Quad Cab Vs Crew Cab: Features & Difference Between Crew Cab and Quad Cab

What’s the difference between crew cab and quad cab? In this article, we have made a comparison table of quad cab vs crew cab to understand the fact elaborately to help truck owners knowing their vehicle in an advanced way.

Pickup trucks are vehicles that have an enclosed cab and an open area for cargo to carry items that won’t otherwise fit in a regular vehicle. They fall under many different types, but for this article, we’ll only talk about two: crew cabs and quad cabs.

There are many different types of cabs to choose from when you’re looking to buy a pickup truck. A regular cab has two front doors for a row of seats.

Crew cabs and quad cabs are 4-door cabs that have two rows of seats. These two types are ideal for those looking for a 6-seater vehicle that can also carry cargo.

While both crew and quad cabs can seat up to 6 people depending on the brand and model, each has its own features and advantages that will benefit a certain group of people more than the other.

What is Crew Cab?

A crew cab is a pickup truck that has four full-sized doors and two rows of seats and has rear windows that can be rolled up and down, just like in a car.

It’s made for passenger comfort, so it has bigger legroom for both the front and rear seats. But because of that, it may a smaller cargo space, unless the manufacturers also offer bigger cargo bed sizes.

Nonetheless, a bigger cargo bed means a longer vehicle, which can be harder to drive around. Because it tends to be bigger and heavier than a quad cab, the initial buying cost is more expensive, and it’s also going to cost more over time because it is less efficient because of the weight as it will use more fuel.

What is Quad Cab?

A quad cab also has four doors and two rows of seats, but it has less leg space for passengers who will sit at the back seat, usually to make more space for cargo.

It has ¾-sized rear doors compared to the crew cab’s full-sized ones. It’s also lighter and smaller than the crew cab, which makes it more efficient and cheaper both in the time of purchase and in the long run.

Quad cabs come in different door orientations: some open like regular vehicle doors do, while some, like extended cabs, have back doors that are dependent on the front doors: they are rear-hinged doors that can only open once the front doors are open.

This dependence is why they have earned the title of “suicide doors”. It’ll also vary depending on the manufacturer and the vehicle whether or not the rear windows can be rolled open.

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Why Choose a Crew Cab?

Crew cabs are for families who want a vehicle with only enough cargo space for traveling or touring, or for people who need a working transport vehicle that also has space for cargo.

You may opt for a crew cab if you want to prioritize passenger comfort for long distances over huge cargo space. Or if you can handle a longer vehicle, you can have both by choosing a crew cab with a longer cargo bed.

It’s also important to note that crew cabs are for you if you want doors that are independent of each other.

Why Choose a Quad Cab?

Quad Cabs are for people who need a lot of cargo space and hauling functionality over passenger capacity and comfort, as they can usually hold fewer people and have less backseat legroom.

You may opt for a quad cab if you are on a budget and you don’t mind the possibility that the rear doors will be dependent on the front doors, and if you’re going to be carrying big cargo and less than three passengers at a time or if you aren’t going far distances with more.

Comparison Table of Crew Cab vs Quad Cab

Basic Definitions and Other Information

When it comes to looking for pickup trucks, there are terms that you will have to remember. Generally, you want to think of dividing the pickup truck into two.

• The cab is an enclosed area of a pickup truck, the first half, where the driver and the passengers are seated. This is what most changes per type of pickup, and is specified by the number, type, and the size of the doors, and the number of seats or row of seats.
• The bed or the box, both interchangeable terms, is the second and open half of the truck, where cargo is placed. It’s normally specified by the inside length of it.

The dimensions of each will vary per manufacturer, and so will the cab names and types. Some brands like Dodge Ram call their quad cabs “quad cabs”, but others have their own names for it, like Ford with their Super Cabs and Nissan with their King Cabs.

You will also notice numbers like 1500 or 2500 being thrown around with model names while talking about pickup trucks.

That’s because these numbers used to stand for the approximate weight capacity of the truck in pounds, and while they’re still being used by some manufacturers, these numbers are not too significant nowadays and don’t necessarily tell the capacity of the truck.

GMC Crew and Quad Cab Features

GMC offers different types of trucks for any task. They have their light-duty trucks, the Sierra 1500 variants; their heavy-duty Sierra HD and Sierra Chassis; and their midsize truck, the Canyon. They offer extended cabs, double cabs, and crew cabs.

GMC Cab Guide:

All of GMC’s pickup trucks have crew cab variants that come in different box sizes. The Sierra 1500 offers short and standard box sizes, from 69.9” to 79.4”.

The 2019 heavy-duty trucks mostly offer 78.9” to 97.8”, except for the 2500 Denali HD that only gives the standard 78.9” box size, while the 2020 Sierra HD series offers a longer 82.2” (6’9”) to 98.2” (8’) box size.

Their mid-size Canyon offers smaller box sizes compared to their 1500, from 61.7” (5’2”) to 74” (6’2”).

When it comes to legroom, the Sierra starts at a size of 43.4”, while the Canyon has a smaller 35.8”. All of GMC’s crew cabs fit up to 6 passengers.

Their quad cabs come in extended cab and double cab variants. Their Canyon models have the extended cab variants, wherein the rear doors are rear-hinged, so they can only be opened once the front doors are open.

These extended cabs have a 74” (6’2”) bed and can only hold up to 4 passengers.

Their Sierra models have the double cab variants with a standard 79.4” box, the Sierra 1500 Limited has a 78.9” box, while some come with two box size options like the 2500HD comes in two sizes, 78.9” to 97.8”.

The Sierra double cabs can carry up to 6 people and start with spacious legroom of 35.24”, while the Canyon extended cabs have a smaller 28.6”.

Ram Quad Cab Vs Crew Cab

Ram pickup trucks come in 4 variants: 1500 (All-New and Classic), 2500, 3500, and Chassis Cab, arranged from lightest to heaviest in terms of their load capacities.

All of them offer crew cab models, but only the 1500 model offers a quad cab type.

Ram Cab Guide:

Ram’s crew cab models offer different box sizes, depending on the variant. The light-duty 1500 offers 5’7” and 6’4” box sizes, while the rest offer 6’4” and 8’ options.

They can seat up to 6 passengers, and the rear-seat legroom ranges from 40.2” to 45.2”, depending on the model and box-size.

On the other hand, only the 1500 models have quad cab options. All of Ram’s quad cabs offer a 6’4” box, and they also seat up to 6 passengers.

The rear doors on these models are not rear-hinged, so they open like regular car doors but they are smaller than the full size.

Legroom for the rear seat is also significantly smaller than their crew cab variants at 34.7” for the All-New 1500 and 35.6” for the Classic.

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Ford Crew and Quad Cab Features

The Ford truck family offers three lines the Ranger, the F-150, and the Super Duty. The Ranger is their lightest-duty truck, and the Super Duty is the heaviest. They have two cab types, Super Crew and their Super Cab.

Ford Cab Guide:

Their crew cabs can seat up to 5 passengers for the Ranger, and up to 6 for the F-150 and Super Duty line. When it comes to cargo box sizes, it differs depending on the model, with the Ranger having the smallest 5’ box, and the remaining having sizes 5.5’ to 8’.

The rear legroom for their crew cabs starts at 34.5” for the Ranger and over 43.6” for the others.

In Ford’s line of quad cabs, the Ranger can seat up to 4, and still up to 6 for the other models. The box sizes are at 6’ for their Ranger, 5.5’ to 8’ for the F-150, and a choice between 6.75’ and 8’ for their Super Duty.

Their quad cab’s doors are smaller and rear-hinged compared to their crew cab variants, meaning they cannot open unless the front doors are open, and the rear legroom is significantly smaller, with the Ranger at 30.4” and 33.5” for the rest, oddly sitting close to the former’s crew cab variant legroom of 34.5”.

Toyota Crew and Quad Cab Features

Toyota offers a simple lineup of two pickup trucks, Tacoma, and the Tundra. They come with three cab sizes: access cab, double cab, and CrewMax.

Toyota Cab Guide:

The Tacoma comes only in quad cabs. Their access cabs have rear-hinged backdoors and a capacity of only 4 passengers, and their double cabs can carry up to 6.

The latter has front-hinged smaller doors but has a rear leg space starting from 32.6” compared to the access cab’s really small 24.6”.

Much like other brands, they have cargo box size choices between 60.5” and 73.7”, but only for the double cab variants. The access cab only comes with the longer 73.7” bed.

The Tundra, on the other hand, comes in crew and quad cab variants. Their double cabs have box size choices between their standard 6.5’ and the longer 8.1’, while their crew cabs have only a smaller size of 5.5’.

When it comes to legroom at the backseat, it starts at 34.7” for the double cabs, and at 42.3” for the crew cabs.

Chevrolet Crew and Quad Cab Features

Chevrolet has two trucks, Colorado and the Silverado. Both models have crew cabs but different quad cab variants, the former sporting an extended cab, and the latter, a double cab.

Chevrolet Cab Guide:

The Chevrolet Colorado’s extended cab comes with a 74” box size and 4-passenger capacity, while the Silverado’s double cab comes with a longer 79.4” box and a capacity of 6 passengers.

Legroom starts at a small 28.6” for Colorado, while the Silverado’s legroom starts at a significantly bigger size of 35.24”. As always, the extended cab’s back doors are rear-hinged, so you must open the front door first before being able to open the back.

Their crew cabs come with a choice of different box sizes, as per usual. Colorado has options of 61.7” and 74”, the smallest in the group.

The Silverado 1500 offers 69.9” and 79.4”, while the Silverado HD offers 80.2” and 96.3”. These crew cabs also come with a much bigger rear legroom compared to their quad cab counterparts, starting at 43.4”.

Nissan Crew and Quad Cab Features

Like Chevrolet, Nissan has only two truck models: the Frontier and the Titan. Both models have quad and crew cab variants.

Nissan Cab Guide:

Nissan’s Frontier crew cabs can seat up to 5 people, while their Titan can seat up to 6. The Frontier offers two cargo bed sizes of 5’ and 6’.

The Titan also gives you a choice of two sizes, bigger than the Frontier at 5.5’ for the regular Titan and 6.5’ for the Titan XD. Legroom sizes are at 33.6” for the Frontier, compared to the Titan’s 38.5”.

On the other hand, their Frontier quad cab or King Cab can only seat up to 4 people, while their Titan can seat up to 6. When it comes to cargo box sizes, the Frontier offers a bed length of 5’ and the Titan offers 6.5’.

Both models have rear-hinged backdoors and small rear legroom at 25.4” for the Frontier, and an oddly smaller 24.8” for the Titan.

Conclusion

There are a lot of factors to consider in choosing between crew cabs and quad cabs, as manufacturers nowadays come up with so many options for many different applications from private, to commercial, to industrial.

Nonetheless, it helps to know the differences, similarities, and benefits of each type to find out which works best for your needs.

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