Crew Cab pick-up as a family vehicle?

[JeffKeryk]

I can't imagine not having a pickup. Regardless.
Stuff has to be moved, not just people. As other's have posted, Critic's Ram has a HUGE 2nd seat area.
He should be good for a few years minimum. Then the Ram can be relagated to part time use. I would never sell it.

 

[ammolab]

Here we are folks-a pickup truck hater..........

Don’t hate pickups..owned two of them. Really liked my Dakota V8 5 speed manual. But I also owned a Volvo 850 Turbo wagon, and it made a much better “family car”. Performance, braking,handling, safety and fuel economy no pickup can match. Pickups can hold dirty fishing gear and dirt bikes but they are MUCH MORE likely to overturn in an accident and throw you out onto the pavement. I communed for 40 years on Houston interstates and stopped quite a few times for pickup rollover wrecks.

So you can tell me all the great utilities of owning a pickup and you are absolutely correct, but when I win that powerball drawing?.....I “might buy” that T-Rex pickup, but I will absolutely order the AMG waggon.

 

[CKN]

Don’t hate pickups..owned two of them. Really liked my Dakota V8 5 speed manual. But I also owned a Volvo 850 Turbo wagon, and it made a much better “family car”. Performance, braking,handling, safety and fuel economy no pickup can match. Pickups can hold dirty fishing gear and dirt bikes but they are MUCH MORE likely to overturn in an accident and throw you out onto the pavement. I communed for 40 years on Houston interstates and stopped quite a few times for pickup rollover wrecks.

So you can tell me all the great utilities of owning a pickup and you are absolutely correct, but when I win that powerball drawing?.....I “might buy” that T-Rex pickup, but I will absolutely order the AMG waggon.

I don't think anybody on this thread called Pickups performance vehicles. Of course the AMG will do 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds-while the Ford Raptor will do it in 5.5. And you can still throw stuff in the bed.

 

[meep]

Hehe. Just about every pickup offered these days is a performance vehicle for folks that grew up in the 80s. I think the xl f150 in my driveway has a ~6 sec 0-60 time. Growing up with 160hp v8s and 85hp sedans, today’s trucks are insane. Now, they still can /steer/ or /stick/ with that high CG, but then again the body dynamics are arguably superior to what we had back then.

granted, get out of the truck and sit in a modern sedan and ... wow ... they are a different world too.

 

[4WD]

I can't imagine not having a pickup. Regardless.
Stuff has to be moved, not just people. As other's have posted, Critic's Ram has a HUGE 2nd seat area.
He should be good for a few years minimum. Then the Ram can be relagated to part time use. I would never sell it.

This summer became the first time since my 1979 PowerWagon … I bought a single axle utility trailer (with ramp) and roof racks for the Jeep (Tahoe already had) and so far it’s working out for handy man and beach bum stuff … gave the trailer some better skins though

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I think you will have a love / hate relationship with the truck and kids. It’s nice to have but not very day. Trucks are a huge pain sometimes for reasons already mentioned. If shopping with the family putting stuff in the bed sucks but it’s also nice to be able to bring bikes and toys around easily. Fitting inside isn’t a problem. MPG and parking is another downside.

 

[doublebase]

You can easily outfit the bed of the truck to do whatever you want...haul groceries, luggage, anything you can think of. The backseat room will be fine for the kids and you’ll be able to get them in and out without having to bend down into a sedan.

The only drawback I can think of is gas mileage and parking. Some parking lots can be tight and a truck isn’t the funnest thing when it’s sticking out of a spot or struggling to get it in. And that’s when you’ll start getting the dents and dings and bumper damage.

But yeah, I often see full sized extended cab trucks being used as family haulers now. They’re kind of like the new mini van or SUV.

 

[01rangerxl]

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.

I think good folding tonneau covers help make crew cab trucks good multi purpose vehicles/only vehicles.

If I could only have one vehicle, I think it would be a crew cab pickup. I love my Explorer and mostly drive it, but I have to have a pickup too. The Ranger gets used for truck stuff almost weekly and I wouldn't want to be without it. I know other people get by without pickups, but I don't.

 

[Al]

I would normally say "no" to pickup trucks for family bc of safety But the Ram 1500 is an exception. You should be fine.

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

I like the idea of a back trunk with tailgate removed. This box slides but does not go down to bed height... and does not have a rear lip height close to bed ht... but folks likely get my idea....

 

[LawrenceGazebo]

I would normally say "no" to pickup trucks for family bc of safety But the Ram 1500 is an exception. You should be fine.

Why do you say it is an exception?

 

[CKN]

Why do you say it is an exception?

Right now the RAM is the best in class with ride and interior. There really isnt any sacrifices other than size and less fuel mpg than a sedan. And I own a Silverado.

 

[The Critic]

Thank you for all of the suggestions and experiences shared - it was very helpful. My wife is considering a new vehicle but for 2 kids, it sounds like we can survive without a mini-van. I think she will eventually want to replace the Accord with a 3-row crossover so I think we should be able to manage without a minivan. But I agree that a minivan is ideal for a number of reasons. Interestingly enough, there was a comparison test done regarding this topic (minivan vs truck):

https://www.cars.com/articles/which-is-better-a-minivan-or-a-pickup-truck-1420696360649/

Also found another discussion about this topic: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/crew-cab-pickup-minivan-family-4-2131074/

I mean, you can also transport kids in a Crown Vic or Geo Metro, but I think he has a valid question here. It's not "is this possible," it's "will getting a different vehicle be worth it from a convenience standpoint."

Exactly. Based on the suggestions it sounds like it is a borderline situation. Yes, a minivan is probably a better tool, but if my wife buys a 3-row crossover, I think we can manage.

What truck do you have? I think it depends on MPG and parking being important to you. The f 150 I have has 4 real doors and has tons of room if you want to keep what you’ve got. The doors being opened next to other vehicles taking car seats out could be a challenge in some parking lots. You could always add a topper if you needed more space

2020 Ram 1500 DT Crew Cab. It is the new body style Ram.

I personally think it's not efficient to use a CC pick up as a dedicated family vehicle unless your situation requires towing/bed capacity on a regular basis. A full size SUV will offer the same driving experience but way more useable room. having to crawl or remove the tonneau to get to the groceries that slid to the front of the bed will get annoying. Plus isn't rear leg room in crew cabs pretty tight since the seats cannot be reclined or pushed back? Infants aren't too bad but once you put a toddler in a car seat they're feet will be right up against the front seats. The only crew cab truck I've ever sat in that didn't feel cramped in the back was a Tundra Crewmax and Ram Megacab. The rest you sit very upright and legroom is scarce. More then an extended cab but not much. Probably equal to a compact SUV.

Just went outside and took this picture of the second row. I placed the container of Mobil 1 on the floor to illustrate the rear-seat legroom. I think the rear seat legroom on my truck is similar to the 2nd row of most minivans.

I can't imagine not having a pickup. Regardless.
Stuff has to be moved, not just people. As other's have posted, Critic's Ram has a HUGE 2nd seat area.
He should be good for a few years minimum. Then the Ram can be relagated to part time use. I would never sell it.

Glad you were able to see the truck in-person!

 

[jstert]

parkinson’s law that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" has a corollary with “stuff expanding to fill the available space.” i chose a station wagon (a venerable volvo 245) for 12 years that lasted through two sons’ high school years, with a 4 door sedan serving perfectly fine up to their grade 1. it’s a shame that station wagon versions of sedans are unavailable these days. a large sedan (vw passat, chevy impala), a quasi wagon (subaru outback or forester), a regular suv or a minivan, finally and lastly a truck is my suggestion. then there is the family finance thing, sedans being cheapest to purchase and operate; sadly many americans seem to operate on the parkinson’s financial corollary that “expenditures expand to fill the available credit.”

 

[Skippy722]

parkinson’s law that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" has a corollary with “stuff expanding to fill the available space.” i chose a station wagon (a venerable volvo 245) for 12 years that lasted through two sons’ high school years, with a 4 door sedan serving perfectly fine up to their grade 1. it’s a shame that station wagon versions of sedans are unavailable these days. a large sedan (vw passat, chevy impala), a quasi wagon (subaru outback or forester), a regular suv or a minivan, finally and lastly a truck is my suggestion. then there is the family finance thing, sedans being cheapest to purchase and operate; sadly many americans seem to operate on the parkinson’s financial corollary that “expenditures expand to fill the available credit.”

People buy what they want and like, not only what they “need.” I’ve owned pretty much everything... small wagon (Caliber), small car (Forte Koup), large crossover/glorified massive wagon (Durango), large sedan (300), a Grand Caravan, and a Ram 1500 The van is excellent for hauling people and okay at hauling stuff and the truck is good at hauling people and excellent at hauling stuff.

 

[LawrenceGazebo]

Right now the RAM is the best in class with ride and interior. There really isnt any sacrifices other than size and less fuel mpg than a sedan. And I own a Silverado.

Thank you, I agree with the ride and interior assessments. The user I was quoting said safety, though, and I wasn't aware of a particular advantage to the RAMs in that respect.

 

[dareo]

Obviously the mini van is the king family vehicle but a crew cab truck can get it done. Wide enough to fit 3 car seats if you had to. You can get a hard tonneau cover or diamondback cover and the bed becomes a secure trunk. 4x4 and towing options a mini van could never touch.

 

[OVERKILL]

Thank you, I agree with the ride and interior assessments. The user I was quoting said safety, though, and I wasn't aware of a particular advantage to the RAMs in that respect.

The DT RAM has the best crash test rating of the pickup offerings, and is the only one that's a top safety pick:

2021 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup

2021 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

 

[LawrenceGazebo]

The DT RAM has the best crash test rating of the pickup offerings, and is the only one that's a top safety pick:

2021 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup

2021 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

View attachment 44573

Very cool, thank you for sharing. I have the deadlier one

 

[OVERKILL]

Very cool, thank you for sharing. I have the deadlier one

We have a number of those at work and briefly owned a 2018 EcoDiesel, which we traded on our current DT, not because it was a bad truck, but because my wife ended up short-tripping it for work and the regens started to be weekly during the colder months. The DT is a significant upgrade in terms of ride quality and interior as well as safety, which isn't unexpected given the age of the outgoing platform.