When I saw that Jim Klein had a 2021 Chevy 2500HD crew cab pickup to review, it reminded me that I had recently shot this 1986 GMC 2500 crew cab. With their mandatory 8′ long beds, these Chevy and GM pickups were the biggest in the land at the time, starting in 1973. I naturally assumed it was longer than the short bed 2021; not so, it turns out.
The 1986 long bed is 244.8″ long; the short bed 2021 version is 250″ long overall. The changed proportions (more height) are deceptive, as the red truck looks visually shorter.
That means that the long bed version of the 2021 2500 HD crew cab is 22″ longer than the 1986 version. I’m not trying to make some profound editorial statement here, but just stating the facts. And acknowledging that a.) the 2021 version has more interior cab space. and b.) there’s a good reason why these long bed crew cab pickups have become so rare: They’re mighty long (266″, and 172″ wheelbase).
Either way, these are long trucks. But there’s no denying that the 2021 is…longer.
One little nitpick…in 1986, believe it or not, a rear bumper was still optional on pickups! So that 244″ measurement is probably without the bumper. I had an ’85 C10 Silverado, regular cab, 8-foot bed, and it was listed at 212″. However, I also had a 1979 New Yorker, which was something like 221.5″ long, and when the two were parked side by side, any discrepancy in length was barely noticeable. I’d say my ’85 Chevy was easily 220″, with the bumper.
Still, that would only put the ’86 at around 252″, so the new model is around 14″ longer.
Yes, I think it was around the mid ’90s that bumpers became required equipment and thus included in official length measurements (though if someone knows the exact year, feel free to correct me).
Any of the extra length that is reflected in the wheelbase has gone into stretching the cab; any that isn’t has gone into front overhang. The GMT400s (’88-00) were about the last full-size trucks with as little front overhang as possible.
While we are at it, note how much more sloped the newer windshield is, and how far the lower edge extends forward, relative to the front wheels and the back part of the engine room. I can’t vouch for the new Chevys, but the ’90s Dodges, with a similar extended windshield lower edge (relative to the ’70s and ’80s iteration), means that access to the back part of the engine on the newer models, from above, is atrocious. That happens to be where the distributor and the crank sensor are located on the ’90s V-8 Dodges, and it becomes an exercise in doing things by feel, and hoping your hands and wrists don’t get gouged up too much by any sharp edges in there.
The long bed on the new truck is actually over 8 feet long, it’s 8′ 2.25″. I’m not sure of the interior length of a C10 bed. Edit: I looked it up, it was 8′ 3/8″ so there’s 2″ of the total.
The cab is likely larger too, which makes sense, occupant comfort is a big deal and most people don’t site having too much space as an issue that prevents purchase while the inverse is true.
Very interesting — I wouldn’t have guessed that, either.
It turns out that over the past year I’ve driven one of each (an early 90s GMC extended cab with an 8-ft. bed & a new Tundra CrewMax w/ a 5.5′ bed). From a driving perspective, the 8-ft. GMC seemed much larger… as in, it’s even big for a rural location. The Tundra seemed big, but not ponderous. I wonder if — even though they’re similar overall lengths — the long bed adds to the perception of length not just visually, but for driving as well?
For comparison as to size – check out my 1986 GMC “full size” Sierra Classic pickup truck parked next to a ridiculously huge new Ford Truck. BTW, my truck is not lowered, it has factory suspension. This picture makes my full size trunk look smaller than an intermediate size truck of today.
I’m not really a defender of large pickups but even I can see that A) you have a half ton truck, that other one is at least a 3/4 if not a 1-ton which for those that aren’t aware, is vastly different in all respects and B) while your truck is not lowered, the other one is assuredly lifted and C) your truck is 2WD while the other is 4WD. Or is your position that your truck is anywhere near as capable in towing, cargo hauling, or offroad as the other one?
I’m all for pointing out differences between things but let’s keep it real. Nobody is lambasting the Ford Ecosport for not offering the opulence of a Lincoln Navigator which is pretty much what this comparison amounts to.
Put your truck next to a Datsun Lil’ Hustler and let’s see who the big bad brute is.
“Put your truck next to a Datsun Lil’ Hustler and let’s see who the big bad brute is.”
Ha ha.
My point was, that the white truck is typical of trucks I see everyday in Houston. Factory, or lifted, 3/4 ton or whatever, they are massive!!!
I have nothing new to add to the conversation so I will add something old but still important:
New truck is ugly ugly ugly.
I surrender the remaining portion of my time…
The changing proportions of cars and trucks over time. And that is one reason why one can never “go back” when you have an old car. The closest automotive landscape environment one can get to the days of old, is some sort of vintage car show or Saturday morning get-together. Taking your vintage car out into the modern-day “real world” is a type of a “fish-out-of-water” experience.
It is one thing to own a first-year Mustang in the environment of all of those other Mustangs and then-contemporary cars. It fits right in. So, too, an ’80s pickup dwelling among its ’80s automotive bretheren. Now, both stand out, in part, for their oddness of proportion versus the typical current batch of cars. My personal epiphany was seeing how odd a first generation Mazda RX-7 is proportioned, relative to modern cars (small tires, low belt line, flat and wide roof and tail, fewer compound shaped surfaces). Those things used to be everywhere and relatively unremarkable in appearance!
+1 on the proportions. An older crew cab/8′ pickup looks nice and “square”, but the comparable length vehicle today would be an extended cab (GM’s Double Cab or Ford’s SuperCab) /8′ bed, which looks kind of truncated in comparison.
Although it does bear mentioning that when it was introduced in 1988, GM’s extended cab was the largest of any full-size pickup, and despite switching to conventional doors in 2014, it didn’t gain much extra space.
To me the 60s-to the end of Panther proportions just look so much better. I took my 71 Olds 98 to church last Sunday and parked it in the row of cars. Compared to all the other modern vehicles it looked like some kind of dream car. And I am old enough to have been around when a 71 98 was just a nice car and no more “dreamy” than a Lexus would be today. And as far as driving and longevity, you would hope advances would be made in 50 years, and it wouldn’t require the car to be homely..I don’t think anyone would claim that a 1921 lasted longer or drove better than the Olds…
Well, all I can say is the old one looks 10x better than the new. Hopefully Chevy’s done a good re-design with its MY 22s and puts the FUGLY ducklings behind it.