What Is an Extended-Cab Truck?

An extended-cab truck is a cab style for a pickup that typically offers an extra row of seating compared to a single-row regular cab without being as spacious as a full crew cab. They fall between the other two cab styles in terms of price and are often the default cab style for trucks that do not offer a regular-cab configuration. Compared to a regular-cab model, an extended-cab truck will be more expensive and the bed might not be as long, but the second row makes it imminently more useful for shuttling passengers. An extended cab will be easier on the wallet than a crew cab, but the tighter back seat isn't well suited for tall occupants, and extended cabs generally aren't available in as many trim levels.

Crew cab vs. extended cab

Most pickup trucks use a body-on-frame construction, in which a cab and bed sit on top of a tough frame that also contains powertrain and suspension components. A truck with a regular cab pairs a cab with one row of seating with a long bed, making it the perfect choice for those primarily using their pickup for towing and hauling. An extended cab usually adds a second row of seating (though it won't be nearly as large as the second row in a crew cab), with a shorter bed to account for the longer cab. An extended cab, then, is ideal for buyers who use their truck for work purposes but offers flexibility in case you occasionally need to transport additional people. A crew cab adds even more passenger space at the expense of bed length, though some of these trucks offer an extended-wheelbase variant for a bed that's comparable in size to that of an extended cab.

When deciding whether to get a crew cab or extended cab, consider your needs first and foremost. If you want to keep costs low, don't often carry passengers and don't need any frills, an extended cab is the way to go. If you need more passenger space or more flexibility in terms of powertrain choices or trim levels, a crew cab is a better fit.

Are there any extended-cab small trucks?

The Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are the only two small pickups on the market, and both are only available with a crew cab. Crew cabs are the most popular cab style, and since compact trucks are relatively niche compared to the rest of the pickup market, both manufacturers have opted to offer one cab in the most popular configuration. That said, both trucks are small overall, and their back seats offer interior space comparable to the rear seats in larger trucks with extended cabs.

Extended-cab midsize trucks

As with small trucks, the midsize truck market isn't the juggernaut that the full-size market is. Most midsize pickups, including the Ford Ranger, Honda Ridgeline, Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon and Jeep Gladiator, only come as crew cabs. There are, however, two exceptions.

The Toyota Tacoma has long offered an extended cab, and the redesigned 2024 model is no exception. The XtraCab, as Toyota calls it, is unusual for an extended cab in that it doesn't offer a second row of seating. Instead, this two-seat pickup has space behind the passengers where you can store items in a safer area than the open-air bed. Because there are no rear seats and thus no need for passengers to access the back of the cab, the Tacoma XtraCab doesn't have a second set of doors. The XtraCab is paired with a 6-foot bed and is available in SR, SR and TRD PreRunner trim levels.

Without the extra row of seating, the Tacoma isn't as useful as the other extended cab in this segment, the Nissan Frontier King Cab. The extended-cab Frontier has four seats and a pair of rear-hinged back doors (which require the front doors to be ajar if you want to open them) to aid entry and exit. However, the second row is not designed for regular use. The back of the seat is mostly made up of plastic that covers the rear bulkhead, with a small cushion serving as a lower backrest. Combined with a bolt-upright seating position and the Frontier's compact interior dimensions, the rear seats could serve for moving workers between different zones at a job site, but not much else. The Frontier King Cab comes with a 6-foot bed and is available in S and SV trims.

Extended-cab full-size trucks

You'll find a greater number of extended-cab options in the full-size pickup arena. Every automaker with a full-size pickup (Rivian and Tesla's EV trucks notwithstanding) offers an extended-cab option. In contrast to midsize extended-cab trucks, a full-size model will offer an easily accessible back row with either rear-hinged half-doors that require the fronts to be ajar to pop open or standard doors. They also have more spacious back seats where passengers can sit more comfortably. Bed sizes with extended cabs are also larger in full-size pickups than in their midsize counterparts.

The venerable Ford F-150 offers its Super Cab paired with a 6.5-foot bed in XL, STX and XLT variants. Its primary competitor, the Chevy Silverado 1500, comes in a Double Cab configuration that is also mated to a 6.5-foot bed. You can get it in WT (or Work Truck), Custom, LT and RST trims. While the Ford's back doors are rear-hinged (requiring the front doors to be open first), the Chevy has conventional rear doors. That's also true of the Silverado's corporate twin, the GMC Sierra 1500. Its Double Cab sits in front of a 6.5-foot bed and is available in Pro, SLE and Elevation levels. Rounding out the domestic extended cabs is the Ram 1500; like the Chevy/GMC siblings, the Ram's Quad Cab features small rear doors and sits in front of a 6.3-foot bed. It's offered in Tradesman, Tradesman HFE and Big Horn trim levels.

Even though they don't sell in numbers as sizable as their American counterparts, the Japanese automakers with full-size pickup trucks still recognize the demand for work-oriented extended-cab variants. The Nissan Titan King Cab has a cabin with rear-hinged back doors in front of a 6.5-foot bed; it's offered solely on the SV trim level in conjunction with four-wheel drive. The Toyota Tundra Double Cab has traditional rear doors and is the only vehicle in this class with your choice of two bed lengths. Standard is a 6.5-foot bed that keeps the Tundra competitive in its segment, but there's also an extended-wheelbase version that increases the bed length to 8.1 feet. The Double Cab is available in SR and SR5 trims.

Extended-cab heavy-duty trucks

As extended cabs are geared toward those who will use pickups as, well, trucks, it's no surprise that these body styles are available for most of the workhorses that constitute the heavy-duty market.

The Ford F-250 and F-350 make up Ford's Super Duty series of heavy-duty trucks, with the F-350 the brawnier of the two. The SuperCab versions of each truck can be paired with a 6.75-foot or 8-foot bed, and all configurations are available in XL, XLT and Lariat trim levels. Like the smaller F-150, the Super Duty's SuperCab features rear-hinged back doors.

The Chevrolet Silverado HD line consists of the 2500HD and 3500HD pickups, both of which offer a Double Cab that has conventional rear doors. The 2500HD is available with your choice of a 6.85-foot or 8.2-foot box in WT, Custom and LT grades. The 3500HD Double Cab is paired exclusively with the 8.2-foot box in WT and LT trims.

As the Silverado HD's corporate twin, the GMC Sierra HD line is a near copy of Chevy's lineup. The Sierra 2500HD Double Cab offers the same bed sizes as the Silverado 2500HD, and you can select from Pro and SLE grades. Mirroring the Silverado 3500HD's offerings, the Sierra 3500HD Double Cab is only available with the long box in Pro and SLE trims.

Of the domestic automakers in this space, only Ram doesn't offer a heavy-duty pickup with an extended cab. It last sold the 2500 Quad Cab and 3500 Quad Cab in 2009.