Regular cab under Outfitter Apex 9.5?

[Notakwanon]

The frame under my 2006 GMC 2500 HD diesel 4x4, extended cab (2 doors) has rusted so badly that it cannot be repaired, so I have begun looking for a replacement. The bumper to bumper length of my truck is 20' 10", and with the Outfitter Apex 9.5 on it, 2 more feet. Extended cabs such as I have now are no longer made, the most popular trucks being the 4 door models which are a foot longer. The truck I have now is a problem in tight parking lots and my garage, so I really don't want something longer. When I showed the salesman a photo of my present rig and told him I wanted a regular cab truck he said 'bad idea', as the overhang of the camper would obstruct vision. Although it is not possible for me to take an accurate measurement, my guess is that from the inside rear edge of the truck box, the camper overhang will be 70 inches.
So is an Outfitter Apex 9.5 on a regular cab pickup a problem? I doubt it, but if you agree with the salesman, I would appreciate your comments if you have experience with this. Thanks.

[Grit_dog]

In fairness, the "double cab" or ext cab models in recent years don't have suicide doors anymore and appear to be slightly longer than the GMT 800s like you have, but they're still shorter than a Crew cab.
Doesn't seem plausible that a more usable back seat and easier access is a deal breaker.

[Grit_dog]

Notakwanon wrote:
The frame under my 2006 GMC 2500 HD diesel 4x4, extended cab (2 doors) has rusted so badly that it cannot be repaired, so I have begun looking for a replacement. The bumper to bumper length of my truck is 20' 10", and with the Outfitter Apex 9.5 on it, 2 more feet. Extended cabs such as I have now are no longer made, the most popular trucks being the 4 door models which are a foot longer. The truck I have now is a problem in tight parking lots and my garage, so I really don't want something longer. When I showed the salesman a photo of my present rig and told him I wanted a regular cab truck he said 'bad idea', as the overhang of the camper would obstruct vision. Although it is not possible for me to take an accurate measurement, my guess is that from the inside rear edge of the truck box, the camper overhang will be 70 inches.
So is an Outfitter Apex 9.5 on a regular cab pickup a problem? I doubt it, but if you agree with the salesman, I would appreciate your comments if you have experience with this. Thanks.

Aside from your statement about your old truck rusting out, the rest of your post makes little to no sense.
Ford and GM both still offer extended cabs in 2020 models and all previous ears back to the 80s/90s, if that's your preference. Ran is the only one of the big 3 that dumped the ext cab model, 10 years ago. You can choose from new or used in either brand.
And rear overhang is rear overhang, only related to the length of the truck bed and nothing to do with the cab configuration.
If the available cabin space in a reg cab truck is acceptable for your purposes, reg cab trucks don't give up anything in capacity or capability to ext or crew cabs. In fact, they're a bit better in some areas, like greater weight capacity due to weighing less, and more maneuverability because they're shorter.

[specta]

Where's the like button?

The extended cabover really doesn't create any kind of visibility issue on a regular cab pickup.

[joerg68]

The first two pictures were taken from our (at the time, 2017) regular cab Silverado with Northstar Arrow camper (north-south bed) in the back. Never had a problem seeing what we needed to see.





This one has our Outfitter on the same truck (2011):


And here is one from 2009 with our first camper, a Lance 915. The cabover is just a little further than the antenna, and the antenna is about 4" higher than the cabover floor. It is bent a little back and tucked under the floor. Same single cab Silverado 2500HD.



Those are the best pictures I could find in my "archive". Usually, when taking pictures while driving, neither dash nor cabover can be seen.

When you are normally seated for driving, you can barely see the cabover.
All campers had a 2" spacer underneath. All had the extended cabover for the n-s bed.

[AnEv942]

Line of sight-lights usually within. By design the further away light are, the taller and vise-versa but the perspective remains about the same.

from sddc.army.mil. site
Traffic lights really aren't that tall or rarely that close.


I don't have a good profile pic but using spectas.
His photo, parked in front of building, likely only see 3/4 of door,
Move back 20' could see over roof, certainly traffic light.

[specta]

mkirsch wrote:

Second thing, how do you see the traffic lights with the extended cabover on a regular cab truck?

Its really not an issue at all.

Just a misperception.

[mkirsch]

First thing, GM still makes an extended cab truck. It's called the Double Cab and even though the doors open forward, it's no longer than the old extended cab model.

The truck that's a foot longer is the full Crew Cab. They look similar but if you look more closely you will see that a full Crew Cab truck's rear doors are much larger.

Second thing, how do you see the traffic lights with the extended cabover on a regular cab truck? Sure you can sit back a ways, but you would have to be so far back that you will not be tripping the sensor for the light. You could be sitting at an intersection for HOURS waiting for the light to turn green.

[TxGearhead]

My brother just ordered and received a F350 extended cab (super cab?). Put a Northstar 8ft pop up on it. It works.

[AnEv942]

I dunno the only reason I think looks off is back in the day when standard cabs were the norm, east west camper beds were also the norm.
As extended cab trucks became more common so did campers with north south beds.

Anyway an extended cabover camper on standard cab truck does restrict vertical vision out the windshield- however not as much as if the sun-visors are down. Never had an issue seeing a traffic light.

[burningman]

There’s absolutely no reason you can’t put an extended cabover camper on a regular cab.
I did it for years.

[specta]

JRscooby wrote:
When looking for a regular cab on the lots we could find a lot more F150s and F550s.
And with regular cabs more likely to need muscle power to move seat and open windows.

Mine's a work truck and I think the vast majority of regular cabs out there are. No PW or door locks. It does have cruise control. That's all I need.

Here in town where I live a see a couple that never were work trucks.

I prefer the looks of a regular cab. The shorter turning radius and being easier to park are two of the things I like most.

[specta]

Yep, a regular cab with an extended cabover can look a little odd.

But with the camper off they're not near as goofy looking as a extended cab or a 4-dr pickup. 😉

I didn't choose my camper because it looked good on my truck. I picked the camper that I wanted to go on the truck I wanted.




Does my truck make my camper look big? LOL

So I ended up with a goofy looking rig. I like it. :B

[JRscooby]

When looking for a regular cab on the lots we could find a lot more F150s and F550s.
And with regular cabs more likely to need muscle power to move seat and open windows.

[kohldad]

We hauled an 11' 1969 Franklin on a Regular cab truck for years. At traffic lights, you have to learn to stop back for enough so you can still duck down to see them. Wasn't a problem back then because they didn't have the sensors in the road, but still should be okay most of the time.

Ford still makes a SuperCab so you are in luck. If necessary, custom order what you want. The price isn't going to be any more than buying one off the lot, you are just going to have to wait 8-10 weeks for it to be built.

The garage I can't help you with, but parking a longer truck is a breeze. Just learn to back into the spot and it will be much easier. With the backup cameras available today, just about everyone should be able to back into a spot. Or do like my wife does when she's forced to drive my truck, park out in the parking lot and get a little extra exercise.