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Getting by with an Extended Cab as opposed to a Crew Cab?

36K views 34 replies 32 participants last post by  TexasHeadHunter 
#1 ·
Hi,

I am saving up to buy a GMC Sierra, most likely 2500 HD, though it could be 3500 if I need the payload. The problem is I want a truck so I can go Truck Camping, and in the world of Truck Campers, there are models generally designed for short (standard) beds, and generally designed for long beds. I like the Campers that I see in the long bed category (for example, from Lance). Adventurer is pretty good too.

I want to get a bigger camper for a long bed, but I don't want a Crew Cab+Long Bed truck. That's just too long for me... with a camper nearly 30 feet!

If I were to get an extended cab (not crew cab) truck, with a long bed, would the rear seating be spacious enough for 4 adults (my kids aren't adults yet but they will be)?

If you have bench seats (not bucket seats), does the bench slide forward to make more room for people in the back? Or is it fixed? I'd be happy to give up a bit of my front seat comfort if I could make the back seat at least manageable. I am not sure from looking at the GMC website if the front bench seats are able to slide forward.

Do truck 2nd row legroom specs correspond with the front seat all the way forward or all the way back or in the middle (This is under the assumption that the front seats can slide forward back, which I am not sure about).

There doesn't have to be lots of extra room in the back for 6' 4" men - but for example, would a 5' 7 girl be comfortable in the back seat for a day drive in an extended cab truck with men sitting in the front?

If I end up needing a crew cab truck, then I'll either have to get a huge crew/long bed option, or compromise on the camper and get a short bed camper.

Thanks for comments. :D

Benjamin
 
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#2 ·
Really? Too long? I dunno what you mean. heheheheh. Sorry can't help. I decided Crew Cab was the way to go, WITH the long bed. It's a darned long truck for sure, and turning it is like moving a small aircraft carrier. But the truck handles, drives real well.

The slide in's are pretty nice, if it were JUST my wife and I, I'd have done a slide in instead. But yeah, the long bed ones are more common.

The rear seat of the CREW cab is huge, but not overly large. I can only speculate that the extended is tight like a 2 door car.
 
#3 ·
I frequently have 4 adults in my extended cab with no problems at all. The girls usually sit in the back, but there's no reason anybody couldn't sit back there. I wouldn't put your biggest guys back there for an all day trip but with a break or two to stretch their legs it should be fine. The back seat is actually pretty comfortable and the extended cab doors make it pretty easy to get into the truck. I can't answer your question about the bench seat in the front, all the trucks i've been in have had the buckets..
 
#6 ·
I really don't see a big differance in overall length between the extended cab vs crew cab, 7.5". The big difference I do see is resale, extended cabs are almost as much as crewcabs but trying to sell extended cabs is tough. That 7.5" in the rear seating adds much more comfort to adults riding in the back, no comparison.
 
#10 ·
There doesn't have to be lots of extra room in the back for 6' 4" men - but for example, would a 5' 7 girl be comfortable in the back seat for a day drive in an extended cab truck with men sitting in the front?
IMO No. The thing about a e cab is no back door so getting in and out means the front seat passenger has to cooperate so its gives the rear seat passenger the feeling of being trapped. Occasional use might not be a problem but all day long I can see it being a nuisance.
 
#11 ·
OH bench seat 2500 (that's me too)... Yep, the bench is 60x40 split. In the front... as you move the drivers seat the center moves with it. There is enough leg room for a small passenger in the front, but not real comfortable for an adult for any length of time.
 
#12 ·
Its all what percentage of the time your going to have passengers, i came from an ext. cab sierra dmax, and now im in a sierra half ton crew. When i bought my ext. i had no kids and it was pretty much just me, now the family is growing and its more of a convienance like someone else said of not haveing to open up your doors everytime to let someone in and out. With that being said i had buddies ride for 2 to 3 ours in the back of my old one before and allthough it wasn't like riding in a crew they didn't complain to much. Good luck with your decision man, but if i were you id opt for crew cab for numbers of reasons!
 
#13 ·
there was a thread on this very topic not too long ago. On the other thread, the debate came down to not room, but convenience of being able to open a rear crew cab door independently, as opposed to having to open the front door first to then open a extended cab door. I would say this is a minor inconvenience to deal with to retain a standard sized bed. As for room in my EC, i have had 3 adults ride comfortably for the most part on several long trips back there. I have a SLE package, so my front seats are considered a "bench" in reality its a 40-20-40 setup, with the 20 being a fixed center console.
Fun fact- (or insanity fact) My last truck was a 94 silverado EC. I once transported THIRTEEN people in it. 7 in the cab, 6 in the bed. And keep in mind this was back when the extended portions of cabs did not have doors!
 
#14 ·
I have a 2012 Chevy crew cab with a standard (6.5 ft bed). I pull a 39 foot 5th wheel RV with no problem. I guess it depends if you're going to get a 5th wheel or travel trailer. The new 5th wheel RV's are designed for a standard size pickup bed.
 
#15 ·
I went with the crewcab because

1) I found a good deal on it
2) I go on long road trips a lot
3) The less bed room isn't that big of a deal to me
4) The 2 most popular things on trucks for resale are 4wd and crew cabs. If you have both you will sell your truck super fast and get good money for it.
 
#16 ·
I had the same debate when I purchased my truck. I found a killer deal on an ext. cab. When I test drove it and saw how small the rear seat was, it was a deal killer. I have 3 kids in car seats and trying to fit them in an ext. cab would have been a nighmare! I purchased a crew cab and couldnt be happier.
 
#17 ·
I agree about the the kids and car seats. If I could change one thing about my purchase I would have gone with the crew instead of the extended (when I bought it I didn't have kids). I am 5'10" and am cramped in the driver seat to give my kids enough legroom in the back so they aren't pinned against the back of the driver seat.
 
#18 ·
I had this debate when looking for a pickup, to settle it for me, I had the dealer drive an extended cab and a crew while I rode in the back seat. I went with the crew cab. Really it is something your going to have to experiment with on test drives, bring your kids with you for a test drive and see which one works out better fitting the most of your needs.
 
#19 ·
I have a Crew Cab currently in the Body Shop after someone slammed in to me. Not too bad though. Point is Enterprise Rent-A-Car gave me a brand new Ext. Cab as a rental. The back seat is very tight = no doubt about it. It's hard for me to understand how an adult could sit back there for an EXTENDED amount of time and be comfortable. And opening the front door to get the back door open is a hassle.

I don't mean to offend any Ext. Cab owners, but this is my experience.
 
#20 ·
CKNSLS said:
I have a Crew Cab currently in the Body Shop after someone slammed in to me. Not too bad though. Point is Enterprise Rent-A-Car gave me a brand new Ext. Cab as a rental. The back seat is very tight = no doubt about it. It's hard for me to understand how an adult could sit back there for an EXTENDED amount of time and be comfortable. And opening the front door to get the back door open is a hassle.

I don't mean to offend any Ext. Cab owners, but this is my experience.
Good analogy...I had an ext cab for 10 years. Loved it but now I have a crew and quite frankly it is night and day. If you have kids or you frequently have people in the back seat, it is worth the extra money to get a crew cab. I really got tired of having to open the front doors to get my kids out every time I dropped them off at a sporting event, school, etc.
 
#22 ·
01dually6.0 said:
Passngers that complain about the size of the extended cab get to ride in the trailer. :D
LMAO!! Sounds like something I would say only in my case it'd be ON the trailer!

I had a '97 Ext Cab with the 3rd door prior to the '07 Crew I have now. I loved my Ext Cab but once my kids got bigger it just wasn't feasable anymore. Granted the newer trucks have more room in the Ext cabs than my '97 had but it's still a world of difference between Ext Cab & a Crew. I liked the idea of having the dealer or somebody else drive while you rode in the back of both. Gives you an idea what your passengers are going to have to deal with! My parents had an '02 Ext Cab Dmax & planned on keeping it for a long time but ended up trading it for a Crew Dmax less than 2 yrs later because they hated the inconvienience of having to open the front doors to get in the back, they hardly ever had passengers in the back, it was my mom's truck for the most part for making parts runs & grocery trips etc from the farm to town & she hated putting groceries in the back because she had to open the front door, open the back door, close the front door, close the back door, pull the cart past the door, open the back door, load groceries...reverse order...major pain in the @ss! They've had 2 Crew Dmaxes since that Ext Cab & my step-dad said you couldn't pay him to get another Ext Cab after having a crew. Just my 2 cents!
 
#23 ·
Reviving an old post here with some humor added. Reading the complaints about NOT having four independent doors on an extended cab truck is the exact reason why I waited until GM finally got their act together (Dodge did it in 2002) and did this crucial body style change for the 2014 model year. It would be a curious question to ask TODAY "would you NOW go back to a double cab (formerly ext. cab) seeing that you can get it with four independent doors"? I needed the longer bed yet wanted a rear seat for occasional multi-passenger use. Very happy with the results ;)
 
#24 ·
^With the 4 independent doors, I would go back to an extended cab or double cab as its called now.
 
#26 ·
Just to put my opinion on the year old question. Most people have answered they liked the 4 door better than the ext.cab. But no ones took in consideration the 8ft bed.

My brother has a crew with the 5.8ft bed and I have the Ext Cab 8ft bed (longer truck) and mine is not funny in a parking lot compared to the crew cab. Just to imagine a Crew cab with 8ft bed should be a nightmare sometimes. So the question is way more relevant than on the small 1500 medium wheel base truck. You might not haul people in the back very often, but the longer truck, you are stuck with it everyday. Parking everywhere start to be a challenge in a bigger city!
 
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