Why the number matters more than the brochure
Truck manufacturers advertise bed lengths in round numbers — "5-foot-7", "6-foot-4", "8-foot". Those are marketing names, not measurements. The actual usable interior length is frequently an inch or two off the advertised figure, and it changes between model years on the same truck.
Tonneau covers, caps and bed racks are built to the real interior dimension. An inch of error is the difference between a cover that latches and one that sits proud of the rails and leaks. So measure. Do not trust the badge on the tailgate, and do not trust what a previous owner told you.
How to measure — the right way
- Lower the tailgate so it lies flat.
- Put the end of the tape at the bulkhead — the wall directly behind the cab — down at the bed floor, not at the rail.
- Run the tape straight back along the floor of the bed to the point where the closed tailgate meets the bed. If the tailgate is down, that is the inside lip of the bed opening, not the end of the open tailgate.
- Read the measurement in inches, then convert. 67 inches is 5'7". 79 inches is 6'7".
- Round to the nearest published size. If you land within an inch of a standard size, that is your bed.
Measure inside the box, along the floor. Not the outside of the body panels, not along the top of the bed rails, and never including the open tailgate. Those three mistakes account for nearly every wrong-size return we see.
Common bed lengths by truck
| Truck | Short bed | Standard bed | Long bed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford F-150 | 5'5" | 6'5" | 8' |
| Ford Super Duty (F-250/350) | — | 6'9" | 8' |
| Ford Ranger | 5' | 6' | — |
| Ford Maverick | 4'6" | — | — |
| Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500 | 5'8" | 6'6" | 8' |
| Silverado / Sierra 2500 & 3500 | — | 6'9" | 8' |
| Chevrolet Colorado / GMC Canyon | 5'2" | 6'2" | — |
| Ram 1500 | 5'7" | 6'4" | — |
| Ram 2500 / 3500 | — | 6'4" | 8' |
| Toyota Tacoma | 5' | 6'2" | — |
| Toyota Tundra | 5'6" | 6'6" | 8'1" |
| Nissan Frontier | 5' | 6'1" | — |
| Nissan Titan | 5'6" | 6'6" | 8'2" |
| Jeep Gladiator | 5' | — | — |
| Honda Ridgeline | 5'4" | — | — |
Use this as a sanity check on your own measurement, not as a substitute for it. Model-year changes and regional variants exist.
Cab configuration matters too
For bed covers, bed length is usually all that matters. For bumpers, running boards and nerf bars, cab configuration decides the part number entirely — a board for a Crew Cab is physically longer than one for a Double Cab on the same truck.
- Regular Cab
- Single row of seats, two doors.
- Extended / Double / SuperCab / Quad Cab
- Small rear seat, rear doors that are smaller than the fronts (sometimes rear-hinged).
- Crew Cab / SuperCrew / CrewMax
- Full rear seat, four full-size front-hinged doors.
If you are unsure, count the doors and check whether an adult can sit comfortably in the back. Then tell us — we will match the part number.
Five mistakes that cause returns
- Measuring the outside of the truck. The body panels are longer than the box interior.
- Measuring along the bed rail. Rails often extend past the bed floor at the tailgate.
- Including the open tailgate. This adds roughly 20 inches and puts you in a completely different size class.
- Trusting the previous owner or the listing. Used truck listings get bed size wrong constantly.
- Forgetting an existing bedliner. A drop-in liner changes the effective interior dimensions and can interfere with clamp-on rails. Tell us if you have one.
Measured and still not sure? Call (845) 579-3631 (Mon–Fri, 8:00AM–6:00PM ET) and read us the number. We will tell you what fits. Then head to the full catalog or read our fitment guarantee.