline has one strength and one weakness when comparing bedsize. It’s the only mid-size pickup that can fit 4×8 sheets flat in its bed. That’s a pretty big deal. All the rest of the truck makers try to force you into buying their full-size trucks for this privilege. The negative point is that the bed isn’t even 18″ tall. As a woodworker, I don’t need the height as much as the width. The Ridgeline is also fast, holds the road well with its torque-vectoring AWD, and gets decent gas mileage. It tows 5,000 lbs. max, which is another negative. But I don’t tow anything. I’ve owned two Tacos, a Tundra, a Nissan and a Mitsubishi truck. The trucks I liked the least were the
Tacos. The Tundra was the one I liked second best. The Honda Ridgeline is hands down my favorite. Some dudes need a full-fledged work truck like the Silverado and the F-150. But mid-size truck buyers should at least be considering the Honda.