Crew Cab vs. Extended Cab

[moosetags]

We are definitely going with the 4x4. Many of the places that we go Moosing require 4 wheel drive. We use it in the Suburban all the time. We are even considering a winch for the front of the new truck.

Brian

[Yhottys]

Brian -

Thumbs up on the winch. We're thinking of adding one. You just never know when it might come in handy - hopefully never.

We have a Ford F350 XLT 7.3 PSD crew cab AND a long bed. It can be a bit of a bear when trying to squeeze the Airstream into the small campsites/driveways in Yosemite. When faced with the very short driveway with a huge berm opposite it, we had to unhitch the trailer from the truck, reposition the truck and hook up again and then shift back and forth several more times in order to get the trailer into the twenty five foot driveway.

Admittedly, when towing the Airstream there will be some roads, such as those with no outlets, that we will either not be exploring or we'll be employing the use of the reverse gear quite a bit. Added up, the truck and trailer are over 50 feet long.

We need the long bed as we usually haul quite a bit of stuff with us when we go to Burning Man. We chose the crew cab so that we could bring friends and family, and now our dog, Raymond, with us when we tow the Airstream.

We've never had a crew crab before, but boy howdy, it sure is roomy. We've often remarked that we could sleep in the cab if we had to and would probably be rather comfortable.

Good luck with your decision. We're sure you'll find the perfect solution to your needs.

Your friends,

[slowmover]

Tight spaces or not, I'd go with the dually. Camper AND trailer make for a heckuva load on the tires. I'm no fan of this type, overall, but for this combination it's a natural. I think it's asking too much from an SRW out on the highway.

[ebair]

Also + 1 for the crew cab long bed.
We have had 3 configurations, '00 long bed ex cab gasser, '03 long bed quad cab diesel, '06 long bed crew cab diesel. The most useful is the '06 CC LB. Fold up the seats for protected and accessable storage, and down for conventional use, the grand kids baby seats etc. Recomend a bed cap, the extra space is great! My next one will be the same setup. The long wheelbase makes it very stable. Parking lots take some tecnique adjustment

[webtrippin]

How you're going to use it I would for sure go for the crew cab. Some of the truck campers can make good use of the extra space above for a larger bed area. Also sounds like you might have more than 2 people frequently and the traveling comfort for people in the back will thank you for it.

Love the Florida panhandle! We just drove through and spent some time in Mexico beach. Indian pass, cape san blas and st George island are incredible. Need a house sitter while you are gone?

[az-streamer]

by all means - go crew cab. we looked at the extd cab with the 'flap' doors and we would have regretted getting it.

the extd cab w/the full doors gives you room for extra people, bikes, stuff, etc.

also more roof top length for other items.

sure - parking it takes some effort but i usually try to find a pull through spot in the parking lot. or even park further away and walk a bit.

the crew cab length, plus tow-haul option, makes pulling our 22' AS a breeze.

i don't think there is any more gas use on the crew vs the extd.

at the dealer, let them steer you to the extd, show a lot of interest, then flip them to the crew for the same price

good luck on your search.

[BillTex]

Hey Brian, I think you have probably heard enough by now?! But az-streamer makes a good point; IIRC roof rack systems are made only for CC configurations at min…when we set up our truck, neither Thu or Yak made systems for Ext cab trucks (too short). Now this may have changed…but the laws of physics have not.
I know you Guys always carry your kayaks, so this may be a deal breaker for you.

I suspect there will be times you will be using the truck + AS sans TC and would want to carry your yaks up top…

Bill

[Gene]

I don't know anything about the GM trucks, but our experience with Toyotas is:

1. Rear doors hinged at the rear are a real pain in a parking lot if the rear door cannot be opened without the front door opened first. With both side doors open, the doors are in the way when there's a car next to you. Unloading a shopping cart is not simple. Since they are called "suicide doors" maybe they are dangerous, though I've never seen anyone commit suicide by falling out of them (actually I think it would be easier with front hinged doors).

2. A really long truck can be difficult to park in towns (not just along the curb), so I'd opt for the less long cab, but not the "standard" one without a back seat. Some downtown parking lots are really hard to drive around and a longer truck sticks way out into the driving lane asking for someone to hit it. I usually park away from other vehicles to avoid problems and door dings, but that's not always possible. A 10" difference just makes it harder.

3. 4WD drive roads may be hard to travel with a long truck, especially if there are switchbacks. Any full size pickup is too big for many of these roads here in Colorado and working around very tight curves isn't easy and sometimes dangerous with steep drops and severe grades, so I'd rather have as short a truck as I can reasonably get away with.

4. I'm sure you have checked this out but I'll ask anyway—aren't there 6 1/2' truck campers? I'm sure they are cramped compared to an 8' or an Airstream and may not have much in the way of a bathroom, but it would make it simpler.

Gene

[wasagachris]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Since they are called "suicide doors" maybe they are dangerous, though I've never seen anyone commit suicide by falling out of them (actually I think it would be easier with front hinged doors).


Gene

Gene they're called suicide doors because if the door is open and you're getting out and the door is hit by a passing car it slams shut forward and cuts you in half.

[Mikethefixit]

Moose
We have both a SUPER CAB 8ft and a Crewcab 8ft. The reason I got the CC 8ft was that with the SUPER CAB my grandchildren were always pokin me in da back.With the crew they have much more room and are more comfortable and so am I. The long bed gives you a little more wheelbase and thus a better ride both for you and the trailer. Then the choise is yours as too whether you get a single wheel or dually. If you are going to use both a slide in camper and a trailer I would strongly suggest a dually.

[2airishuman]

truck camper 2500 lbs

tongue wt 11-1200 lbs

humans/cab wt 500 lbs

at 4000+ pounds of payload this really is DRW territory.

go drive a few of them, the width isn't an issue after awhile.

mirrors are same width as drw.
________

one could opt for regular cab, Rwd and gas mota...

which all improve payload.

but the real limitation is the tire capacity.

4 rear tires is the primary factor that allows for real payload growth.

IF the slide IN is gonna be IN the truck most of the time, it won't be a grocery getter ne way...

?and what about the kayak? is it gonna go on the camper shell too?

cheers
2air'

[Gene]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Gene they're called suicide doors because if the door is open and you're getting out and the door is hit by a passing car it slams shut forward and cuts you in half.

No matter where the door is, that passing car is going to make a mess of your day.

I looked it up on Wikipedia ( Suicide door - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) and the entry says no one knows where the term originated, but discusses it at length. Lots of reasons, all somewhat reasonable.

Gene

[lylesgl]

I recommend you go with crew cab, long bed, dually. A dually isn't much more work to manuver once you get the hang of it. I recommend you pick-up an AirSafe hitch to protect your trailer from the stiff TV suspension. I have one and my trailer thanks me for it.

[dstalzer]

Brian

I had a 2002 Ford F250 super cab long bed and found it difficult to put anything in the back seat area especially in tight parking lots. Also anyone older than about 12 could not ride comfortably in the back seat and grown ups had a hard time getting in and out. I traded it in on a 2007 F250 Crew Cab short bed. I sometimes miss the space of the long bed, but the Crew Cab is incredible as far as space, ease of getting in and out and comfort for anyone riding in the back seat. Either extended cab or crew cab with the 8 foot bed will be difficult to park in many parking lots. I generally will back into a parking space instead of pulling straight in because it is much easer to park and also to pull out.

Dennis

[JFScheck]

Curious as to why Chevy\GMC vice Ford as a person who just did his research and for himself having found the Ford a "Hands Down Slam Dunk".

Note I said for me the Ford was best....

Have had my truck one day - WoW - King Ranch package is all that and a can of Fosters...

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by JFScheck

Curious as to why...

we tried 2 help him see the light...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...-gm-68135.html

but apparently without success.

long term brand loyalty is big in the truck/domestic world...

even though he may have a VERY old blue oval somewhere.

gotta be that former gov' worker, union, red/blue state thang...

or he's just skar'd of a real truck...

cheers
2air'

[AirsDream]

Don't know about your parking situation, but here's a consideration.

I set out to buy a Ford diesel. But when I got the specs (this was 1 1/2 years back), I discovered that by designing it to "look aggressive", they made it tall. Too tall to fit under a standard garage door opening. I've got a garage stall built to fit a Suburban I owned when we built the garage ... so I bought a GM, 'cause it fit through the door and I could park it where I wanted.

edit: I just checked and they currently specify nearly identical height figures ... but if it's important to you, do check before pluking do the cash!

[2airishuman]

think the SLIDE IN CAMPER negates the garage door issue?



here's another idea moose'

a full size f350 pOpUP conversion van with 4x4...

towing capacity is 10,000 lbs. and there is even a pic with a stream in tow...

Sportsmobile Custom Camper Vans - Your Home Away From Home

very cool, now i want one, but WHICH 1?







cheers
2air'

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

...mirrors are same width as drw....

cheers
2air'

Yup...my 'at work' truck is an 8' bed F450 Dually...I was told it wouldn't fit in the sef' parking at the Riverview Hotel, downtown Mobile...after I had parked there 2x before...(well, it did clear by 3" on each side...)

If the Mirrors clear...drive straight and the duallys will also...so will the 'stream!

The valets still don't think it fit....

The new dually F450 rides better than my Ram 2500 EXCEPT on choppy expansion joints...but then again...it's not toting a room from the Holiday Inn Express...

[pappy19]

I had a 2002 Ford F-350 Crew Cab-long bed and I needed a Walmart parking lot to turn it around and backing up was a nightmare. My next truck was/is a 2008 F-250 Supercab (extended cab), short bed. It is a dream truck for manuvering, parking, backing, whatever. It is not a truck to take an adult in the back seat for more than 20 miles unless they like flying without moving. I love the advantage of the short truck. My old CC would also do the "interstate 2-step-hop" while this one doesn't. It seems the length of the CC long beds just happen to hit the seams of the concrete partitions on the interstate and do the "hop". My short truck doesn't do this. Pulling a trailer, you don't need a long bed. If you pull a 5th wheel, then that is best, but pulling an AS, just go with the extended cab and a short bed, you'll like it.