All 3 Different Types Of Pickup Truck Cabs (Plus What a Mega Cab Is)

Have you ever wondered what all the different types of truck cabs mean? Every manufacturer calls them something different, but they all have the same setup, regardless of what they are called.

In the end, trucks will have a regular cab (which is the two-door), an extended cab (which is two doors, plus two half doors), and then the crew cab (which is four full-size doors). Each type of door style caters to a different audience, whether it be families or being meant for work trucks.

It should also be mentioned that only some cab variants can be paired with every bed length, so I will let you know which cab can have which bed size.

1. Regular Cab

This style of pickup truck is called the regular cab. Nowadays, you don’t see these styles of cabs often, as pickups are more and more becoming a family vehicles, and this doesn’t cater well to that.

The regular cab uses only two doors and is generally paired with a long bed. Because of this configuration, it can be used as a work truck. You will tend to find these trucks used by construction companies or service-based businesses.

I have found that many of these trucks are bare bones and tend not even to have four-wheel drive.

1. Ford – This manufacturer does refer to this cab size as the regular cab, as it is commonly known. Due to the size of this cab, you can only have the 6 ½’ bed and the 9′ bed. The 5 ½’ bed is not available for the regular cab. This is likely due to the length of the frame, and work trucks need to be longer for usability, so that it wouldn’t be a popular choice. In the past, Ford has included small tiny doors on this variant. However, there wasn’t any passenger room in the back; it just allowed quick access.
2. Ram – The newest 5th generation Ram 1500 does not have this 2-door standard cab.
3. Toyota – Due to the lack of popularity, Toyota dropped the regular cab variant of its truck in 2017. It hasn’t come back since, and there isn’t an ETA as to when it will come back.
4. Chevrolet/GMC – Much like Ford, Chevy, and GMC can have this work truck-style regular cab variant. However, they follow the standard naming scheme called the regular cab. It can be purchased with only the long bed, which is 98.18″ long. 
5. Nissan – The Titan currently does not offer a standard cab design.

2. Extended Cab

The extended cab variant of pickup trucks adds two smaller doors behind the front main doors. This allows passengers to use some seats in the back of the truck. Because of the size, though, these aren’t great for long road trips (some of them can be, though) because the legroom could be better.

Most of the time, these doors will also open from the rear instead of the front, and the handle will be on the inside of the door jamb. This means the back doors can only be opened when the front doors are also.

Dodge did this differently. They have an extended cab that disguises itself as a crew cab.

This type of cab works best for those who occasionally want to have people in the back but only need a smaller truck. It also could be used as a work truck that may need to take four or so people to and from a job site.

1. Ford – Ford refers to their extended cab variant as the Super Cab. With this version, you can have all three lengths of beds. However, the Raptor is the only truck with which you can have the 5 ½’ bed. The Raptor needs a better approach and departure angles for off-roading.
2. Ram – This version of the Ram 1500 is available by being called the quad cab. This was the largest version of the cab until the crew cab that will be talked about later became available (and the mega cab). This truck has standard swinging doors in the back, just a bit shorter than the crew cab. This cab version can only be purchased with the 6′ 4″ bed.
3. Toyota – For the Toyota Tundra, they called this variant the double cab. It has a door handle on the rear of the door, except it is built into the side instead of being a standard handle. It is a shorter rear door, though, and doesn’t have as much interior room as the Crewmax we will learn about later. The Double Cab can have either a 6.5′ footbed or an 8.1′ bed.
4. Chevrolet/GMC – The Double cab by Chevy and GMC has shorter but standard-style doors, so it would be hard to notice the difference between this and the crew cab version. It can be purchased in only the standard bed variant, which is 79.44″ long.
5. Nissan – This manufacturer likes to call their extended cab version the King Cab; this has the back half doors and is only available with the 6.5′ bed in the back.

3. Crew Cab

This is the largest of the three different types of cabs. Much like the name would imply, it is meant to carry the whole crew. Nowadays, this is also what families tend to purchase, which will be used as their daily driver and a replacement for an SUV or sedan.

This will have four full-size doors and will generally be paired with a shorter bed because it is more specific to carrying people rather than stuff in the bed. All four doors will open simultaneously, with door handles on the rear and hinges on the front. They can all open individually, as expected from an average car.

1. Ford – With this cab size, which allows for more people, Ford refers to it as their Supercrew Cab. You can option your truck with only the two smaller bed options (5 ½’ and 6 ½’); due to the frame length, the 8′ long bed would be too large.
2. Ram – This new 5th generation Ram 1500 is available with the crew cab; this can be purchased with either the 5′ 7″ bed or the longer 6′ 4″ bed.
3. Toyota – The Toyota Tundra has the Crewmax version of their truck, a crew cab. It has four full-size doors and plenty of room in the back. This truck version can only come with a 5.5′ bed, with no other bed length options. These trucks tend to hold their value.
4. Chevrolet/GMC – This is the largest version of the GM truck’s size. It has four completely full-size doors that all work the same way. It can be purchased with two different bed sizes! The Standard is a 79.44″ bed, and the short bed is 69.92″ long.
5. Nissan – Unlike the King Cab, Nissan has followed the standard naming scheme and refers to this variant as the crew cab. It is only available with a 5.5′ bed at the moment.

What is a mega cab?

RAM has on-and-off again offered a Mega Cab, this mega cab is essentially a crew cab (same doors and everything). However, it provides an extension behind the doors for additional storage. These trucks are built on the extended bed platform but lengthen the cab and shorten the bed down to the short bed version.

Conclusion

These trucks tend to have different combinations of bed length and cab size. Some can have one; others can have another. However, now you know what you can expect when shopping for different cabin sizes by each manufacturer!

The Ford F-150 has the most options in this department. That is because it is also the most sold vehicle in the USA right now, so they can afford to have the options available and still make them profitable.

Do you own one of these trucks and want to make money? Here are some ideas for you.