The 2026 RAM 1500 comes in two cargo box lengths, and only two: a 6-foot-4 box (about 1.93 m) and a 5-foot-7 box (about 1.70 m) (RAM Canada, 2026). There is no 8-foot long box on the 1500.
Nine inches (23 cm) does not sound like a decision. It is, though. It is the difference between a quad sitting inside the box and a quad sitting on a dropped tailgate with a red flag on it, and it is the spec buyers most often guess at, because the name on the badge is not the number you measure inside. Here is what the two boxes are, which cabs they pair with, and what actually fits in each one.
Key Takeaways
- The 2026 RAM 1500 offers two box lengths: a 6-foot-4 box (about 1.93 m) and a 5-foot-7 box (about 1.70 m) (RAM Canada, 2026). Neither is a true 8-foot long box.
- The 6-foot-4 box is offered on both the Crew Cab and the Quad Cab. The 5-foot-7 box is Crew Cab only, so you never have to trade the back seat for the longer box.
- A 4x8 sheet of plywood rides with the tailgate down in either box, because 8 feet is longer than both.
- RamBox trades bed width for lockable storage, since the bins are built into the box walls themselves.
What Bed Sizes Does the RAM 1500 Come In?
Two, and only two: a 6-foot-4 cargo box and a 5-foot-7 cargo box (RAM Canada, 2026). Work the names out in inches and that is 76 inches (1.93 m) against 67 inches (1.70 m), a difference of about nine inches (23 cm). The RAM 1500 does not offer an 8-foot box in any cab.
One clarification up front, because it shapes the whole guide. Those inch figures are the box designations converted, not interior measurements. RAM Canada publishes the boxes as names, 6-foot-4 and 5-foot-7, and does not publish the interior length, width, depth or cargo volume behind them. Where this guide has a number, it says where it came from. Where it does not, it says that too.
| Box | Nominal length | Metric | Available on | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long box | 6 ft 4 in (about 76 in) | About 1.93 m | Crew Cab and Quad Cab | Quads, longer lumber, bulkier gear |
| Short box | 5 ft 7 in (about 67 in) | About 1.70 m | Crew Cab only | Daily hauling, tools, easier parking |
The missing eighth foot catches people out, and it is worth saying plainly. If you have owned a full-size truck with a true long box and you are shopping a half-ton, the 1500 will feel short no matter which box you pick. Eight-foot boxes are heavy duty territory now, which is one of several reasons buyers end up looking at a RAM 2500 instead.
Neither row above is a small truck, though. The short box is still a real work box, and around Strathcona County it is the one most people are happiest with, because it makes the truck meaningfully easier to manoeuvre in a Sherwood Park parkade and easier to reverse into a driveway with a garage on one side.
Which Cab Comes With Which Box?
The 6-foot-4 box is offered on both the Crew Cab and the Quad Cab, while the 5-foot-7 box comes on the Crew Cab only (RAM Canada, 2026). Read that the right way around: the Quad Cab has exactly one box, the long one, and the Crew Cab is the configuration where you actually get a choice.
That is the opposite of what most buyers assume. People come in expecting the Quad Cab to be the only route to a longer box, and expecting the Crew Cab to force them into the short one. Neither is true. You can have the full-size back seat and the 6-foot-4 box together.
What you trade for it is parking. A Crew Cab with the 6-foot-4 box measures approximately 241.8 inches (6.1 m) overall, against approximately 228.9 inches (5.8 m) for a Quad Cab with the same box (RAM Canada, 2026). That is close to 13 inches (33 cm) of extra truck, and all of it is cab.
So measure the garage before you decide anything. A truck over 6 m long does not fit in every attached garage in Sherwood Park, and plenty of the ones it does fit leave no room to walk around the front of it. The 5-foot-7 Crew Cab largely exists to solve that problem.
Availability still moves by trim, so confirm the box on the specific truck rather than on the trim name. Browse our new RAM 1500 inventory and we will pull the configuration off the build sheet for any unit on the lot.
How Big Is a RAM 1500 Box Inside?
Smaller than the name suggests, and in four different directions. RAM Canada does not publish interior box dimensions for the 1500, so nobody can hand you a tidy table of them, and that is exactly why the box name misleads people. What you load into is defined by four separate measurements, and the badge is not one of them.
Here are the four that decide whether your gear fits, and what to put a tape measure on.
Length at the floor versus length at the rail
A pickup box is not a rectangle. The walls rake outward and the bulkhead is not vertical, so the floor length and the top-rail length are not the same figure. Long, rigid items like lumber measure against the floor. Loose cargo you drop in from above measures against the rail.
Width between the wheel housings
This is the one that matters most, and the one almost nobody checks. The wheel wells intrude into the box on every half-ton pickup, and the gap between them is much narrower than the width at the top of the box. Anything flat and wide, plywood, drywall, a sheet of steel, is governed by that gap, not by the box’s overall width.
Depth from floor to rail
Box depth sets how much you can pile in before the load starts riding above the rails, and it is what determines whether that load can be tarped and strapped down cleanly. It also changes how far you are reaching when you load over the side.
Cargo volume, and why it would help less than you think
RAM Canada does not publish a cargo volume for the 1500’s boxes, so any cubic-foot figure you find quoted online to one decimal place has come from a US page or a third-party aggregator rather than the Canadian spec. Even a real figure would be a blunt instrument. Volume measures the box as though it were a tank you could fill to the rails with liquid, and nothing Albertans put in a truck behaves like liquid.
The practical version of all this: bring the thing you actually haul and put it in the box. We keep a tape measure in the sales office for exactly this reason, and a five-minute test fit settles the question better than any table.
Will a 4x8 Sheet of Plywood Fit in a RAM 1500?
Yes, with the tailgate down. A standard sheet is 4 feet by 8 feet, which is 48 inches by 96 inches (1.22 m by 2.44 m), and 96 inches is longer than both RAM 1500 boxes. So the sheet overhangs and the gate comes down whichever box you have.
The width is the more interesting half of the question. On most half-ton pickups a 48-inch sheet is wider than the gap between the wheel housings, so it does not drop to the floor between them. It lays flat on top of the housings instead, which is perfectly normal and perfectly stable, and it is how these trucks get loaded every day. RAM Canada does not publish a between-the-housings figure for the 1500, so if that gap is critical to your work, measure the actual truck.
Two things follow from that. First, you lose the box depth under the sheet, so a full lift of plywood sits high and needs proper strapping. Second, an overhanging load needs to be flagged and secured under Alberta’s load-securement rules, so keep a red flag in the truck if you buy building materials with any regularity.
If you are moving sheet goods most weekends, the 6-foot-4 box is still the better buy. Less overhang means less flex, less flag, and a load that behaves better on Highway 21 in a crosswind.
What Does the RamBox Cargo System Do to Usable Space?
The Class-Exclusive RamBox Cargo Management System trades a little interior box width for a lot of secure, weatherproof storage (RAM Canada, 2026). The bins are built into the box side walls themselves, which is what lets them lock and drain, and it is also why the space they take up has to come from somewhere.
What you gain is genuinely useful in this climate. RAM Canada lists LED lighting and power outlets in the system, and the bins lock, so they hold the things that otherwise slide around loose in a truck box all winter: tow straps, a booster pack, extension cords, tools, a shovel. That gear stays out of the cab and out of the snow.
What you give up is width inside the box. Because the bins live in the walls, the interior width at the rail is narrower on a RamBox truck than on the same truck without it. RAM Canada does not publish how much narrower, so if you regularly haul wide, flat loads, come and measure one before you order.
For most people it is not close. If your truck carries tools, gear and bulk material rather than sheet goods, you will likely never notice the width and you will use the bins every week.
Worth knowing before you order: RamBox is an option, not standard kit, so check whether the truck in front of you actually has it rather than assuming the trim includes it.
Which Tailgate Should You Choose?
The tailgate is part of your cargo dimensions, not an accessory, because with it down it adds usable length to every load that overhangs, and on this truck plenty of loads overhang. Beyond the conventional drop gate, RAM has offered power-release gates and a multifunction design whose centre section also swings open as two doors. Confirm what is fitted to the truck you are looking at.
The multifunction design is the one worth thinking about if you find it. Swing it open and you can walk right up to the bulkhead, which is a real difference when you are loading something heavy on your own or backing up to a dock. Drop it flat and it behaves like any other tailgate for long loads.
The conventional gate is lighter and simpler, and there is nothing wrong with it. A swing gate earns its keep if you load by hand and often. It earns nothing if your loads arrive by forklift or slide in off a deck.
What Fits in Each Box: Quads, Sleds, Lumber and Tools
For most Alberta loads the honest answer is that the box length changes how tidy the load is, not whether you can carry it, because the tailgate handles the overflow. The exceptions are the loads that cannot overhang safely, and those are the ones worth planning around.
Quads and side-by-sides. A full-size quad generally needs the tailgate down in the 5-foot-7 box and sits considerably better in the 6-foot-4. Measure yours, including the rear rack, before you assume. Most side-by-sides are trailer territory regardless of which box you order.
Sleds. A snowmobile is far longer than either box, so sleds ride on a deck or a trailer. Anyone telling you a half-ton box swallows a sled is talking about a deck extension, not the box.
Lumber and building materials. Standard 8-foot studs and 4x8 sheets overhang both boxes and need the gate down. Anything at 12 or 16 feet wants a trailer or a proper rack, not a tailgate and optimism.
Tools, gear and the weekly haul. Both boxes are more than enough. This is where the shorter box quietly wins, because you get the same practical capability in a truck that parks and turns better in town.
One last note, and then we will stop talking about dimensions. Everything above is about space, not weight. A box can physically hold far more than the truck is rated to carry, so check the payload figure on your door jamb before you fill it with gravel or firewood. Our RAM 1500 towing guide covers where those ratings come from.
Frequently Asked Questions
What bed sizes does the RAM 1500 come in?
Two: a 6-foot-4 box, roughly 76 inches (1.93 m), and a 5-foot-7 box, roughly 67 inches (1.70 m) (RAM Canada, 2026). There is no 8-foot long box on the 1500. The 6-foot-4 box is offered on both cabs, while the 5-foot-7 box is Crew Cab only.
Will a 4x8 sheet of plywood fit in a RAM 1500 bed?
Yes, with the tailgate down. A sheet is 48 by 96 inches (1.22 m by 2.44 m), longer than either box, so it overhangs in both. On most half-tons it also rides on top of the wheel housings rather than on the floor, because a 48-inch sheet is wider than the gap between them.
Does the RAM 1500 come with an 8-foot box?
No. The RAM 1500 offers only the 6-foot-4 and 5-foot-7 boxes (RAM Canada, 2026). True 8-foot long boxes are a heavy duty item, which is one reason buyers who regularly haul long materials end up comparing the 1500 against a RAM 2500 or 3500.
Which cab and box combination should I choose?
The 6-foot-4 box is available on both the Crew Cab and the Quad Cab, and the 5-foot-7 box is Crew Cab only, so you can have the full-size back seat and the longer box together. The trade is overall length, approximately 241.8 inches (6.1 m), which is more truck than some garages allow.
Does RamBox reduce usable bed space?
It narrows the interior width, because the lockable bins are built into the box side walls. RAM Canada does not publish how much. Box length and tailgate function are unaffected. If you haul wide, flat loads, come and measure one. If you carry tools and gear, the secure storage is usually worth it.
Can you fit a quad in a RAM 1500 box?
Usually, with the tailgate down and the load properly strapped and flagged. A full-size quad fits considerably better in the 6-foot-4 box than the 5-foot-7. Measure your machine end to end, including the rear rack, before you decide which box to order.
Not sure which box fits your life? Bring the quad, the sled deck or the tool chest and we will test-fit it in both. Come see us at Sherwood Dodge, 230 Provincial Ave, Sherwood Park, AB T8H 0E1, or call (780) 410-4100. We serve Sherwood Park, Edmonton, Strathcona County and Fort Saskatchewan, and you can browse our current RAM 1500 inventory to see which cab and box combinations are on the lot right now.
