Best Single Cab Trucks: Which Two-Door Is the Best?

Anthony Sophinos

Anthony Sophinos has been infatuated with cars for as long as he can remember, and that passion has fueled his journey from nerdy gearhead to professional writer and content creator who covers all things automotive. His byline has appeared at CarsDirect, New Car Test Drive, iSeeCars, and other online publications. To read more of his work, visit anthonysophinos.com. When he’s not penning articles, you can find Anthony outside biking, hiking, or exploring New England in his Miata (in the summer, of course).

Single cab trucks remain alive for traditionalists, utilitarian buyers, and the budget-conscious. Though few in number, these trucks are reminders that old-school pickup trucks aren’t dead yet - they’re just hiding in farm fields and job sites.

If your needs or tastes dictate a single cab truck, there are a few remaining options, all of them more refined and capable than their simple styling and affordable price tags might suggest.

Here, we’ve gone ahead and ranked our favorite single cab trucks. You can also find our top picks for the best double cab and crew cab trucks.

Check out all our picks for the best trucks by cab size >>

Read about how we rank our trucks >>

1. Ford F-150

Ford prints money from the F-150, but not due to the uncommon single cab variants. Still, Ford hasn’t given up on the body style. Making it available in both XL and XLT form allows the two-door F-150 a chance to be more than a fleet-spec work truck.

Most impressive is that Ford includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and emergency braking as standard equipment on the XLT. Most trucks are still only offering these features as optional - even on the pricey upper trims - so we applaud Ford for making them standard here. The base XL doesn’t include these features and nor does it offer them as an upgrade, however.

The single cab F-150 comes with a 3.3-liter V-6, but Ford offers up to three tempting upgrade options: a 2.7-liter twin-turbo V-6, a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6, and a 5.0-liter V-8. All these engines are potent, but they don’t come cheap: plan on paying $1,200 for the 2.7-liter V-6, $2,000 for the V-8, and $2,500 for the 3.5-liter V-6.

A 6.5-foot bed is standard. Naturally, it lacks the cubic footage of the optional 8.0-foot bed. Max payload comes with the larger bed - up to 3,325 pounds.

The wealth of engine options, standard safety kit, and more diversity of choices make the F-150 the most versatile of the two-door full-size trucks on the market. We only wish it weren’t so expensive.

What’s New?

Having undergone a major redesign in 2021, there are minimal changes for the 2023 model year. This year, there are a few new exterior paint options including Area 51 Blue, Avalanche, Azure Gray Metallic Tri-Coat, and Hot Pepper Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat. The following exterior colors have been discontinued: Smoked Quartz Metallic Tinted Clearcoat and Space White Metallic.

Current Ford F-150 Deals & Incentives

You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's Ford deals and average prices paid.

2. Chevrolet Silverado

The single cab Silverado trails behind the Ford, but not for a lack of trying. The Chevy does a lot of things right, including a standard eight-foot bed and affordable engine upgrades.

The Silverado’s larger bed means more cargo area - 89 cubic feet - and higher payload ratings: Chevy says the single cab Silverado can haul 2,280 pounds with the 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. That beats the standard V-6 in the more expensive Ford.

About those engine choices: with two-door trucks a blip on the sales radar, we give Chevy kudos for offering four, six, or eight cylinders on the single cab Silverado. The base engine is the venerable 3.3-liter V-6; the potent turbo-four and the beloved 5.3-liter V-8 require a small premium (a paltry $150 for the four and about $1,300 for the V-8).

Unfortunately, Chevy only offers this flavor of Silverado in one trim, and that’s the WT - the aptly-named Work Truck spec. It’s about as spartan as you can get in 2021: no power features, rubber floors, vinyl seats. The 7.0-inch color touchscreen almost feels out of place in such a primitive full-size truck.

Barren cabin aside, the single cab Silverado checks a lot of boxes. It isn’t fancy, but it will get the job done.

What’s New?

A new model year brings a new diesel powertrain in the form of the 3.0-liter inline-six LZ0 turbodiesel Duramax. This diesel powertrain generates up to 305 horsepower and up to 495 foot-pounds of torque. The new LZ0 engine will replace the 3.0L LM2 engine option.

Current Chevrolet Silverado Deals & Incentives

You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's Chevrolet deals and average prices paid.

3. RAM 1500 Classic

Remember the last-generation Ram 1500, the one before all the luxury and big touchscreens wowed critics and truck buyers alike? Well, Ram still builds the low-budget variants under the ‘Classic’ branding. These trucks have been soldiering on without updates for quite some time now, making them the most old-school of the single cab full-size trucks on the market.

The last-gen Ram trucks were all-new for 2009, which means the Classic is a twelve-year old design - don’t say Ram didn’t choose an apt name for these time machines. Ram only builds them in three trims, two of which can be had with the single cab design. There is no eight-foot bed option, however - only a 6-foot-four-inch bed is offered. The maximum payload capacity is 1,810 pounds, which is less than either the Ford or Chevy.

Inside, you find a basic, no-frills interior that unsurprisingly feels closer to 2011 than 2021. Both single cab models only get a 5.0-inch touchscreen as standard, though the brand’s popular 8.4-inch touchscreen is optional. With the bigger screen comes SiriusXM radio and a driver information center in the gauge cluster.

If the Ram 1500 Classic does anything well, it’s the base powertrain. The 3.6-liter V-6 is nothing new - various models from Ram, Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge have used this all-purpose engine - but it features good power, smooth operation, and predictable durability. For more grunt, there’s the 5.7-liter V-8 that has no issue going up to bat against the Ford and Chevy V-8s.

Good engines don’t always make a good truck, though. While the single cab 1500 Classic doesn’t do anything wrong, it lacks the modern design and latest advancements that permeate throughout the two-door variants of both the F-150 and Silverado. For that reason, it takes third in our three-truck comparison.

What’s New?

For the 2023 model year, the RAM 1500 Classic gains an Electronics Group option. This options package includes an 8.4-inch infotainment screen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, and SiriusXM. Other additional equipment in the package includes a 7-inch driver information center, a media hub, and an auto-dimming mirror.

Current RAM 1500 Classic Deals & Incentives

You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's RAM deals and average prices paid.

Which Is the Best Single Cab Pickup?

In our eyes, it has to be the F-150. The reasons are myriad: the most available engine options, more opportunity for configuration, more safety, and luxury equipment in the XLT trim.

It seems as if Ford is the only truck manufacturer to not entirely marginalize the single cab layout, and it shows in the breadth and capability of the two-door F-150.

Why Weren’t Heavy-Duty Trucks Included on This List?

Those big haulers and towers are best compared among themselves, so we left them off this list. If you want to learn more about the heavy-duty variants of the Detroit workhorses, check out our articles on the best dually trucks and most reliable heavy-duty pickups.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any single cab midsize pickups on the market?

No, there aren’t. The Ford Ranger was last offered in two-door guise back in 2011; the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon ditched the design back in 2013. The Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier are also strictly sold in the larger cab configurations, and the Honda Ridgeline never offered a single cab.

Does the Toyota Tundra offer a single cab?

Not anymore. In 2017 Toyota quietly dropped the two-door Tundra from its roster, leaving only extended- and crew-cab designs in the portfolio.

Does the Nissan Titan offer a single cab?

No. Nissan, like Toyota, is a niche player in the full-size truck market, and single cab trucks are now a niche offering themselves. As sales of regular cabs dissipated, Nissan killed off the body style at the end of 2019.

What are the benefits of a single cab truck?

Typically, single cab trucks offer the best payload figures, as they feature the lightest bodies due to their small passenger compartments. Their lightness also gives them an edge in unladen fuel economy. And perhaps the best benefit is affordability: while crew cabs usually can’t be had for less than $40,000 or so, a single cab can be brought home for around $30,000.