Crew Cab pick-up as a family vehicle?

The full size crew cab pickup. Dad's socially acceptable replacement for the mini van.
Although he's probably better off with mini van.

Definitely can't fit the Can-Am in the back of a mini-van, definitely can't tow a 7,000lb boat with a minivan, definitely would be periods where a van isn't making it back to the camp. Lots of reasons not to own a van just like there are lots of reasons a truck may not make sense either. Everybody's situation is different, why assume we know what's best without any sort of knowledge as to the details?
 
When I bought my 1/2 ton extended cab Chevrolet truck in 1998, my two kids were almost 3 and 6 months old and both in car seats. It was my daily driver back then and my ex-wife and I plus the two kids in their car seats on the back bench seat fit fine whenever we took the truck. She had a 4 door 98 Grand Prix GT at the time which we also used as well.

A modern crew cab truck has even more room and I see no reason why it couldn't be used as a family vehicle. Plenty of people around here with kids use crew cab trucks as their only vehicle.
 
Definitely can't fit the Can-Am in the back of a mini-van, definitely can't tow a 7,000lb boat with a minivan, definitely would be periods where a van isn't making it back to the camp. Lots of reasons not to own a van just like there are lots of reasons a truck may not make sense either. Everybody's situation is different, why assume we know what's best without any sort of knowledge as to the details?
A van could do most any of those things once.
 
We raised our family of 6 with three minivans (2 at the same time at one point), then got a sedan, and now have another minivan because my wife prefers them. I consider them the “ultimate” vehicle. The mileage is decent, maintenance is minimal, comfort is great, cost is MUCH better than a truck, and you can haul as much, if not more than a truck. They are fantastic on vacations as well. You could live in one by the river too, as people on YouTube show.

I’m now driving the small vehicle after a lifetime of driving trucks. I just can’t justify the cost!
 
The issue is on these threads you get people who can't afford trucks-and that reason alone is good enough to bash them.
 
We've had it all . Minivan , station wagon , and two 4dr pickups . The trucks were the most popular .
 
The issue is on these threads you get people who can't afford trucks-and that reason alone is good enough to bash them.
There could be a bit of that going on. However the minivans are not that far off from a half ton truck. Our Kia Carnival SX (upper-mid trim) A fair comparison could be a GMC SLT 2wd, $49095 on the truck and the Carnival $42275. Both prices full retail with destination. If you use GMC's posted website cash allowance and assume no dealer discount, $46845. Both will result in a payment in the 700-800 dollar range and considering the utility/resale value of the pickup truck it is probably cheaper in total ownership cost.

It gets even worse if we get back to good discounts on big 3 half tons. 10k off a crew half ton was very common if not a lot more. Honda, Toyota, Kia mini vans never really got much of a break in price.

But the real point here is that a Mini Van is very easy to drive around and get in and out of places compared to a CCSB FS truck. In particular with our Kia, the very good camera systems and parking monitors would leave a driver zero excuses of hitting something in a parking lot scenario. Way easier to get kids in and out of, more room for adults, enclosed cargo space, all in a package that doesn't feel like its a full size.

Me, personally, i would consider an even larger van if something like this artist render came to pass:
I'd rather have a fancy van (factory built, not conversion) than a fancy crew cab truck.
 

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There could be a bit of that going on. However the minivans are not that far off from a half ton truck. Our Kia Carnival SX (upper-mid trim) A fair comparison could be a GMC SLT 2wd, $49095 on the truck and the Carnival $42275. Both prices full retail with destination. If you use GMC's posted website cash allowance and assume no dealer discount, $46845. Both will result in a payment in the 700-800 dollar range and considering the utility/resale value of the pickup truck it is probably cheaper in total ownership cost.

It gets even worse if we get back to good discounts on big 3 half tons. 10k off a crew half ton was very common if not a lot more. Honda, Toyota, Kia mini vans never really got much of a break in price.

But the real point here is that a Mini Van is very easy to drive around and get in and out of places compared to a CCSB FS truck. In particular with our Kia, the very good camera systems and parking monitors would leave a driver zero excuses of hitting something in a parking lot scenario. Way easier to get kids in and out of, more room for adults, enclosed cargo space, all in a package that doesn't feel like its a full size.

Me, personally, i would consider an even larger van if something like this artist render came to pass:
I'd rather have a fancy van (factory built, not conversion) than a fancy crew cab truck.
Do you think the upcoming winter is a concern? You running snow tires or think you can get by on All Season tires? Your vehicle is one of the best looking minivans to come out of a design studio in decades-IMHO.
 
Do you think the upcoming winter is a concern? You running snow tires or think you can get by on All Season tires? Your vehicle is one of the best looking minivans to come out of a design studio in decades-IMHO.
Not worried, and i would buy a dedicated snow wheel tire setup if i was. It would be nice to have an AWD Carnival and i would consider trading into one but its far from needed. The family can just stay home on the 2-3 days that snows hard. Nobody has to take the van out of the garage every day. I am the only one that has to leave the house daily and i can RIP it in the Alltrack :)
 
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I’ve had 2 of each- 2 minivans and 2 trucks, and a third honorable mention minivan, and a 4th through remarriage I guess. The minivans I liked the most were both RWD… Volkswagons. I really enjoyed the ‘84 vanagon with the liquid cooled engine and 4spd manual. It was easy to live with, good to drive, and fun. It did have AC. It was *not* reliable. The other 2 were both 4th Gen town and countries. They were great at what they did. The other van by marriage was a 2001 ody. They were better IMO as family trip vehicles. And I did use them to haul stuff regularly. But I didn’t enjoy them as much as I did the trucks. And as I did use them for lumber, rental tools and car parts, regular band gigs, the interiors wore quickly, which then became a problem for other reasons. They just didn’t work as well for how I use them long term.

given a choice, I choose a truck today with the maybe 4mpg penalty. but I also don’t drive a quad cab - sometimes I’ve regretted not getting the full cab, but I like the larger bed. What’s worked best for me is using the right tool for the job. Some days I drive the truck. Other days I drive the car. Depends on where I’m going and what I’m doing. I see a time where I’ll probably downsize to a ranger, just for maneuverability. There’s a good chance that by that time comes, you’ll feed bananas and spent beer into the Mr. Fusion to get the next 88 miles.

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The issue is on these threads you get people who can't afford trucks-and that reason alone is good enough to bash them.
Trucks were pretty cheap really before Covid, the 4x4 Crew cab Ram Classics were less than a minivan then, almost less than my Outback. We still didn't want one as we don't really need it and I'd like to keep my fill ups under $100 for a while yet. My Dad did get one and its the ideal second vehicle for them as they are retired and don't put that many miles on it, tow a RV, pick up pallets of food for the food bank, etc.
 
As an F150 owner, a modernized Astro van would be hard for me to overlook. That 2.7L Turbo from the Silverado, a 10 speed, a solid rear axle, and optional AWD(or better yet, a 4Auto with 4Hi/4Lo t-case like the Colorado has) sound pretty good to me. My parents had a 2000 Astro when I was growing up and it was such a great all around vehicle. I learned to drive in it. My first trip out alone with my license was after a big snow storm and immediately started drifiting everywhere. I swung the back end out around one corner and almost took out my gym teachers mail box :ROFLMAO:. I couldn't do that in a Honda Odyssey.

I tow a travel trailer and have wanted something smaller than my F150, can handle the trailer, can haul the family, and can offroad well enough. I have a Lexus GX460 which checks most of those boxes, but it doesn't have the HP to tow my trailer well around Utah and Wyoming. A current fwd based minivan doesnt check the offroad box or the trailer towing box.
 
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