It’s come to my consideration that readers love prolonged cab vans. I do, too, however not as a lot as single cabs for the reason that most helpful truck for cargo is a single cab lengthy mattress. Though, I admit that prolonged cabs are nice. Let’s not neglect the first-generation Raptor — again when it was known as the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor — had an prolonged cab, which is the closest we’ll ever get to a single cab model.
Not solely did the unique Raptor have a gnarly 5.4-liter V8, it was additionally out there as a TremendousCab that had further doorways to entry the small backseat. It was not fairly as small as the lovable couple of seats present in earlier Ford Rangers, however neither was it as ungainly because the backseat of a SuperCrew, or double cab truck.
That’s a great factor for a lot of commuters and other people like me, preferring to drive alone however don’t thoughts area within the cab to put issues out of the best way and out of sight. Ford really does TremendousCabs properly, with most generations of its vans being out there in good-looking prolonged cabs that didn’t skew a pickup’s proportions in favor of carrying extra folks. Even Hank Hill appears to agree, driving an prolonged cab Ford F-250 just like the one under:
Single cab lengthy mattress vans merely fulfill the platonic ideally suited of a truck. Or neglect platonic if you happen to like, as a result of these machines are essentially the most sensible for cargo. But OK, automobiles have totally different makes use of for various folks and generally a single cab lengthy mattress isn’t the very best match. In sure conditions, one other configuration is beneficial. Maybe it entails a brief mattress. Maybe it additionally entails a barely longer cab.
But in contrast to crew cabs, prolonged cabs are nonetheless a configuration I’d name helpful for truck issues, not only for hauling household. And that’s largely right down to the jumper seats or small benches within the again, that are enjoyable to journey in while you’re a child however will not be actually appropriate for many passengers over 12 years outdated.
Still, I admire prolonged cabs as a result of they provide a spot for gear that’s out of the best way whereas sheltered from the weather. Like a cubbyhole for stuff, which doesn’t change the character of a truck’s design, simply extends it. Anything greater is a compromise.
Pickup consumers in America have accepted the compromise, clearly. Four-door vans are perennial bestsellers, beating out sedans. But most vans within the U.S. are household vehicles first, cargo automobiles second. The gnarliest vans stay single cabs and prolonged cabs, like the unique Raptor, which, regardless of its shorter mattress, paired an enormous V8 with a comparatively smaller truck than the Raptor we all know right this moment.
Source: jalopnik.com