crew cab vs extended cab

[squeedunk]

I am in the market to buy a truck and am wondering what the views are on the crew cab (5'9" bed) vs. the extended cab (6.5' bed). Is the extended cab too tight for a family or a group of 4 to ride for 3 hours to the cabin? Where do the 6'-7' fishing poles go in the bed of a crew cab...or even in the bed of the extended cab for that matter? I do not want, nor do I have have room for a long box.

Any input or expert advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[jwhjr]

I've had our family of 6 (oldest is 9, so not full size by any means) in my extended cab for many trips to the cabin with no issues (other than the occasional he's looking at me etc. ). I have the 40/20/40 bench seat in the front so that I could get 3 in front and 3 in back. I went with the extended cab because a 6.5 ft bed is the minimum I felt I needed to be able to transport and haul. My longest fishing rod is 6.5 ft and I can fit it on the inside ledge of my topper without trouble. My only complaint with the extended cab is that the rear doors are a pain to get the kids in and out of in parking lots if we're parked next to another vehicle because of the way they open. I think the newest GM models have rear doors that open 170 degrees so it's probably not an issue on them (mine's an 04 Chevy).

[18 inch Crappie]

You can get a Crew cab with a 6.5' bed, it needs to be a 2500 Hd I think.

[ricqik]

F150 supercrew offers 6.5' bed and the titan crewcab offers a 7' bed. Otherwise jump up the the HD.

If the people you're taking along are kids, you'll be fine but if they're adult, tell them to sit back and hush or stay.

[sirsunnyslayer]

Once you have had a crew cab you will never ever go back to an extended cab. We have a F-150 crew and it took me a few years to talk the wife into it and now she drives it more than I get to. We have a topper on ours and for the rods I put my long rods in a rod tube and jam it in from bottom left corner to upper right corner. The tube keeps them nice and safe.

[fishermn]

I have had both, and I would say that the extended cab would be my choice. The additional inside room really doesnt make that much difference unless you are routinely hauling 4 adults. The crew cab truck I had had a full 8 ft box though. Talk about difficult to find a parking space...

[Jarrod32]

Previous posters are right. I've looked into this pretty deep, because I am about to make the same choice. You can get the F-150 with a crew cab and 6.5' bed...but then the overall truck is a lot longer. Measure your garage before you buy this one. Chevy doesn't offer the longer bed with the crew cab, unless you go to the heavy duty...a previous poster mentioned this.

I'm leaning toward the Dodge...the quad cab still gives you a 6'4" box. Not quite as much legroom in the back seat as in other crew cabs (Ford and Chevy), but more than the extended cabs. In my mind, Dodge has the best overall configuration when it comes to this question.

As for just the extended cabs, GM has the most rear seat legroom, along with the Toyota. Ford has the least amount of legroom among the extended cabs, but I think it was the most among the crew cabs (unless you go to the Dodge Mega Cab, but that is quite a train of a vehicle...you'd probably be better off with the F-150 crew cab and 6.5' box).

I actually have created a spreadsheet that compares box size, rear seat legroom, overall length, etc of all the major truck brands in different configurations.

[Jarrod32]

As for your question about the long fishing poles, a simple calculation shows that you can get up to a 7.5' pole diagonally across even the shortest (Ford) crew cab pickup bed. GM's bed is just a bit longer than the Ford in terms of crew cab bed length, which adds a bit to the diagonal (simple Pythagorean Theorum calculations). All the websites will give you specs for box size.

[solbes]

I would say crew cab all the way. Keep the family & friends happy and comfortable first. I have a short box and manage 7' poles by diagonal, so that's not a problem.

There have been maybe 10-15 instances in 6 years where I wish I had an extra foot of bed length. There have been hundreds of trips where I used the extra cab space with passengers and family.

[bigswede]

Another vote for the Crew Cab. I have a Chev 2500 crew with the 6.5' box and would never go back to my previous extended cab. I can sit in the back seat of it pretty comfortably and I am 6'7. Like was posted before once you have it you'll never go back.

[upnorth]

I have the Extended Cab and it works fine for me. But there are only a few occasions where there have been a couple adults back there, but even those instances have not brought about any complaints as far as space goes. As said before if you go with the 6.5 box with the Crew Cab check the depth of your garage, my Extended Cab fits in the garage with no problems(24 feet deep) but there is not a whole lotta room between the trailer hitch and the door.

[blakjack23]

My '04 F150 extended cab has always been fine for me. I've driven 6 adults in my truck to Duluth and back from the Cities. 3 gals, 3 guys, nobody complained. I wanted the 6.5ft bed for my poles and didn't want a super long truck, its worked out great.

[BoxMN]

I have 98 ext cab with 6.5' bed. I would never get a shorter bed than that. My bro has a REALLY NICE 07 chev, but with the shorter than short bed... It still works of course, but it would kill me to have such a short bed. Mine is almost too short, and that extra foot translates to a lot of storage, and to what you can carry with your tailgate up.

However, he has two kids and wife, and I only have wife and two dogs, and occassional grandkids. My stepson also has shoorter than short bed 05 crew cab, and seating is nice in those trucks. Works out nice for me, as I just say "if you guys comfort we better take your truck" hehe... but then you almost need a trailer, and although 7 foot rods "fit" you need to pack pretty darn careful, even with a topper.

My next truck will be an extended cab with 8' bed. A crew cab with 6.5' would work well too. Good luck, all the trucks are nice these days, just depends on how you use them as to what one to get. I hope to keep my 98 until about 250k + ... I hate payments

[Jarrod32]

Here are some of the specs I've compiled comparing the different configurations, comparing back seat leg room and box length, and then overall vehicle length.

GM (Chevy and GMC) Extended Cab…34.3” of backseat legroom, 6’7” bed length.

The GM Crew Cab has 38.7” of backseat legroom, and 5’9” bed length.

Both GM Configurations come in just under 230” total length (just over 19 feet).

You can’t get a longer box with the Crew Cab in the GM’s unless you go to a heavy duty truck.

Dodge Quad Cab has 36.7” backseat legroom, box length 6’4”, and overall length 228” (about 19’ even).

Ford has more configurations…

Ford Crew Cab short box has 39” back seat legroom, and 5’6” box length with overall length just under 224” (about 18’8”). This is the shortest overall of the full-size trucks, both in terms of box length and overall length. You can, however, still get a 7'6" fishing rod across the box diagonally.

Ford Extended Cab has 32.7” backseat legroom, box length 6’6”, overall length just under 230”…about the same as the GM.

The Ford Crew Cab with the long box gives you the 39” of legroom with the 6’6” box, and goes to an overall length of just under 236” (approaching 20’ long). Not really much longer than the extended cab...and this supposedly has a reeeeaaaly nice highway ride to it. But like I said in my earlier post, measure your garage…

Ford also has the deepest box, if that means anything...

Toyota Tundra Double Cab gives 34.7” of rear seat legroom, and a box length of 6’5” and a total length of just under 229”. Note…this is not the Super Crew, which would add rear seat legroom at the expense of some box length. I didn’t include that measure in my spreadsheet, because the double cab would be the configuration I would prefer.

I can also take it further, as I also know wheelbase of each, as well as the box width…and have then calculated ‘box diagonal’…for the purpose discussed earlier about those long fishing rods, etc.

Hey…I’m looking at getting a new truck, probably next spring, so I’ve started to do some serious research…the source for these numbers was MSN Auto, but then also confirmed on each manufacturers HSOforum (which is actually probably where MSN Auto got the numbers).

[DinkADunk]

The extended cab is too tight for a familly for any distance, a crew cab is tight enough. If you want room for transporting riged up fishing rods then get a Suburban, you can hang a 10' rod in that cab. If you're rods are 7' then they'll fit diagonally in the bed. If you want more you can always get a ladder rack for your pickup and store them up top.

[DEADhead]

great info posted here. I just traded in my 03 expedition for a new f150 supercrew with the short box this weekend. The first thing I though of when I got home was, " uh-oh are my 7' spinning rods gonna fit in the box?". I thought the worst that could happen is that they wouldn't fit, and I would be forced to only use my fly rods since they can be broken down to 4.5' or less. Good to know that the longer rods will fit. I know my portable won't though I would need an 8' box which are unavailable on a 4 door 1/2 ton. I could use a bed extender, but that wouldn't work well if I decide to put on a toppper. Looks like I'll have to trailer my portable.

I didn't want to sacrifice too much of the passenger room I was going to give up with the expedition, the supercrew fit the bill since it was the largest cab on a 4 door 1/2 ton truck. I fit in the back seat comfortably with the front seats all the way back.

One thing to consider about the supercab ford, it is way too small to put in a car seat or two, so if you need those in your truck, forget about it and go with the supercrew or a GM extended cab.

[Surface Tension]

I've got a F150 Xcab with a 8' box.

Can't tell you how many times I needed all 8'.

I have two kids, 9 and soon to be 12 and theres plenty of room for them.

My buddies climb back there too. As far I'm concerned, if they complain about lack of room they can drive next time.

[Sutty]

Glad you posted. I have been following this thread since I will be in the same boat next year or so. I forgot about the portable there isn't much clearance in my current truck.

[DEADhead]

Quote:

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there isn't much clearance in my current truck

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in my expedition I had to have the 2nd row seats folded all the way down to get my portable in there, there was less than a 12" clearance between the back of the front seat and the tailgate. that's what you get for having a large portable (yukon) that's 86" long.

I would like to get a small one man portable for the carry-in only lakes that I fish. it would fit in the short box. The yukon would most likely towed by my sled, so trailering isn't too much of an inconvenience, since I would need the trailer for the sled anyway.

[Sutty]

I was thinking about getting a small portable for myself as well. What I am concerned about though is early ice I trailer my four wheeler so that wouldn't work with my bigger portable. I have the car seats with the kids thing as well as they get bigger they will need more room, plus I have a 98 k-1500 XC with only the one passenger back door so its a pain in the butt now. I have been trying to decide between a Suburban/Yukon or crew cab. I really like being able to throw a deer in the back and spraying it out after words!

[Hookmaster]

I have a 2004 Silverado Crew Cab. It is nice for the family but when the kid's leave the nest or get their own cars the next truck will most likely be an extended cab. Then I can get a bigger Otter!!

[Dahitman44]

I have a f-150 4-door and I will never go back. I DON NOT LIKE the small bed, but with the kids being so little it is well forth the sacrifice. My wheeler and portable fit fine in the back.

The Chevy has a bigger bed, i hate to say so I would go Crew Cab and never look back.

Resale is better with the crew cab as well.

[Big-Al]

Quote:

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I've got a F150 Xcab with a 8' box.

Can't tell you how many times I needed all 8'.

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I couldn't agree with you more. I sure would hate to not be able to close the tailgate when I was hauling a piece of plywood! The clincher for me is an 8' camper. It took forever for me to find a good used one. One dealer told me that they are only about 5% of the market

[ricqik]

Quote:

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the supercrew fit the bill since it was the largest cab on a 4 door 1/2 ton truck. I fit in the back seat comfortably with the front seats all the way back.

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Off topic..... but, really???? The tundra crewmax has the largest cab in a 4dr 1/2 ton truck.

[Jarrod32]

Until you go to the Dodge Mega Cab...but what a train of a vehicle...

[DEADhead]

toyota makes trucks???

I see now that the "megacab" and the "crewmax" are larger. if you're going to go that size though, just buy a dang superduty and be done with it. then you don't have to worry about size