How much work is it replacing a bed on a 96 reg cab short box. I was told the fuel tanks and wiring come off with the bed. Has anybody ever replaced thier 6.5' with a 7'? I need to replace my 6.5 and I found a 7' on craigslist. Suggestions, advice?

 

I thought the bed lengths were 7 and 8 foot, the long beds have more distance between the front and wheel wells along with more distance after the wheel wells. Switching from a long to short or vice verse requires serious frame modifications.

 

Well I know on the 96, they offered a 6.5 and a 7 foot bed depending on what cab you had. Thats what the dude at the Ford dealer told me. They both were considered the short box, so I was looking to replace one short box with a slighly longer short box
lol

 

the wiring unplugs by the rear bumper the fuel feeler necks unbolt from inside the fuel doors then there a clamp on feeler hoses under bed just took one off have fun with bolts they were fun have somebody with torch cut them if you can

 

it's only half a foot longer. i would say there is no way that it would be worth doing, if your doing it for more cargo space. think of all the time and money you would need to make it work. it'd be easier to wait and find one that's the same as yours.

but if you absolutely have to use this bed. i would start off by measuring the distance from the front of the wheel well on the bed to the front of the bed. and compare the two, if there is a difference then it's not going to work. if its the same, then i would measure the distance of the mounts for the beds. i would make sure the fuel lines are going to be long enough. if wires aren't long enought be prepared to start extendeing them. basically inspect EVERYTHING from the cab back to make sure it will work.

 

I was going to use the larger bed because my current bed has a bad quarter and tailgate. I found this bed cheap, however I decided it wasn't worth the labor so I'll wait