Hoping for some sound advice and experience from those of you with quad cab Rams, and at least 3-kids. With 3-kids, you're required to utilize the center rear seat. Seems a little shorter than the rest of the bench, and it is further limited by the fact that the front center seat/console does not slide forward with the rest of the 60/40 split. Another thing that concerns me is the lack of a center rear headrest, and the lack of a front center shoulder belt. Do you think these are valid concerns? My other concern is the usual one, and that is rear seat comfort in the Quad cab. However, neither my wife nor I are over 6 feet. My daughter is 7, and our twin boys are 4. So, will be quite awhile (if ever) before any of them grows past 6 feet or 200lbs. My goal is to tailor the size of the truck to my actual needs, and avoid supersizing my decision (see 2nd paragraph).

Before you recommend a Mega Cab, let me just say that after following the rumours last year prior to its' introduction, I was a little dissappointed. It is just too darn big. Not to mention that most of that space is established simply for legroom. I know there is space behind the rear seat, but it seems silly that you cannot slide the seats forward to customize legroom and maximize storage. Also, in the Mega Cab, the cupholder in the front really limits use of the front center seat. This does not seem to be the same in the quad cab. I live in the suburbs, and I really don't want such a large beast permanently docked in my driveway. Also, the trucks' duties will be split between camping/trailering, and local juants down back roads and to out of the way rivers and lakes. In other words, it would be nice not to have an extra 20" of steel hanging off the back. And here in California, it seems that parking lots just keep getting smaller and smaller.

I do plan on getting the Cummins in 3500 SB trim. Will probably purchase a travel trailer or 5th wheel in the sub-30ft range. I also like the idea that the quad cab seems to have about a 400lb advantage in payload when comparably equipped.

My other choice is sticking with Chevy and going the 2500HD, CC, D-Max, SB route. But I really prefer the Cummins. Currently, our household is tied with 2-Chevy's & 2-Mopars. Looking to replace my '95, ext-cab, SB, 4x4 Chevy. It was a great truck for two single people, but just won't cut it with 3-kids and towing a trailer.

 

I've had my 15 year old daughter,5 year old son and niece in the back with no issues at all. My daughter is 5'9" and the other two are tall for their ages as well. It's more spacious than I would have ever thought it would be in the back.

 

I just took a trip to my house in Lake Havisu from my home in L.A. a 280 mile trip with myself, my girlfriend, and friend who is 6'1' 270lbs. another friend who is 5'9' 160lbs. and his girlfriend who is 5'5' 115lbs. appx. numbers of course. I drove, (obviously) my girlfriend sat in the middle, my 6ft. friend sat in the passanger front seat, and my other two friends sat in the back seats. I did not hear any complaining from anyone. The seats are very comfortable, and as long as you dont have people over 6ft. in the front AND back seats you should be fine. Reason why I say that is because big people need a big space, and they push the seat as far back as possible, which makes you feel like you're sitting in an extra cab Dakota if your a 6 ft. person sitting behind that big person. lol

All in all, there is no complaints from me. I love my truck, it is great for towing my boat, RV, and dirtbikes, gets good gas mileage, can haul enough people comfortably, is safe, and has a lot of luxuries.

 

hey man these quad cabs are really useful and pretty good on space... recently took a trip to miami and im 6'5 and 400lbs its my truck i sit comfortable in it my lil bro is 5'10 280lbs he was in the passenger seat with our mom in the back shes like 5'4 and ___ weight (well our family is just big people as you see) but we never had a complaint from the back at all, the seat behind me was holding some stuff on the way down and my mom was behind the passenger seat my lil bro had his seat all the way back and it reclied and my mom never complained at all along the whole trip to and from. rumpumpkin i think the quad cab will do just fine for you, you may just wanna take the family down to a dealership with a quad cab and let everyone get in and take it for a test drive and see how everyone likes it... but i do think that you will be just fine as long as your children are not shaq size lol...[8D]

 

eatsleepdrivesc is right Rumpumpkin.

Take everyone out for a trip to the dealers. Make a family day of it and try a few on for size.
It will quickly give you an overall impression of size etc.
As for spending a long time in those seats.............well a dealership visit obviously won't sufice but, my QC with my 6'2 20 yrs old and 5'6' 12 yrs old in back, doesn't seem to be a problem.
Al.

 

I don't see a problem with the space issue but as far as the headrest goes, I would keep the shorther child in the middle. In a rearend hit, he/she could get whiplash.

 

Thanks for all the replies. And especially all of your specific physical dimensions...lol. Seriuosly though, that really helps. I'm 5'9, 220 (pure muscle of course), and my wife is also about 5'9", and as I mentioned my kids are twin boys age 4, and a 7y.o. daughter. Only 1 of my boys seems to be on track for passing the 6ft mark. But of course that is a long ways off. I've always been a bigger is better kind of guy, love muscle cars, lifted trucks, etc. But it just seems to me that there comes a point where you really have to ask yourself...how big a freakin' truck do I really need? If I lived out in the country, then I think the Mega Cab might be a better fit. But I see a lot of familes getting around in small SUVs, and they seem to do fine (aside from the towing aspect).

Someone on another forum made a statement referencing how we have all become so spoiled recently. We all need trailers with slideouts, crew-cabs, heated seats, LCD screens, etc. I grew up camping in an 18ft travel trailer, and me and a friend would sit in the pickup bed (with a shell) all the way from California to Oregon.

As I mentioned, some of my juants will be out of the way weekend boondocking adventures. I really like the size of the quad cab shortbed. It is roughly the same length as my current '95 Chevy x-cab, SB. And frankly, my kids even seem to have enough room in my current truck. So a couple more inches in the quad cab is a vast improvement.

I will be taking the family for a couple test drives this week or weekend. Will try out the Quad/Mega cabs, GMC Sierra (I hate the current Chevy styling), and Suburban. I don't think my wife wants to give up the practicality of her minivan, so that will probably rule out the Suburban. I've taken my wife and/or a couple of the kids on seperate occasions to look at these trucks, but never the whole clan.

Will post some comments on my findings after this weekend. Keep the feedback coming, you guys are great! BTW, I tried posting some pics of my 70 'Cuda, current 4x4, and Impala SS, but apparently my pics were too large. will take some lower res. shots this weekend and post next week.

 

Would love to see the Cuda and SS. Don't bother retaking any pic's.
Just resize them using photoshop or adobe etc and save them as jpeg and you'll be good to go.
Good luck on your truck buying mission and the camping trips.
The time spent with the kids camping, are majical and irreplaceable.
Al.

 

Don't know if you made your decision yet, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I have an 04 Hemi QC SLT and have 3 kids. My oldest son is 8, and my other two are 3 and 2. This means I needed to be able to fit 2 car seats in addition to my older son who is about 4 feet, 80lbs in the back. I was a little concerned that it might be tight, but I was amazed with how much room they each get.

I put my youngest son's car seat in the middle because he loves being able to see right out the front window, and the anchors that are standard in the back work great for making sure the car seats are secure.

I'm real happy with the way it's been working out. Now if I could only keep them from making it a mess back there!

Good Luck!

Dennis

 

dfisheratt & all: No, haven't made the jump yet, but I did ATTEMPT to go for a test drive last night with my wife and kids. The salesguy does the usual running around checking models (as if we are actually going to buy one off the lot then & there!). So I finally cut to the chase and tell him a quad cab 4x4 with a Cummins is all we need. So he pulls out a beautiful black 3500, QC, SB, cummins. The 3 kids pile into the back, I get in the drivers' seat, and the salesman starts to hop into the passenger seat. I say "where's my wife going to sit?" He then recommends that my daughter sit in the front-center seat. My wife replies that she does not want her sitting there without a shoulder belt. But actually, the whole point of this exercise was to drive around with the kids 3-across in the back. Anyway, what followed was us idling in the lot (it was over 100 degrees here in Sacramento btw) for an extended period of time while he either tried to get approval for us to do the drive by ourselves, or perhaps find a QC with the pushbutton transfer case that didn't have the console on the floor (i.e. so he or my wife could utilize the center front seat). Basically, he was gone way too long and the natives were getting restless. I dropped the keys off at the sales desk and made my frustration somewhat known. Even after all the time buckling the kids into their seats, the guy still never showed up. Will probably try another dealership across town this weekend.

BTW, one of my best friends who owns a repair shop commented that Dodge or Chevy is the only way to go for a diesel truck. This is quite an endorsement given that he has always been a die-hard GM supporter. I was surprised to hear the word "Dodge" pass his lips! commented how a friend of his has a Cummins with 180k miles and going strong, and also that the rebuild on a Cummins is somewhat more straightforward than on a Duramax.

It sure felt good just sitting in that Dodge though.

Any feelings if the current employee discount will be extended past July?