Advice for a pickup for my needs.

[marlinfshr]

I disagree with those pushing SUV's. Though I like SUV's and had driven them for 15 plus years. (The old pick-up based SUV's with the removable top like the full sized broncos and the j-10 based full sized cherokee). Those vehicles were great and were basically a short bed pick-up truck. But when I went over to the crew cab short bed trucks, they outperform those old school SUV's in every possible way. If having a "camper" and sleeping on the floor, inside, is a priority, one can always get a cap. My Ram has a 6'3" bed so that is plenty for anything I would ever do. For me, I opted for a cross bed tool box plus two side boxes and I still have plenty of open bed space. But I detail boats so those boxes let me keep tools locked up and waxes and other cleaners organized while still having complete use of both front and back seats in the cab.

If length of bed is important, measure and see what is availabe. With the exception of a few specialty 1/2 tons it seems that most are based on length of a standard full sized regular cab/8 ft bed. So the larger the cab, the shorter the rear box. I think some older ford supercrew F150's had a pretty short bed but the back seat was huge. The ford super cabs probably had the longest of the short beds but the back seating area was pretty small, more for storage. My Ram is a happy medium for me by having a reasoanable sized rear seat and a usable sized bed. I think the newer (4thgen) have a larger rear seat, as do the chevy's/GM's. Just got to look around!

Personally, I like the openness of the rear bed. Things can be tossed in without getting dirt inside the cab. Plants can tip over, a bag of mulch can rip open and it's not the end of the world. Also bulky items are far easier to handle in an open bed. Yes, I have hauled furniture in a bronco and suburban but the open Pick-up beds are much easier!

[pikabike]

OP specifically said he did not want all the usual truck things such as decent payload and towing capacities. He also specifically hung onto the notion of sleeping in an open bed, so he is not talking about putting on a camper top.

Living in pickup country, I see a LOT of crew cabs as well as regular and extended cabs. Many crewcabs have beds shorter than 6 ft, and some of them are only 4.5' long.

My own choice is a pickup, but I wanted bed space and seating for driver and one passenger, as well as a bunch of other things the OP stated he does not want.

He already decided and bought one, anyway.

[Old Gringo]

Originally Posted by Latsabb

Hello.

I am looking to get a pickup, but every time I start looking into them, or ask someone, I get a ton of either useless info, or things that dont apply to me, so I was hoping I could get some diverse answers here.

Basically, I want a pickup that I can transport my family comfortably in, which means some sort of quadcab/crewcab. The more legroom, the better, but I would still like to keep it reasonable. For example, the F-150 has a ton of room, but it is full of things I dont need. For example, I have no need for towing capacity, nor does it really need to be heavy duty. It isnt going to be on dirt/gravel roads, and I dont plan on having anything too heavy in the bed. I want to be able to transport things like couches, some basic building materials for DIY jobs around the house, etc. No need for more than a couple hundred pounds in the bed, really.

I had looked at a Ranger, but it seemed maybe just a bit too small on the inside for my wife and two young children. (6 and 8) I plan to have a 3 year lease, but reliability is also a major concern for me, especially if I decide to keep it after the lease is up.

TL;DR: Looking for a pickup truck with enough room for the other 3 members of the family, no towing, and a couple hundred pounds max in the bed. Reliability is important.

Thanks!

Take a look at the new Honda Ridgeline. My brother has one and it checks all your boxes.