Ranger crew cab big enough for family with kids?

cfhgarza

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I would say there is enough room. The cab feels like it has about as much passenger space as my 2014 Escape had.
How often are you going to have that 3rd adult in the back? Its going to be cramped with two full car seats and a 3rd person but I think its doable if you put the smallest 3rd person back there.
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I would say there is enough room. The cab feels like it has about as much passenger space as my 2014 Escape had.
How often are you going to have that 3rd adult in the back? Its going to be cramped with two full car seats and a 3rd person but I think its doable if you put the smallest 3rd person back there.
What if OP is the smallest person?
 
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Tulumben

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OP here again - I think I found the perfect sized vehicle in terms of what I am looking for - big enough to comfortably carry 5 people and still be a proper pickup truck, unfortunately they discontinued it a while ago - the Chevy Avalanche. I honestly totally forgot this vehicle existed but one drove by me recently and I thought to myself "that's exactly the type/size of vehicle I am looking for". I don't know anything about them or if they were highly regarded, etc. but at first glance that looks like what I ideally want.
 
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Tulumben

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I would say there is enough room. The cab feels like it has about as much passenger space as my 2014 Escape had.
How often are you going to have that 3rd adult in the back? Its going to be cramped with two full car seats and a 3rd person but I think its doable if you put the smallest 3rd person back there.
What if OP is the smallest person?
Unfortunately, this is where it gets complicated... my wife is tiny but needs to sit in the front seat since she gets carsick very easily. My father-in-law is the one who needs to sit in the back seat and he's a normal sized male adult. This is basically the root of my whole issue in terms of the Ranger being a little on the small side but the F150 being overkill. In a perfect world, my tiny wife would be the 3rd person in the back and the Ranger would be a slam dunk for us.
 

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OP here again - I think I found the perfect sized vehicle in terms of what I am looking for - big enough to comfortably carry 5 people and still be a proper pickup truck, unfortunately they discontinued it a whole ago - the Chevy Avalanche. I honestly totally forgot this vehicle existed but one drove by me recently and I thought to myself "that's exactly the type/size of vehicle I am looking for". I don't know anything about them or if they were highly regarded, etc. but at first glance that looks like what I ideally want.
Previous generation Ridgelines we're almost that size as well. Might take a look at those.

We fit 4 OK in the Ranger (2 forward facing car seats and 2 adults) but as soon as you add a dog and "stuff" in the cab, it gets tight quickly. I definitely understand your dilemma as I went through the same process.

We use it to adventure off highway but mostly day trips. Anything longer and we take our other vehicle.
 


I Truck Naked

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I'm a single parent of two (9 & 4), and I downsized from a 2017 F150 supercrew to my 2019 Ranger with NO regrets. It's plenty spacious for us all, and I wouldn't hesitate to make the same choice again.
 

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How many of you guys are using the Ranger as a family vehicle? Trying to decide between a full-size truck and a mid-size. Overall I definitely prefer a mid-size because I feel like full sized trucks are way too big and we live in an urban area and need to park downtown often, but the interior space in mid-size trucks seems like it might be a little bit too small. Any of you able to fit 2x car/booster seats in the back? Occasionally would like to be able to carry an extra adult in the back to in addition to the 2x car/booster seats. I know a full-size would be a safer bet but if a mid-size would do the trick that would be my preference.

My wife and I regularly go to her parents ranch and take the truck. I'm 6'1 and my wife is 5'1 and we have two daughters aged 7 and 10 so you know they have a crap ton of stuff as well as their booster seats. I do not have to move my seat for either of my girls to sit comfortably behind me. One thing I did before I drove the truck was adjust the driver's seat to where I wanted it then got in the back seat. I could sit back there with no real issues. I did get some seat protectors for under the boosters as well as some of those seat back storage/protector things to hang off the back of the front seats. This gives them a place to stash stuff as well as protect the backs of the seats from dirty/muddy shoes. Other things to look into are Weathertech or similar floor mats and some sort of door sill protectors.

For a third person in the back, there is room but space is limited between the booster seats. So it'd have to be a smaller adult if one were to sit back there.

For our trips I picked up a 55G HDX storage box from Home Depot (under $30) and can pack all our bags and such in that and strap it down in the bed. I also strap a smallish dog crate in the front of the bed for my two dogs as well. I have a tri-fold tonneau and fold it up and so it provides plenty of shade for them.

Hope this helps.
 
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jsphlynch

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OP here again - I think I found the perfect sized vehicle in terms of what I am looking for - big enough to comfortably carry 5 people and still be a proper pickup truck, unfortunately they discontinued it a while ago - the Chevy Avalanche. I honestly totally forgot this vehicle existed but one drove by me recently and I thought to myself "that's exactly the type/size of vehicle I am looking for". I don't know anything about them or if they were highly regarded, etc. but at first glance that looks like what I ideally want.
My brother-in-law is a huge fan of the Avalanche, to the extent that I think he's bought 3 of them for his kids' first vehicles. He's referred to them as an SUV with a wheelbarrow on the back. Plenty of room for passengers, so he can have one kid take the rest into town. He's a farmer, so it was important that the vehicle can reach any part of the farm, and, if necessary, can carry any greasy/muddy/etc parts in the back. If he needs any heavy-duty pickup work done, he's got his own full-size pickup to do that.
 
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Tulumben

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Previous generation Ridgelines we're almost that size as well. Might take a look at those.

We fit 4 OK in the Ranger (2 forward facing car seats and 2 adults) but as soon as you add a dog and "stuff" in the cab, it gets tight quickly. I definitely understand your dilemma as I went through the same process.

We use it to adventure off highway but mostly day trips. Anything longer and we take our other vehicle.
I think I was looking at the specs for the "previous generation Ridgelines" when I said that was an in-between size in a previous post. As much as I hate to admit it, I think that's probably the most appropriate vehicle for me all things considering. I definitely want a real truck to do real truck stuff, but realistically I know the Ridgeline would be sufficient 95% of the time. My current vehicle is a pretty big unibody SUV so not sure a Ridgeline would be different enough to warrant switching vehicles.

I want this to be our go to adventure and road trip vehicle so having something that only works for day trips doesn't really cut in.
 

cfhgarza

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Unfortunately, this is where it gets complicated... my wife is tiny but needs to sit in the front seat since she gets carsick very easily. My father-in-law is the one who needs to sit in the back seat and he's a normal sized male adult. This is basically the root of my whole issue in terms of the Ranger being a little on the small side but the F150 being overkill. In a perfect world, my tiny wife would be the 3rd person in the back and the Ranger would be a slam dunk for us.
I agree full size trucks are too big. I traded in a Ram 1500 for the Ranger. The extra space was nice but it wasn't very enjoyable to drive.

My opinion is if your only giving your Father-in-law a ride once in a while I would take the Ranger. If it's daily or weekly I would go with the F150.
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