Short bed for sure. Or in my case a really short bed. Better departure angle. My 81 actually started life as a long bed but for what I use it for I had to trim the rear off.

 

I have a longbed, it's practical, but I prefer the looks of a shortbed.
And finding a good condition longbed for a 1st gen is no easy task..

 

81 longbed on 31's
2 83's shortbed, one of which is a special edition. One on 32's and one on 38's. Which aint running cause I blew out the berfields. Imagine that!

 

Crimson Yota.
Hey neighbor, nice looking daily. What size tires, and is the gearing stock?

 

ive had an 85 reg cab short box and now i have an 82 with a long bed and i prefer the long bed because the wheel base makes the ride a little smoother, also i think it looks more proportionate on bigger tires.

 

i like long bed especially the more lift and bigger tires you put under it but on a stock the short beds look nice

 

^


short box looks classic. also, most other countries have the long boxes only while we have both.

 

I like the practicality of the longbed; there are times I've wished for that extra foot of space, but when it comes to aesthetics, I love a good shortbed first-gen. There is something to be said of a SWB 79-83 on tall skinny tires picking its way over a mountainside trail. It's noble, and natural.
Second-gens do look better with a longbed though.

 

Always been a short bed fan(i think they look much better), although with the toolbox on the longbed we do own, it's kinda like a short bed haha.

 

short bed. better turn radius less weight short wheelbase makes good clearance.