Need dad advice: Ranger Regrets?

[troutspinner]

Been there, done that! with two kids. I have always owned midsized pickups but when the second child came along, I had to go to full sized. Now that they’ve grown, I am back to midsize and I couldn’t be happier.

One child is fine for midsize, it can handle all of the things mom wants to bring and the child wants to bring on trips but once you have two kids, especially when they get into the arguing years, you’re going to love that extra space and separation between the two.

If you’re the type that visits family on holidays, especially Xmas and two different families. The kids will receive gifts from all, good luck fitting everything in the truck for the trip home. The same goes with a baby shower and many other life events a new family will enjoy.

As said, been there, done that and a full size was the better solution for my wife and 2 kids. There is obviously the better financial decision between the two because a full size eats more gas, only your wallet can decide that one.

Congrats!

Sponsored

 

[GregsFX2Ranger]

I've had the Pentastar V6 in the RAM series. While its a good engine for a majority of their lineup, such as the Jeep models, charger, challenger, etc etc, this engine/transmission does A LOT of gear hunting in their truck series, and feels like its under strain once it gets to 8th(lugging/bogging down - - well this even happens in the Ranger in 9th and 10th sometimes). You can limit the gears and drive in 7th most of the time and you don't feel the strain. But the least incline in the road, the truck starts downshifting. Freqently it would downshift from 8th to 5th. I had a Crew Cab, and this was a BIG truck!

Also, the truck has a 3.21 axle ratio. If you were looking at the Warlock (which is basically a 4th Gen Classic), can you tell if this truck had a 3.55 or a 3.92 axle ratio? I would opt for that.

But, for the price of my Tremor, I can get a Ram 1500 Warlock quad cab V6. Drives great, I like both trucks. The quad cab gives me a foot extra in the bed, 6 inches wider, few inches of legroom

Does anyone with a Ranger and kids regret not getting a full size truck? Hoping my truck will be my daily driver and family vehicle for at least 15 years.

 

[RANGER_MARC]

I have my first kid on the way. I've mentioned before, I have a Tremor on order. Hopefully here in October.

I love the Ranger, wanted one for years.

But, my wife has a small Jeep Renegade. It's staying. I'm worried a Ranger might be too small for a growing family in Alaska where gear and toys and adventures are abundant.

I grew up with a single cab Ford with 4 family members. Daily drove a YJ wrangler for 9 years. So I can handle small. But doesn't mean I want to.

I read through the Ranger as a family car threads, and I know car seats can fit.

But, for the price of my Tremor, I can get a Ram 1500 Warlock quad cab V6. Drives great, I like both trucks. The quad cab gives me a foot extra in the bed, 6 inches wider, few inches of legroom

Does anyone with a Ranger and kids regret not getting a full size truck? Hoping my truck will be my daily driver and family vehicle for at least 15 years.

Would love some guidance from you Ranger lovers on mid-sized vs full-sized trucks in this market.

We don't have kids or dogs, just the wife and me, and we love the Ranger, but even with only the two of us, we manage to fill up the SuperCrew with junk (his and hers sporting goods, cooler, changes of cloths, shoes, purses, backpacks, etc., all stuff that you do not want to leave in the bed). We use a bed net on road trips to hold suitcases going out, and any stuff we buy or find and bring home. The Ranger works well enough for us as is, but I would not mind if the next generation got a little bigger and more powerful, as long as it stays south of the 150s. Still, to get to the point, I cannot see how this could work with one or two (or more) children and all their stuff. The kids could sit in the back of of the S-crew comfortably while they are still young, but that would pretty much eliminate the cabin for storage right there, not to mention when they get bigger. Still, if you find that you want or need a bigger truck than the Ranger, there is no need to get a Ram--if you have the budget (and the garage) for it, move up to an F-150!

 

[VAMike]

another vote for a van here they just make so much more sense and are so much more comfortable for hauling people than any truck. especially if the kids want to bring a couple of friends.

 

[puckdodger]

Once you have two kids, especially when they get into the arguing years, you’re going to love that extra space and separation between the two.

Congrats!

This was always a factor, first for my parents, and then later on for me with my brood, and now I'm just waiting for grandkids so the cycle can continue lol

 

[Dr. Zaius]

The Ranger will fit you fine for years.

While both of my sons (6'2" and 5'11") fit in the back of my Ranger, when we take the whole family somewhere we almost always take either my Grand Cherokee or the wife's SUV.

Having all that secure storage in the rear, plus rear seatbacks that recline, makes for a much more comfortable long trip.

TLDR, get yourself the Ranger and get your wife an SUV or a van.

Or get your wife the Ranger and then get yourself an SUV or a van.

 

[Nomadjohn]

I have 1 kid, a four year old, and the ranger has been great for her. As others have mentioned with younger kids less is more so that you or you wife can reach them in the back seat. I will say a good friend of mine has three kids, 7-13, and they barely fit in the back seat of his F150. When they were younger he had a Colorado and only traded up because his truck got totalled. His wife drives a minivan and that is the family car.

Will your truck or the renegade be the family car? How soon do you think the renegade will get replaced (my guess is when that time comes your wife will want something larger)? Others have mentioned some of the downsides of smaller vehicles, do you think you'd be willing to use a top box or rent something larger for those occasions (renting may not be an option depending on where you are in Alaska)?

At the end of all this I'd suggest just buy the one you want. You'll figure out a way to make it work and neither truck is going to give you as much space or convenience as a van.

 

[CarbonTremor]

The tremor fits my family of 3 just fine. Rear facing car seat for my 2yr old fits fine & my wife still is comfortable in passenger seat. The remaining area of the back seat fits all the toys, back pack with kid stuff, etc. The bed is the bed, plenty of room for toys, small bikes, power wheels, etc. You could always pull a small trailer to carry quads / dirt bikes. . .how long are you planning to keep your tremor? By the time / if you need more room it might be time for a new truck. For us the ranger is the best balance of practicality , capability, size , & still has a cool factor imo with good aftermarket support

 

[jsphlynch]

I already had 3 kids when I bought my Ranger (crew cab), and it was absolutely the right move for me. The kids fit in the back no problem, with 2 booster seats and 1 front-facing carseat. I don't anticipate any big issues with them as they grow. The trunk is huge so there's plenty of room for all their junk.

The one wrinkle that got thrown in after I bought it was that I now have 4 kids, so if we want to take the Ranger somewhere we either have to take 2 vehicles or leave mom at home. I do kind of wish that I now had the middle-front seat that comes only in full-size pickups, but to me even that isn't worth the tradeoff of having to use a full size pickup for my commuter. We're keeping the Ranger, but will be moving on from an SUV to a minivan for our second vehicle once the car market cools down a little.

 

[quangdog]

When I bought my '19 Ranger, I had 3 teenage kids at home. Would not recommend road-tripping in the Ranger with 5 full-grown people - especially when some of them have dubious personal hygiene habits (how does my son not smell himself??!)

However: my oldest went off to college, and we've taken a few road week-long road trips with the other 2 kids, and everyone was plenty comfortable in the cab, and we had room to spare in the bed.

I love the relatively smaller size of the Ranger: easy to reach stuff in the back seat, easy to park, easy to U-turn, easy to fit in garage, shorter wheelbase makes it better off road, tons of torque, etc. For me, it's a perfect fit.

But you are in Alaska - you likely don't need to deal with trying to find street parking in a busy urban area, or really tight parking spots at the grocery store, etc. If you really want lots more elbow room in the cab and don't mind the lower gas mileage, less maneuverability and more difficult parking situation, then go for a full size.... but I think you'll actually like the Ranger more.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[gcan]

Go bigger, not many people say they had to much space especially with babies and all the stuff they require.
My kids are grown and I’m retired which helps but the wife and I are still adjusting to the lack of space after coming from over a decade of F150 super crews

 

[WolfgangVTS]

The Ranger will fit you fine for years.

While both of my sons (6'2" and 5'11") fit in the back of my Ranger, when we take the whole family somewhere we almost always take either my Grand Cherokee or the wife's SUV.

Having all that secure storage in the rear, plus rear seatbacks that recline, makes for a much more comfortable long trip.

TLDR, get yourself the Ranger and get your wife an SUV or a van.

Or get your wife the Ranger and then get yourself an SUV or a van.

This is exactly what my wife and I did. We got the Ranger for me and we got the Jeep Grand Cherokee for her. We just recently (last week) took a family vacation to the beach with our two adult children. We took the Cherokee. Plenty of cargo space for all of our gear and the reclining rear seats….nice.

We do a lot together as a family and most of the time we drive the Ranger. Plenty of room for four adults in my supercrew and mind you I’m 6’3”. I think the Ranger is a great family vehicle but everyone’s use case will be different. Just from a “will it fit my family” standpoint I would say it more than likely will (think of the Ranger as a taller Ford Fusion with a much bigger trunk).

 

[Ace Holliday]

The Dodge V6 is pretty anemic in a fullsized truck. You better drive one before you get excited about the extra room. Especially if you have driven a Ranger.

 

[Floyd]

OH! and remember... people who ride in the back seat don't make car payments!

 

[Floyd]

We bought the Ranger STX and with the difference money(from a loaded Lariat) we had already bought the perfect Family car..."TC" stands for Transit Connect but sometimes its more like "Taxi Cab"
We even got 4WD... Front on the TC and rear on the Ranger!

Sponsored