September 20, 2026
Will a 4×8 Sheet of Plywood Lie Flat in Your Truck Bed?
A 4×8 sheet needs 48 inches between the wheel wells and 96 inches of length. Here's which current pickups pass, which need the tailgate down, and which carry sheets on the wheel wells.
A sheet of plywood or drywall is 48 × 96 inches. Two numbers decide whether it lies flat on the bed floor:
- Width between the wheel wells has to be at least 48 in.
- Bed length has to be 96 in — or you drop the tailgate and let it hang out.
Flat on the floor, tailgate closed
Only 8 ft beds on full-size trucks do it: Silverado/Sierra long box, F-150 and Super Duty 8 ft, Ram 8', and Tundra 8.1 ft. All have 48.5–51 in between the wells.
Flat on the floor, tailgate down
Every other full-size bed (5.5–6.9 ft) has the width, and the Honda Ridgeline (50 in between wells) and Rivian R1T (50 in) do too. With the tailgate down, about 20–30 in of the sheet hangs past the bed — flag it and strap it down.
On top of the wheel wells
Mid-size and compact trucks are 41–46 in between the wells — Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado/Canyon, Frontier, Gladiator, Maverick and Santa Cruz. The sheet rides on the wheel wells, above the floor. The Maverick's FLEXBED has slots to prop the tailgate half-open to hold sheets level.
Check your exact truck
Put 96 × 48 × 0.75 into the What fits? tool to see every current bed at once, or pick your truck from the bed size chart.