Pickup Trucks - Truck Body Styles Explained

Terms Used to Describe Pickup Trucks

Most auto manufacturers call their traditional truck body -- with front seats and not much space behind them -- a Regular Cab. From there, terminology veers off, with each automaker choosing a name to describe its varied truck bodies.

Pickup trucks with four doors and rear passenger seats:

• Crew Cab (Chevy, GMC, Nissan)
  
• Quad Cab (Dodge)
  
• Double Cab (Toyota)
  
• SuperCrew (Ford)
  
• CrewMax (newest generation Toyota Tundra)

Pickup trucks with space behind the seats and more limited second row seating:

These trucks may or may not have rear doors to access the second row. Rear seats are sometimes fold-down versions called jump seats, but designs are moving towards additional comfort in the back, since many trucks are used as family vehicles.

• Extended Cab (Chevy, GMC)
  
• King Cab (Nissan)
  
• XtraCab (Toyota)
  
• Access Cab (Toyota, with rear doors)
  
• SuperCab (Ford)
  
• SE Cab Plus (Mazda)
  
• Club Cab (Dodge Dakota)

The naming system for individual models gets more complicated and changes fairly often as new trucks are introduced. You'll also see terms such as SE, LE, XLT -- and endless others -- used to describe options packages and trim levels.

More About Truck Terms

Pictures of Truck Cab Styles

Pictures of Truck Box Styles