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Will a tool box fit a short bed truck?
Yes, and the reason surprises people: a crossover box is sized by the width across your bed rails, not by bed length. What a short bed changes is how much floor you can afford to give up.
Our top pick: the Dee Zee DZ6163N Specialty Series Narrow Crossover.
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Yes. A crossover tool box sits on top of the two bed rails and is sized by the distance across them, which does not change with bed length — a 5'7" F-150 bed and an 8 ft F-150 bed have the same rail width, so they take the same box. Short-bed owners who are told they need a special box have usually been told wrong.
What a short bed does change is the cost. A full-size crossover takes roughly 20 inches of bed floor at the bulkhead, and on a 67-inch bed that is close to a third of your length. So the real question is not whether a box fits; it is which shape of box costs you the least floor for the storage you need.
Buy a narrow or slim crossover if you need the box to span the bed, a wheel-well box if the floor is more valuable than the volume, and a compact chest only if the box has to come out again. Measure the rail width, not the bed length.
Rail width is the measurement, and three trucks are close
The figure that decides crossover fitment is the exterior width across the bed rails. A box's advertised length is larger than that number, because the ends overhang the rails and the mounting feet sit inboard.
Manufacturers' published figures, collected with sources on the bed dimensions chart.
Truck
Approximate exterior bed rail width
Mid-size or full-size
Ford F-150
About 65 in
Full-size
Chevy Silverado 1500
About 64 in
Full-size
Ram 1500
About 66 in
Full-size
Toyota Tacoma
About 57 in
Mid-size
The three full-size trucks sit within a couple of inches of each other, which is why a 69-inch crossover is sold as fitting all of them. A Tacoma is eight inches narrower and needs a mid-size box — that is a fitment question, and it has nothing to do with whether the bed is short. The full set of published figures is on the truck bed dimensions chart, and the step-by-step method is on how to measure a truck bed for a tool box.
Five shapes, ranked by what they cost you in floor
Ranked on our published rubric with live prices. Each one takes a different amount of bed floor for a different amount of storage — that trade is the whole decision on a short bed.
No. 1Dee ZeeSpec-verified
Dee Zee DZ6163N Specialty Series Narrow Crossover
Best for: Keeping usable bed length on a short bed
The narrow-body crossover. It eats noticeably less fore-aft bed length than a standard 19-20 in box, which is the whole point on a 5'5" or 5'7" bed where every inch in front of the wheel wells matters.
Build
9.1
Weather seal
9.0
Security
9.0
Bed usability
9.6
Value
9.5
Why we picked it
+Gives back several inches of bed floor versus a standard-width box
+Light enough for a one-person install
+Cheapest route into a real aluminum crossover
Good to know. If you carry long power tools in cases, the narrow body will fight you. A 19 in box swallows a circular saw case flat; this one does not.
A 69 in low-profile aluminum crossover that is only 12 in wide and 13 in tall, and — unusually for this category — states all three figures on the listing. If you are working out whether a box will clear a cover or a rear window, a published height is worth more than any amount of marketing copy about a low crown.
Build
9.2
Weather seal
9.0
Security
9.1
Bed usability
9.6
Value
9.4
Why we picked it
+Publishes length, width and height, which most of this category does not
+12 in wide leaves more usable bed floor than a standard crossover
+Paddle latches rather than a single stamped center catch
+Gloss black aluminum does not rust at the mount holes
Good to know. Twelve inches of width and thirteen of height is a genuinely shallow box. Cased power tools do not go in it, and if nothing is competing for the space above the rails you are paying for a constraint you do not have.
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A swing-out case that mounts in the wheel-well void and rotates out over the tailgate. It takes zero bed floor and zero rail space, which on a 5 ft Tacoma bed is the only acceptable answer.
Build
9.4
Weather seal
9.3
Security
9.0
Bed usability
9.8
Value
9.3
Why we picked it
+Uses space that is otherwise completely wasted
+Swings out over the tailgate — no climbing in
+Leaves the bed floor and both rails free for a cover or a rack
Good to know. It holds what a milk crate holds. This is a case for straps, a jack handle and a tool roll — not a tool box.
A 30 in, 17 in deep triangle box with multi-tier interior trays. The triangle shape sits in the bulkhead corner of the bed, and it is the only chest format that gives you drawers rather than a pit.
Build
9.6
Weather seal
9.2
Security
9.4
Bed usability
9.1
Value
8.9
Why we picked it
+Organized interior rather than one deep well
+Triangle footprint uses dead bulkhead corner space
+Build that outlasts most crossovers
Good to know. It is heavy and it is expensive for its volume. If you just need a sealed box for straps and chains, the money is wasted.
A 37-inch Brite-Tread chest with 6.4 cu ft inside it, a crowned lid on a double-V stiffener, a closed-cell foam gasket and a locking stainless paddle handle. It holds more than the 48-inch budget chests while taking a foot less of your bed floor, and it is backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
Build
9.5
Weather seal
9.4
Security
9.3
Bed usability
9.2
Value
9.1
Why we picked it
+6.4 cu ft in a 37 in footprint — more volume than a 48 in budget chest
+Front, back and bottom are bent from one piece of aluminum, so there are fewer seams to leak
+Hidden full-length hinge cannot be attacked from outside the box
+Closed-cell foam gasket under a crowned, stiffened lid
+Gas shocks and side handles — it opens one-handed and lifts out two-handed
+Limited lifetime warranty on a chest at this price
Good to know. It is a chest, so it sits on the bed floor rather than on the rails: you keep the rails for a cover or a rack, and you give up a 37 x 19 in patch of floor.
Published specifications
Dimensions (L x W x H)
37.1 x 19 x 16.6 in
Volume
6.4 cu ft
Material
.056 in Brite-Tread aluminum
Lid
Crowned, double-V stiffener, gas shocks
Latch
Self-centering latch, locking stainless paddle handle, two keys
Any bed with 37 in of clear floor — full-size and mid-size alike
Beds already running a tonneau cover or a bed rack
Trailers, tractors and utility beds
✗ Does not fit
Beds where the floor has to stay flat for sheet goods
Mounting on the bed rails — this is a floor chest
What you actually lose, in inches
A full-depth crossover takes around 20 inches of floor at the bulkhead and blocks that section completely. On a 67-inch bed you are left with roughly 47 inches of clear floor, which is less than a sheet of plywood and less than most ladders.
A slim or narrow crossover — 12 to 14 inches front to back rather than 20 — gives back six to eight inches of that. It is the single most useful specification on a short bed and the one most listings bury.
A wheel-well box takes no floor at all between the wheel wells, because it occupies the dead space above the arch. The volume is small and the access is from one side only.
A chest sits on the floor, so it takes both floor area and height, but it comes out in two minutes when you need the bed. On a short bed that removability is worth more than it is on a long one.
Measure for the tailgate, not just the bulkhead
The second short-bed trap is the tailgate. On some trucks a deep crossover at the bulkhead plus a long load means the tailgate will not shut, and that only becomes obvious with the load in. Before buying, put a tape across the bed, subtract the box's front-to-back depth, and check that the result still takes whatever you carry most weeks.
When a short bed should skip the crossover
You carry sheet material. Drywall and plywood need the floor. A side mount or a wheel-well box keeps it — see crossover or side mount.
You run a drawer system or a slide. Both want the bulkhead. A box on top of a drawer system is not a combination, it is a conflict.
You need the rear window. A full-height box fills it. A low-profile box does not.
What we would buy for a 5'7" bed
A narrow crossover, every time. It spans the bed so you reach it from either side, it locks, and the 12 to 14 inch depth is the difference between a bed that still works and a bed with a wall across the front of it.
If the floor is sacred — a short bed that carries material every week — a wheel-well box. It costs you nothing you were using, and the compromise is that you get a small pocket of locked storage rather than a boxful.
If the truck doubles as a family vehicle, a chest. It takes the most space of the three while it is in the bed, and it is the only one of the three you can lift out on a Saturday morning. The format is ranked on chest tool boxes.
Questions people actually ask
Will a crossover tool box fit a 5'7" short bed?
Yes. A crossover is sized by the width across the bed rails, and rail width does not change with bed length — an F-150's 5.5 ft and 8 ft beds take the same box. What changes is how much of your floor the box occupies, which is why a slim or narrow crossover is the better buy on a short bed.
How much bed space does a tool box take on a short bed?
A full-depth crossover takes roughly 20 inches of floor at the bulkhead, so a 67-inch bed is left with about 47 inches clear — less than a sheet of plywood. A slim crossover at 12 to 14 inches deep gives back six to eight of those inches, which is the most useful specification on the listing.
What size tool box do I need for a short bed truck?
Match the box to your rail width, not your bed length: about 65 in on an F-150, 64 in on a Silverado 1500, 66 in on a Ram 1500 and 57 in on a Tacoma. A 69-inch box covers the three full-size trucks; a Tacoma needs a mid-size box. Then choose the shallowest front-to-back depth that holds your tools.
Is a tool box or a tonneau cover better on a short bed?
They compete for the same bed on a short truck, and a full-height crossover will not let a standard cover close. If the bed holds tools overnight, buy the box; if it holds cargo that needs to stay dry and out of sight, buy the cover. Our covers-with-a-tool-box page covers the two combinations that work together.
Will a tool box stop my tailgate closing?
The box itself will not, but the box plus a long load can. Measure the bed, subtract the box's front-to-back depth, and check the result against what you carry most weeks before you buy — this is the short-bed problem that only shows up with a load in the truck.
Last reviewed November 10, 2026. Think a figure here is wrong? Tell us at contact@toolboxandtruck.com and we will check it, fix it and date the correction — see our editorial policy.
