How to Measure a Truck Bed
To measure your truck bed length, start at the inner wall of the bulkhead and end at the inner wall of the tailgate. Here’s what else you need to know.
Written by Natalie Todoroff
Reviewed by Melanie Reiff
To find your truck bed length, you will need to measure from the bulkhead's inner wall to the tailgate's inner wall. Most truck accessories list their dimensions in feet and inches, so you will need to divide your truck bed length by 12 to know what size accessory to shop for.
When you’re shopping for truck bed accessories, whether it’s nerf bars, a truck bed cover, tonneau cover, a topper, a toolbox, etc., you’ll need to know the dimensions of your truck to ensure a perfect fit. And, while finding out the length of your truck bed may seem pretty straightforward, you’ll have to know where and what to measure depending on the kind of accessory you need.
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How to measure your truck bed length
In terms of truck measurements, the length is easily one of the most useful ones to have on hand. You may be thinking, well, why can’t I just look up this information in my owner’s manual? And you’re not wrong to think so; your owner’s manual is chock-full of useful truck specs, but the exact truck bed length might not be one of them.
Automakers are in the habit of rounding up to the nearest half-foot measurement. Although you may think your truck bed length is, say, 8 feet long, when using your tape measure, you may discover that its true length is closer to 98 inches (rather than 96).
Thankfully, measuring the length of your truck bed is simple—all you’ll need is a tape measure.
The truck bed length is the distance between the inner wall of your bulkhead and the inner wall of your tailgate. To begin, place your tape measure at the bulkhead of your truck, and pull along the bed rail until it reaches the interior edge of the top of the tailgate.
This will give you your measurement in inches. For inches and feet, divide the number of inches by 12.
How to measure your truck bed for a tonneau cover
With your measuring tape, begin at the bulkhead and run it to the inside wall of your tailgate. This is exactly how you would measure for the truck bed length, but you’ll need to consider whether you have a tailgate liner or an over the rail liner.
With a tailgate liner, you will need to measure the thickness of the liner and subtract it from your total measurement. An over the rail liner will make it much harder to install your tonneau cover, be prepared to cut it to achieve a custom fit.
Pro tip Most truck accessories sizes are rounded up to the nearest half foot. So, if you measure your trunk bed length and find that it’s 76 inches (6.3 feet) will fit a 6.5 foot bed product.
How to measure for a truck bed liner
This is a little more complicated than measuring for a tonneau cover and requires some basic arithmetic skills. First, you will need to measure the length, width, and depth of your truck bed.
Multiply the length by the width, then add the length plus the width. Take this figure and multiply by two. Now add two inches to your depth measurement, and multiply the total of the previous figure by the depth plus two.
This can get complicated pretty fast, so thankfully, most websites allow you to shop by model, year, and trim as opposed to size liner size. That way, you can shop with confidence, knowing you’re purchasing something guaranteed to fit.
MORE: How to measure fitted floor mats in your car
How to measure for a toolbox
For a toolbox, you’ll first need to measure the width between the bed rails. To find this, measure from the outside wall of one rail to another, and from the inside wall of one rail to another. This will tell you the top and bottom lengths of your toolbox.
Next, you need to measure the height of the truck bed walls. Place your tape measure at the floor of the truck bed and measure to the top of the bed rails.
Lastly, you will need to measure the distance between your bulkhead and the wheel wells. With all three of these measurements jotted down, you can shop for a toolbox that guarantees a snug fit.
Truck bed sizes of common makes
We mentioned that truck manufacturers typically round up their bed length measurements—-but just how many inches are they really adding (or missing)? To truck owners a good idea of how big their truck beds actually are, we’ve rounded up the measurements for some of the most popular truck models.
Truck model | Bed length | Advertised length | Actual length |
|---|---|---|---|
Ford F-150 | Short bed | 5’7” | 67” |
Ford F-150 | Standard bed | 6’7” | 78.9” |
Ford F-150 | Long bed | 8” | 97.6” |
Ram 1500 | Short bed | 5’7” | 67.4” |
Ram 1500 | Standard bed | 6’4” | 76.3” |
Ram 1500 | Long bed | 8” | 98.3” |
Chevy & GMC 1500 | Short bed | 5’8” | 69.3” |
Chevy & GMC 1500 | Standard bed | 6’6” | 78.8” |
Chevy & GMC 1500 | Long bed | 8” | 97.8” |
Chevy Colorado & GMC Canyon | Short bed | 5’2” | 62.7” |
Chevy Colorado & GMC Canyon | Long bed | 6’2” | 74” |
Toyota Tundra | Short bed | 5’7” | 66.7” |
Toyota Tundra | Standard bed | 6’7” | 78.7” |
Toyota Tundra | Long bed | 8” | 97.6” |
Toyota Tacoma | Short bed | 5’2” | 60.3” |
Toyota Tacoma | Standard bed | 6’2” | 73.5” |
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With your truck bed measurements on hand, you can shop for new truck accessories with confidence. But how about shopping for a truck insurance policy—how are you supposed to know you’re getting the most bang for your buck without compromising your coverage needs?
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What is the standard size of a truck bed?
For most new trucks, a standard truck bed is 6 feet and 5 inches long.
Are truck beds measured diagonally?
Pickup truck beds are measured from the inner bulkhead to the inner tailgate wall—not diagonally.
What is the capacity of a standard truck bed?
In terms of volume, a standard truck bed can hold 71.7 cubic feet. Towing capacity, on the other hand, varies more widely between truck models.
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