From somebody who doesn't know how it works. Two long bungee cords across the further most hooks. Two boxes you pickup on your way out of Sam's club. All groceries goes in to the boxes-the bungee cord keeps them from sliding forward. Tonneau covers either roll up or fold in to thirds. NOT A BIG DEAL and neither have to fully come off. The only time my BakFlip hard trifold comes off is when we take our e-bicycles on vacation and I don't want my rear window blocked by the trifold. The rear seat in any late model Ford has TONS OF ROOM. With the RAM and SIlverado coming in second and third. The boxes stay in all the time unless I need to haul the bikes or freight. Really convenient in the winter time-put the ice cream back there and run all the errands you want and t doesn't melt!
Crew Cab pick-up as a family vehicle?
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
I fit quite comfortably in the back seat of my crew cab Ram with my drivers seat in a comfortable position for myself. Way more room than a compact SUV’s rear seat.
Speaking from experience, you cant beat a minivan when you have young kids. Power sliding doors are a wonderful invention. Our 2008 Sienna is starting to show its age and we are thinking about replacing it with another van, even though our kids are now 13 & 15.
Crew cab DT ram with ram box and bed cargo management system so you get the divider along with the tonneau cover is a great one for families
downsides. Parking it compared to most anything but you know that
with kids it seems no matter where you park someone parks next to you closely and it’s a huge pain in the you know what to open the door and get them in our out
minivan eliminates this. Sliding doors are a God send for kids and parents
the value of a minivan is very good compared to nearly any other vehicle
get one with at least a single DVD player they love it. Kids like vans we get other ones that want to ride in it and wish there parents had one
most vehicles work. Crew cab DT is awesome at 10-20 grand more money harder on fuel and harder to park.
downsides. Parking it compared to most anything but you know that
with kids it seems no matter where you park someone parks next to you closely and it’s a huge pain in the you know what to open the door and get them in our out
minivan eliminates this. Sliding doors are a God send for kids and parents
the value of a minivan is very good compared to nearly any other vehicle
get one with at least a single DVD player they love it. Kids like vans we get other ones that want to ride in it and wish there parents had one
most vehicles work. Crew cab DT is awesome at 10-20 grand more money harder on fuel and harder to park.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yep-there are people commenting on this thread that are either anti truck, or haven't been in the backseat of a current crew cab truck in years. Or possibly both things apply.
A friend from high school loves their Sienna. He wasn’t sold on it initially but when he and his wife drove one, they were sold. And then they had a 3rd kid.
the Ram will work, but having driven the OP’s truck, I wouldn’t wish fabric with a baby. You know a formula or diaper accident will happen. Vinyl or leather is much easier to live with when kids are in the equation, if you can afford it.
the Ram will work, but having driven the OP’s truck, I wouldn’t wish fabric with a baby. You know a formula or diaper accident will happen. Vinyl or leather is much easier to live with when kids are in the equation, if you can afford it.
Wrong. I don’t even know where to begin.
We used to have vehicles that held our kids, our stuff, our groceries ..were easy to drive, handled like a car, easy to get into and out of.
They were called ....Station Wagons.
There, I said it and I’m not going to apologize!
They were called ....Station Wagons.
There, I said it and I’m not going to apologize!
Yep-and the hood was six feet long-some had a rear facing third seat-and when you powered down the rear window children would start to suffer the effects of exhaust fumes-and they weighed over two tons-and didn't have the hauling capability of open bed pickups. Yeah-go hang out over on the "Wagon Superiority thread".......it's like the "Twilight Zone" on that thread.
Also get some type of floor liners regardless of what vehicle you use. It will be some of the best protection for your carpet
Unless you are traveling far a lot formula accidents won’t really happen. Floor accidents don’t happen till they are 4-5 usually. If they only drink water in the car when they are toddlers that doesn’t make a mess just a bit wet. Goldfish and cereal snacks aren’t that messy most ends up in the car seat like diaper messes. It’s when the kids get older and you let them make a mess is when it gets ugly
Having two little ones of my own:
They aren't infants for long. In a short 2 years, they'll be working towards independence, and will be opening/closing doors and climbing in and out of the vehicle on their own (or at least trying). A nice, low sedan is perfect for the kiddos for a long time. A truck, even with step bars, won't be nearly as convenient for them.
I like my sedans for the kids. My 3 and 5 year olds can get in the vehicle and buckle up on their own (can't do so in grandpa's F150 nor in my Dodge, which sits low by todays standards). I have receiver hitches on them as well for cargo carriers, bike racks, pulling the boat, utility trailer etc. Never feel like I need more.
Any other car-based vehicle, like a minivan, would also be great.
They aren't infants for long. In a short 2 years, they'll be working towards independence, and will be opening/closing doors and climbing in and out of the vehicle on their own (or at least trying). A nice, low sedan is perfect for the kiddos for a long time. A truck, even with step bars, won't be nearly as convenient for them.
I like my sedans for the kids. My 3 and 5 year olds can get in the vehicle and buckle up on their own (can't do so in grandpa's F150 nor in my Dodge, which sits low by todays standards). I have receiver hitches on them as well for cargo carriers, bike racks, pulling the boat, utility trailer etc. Never feel like I need more.
Any other car-based vehicle, like a minivan, would also be great.
Last edited:
I own a 2020 Tundra double cab, smaller than the crew cab, and my wife and I love it. A pickup truck is so versatile. I put my ATV in the bed, carry construction materials in the bed when doing home improvements, and I tow. Much better than ANY SUV I owned. My wife 2016 Highlander is the family vehicle but that ended quickly. My Tundra is much more comfortable and we don’t take her Highlander anywhere as a family. Yes it can get a little tight with car seats but as the kids grow there seats get smaller. I went away with some buddies of mine a few months back and they couldn’t believe how comfortable the back seat was. My one buddy just ordered the same truck cause he was so impressed. I could see a pickup not being the best choice IF you’re not going to use the bed. But who cares if you enjoy pickups...
We raised two girls with a sedan. I have several sedans now, one with rcvr tube hitch. Having said this - if your trailer tongue load is anything more than a light boat trailer's - then, really, what choice of a RWD sedan do you have out there that the Mfrs say will take a rcvr tube hitch... like a Crown Vic or old-school Impala? ...Aside from prohibitions against towing in the owner's manuals (which to me are a bit suspect - YMMV!)
This is a “pickup as a family car“ thread...how much “open bed hauling capacity” does a family car need?...and where does that “third row seat“ face in your mighty open bed pickup? I would take a Volvo V90 over a pickup in a heartbeat for a Family car....for hauling a dozen illegals or a half ton of manure?...I can rent that open bed limo pickup truck.
Here we are folks-a pickup truck hater..........
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Let me answer that:
We can toss a dirty bike or 4-wheeler in the bed. All the fishing gear, tent, coolers...etc. I can throw stuff from home depot in there and not worry about messing up the interior. It can do all of that and still tow the boats or more ATV's on a trailer.
We can toss all the bikes in the bed and go biking somewhere away from home. You can put all the luggage for weeks away from home in there, no problem, and nothing encroaches on the interior space, which is generous and extremely comfortable.
We've owned three vehicles with three rows of seating but since we only have three kids, it was never an absolute necessity, it simply made things a bit easier to prevent fighting. If we had four a truck wouldn't work, but we don't and we've found the truck is the better fit as the kids have gotten older and we are doing more extracurricular activities.
I grew up with wagons, my parents owned two of them and while they were more versatile than a sedan, they were nowhere near as capable as a truck. As long as your occupancy requirements don't exceed what a truck provides, it's the more flexible and more capable choice.
A full sized crew cab Ram is like a big old high off the ground Buick sedan. Plenty of interior space for 2 full sized car seats w/ maybe one compact booster seat. The only issue as mentioned is with the height of the Ram If you are a tiny, shorter person, you might have difficulty hoisting child seats in/out.
With our 4 kids, we've been through almost all vehicle configurations. When my first was born in 2002, we owned a 2001 Nissan Sentra and a 1998 Chevy K1500 reg cab short bed. Rear facing infant car seats are huge and need to take up space by design. We struggled with the Sentra with this, so I took the Sentra over and traded the truck for a new 2002 Isuzu Rodeo. As more kids came along, I sold the sentra outright and bought a used 2001 Ford Windstar. This was about 2003. We had minivans from 2003-2019.
Sliding doors are important to have once kids are big enough to open doors themselves, unless you can train them much better then I was able to. LOL
With our 4 kids, we've been through almost all vehicle configurations. When my first was born in 2002, we owned a 2001 Nissan Sentra and a 1998 Chevy K1500 reg cab short bed. Rear facing infant car seats are huge and need to take up space by design. We struggled with the Sentra with this, so I took the Sentra over and traded the truck for a new 2002 Isuzu Rodeo. As more kids came along, I sold the sentra outright and bought a used 2001 Ford Windstar. This was about 2003. We had minivans from 2003-2019.
Sliding doors are important to have once kids are big enough to open doors themselves, unless you can train them much better then I was able to. LOL
