Ranger - why buy midsize?

[Friday yet?]

On road this week. Summer time. People traveling. Rentals are in demand. My normal "grab a Ford" was not an option. So.... driving a Ram. (That's a Dodge for those of us of a certain age.)

This truck was built in March 2024. Ram 1500 Classic. Work truck. I mean Plain Jane spec wise. V6 per the performance and sound but haven't popped the hood. Crew cab with the narrow rear doors. (Some of you Ram guys may correct me but assume they call still call that a crew cab. ) Longer bed. Guessing 6 1/2 feet? I don't know Ram trucks. Not 8 foot for sure.

Not sure why, but this evening back at the hotel decided to look at the manufacturers info on the door stickers. Just curiosity I guess. Anyway, this truck does NOT handle like my Tremor, does NOT accelerate like my Tremor... And does not even give me the thrill of a deep throated sounding V8 when I punch it. Seat is pretty comfortable I must say. As to the size? Give me my Ranger. Any day.

So, why buy a midsize truck? My Tremor is one of the heavier Ranger specs but yet still has a cargo capacity of 1426 pounds. This Dodge, I mean Ram... low spec model all the way so less weight from options. V6 engine. So lower weight versus a V8. Lower weight spec overall as far as full size trucks go.

Bottom line.... Cargo capacity? 1888 pounds. That's 462 pounds more than my blue beauty. Victory goes to Dodge! No argument here. But what if this Dodge, I mean Ram, was spec'd at the level of my Lariat? All the same bells and whistles. Smaller sized victory for sure. For me? No way do I need a stripped down work truck, bigger in every aspect with less performance just so I can gain 400+ pounds of cargo capacity. No. Freaking. Way. Not at my house.

One final item..... This Dodge is a 4x2!!! ? Heck, spec it the same but add 4x4 and then let's compare cargo capacity!!! Ranger for the win.

Why buy a midsize? Because a HALF TON TRUCK is enough for my daily life.

Ford F***ing Ranger.

Ram sticker if you are interested.

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[ctechbob]

Well, my friends SCREW Ram Bighorn with the 5.7 and 2WD has around 1500# of payload, whereas my 2WD STX SCREW has a smidge over 1700#.

The half-tons most people buy these days are so loaded down with options that they really take it in the ass when it comes to payload. I've seen Tundra's with 1200# F150's with sub-1400#, the list goes on.

Most people don't look at that though. They see the ad that says 'F150 can tow 50,000 pounds', buy one, load it to the gills, throw their 2.5 kids and dog in it, and hook it up to a 30 foot travel trailer and set off for points unknown.

I see them all the time dragging ass down the interstates while I pass safely by in my 'little' Ranger sitting dead level.

 

[Msfitoy]

Back in the 90s our R5g would be considered full size...

 

[AzScorpion]

Back in the 90s our R5g would be considered full size...

Yup, My Ranger is the same size as my '96 F150. I hate to see what they'll be in another 28 years.

 

[Doc]

Yup, My Ranger is the same size as my '96 F150. I hate to see what they'll be in another 28 years.

The new ones seem like driving an F-150 ..

 

[brroberts]

The Ranger was the least expensive new vehicle to meet my requirements. I needed 1800lbs payload, 7000lbs towing, and a combined rating to allow both at the same time. ‘21 Ranger XLT SCAB, $27,214. So I bought it, added a few things, and drive it.

 

[MountainGoat]

Why buy midsize? Because they don't make compact trucks anymore.

 

[OrangeStreak]

An F-150 is too large to fit into many garages. The garage in my house that was built in the 80's would only leave 1" of space inside for a 2018 F-150 SCab (just a hair over 19' in length according to Ford specs). The Ranger is a perfect fit with around 10" of space from the front wall and the same from the back wall inside the garage...

Fortunately, able to get in with the bike rack on by backing in at an angle...

 

[GhostStrykre]

The 5 foot bed on the ranger becomes a limiting factor in several different areas. I have b*tched and moaned about it on several threads here over the years i've been a member. I wish Ford would've provided a crew cab long bed option, but i suspect they worry about their F150 sales if they do that. i know they say it's about development time for a different production dimension (which i'm sure is true).

A lot of dual sport motorcycles can go into the F-150 short bed (5.5 ft) diagonally and the tail gate will close. Can't do that with a Ranger. I know there are alternatives to getting around this like hitch racks, or even light duty open trailers. I'm just making the point that I see value in that. I don't tow basically ever, so I don't run into the payload issue.

That said, I've been eyeballing a new 2024 F-150, crew cab 4x4 with a short bed. It's an XLT with the fewest amount of options possible, and here's its payload:

1,961lbs isn't too shabby for a 4x4 XLT SuperCrew F-150. It also has the 5.0L V8 mated to 3.73 gears. For someone like me, this would be pretty nice vs. my 2019 Ranger XLTs 1,200ish# payload and shorty/narrow 5ft bed.

i do love driving my ranger tho. it's the better every day truck. way easier to park.

these threads and the "what truck should i buy?" threads always come down to the same conclusion: how are you going to use it? something i've only recently concluded is that trucks ARE slightly different in this analysis. for most people, 98% of their driving could be done by a corrola. trucks, however, are defined by that 2%. when you fall into that 2%, how are you using it. and this varies wildly. and that is how the decision is made on mid-size vs full-size.

just my $0.02.

 

[Tremot Trent]

Got the 16’ F350 for big truck stuff, just hit 70k, as persons stated prior, Ranger has capacities of 90 and prior 1/2 tons. Just smaller bed.

 

[Bob902]

An F-150 is too large to fit into many garages. The garage in my house that was built in the 80's would only leave 1" of space inside for a 2018 F-150 SCab (just a hair over 19' in length according to Ford specs). The Ranger is a perfect fit with around 10" of space from the front wall and the same from the back wall inside the garage.

There's no way a full size crew cab is fitting in our garage. Don't understand why they make garages so damn small. We can barely fit my ranger and the wife's Terrain in ours.

 

[Tom_C]

There's no way a full size crew cab is fitting in our garage. Don't understand why they make garages so damn small. We can barely fit my ranger and the wife's Terrain in ours.

I just saw something talking about garage sizes, and the basic reason was the price of land for developers.... I'm sure that matters in some areas, but I think it's more to try to keep costs down in general.

Anyway, we just built a house. My wife is an architect so she designed it. We had to cut down the size of everything just to reduce the budget, and we don't have kids so don't need much space. The garage is a good size 2 car garage (started as 3 car) that we can get 2 cars, a side by side and small dump trailer in. But, I still wish we had a 3 car garage.... so, we're adding a detached garage, too. Probably should have just built the 3 car to start with

 

[Bob902]

I just saw something talking about garage sizes, and the basic reason was the price of land for developers.... I'm sure that matters in some areas, but I think it's more to try to keep costs down in general.

Anyway, we just built a house. My wife is an architect so she designed it. We had to cut down the size of everything just to reduce the budget, and we don't have kids so don't need much space. The garage is a good size 2 car garage (started as 3 car) that we can get 2 cars, a side by side and small dump trailer in. But, I still wish we had a 3 car garage.... so, we're adding a detached garage, too. Probably should have just built the 3 car to start with

The house we moved from, we built in 2004. Had 2.5 acres and my three car garage was 36' x 30'.? I had plenty of room. Unlike this new one, but I suspect land and costs are the major factor.

 

[Msfitoy]

Yup, My Ranger is the same size as my '96 F150. I hate to see what they'll be in another 28 years.

2052 Ford Ranger...you can tow your house...

 

[Bob902]

2052 Ford Ranger...you can tow your house...

I don't want to wait until 2052. Want it now!!!

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