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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
  
Location: PNW | So, before having babies I drove a 2007 Dodge 3500. It had four doors, but that generation had the smaller backseats even with the four full-size doors. I drove it for about six months after my first son was born - and then we bought me a Toyota Sequoia (their big SUV). I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Sequoia for being a family rig, especially now that we have two little guys - but I miss the capabilities of my truck. My SUV pulls my bumper pull trailer well enough, but I can't haul hay, can't go get shavings, can't pull a gooseneck, etc. and living on/owning a ranch - I just feel kind of helpless without an actual truck.
I've narrowed it down to either a new Ford F-350 or a Dodge 3500 - does anybody use either of these as a family rig? We travel (driving) quite a bit, so storage and space are needed, plus comfort. The Mega Cab isn't an option for the Dodge because I want a long bed. Thanks! |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | I'd be trading in my Sequoia on the truck, if I decided to go that route. |
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  The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
 
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | I've never been in the back of a new Ford, nor a Dodge of any age. BUT Fords even as old as 2002 have HUGE bacck seat space. (Both the seat and floor space.) |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | RacingQH - 2014-11-03 10:37 AM
I've never been in the back of a new Ford, nor a Dodge of any age. BUT Fords even as old as 2002 have HUGE bacck seat space. (Both the seat and floor space.)
Thanks! We have a friend that has a new F350 but it is his work truck and full of crap. So it is hard to really tell! But I LOVE driving it. |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | My Dad has a 2004 F250, and I am 6 foot tall. I am easily stretch out in the backseat of the truck. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I have both and my Ford F250 has the most room in the back seat out of my 2 Dodge's 3500, I love my Dodges, but if Im going to be having my two kids with me I think the Ford would be more comfortable, I have riden in friends back seat of their Dodges and hated them, I have long legs and was not comfortable at all.
Edited by Southtxponygirl 2014-11-03 10:54 AM
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | Thanks everyone! Keep it coming!!! |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | Do even the brand new Dodges have smaller backseats than the Fords? |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 554
| I haven't looked at the new fords, but the new dodges have more room than before. I thought the only family car was a truck!!  |
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Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | svincent - 2014-11-03 11:57 AM Do even the brand new Dodges have smaller backseats than the Fords?
I know you said Mega Cab was out, but my friend has one and I feel like I need a megaphone to talk to the people sitting in the front! |
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 Party Girl
Posts: 12293
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | We have a 2013 F350. We went from a mega cab to the ford. I thought we would loose a lot of space going from the Mega Cab but it really isn't bad at all. I haven't spent a lot of time in the back seat.
My SO's bro-in-law in a general manager for a ford store and that is all they have for vehicles is trucks. They have 2 little girls and it works just fine for them. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | If you're considering a GM, the back seat doesn't have air vents. The only think I dislike about my truck. My 2005 did, but they removed them by 2008 and haven't put them back yet. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1034
| I've been driving an SUV for a while, too. Four kids won't fit in a truck. But my oldest is almost out of the house and I still have two in car seats. I'm thinking about the F350 after my oldest graduates.
Does that make seem to be the consensus on roomy back seating? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 667
| My dodget 2500 Mega Cab is HUGE! I could sleep no problem in the back. It is way more comfortable than my parents SVU. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9991
Location: Kansas | My boyfriend has a megacab and we love it, he's trying to sell it to get a quad cab. But I wouldn't hesitate to buy a truck as a family vehicle |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | My SO has a new dodge... Not much difference in room between his and my dads new Ford.
We have one 4 year old and one in a carseat. There isn't much difference if any between them. By SO is 6 foot 5 so his seat is always all the way back and leaned back in his dodge. And it's the same when we had to borrow my dad's truck for a while. Not much difference at all. I prefer the seats in the Ford for long hauls. Much more comfortable for my scoliosis.
BUT! The new dodges are having major problems with their diesels... If you get a diesel get a 6.0 Ford and bulletproof the engine. It's not hard and well worth it. Your truck will last twice as long on a stonck transmission. I drive a 96 250 7.3L Diesel. But my dad has a 13 250 6.0L diesel. He has yet to have one problem with his. He keeps a programmer on it for mileage but never turns it up. He also had his programmer tuned for pulling by a guy here in TX. My SOs new dodge had 10k miles on it and he blew his transmission.... WITHOUT a programmer and on a stock transmission.... He's currently looking at a Ford...
Edited by IRunOnFaith 2014-11-03 12:07 PM
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 More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I had Chevy dooleys for my "mini van" for most of the years I had kids. Comfortable back seats and lots of room. I think it depends on what interior you get as to if you have rear vents? My son was just talking about this the other day. I've had bucket seats in the front and I have rear vents. As far as a Dodge goes, my 2 brothers each have one and sitting in the back seat is the most uncomfortable seat ever and it doesn't matter how new or old of a Dodge it was. Its like sitting on a milk crate. |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | CYA Ranch - 2014-11-03 1:21 PM I had Chevy dooleys for my "mini van" for most of the years I had kids. Comfortable back seats and lots of room. I think it depends on what interior you get as to if you have rear vents? My son was just talking about this the other day. I've had bucket seats in the front and I have rear vents. As far as a Dodge goes, my 2 brothers each have one and sitting in the back seat is the most uncomfortable seat ever and it doesn't matter how new or old of a Dodge it was. Its like sitting on a milk crate.
Haha This is accurate about the dodge seats |
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Expert
Posts: 1543
Location: MI | We have a Ford Expedition as our 'family car', but also have an '06 Dodge Megacab. (traded my '03 F250 diesel ext cab for it when we started having kids). My dad has a '13 F250 quad cab. I like the F250 better. We can fit 6 in each without an issue, but the Dodge has nickel and dimed us to death, it seems like there is always something that needs to be done to it, and I don't feel that there is that much extra room in the Dodge to justify having the Megacab. The extra room just isn't that accessible when car seats are in the way! If we owned a ranch, I'd totally get a truck as my 'mommy car'! Have fun! |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | CYA Ranch - 2014-11-03 1:21 PM I had Chevy dooleys for my "mini van" for most of the years I had kids. Comfortable back seats and lots of room. I think it depends on what interior you get as to if you have rear vents? My son was just talking about this the other day. I've had bucket seats in the front and I have rear vents. As far as a Dodge goes, my 2 brothers each have one and sitting in the back seat is the most uncomfortable seat ever and it doesn't matter how new or old of a Dodge it was. Its like sitting on a milk crate.
Bucket seats, crew cab, top trim package--no rear vents in 2008, 2010, or 2015. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 554
| IRunOnFaith - 2014-11-03 12:02 PM
My SO has a new dodge... Not much difference in room between his and my dads new Ford.
We have one 4 year old and one in a carseat. There isn't much difference if any between them. By SO is 6 foot 5 so his seat is always all the way back and leaned back in his dodge. And it's the same when we had to borrow my dad's truck for a while. Not much difference at all. I prefer the seats in the Ford for long hauls. Much more comfortable for my scoliosis.
BUT! The new dodges are having major problems with their diesels... If you get a diesel get a 6.0 Ford and bulletproof the engine. It's not hard and well worth it. Your truck will last twice as long on a stonck transmission. I drive a 96 250 7.3L Diesel. But my dad has a 13 250 6.0L diesel. He has yet to have one problem with his. He keeps a programmer on it for mileage but never turns it up. He also had his programmer tuned for pulling by a guy here in TX. My SOs new dodge had 10k miles on it and he blew his transmission.... WITHOUT a programmer and on a stock transmission.... He's currently looking at a Ford...
I agree on the Dodges, I just got my two dodge 5.9's serviced and the dealer offered me 25k a truck and over 20k off on a new dodge. I was like thanks but no thanks. The new emissions on the new dodges are a nightmare. I hear the new ones don't pull as much as the 5.9's so I would go with a ford. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| I agree with the Dodge 5.9 or the Ford 7.3. I have a Dodge and my hubby has a Ford. We can't go anywhere without people offering to buy our trucks for whatever we ask for them. Both trucks have been abused and not babied and they "just keep truckin." The only thing that I am eyeing vs a "real" truck would be a 7.3 Excursion. No, I wouldn't be able to haul a gooseneck, but those things are like an apartment on wheels. I used to have a 2500k Suburban...and that hauled EVERYTHING and was a nice place to sleep during rodeos since I don't have an LQ trailer.  |
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 Firecracker Dog Lover
Posts: 3175
| My daily commuter is a 3/4-ton diesel pickup, extended cab model. If you can afford it - go for it. My son rode with his booster seat in the back and you can fit three full size adults comfortably in the back. I don't think I'd want to ride 500 miles in the back but I've done it for a couple hundred and it's more than comfortable - it's a GM rig though. :) |
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Location: not settling | The Dodge has about as much room as a f150 ext. cab, and not to sure if you've spent any time sitting in the backseat of one, but its not comfortable- at all. Parents f350 fits 2 carseats and a 220lb man comfortably in the back seat. As for mileage- the SUV is obviously slightly better, and the newer trucks all end up having around the same mpg. |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | Do they make the Excursion still? |
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 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | The Ford f350 has a lot of room in the back seat and you could fit up to 8 people comfortably. I sat in the Mega front and back seat for less than 10 minutes and it was harder than a park bench. I couldn't fanthom traveling long distance in that thing. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
| We have a '13 Ram and the back seat is as big and as comfortable as the front seat. Has hookups for car seat, also. We love our truck. |
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 Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | IRunOnFaith - 2014-11-03 12:02 PM
My SO has a new dodge... Not much difference in room between his and my dads new Ford.
We have one 4 year old and one in a carseat. There isn't much difference if any between them. By SO is 6 foot 5 so his seat is always all the way back and leaned back in his dodge. And it's the same when we had to borrow my dad's truck for a while. Not much difference at all. I prefer the seats in the Ford for long hauls. Much more comfortable for my scoliosis.
BUT! The new dodges are having major problems with their diesels... If you get a diesel get a 6.0 Ford and bulletproof the engine. It's not hard and well worth it. Your truck will last twice as long on a stonck transmission. I drive a 96 250 7.3L Diesel. But my dad has a 13 250 6.0L diesel. He has yet to have one problem with his. He keeps a programmer on it for mileage but never turns it up. He also had his programmer tuned for pulling by a guy here in TX. My SOs new dodge had 10k miles on it and he blew his transmission.... WITHOUT a programmer and on a stock transmission.... He's currently looking at a Ford...
Excuse me, M'am. But the 13 Ford is a Ford 6.7L not the IH 6.0 which has had so much trouble. The IH 6.0 was discontinued in 2010. |
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Blessed 
Location: Here | svincent - 2014-11-03 10:33 AM So, before having babies I drove a 2007 Dodge 3500. It had four doors, but that generation had the smaller backseats even with the four full-size doors. I drove it for about six months after my first son was born - and then we bought me a Toyota Sequoia (their big SUV). I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Sequoia for being a family rig, especially now that we have two little guys - but I miss the capabilities of my truck. My SUV pulls my bumper pull trailer well enough, but I can't haul hay, can't go get shavings, can't pull a gooseneck, etc. and living on/owning a ranch - I just feel kind of helpless without an actual truck. I've narrowed it down to either a new Ford F-350 or a Dodge 3500 - does anybody use either of these as a family rig? We travel (driving) quite a bit, so storage and space are needed, plus comfort. The Mega Cab isn't an option for the Dodge because I want a long bed. Thanks!
We do and have. for a lot of years. we haven't own a car for 20 years But we do not have children |
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Semper Fi
Location: North Texas | svincent - 2014-11-03 5:38 PM
Do they make the Excursion still?n
No, the Excursion was discontinued in 2006. I have an 01 Excursion with the 7.3L Powerstroke. I absolutely love it! The 05/06 Excursions were available with the sorry 6.0 and 6.4 IH engines. The good 7.3L Powerstroke was discontinued in mid model year 2003. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Ford. Dodge doesn't keep up unless you get the Mega cab. Even then, the Ford STILL seems bigger. |
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| This is my family truck, my daily driver... I haul around 3 kids most of the time. Can be challenging when I have a large grocery haul but the boys are pretty good about not crushing the groceries in the back seat. Traded our dodge in for this a few years ago. Much happier with the room in this Ford. I had a Chevy suburban for a while and I hated it. I'll take a pickup over an SUV any day.  |
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 I Prefer a Beard
Posts: 1944
| My husbands half ton Chevy truck has vents in the back |
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Trucks as family cars?