Coming from three decades of Jeeping, wheelbase considerations have always been important to me. My CJ-5 (83.5"), TJ (93.4"), XJ (101.4") and ZJ (105.9) all appear to be short wheelbase when compared to HD RAMS (140.5-169.5"). Looking back, 80% of the time I became stuck off-road was because I was high-centered. Front bumpers were bashed and rear bumpers dragged over all sort of things but it was always easy to back up or gently pull forward to become unstuck. Most of this took place on trails in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Utah and many places in between.
When building my overlanding rig I took a slightly different approach since I was no longer going to be running technical trails 95% of the time. Much of my time would be on paved roads while the remaining majority would be on maintained dirt or gravel roads. Surprise - I am running AT tires instead of MTs! Yes, there would be times I encountered some mildly technical obstacles but those would be few and far between. Despite that, I still considered wheelbase an important part of my decision making process so I selected a regular cab with a long bed (140.5").
A mild lift and moderately sized tires help breakover angle quite a bit. Pushing the limits and going with more lift and larger tires introduces you to the law of diminishing returns. When a lift goes above three inches costs skyrocket, critical steering and driveline angles become wonky and the ride suffers greatly. I went with a 3" lift and 37" tires which still is not necessary for 99% of my travels although it does buy me some breathing room for clearing most obstacles. There are thousands of men who easily navigate countless miles of trails in stock vehicles with tiny street tires and they do just fine.
One final bit of information - I wheel in 2WD 99% of the time and do not have any problems. Driving like this keeps me tuned in to how much traction is immediately available and also sharpens your off road skills. If I need it my next step is 4WD with factory rear limited slip and that takes care of much of the rest. If I am still having problems I have the selectable locker in my front axle. My final option is my Warn 16.5 winch and I always use a snatch block, even on short pulls. There is no need to strain the motor and electrical system to save a few seconds. My electrical components will thank me in the long run.
In conclusion, don't over-analyze the wheelbase issue. It's reasonable to consider what would be best relative to your plans but I think most folks are running a crew cab with short bed (149.5"), no lift, stock tires, no locker...and they are all having fun and doing just fine. Will mine go absolutely everywhere and climb over everything...nope. But I am not building rock crawlers any more. I am overlanding and enjoying the back country. Here is my rig mildly modified rig: