I had a Grandby on a regular cab Ford from 1997 until 2006. Now I have an extended cab Ford with a 2014 Grandby. Both trucks have 8' beds. I will try to identify the contrasts between the two styles.
Summary-stuff I now store in the space behind the seats used to go in and out of the camper on the old setup. My recollection is that it was more hassle, by far, then, but it clearly never stopped me from doing what I wanted. If my priorities included a shorter wheelbase, for whatever reason, it wouldn't stop me from having a regular cab and/or a shorter bed. It's just a set of various compromises that one needs to make to suit their desires. And options available on the newer campers eliminate a lot of the stuff I had to carry.
Read on if you are bored. ;-)
On the old setup I usually base camped out of the Grandby at 4X4 events, with my FJ40 on a flatbed trailer towed behind, but I also camped with just the camper, as well as tent camped out of the FJ40 on through trips like the Rubicon and Dusy/Ershim. All the 'stuff' was in various plastic containers that I could take in either the FJ40 or inside the Grandby, or split betwen them and the trailer. I didn't want to spend time packing and repacking between types of trips so I tended to take the same containers on all trips. The main exceptions would be that the amount of H2o hauled would vary if I was able to snag shower water from a lake or creek I camped by (for the Zodi shower) vs. if I was at Johnson Valley or somewhere without a water supply.
The setup and pack up would require a lot of stuff being removed from the camper floor first, or loaded into the camper floor last. And usually this would drag mud or dirt or wet into the camper, that I'd need to clean out later when I got home.
Now I don't have the trailer and the FJ40, but I have no back seat in the Ford cab, so there is a lot of flat surface to store stuff. I still tent camp (out of a car sometimes) so there are still a few plastic containers that may go along with the camper. The 'stuff' that gets loaded in the truck varies by activity planned for the trip (hiking, WW kayaking, Sea Kayakling, Mtn. Biking), with the big items on a bike rack or the roof rack, as applicable. The only thing stored in the camper that goes in or out is the portable solar panel, when it is brought along.
It seems setup is way faster, as is tear down. Part of this comes from less stuff, as the camper has a shower and 2X the water capacity as before, so I don't need to haul the zodi or the extra water. And then there aren't those outside window flaps to open or close or the need to use and carry a stepstool to access them. And there is also a fridge that works and doesn't need to be manually fiddled with upon setup or departure. .Part of it is because the loading is spread over more time, as I can put things into the truck when I am done with them, not collect them outside waiting for me to do the final loading. And part of it is the tools etc. can be permanenly stored in the truck cab instead of being loaded and unloaded each trip.
