Will a UTV Fit in Your Truck Bed: A Guide for Almost Every Truck


guide to utv in truck bed

If you are like me, you have gotten by for years transporting a single ATV in your truck bed when you don’t want to pull a trailer.  Now, you are getting a UTV and are wondering if you can find one that could fit in your truck bed, like you can with a single ATV.  Lucky for you, we have researched almost every model of truck and have all the ansswers for you.

Will a UTV fit in your truck bed? It depends on your UTV and your truck, but most model trucks will fit a 48 inch wide UTV, which are smaller sport models, while some bigger trucks can handle a few bigger models without additional equipment.

Key Points about Loading a UTV in Your Truck Bed

There are a few things you want to make sure to remember before you attempt to load a UTV in a truck bed:

  • Be very careful about the back window of your truck.  The bumper of most UTV’s lines up pretty nicely with the back window in the cab of most trucks.  Be careful when you are loading your ATV so you don’t gas it into the window.  Also, make sure to strap the UTV down well so it doesn’t roll forward into the window while you are driving.
  • Be wary of putting too much weight on your tailgate.  It is pretty much inevitable that you will have to have your tailgate down to fit a UTV, but the tailgate cables can break from the excess weight.  Do what you can to shift as much weight as possible.  You can also invest in a Gatesaver, which is an additional product that ties into your hitch and supports the back wheels of the UTV.

If your Truck Bed isn’t Big Enough, Here are some Options

Unfortunately, you can’t always make it so your UTV happens to fit into your truck bed.  If your truck bed is too short for your UTV, don’t give up hope yet, as there are few other tricks.

  • You can buy over-the-cab racks.  These racks allow you to drive the front wheels up over the cab of your truck and keep the back wheels in the bed of the tuck.  Obviously, these only work if you have sufficient width, but not length in your truck bed.  So, if you have a smaller UTV and a short bed truck, this may be a good option.
  • You can use longer ramps over the top of the bed, so they are lying along the walls of the truck bed.  Obviously, this will only work if your UTV is the right width to line up with the width of your truck bed.  It can also be a bit tricky to load and strap down correctly, so I would recommend learning the method from someone experienced with it.

guide to utv in truck bed

Can your UTV fit in your Truck Bed?

The first step to determining whether your UTV will fit in the truck bed is determining the dimensions of the UTV and the dimensions of your truck bed.  We have already published the most complete guide to UTV dimensions I have seen that will be very helpful in your efforts to determine the dimensions of different UTVs.  You can look for your specific model, but the most important piece of information is determining if falls in line with the 48 inch-wide or ~60 inch-wide models.

Below, we will look at almost every popular truck make and model to determine what size UTV you can expect to fit in the bed of the truck.  For this article, we are mainly going to be looking at the width of the bed.  The lengths of the bed should be easily known to you and there is so much variety in the lengths of UTVs, you will have to do a little research to see what you can get away with.

Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra 

The Silverado and Sierra are pretty much the same truck so I am doing them together here.  All of the truck beds on the various models of Sierra and Silverado trucks are going to be wide enough for all UTVs that go up to 60 inches wide (although you will have to deal with the wheel wells).  If you happen to have s sportside model, you are going to be limited to UTVs that are 48 inches wide.

The Silverado and Sierra trucks come in three different lengths, that will determine how long of a UTV will fitt.  With a long bed (8 ft.), you should have no problem with most UTVs except really long ones.  With the standard bed (6.5 ft.), or the short bed (5.8 ft.), you are going to be out of luck unless you have a youth UTV or additional equipment.

Chevy S10/GMC Sonoma

These midsize trucks come with a long bed and are wide enough to fit a 48-inch wide UTV.  As long as it isn’t too long, the smaller sport model and youth UTVs should fit, but you will likely have to maneuver the wheel wells and protect your truck’s rear window.so you can generally fit anything up through a 450cc ATV.  Most 500cc machines will also fit, along with a small percentage of 650cc ATVs.  If you have the small bed version, , you are pretty much out of luck.

Chevy Colorado

With the Crew Cab model, you are  not putting a UTV in the bed.  On the standard size, you are might get away with a youth-sized UTV, but that is it.

Dodge Ram

With a long bed Ram, you can fit most UTVs that are up to 62 inches wide, as long as they are not too long. With the short bed, you are going to be limited to smaller youth-sized UTVs.

Dodge Dakota

With the Quad Cab and short bed, you are going to be limited to the smaller youth-sized UTVs.  With the long bed, you are likely okay with most 48-inch wide UTVs that aren’t too long.

Ford Light Duty (F150, etc.)

In the regular or extended cab models with a long bed (8 ft.), you will be fine with most 62 inch-wide UTVs that aren’t especially long.  With the Heritage Edition, Flareside and short bed models (6.5 ft.), you are going to be limited to youth-sized UTVs.

Ford also offers some models with shorter 5.5 foot beds.  These are the Super Crew and Lincoln Mark LT vehicles.  With these trucks, you are not going to be fitting UTVs without special equipment.

Ford Super Duty (F250, F350, etc.)

These are going to be very similar to the long bed and short bed options above with the Ford Light Duty trucks, but the Super Duty trucks generally give you an extra two inches in length and 4 inches in width so you can probably fit almost any 2-seat UTV in the truck bed.

Ford Explorer Sport

Apparently Ford put out a version of the Explorer that has a truck bed.  Who knew?  The interior of the truck bed is only 50 inches long and 41 inches wide, so don’t plan on fitting any UTV in there.

Ford Ranger

The Ranger comes in three versions.  The long bed, short bed and Splash (another truck I had never heard of).  The long bed Ford Ranger will fit some of the smaller 48-inch wide sport and youth UTVs, but not many.  With a short bed or Splash, you are out of luck.

Nissan Titan

The Titan comes with four different size beds.  The 8 foot bed and 7 foot bed should fit most 48-inch wide UTVs.   The 6.5 foot bed is going to fit youth-sized UTVs.  Finally, the 5.5 foot bed is not going to fit anything without major help.

Nissan Frontier

Like the Titan, the Frontier also comes in four different sizes.  long bed is going to fit a youth-sized UTV.  The smaller three sizes are not going to fit a UTV.

Toyota Tundra

The Tundra originally came with a long bed or short bed option, but in 2006, they dropped the standard short bed for two different sized short beds, one slightly longer and one slightly shorter.  With the long bed, you will likely be fine with any 2-person UTV up to 60 inches wide.  With the shorter beds, you might get away with a youth-sized UTV, but only if you are lucky.

Toyota Tacoma

The Tacoma will likley fit a youth-sized UTV, but that is it.

Related Questions:

  • Will an ATV fit in your truck bed? In general, a full size truck with a long bed will fit any ATV, a short bed truck is going to be hit or miss, and compact trucks are only going to fit youth ATVs.  See a full guide here.
  • How much does a UTV weigh? Most 2-seat UTVs are going to weigh between 1,200 and 1,600 pounds.  Utility UTVs can weigh a bit more, up to 2,000 pounds.  4-seat UTVs also a little more, at 1,400-2,000 pounds.  Youth UTVs typically weigh 400-700 pounds.  See a full guide here.

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