Hi all I am new to the forums and we are looking into getting an 09 Laramie Crew. We absolutely love the truck. We have an expanding family and I just wanted to know if there is anyone using this truck as an exclusive a family vehicle instead of a stinking minivan?? If you are I would appreciate your feedback. Let me know how many kids you hav, there ages and how the Ram functions as a family hauler. Our other car is a Charger R/T so not a whole lot of room in that one. This would be our "mininvan" lol. Thanks in advance.

Sean

 

We use my crew cab for family trips. 3 kids (18, 12,11) Works great, the backseat is huge and has a lot of leg room - which is good because the kids are all pretty tall for their ages. (5ft 11" (18 boy), 5 ft 8" (12 boy) and 5ft (11 girl)) I'm 6ft and my 5ft 11" son fits in the backseat behind me comfortably.

If you want to use it as a minivan replacement you're going to need a cover of some sort for the bed. I've got a Bak-flip HD which is nice, but after the last big trip I'm thinking a full topper would have been better. The short little bed doesn't hold a lot.

If your kids are still in carseats there should be enough room.

We had a minivan when the 12 & 11 year old were babies, and it was a good vehicle at that time (Dodge with 2 built in car seats).

 

One additional thought. If your kids are in car seats, that might suck a little - especially if the person loading the kids is short. The Ram is really tall, getting them into the seats wouldn't be nearly as easy as in a car or minivan.

 

Meant to mention before, we would be replacing an 04 Explorer which is not a very roomy car once you add stuff to it.

 

The Ram is our main family vehicle. Just got back from our summer vacation with it for 5 days. Myself, wife and 2 kids, both under 8. Plenty of room, just wished my bed cover got here before we left. We ended up picking up a cheap rubbermaid type storage box and strapped in the bed for the suit cases. Worked out great. We had to stuff a lot of things in the cab, which swallowed quite a bit and were all still comfortable in the 10 hour drive one way.

 

We have the crew cab as well and its really roomy. Kinda sucks as a family vehicle cause of the gas mileage, but other than that its fine. On the car seat comment, we have a 5y.o. in a car seat and I love that the truck is tall. Puts the kid and the seatbelt at your level when getting them in and out of the car. Much easier to do than in other cars that are low and you have to crawl in and out of.

 

we also have the crewcab plenty of room everyone comments on the amount of room and storage,its great as a family vehicle as far as the fuel mileage my friend has an 08 caravan and his avg mpg is only 3-4 mpg better than mine i'll take the hemi anyday.we have 2 little ones in carseats 2.5yr old and 11 months and there is plenty of room between them.minus the extra seating the crew is like a minivan with a 5.7' bed and alot cooler.and as for the truck being tall it sits 2" lower than my 02 ford f150 74.8" vs 76.9" overall height

 

We have both a Ram CC and a Grand Caravan. I have three daughters all in car seats; 6, 3, & 1. I drive them in the Ram daily to daycare but we still prefer the GC for the trips. It's nice to have them spread out so their not always fighting with each other. My wife was totally against getting a mini van but now won't trade it for the world.

 

anyone have the Ram boxes here also? I would think those would give some good storage for smaller overnight bags and other stuff...without having to get a bed cover

 

i also have the ramboxes you'd be surprised on how much will fit in there especially if it is little stuff.wasnt sure about the ramboxes at first but now i'm glad i have them.i guess with 3 they would be close,but with 2 they are far enough apart