Pickup trucks are an ideal work vehicle, capable of transporting up to 6 passengers as well as towing and hauling serious cargo.
Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota are among the largest truck manufacturers, and they offer a lot of customization, from bed size and towing capacity to seating and engine power.
With all the available options, it’s easy to lose track of priorities and potentially end up with a truck that doesn’t satisfy your needs. For this reason, we’ll explain the differences between the common crew configurations.
The Extended cab has two rows of seats and is characterized by the narrow “suicide” doors that open towards the back and a half-bench instead of proper second-row seats. Double cab and Crew cab both signify a truck with four conventional doors and a standard second-row bench.
The term Double cab is primarily used by Toyota, while Chevrolet and Ford use the Crew cab to label their 4-door trucks. In some instances, a double cab will have narrower rear doors in comparison to a crew cab.
The Extended cab can also be called the Access cab, Super cab, or Club cab, depending on the manufacturer. There is also the Regular or Standard cab, which is a classic 2-door pickup with 2-3 seats.
What Are the Different Cab Sizes for Trucks?
The best thing about pickup trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram, and Ford Ranger is that they come in several different configurations.
Truck manufacturers have recognized that not all drivers want to use their pickup for the same purposes and the various cab size options allow potential truck owners to create their perfect ride.
However, the different sizes can become confusing, especially if you have never owned a truck before. To help you make sense of all the different sizes, let’s first take a look at the different cab sizes currently available in 2022:
Regular Cab
Trucks often will come with a regular cab as standard. A regular cab has only one row of seating at the front. The seating is either just a passenger and driver’s seat or a long seat that will fit up to three people in total.
Pickup trucks with a regular cab will only have two doors. Drivers may choose a regular cab and this frees up more space for a larger truck bed.
Double Cab/Extended Cab
Double or extended cab trucks have two rows of seating and also two sets of hinged-opening doors. Often pickup trucks with an extended truck will have suicide doors at the back, these have a rear hinge and open the opposite way to regular doors.
However, certain manufacturers, including Chevrolet, changed their extended cab design for the double cab, the two are very similar except there are front-hinged doors on a double cab.
Also, the double cab is slightly more spacious than the extended cab. Not all extended cabs have rear doors, in some models, the back seats can only be accessed by collapsing the front seats. If the extended or double cab does have rear doors, they are usually not full size.
Different manufacturers have different names for their cabs of this size. For example, Nissan calls their mid-size cabs the King Cab, Ford calls it the Super Cab, Ram refers to it as the Quad Cab and both Chevy and GMC just use Double Cab.
Crew Cab
The Crew Cab is the most sought-after configuration for truck owners with several passengers, as it features full-size rear doors and more legroom than the other size cabs.
Even if you don’t take advantage of the second row of seating, there is plenty of room for transporting cargo, and getting larger objects in and out is easy with the full-size doors.
The crew cab configuration is the most expensive option and is available from all of the big-name truck manufacturers, including Ram, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ford.
These are the three cab sizes drivers can choose from when purchasing a pickup truck. Certain manufacturers may use different names but the basics are still the same, there is a regular cab, a mid-size cab, and a large cab.
Here is a YouTube video demonstrating the three different cab sizes available for Ram trucks:
Differences Between Double Cab vs Crew Cab vs Extended Cab
As you can see, with the different cab sizes available, you can really create your dream pickup truck. Obviously, if you are buying a pickup, you are just as interested in the bed size as you are in how spacious the cab is.
If you just wanted a larger vehicle, you would be browsing through SUVs, right? Cab size can influence the size of the truck bed but we will go into this in more detail later.
If you are still feeling a little confused about the different cab sizes, we will break it down for you even more now. Let’s use the Chevrolet Silverado 2022 as an example, to help demonstrate the difference between a double cab, crew cab, and regular cab.
Remember, a double cab is the Chevrolet version of an extended cab but other manufacturers will still use ‘extended’ to describe their mid-size cabs.
Chevrolet Silverado LTD 2022 Model
Extended CabCrew/Double CabRegular CabSeating Capacity4-6 Passengers4-6 Passengers2-3 PassengersDoor ConfigurationFull-size front doorsand half-size rearFour full-size doorsTwo full-size front doorsBed Size79.4 inches79.4 or 69.9 inches98.1 inchesRear Legroom35.2 inches43.5 inchesN/AFront Seat Legroom44.5 inches44.5 inches44.5 inches
As you can see, the regular cab has only one row of seating but what you lose in cab space, you make up for in-bed space.
A regular cab is a perfect choice for drivers who want to use their pickup for work. If you will regularly be transporting several passengers, the double cab is a good choice and the crew cab is your best option to give them a comfortable and spacious ride.
FAQs
Which is the bigger Crew cab or the extended cab?
Crew cabs are often the largest configuration available for most modern pickup trucks. A crew cab truck can fit up to 6 people and often these trucks have four full-sized doors.
The extended cab truck is usually shorter than one with a crew cab configuration. Extended cabs can also have six seats and four doors, however, the back doors are usually not full size and there is not as much space inside the cab either.
How do I know if my truck is a crew cab or an extended cab?
If you buy your truck from a dealership you will need to pick the configuration yourself. However, when buying a second-hand pickup, you may not be sure if you are buying a crew or extended cab. Extended cab pickup trucks often have six seats and they may or may not have back doors.
Often, extended cabs with rear doors will only have half-sized doors a the back. However, a crew cab pickup will have four full-sized doors and will also have six seats. Crew cab trucks tend to have more legroom and cabin space for transporting cargo.
What trucks have an extended cab?
There are many truck manufacturers that offer an extended cab configuration. If you want an extended cab, popular models include the Ram 1500, Chevrolet Colorado, or GMC Sierra 1500. It is important to be aware that some manufacturers refer to their extended cabs as double cabs,
When did Chevy stop making extended cab trucks?
Chevrolet and GMC changed the extended cab configuration for the ‘double cab’. The double cab configuration does not have the same rear-hinged doors as the extended cab but it does have a second row of seating and can fit up to 6 people inside.
The back doors are not full size but do have a front hinge opening.
What is considered a crew cab?
A crew cab is the biggest cab available on a pickup truck. Trucks with a crew cab have plenty of space for passengers riding in the back.
There are six seats spread across 2 rows and there is more legroom and cargo space than in the extended or double cab. The crew cab can be thought of as the XL of the pickup truck cabs and is often the most expensive configuration.
Conclusion
Truck cab sizes often seem more complex than they actually are. In general, truck cabs come in three sizes: small, mid-size, and large.
Many manufacturers use regular, extended, and crew when naming the different cab sizes. The double and extended cabs are very similar, they have two rows of seating and either use suicide doors or half-size doors for the rear.
In some models, extended or double cabs have no rear doors and passengers can only access their seats via the front of the cab. The crew cab is the largest option and is the configuration that costs the most.
With a Crew Cab, your pickup will have four full-sized doors and your rear passengers will enjoy more legroom and overall space.
Pickup trucks are customizable and by choosing a smaller cab size, you can have the largest truck bed without ending up with a really long vehicle.
Often the Crew Cab variation will come with either a standard or short bed size and you won’t have to compromise bed cargo space for rear passenger space.