Sad day!

[85_Ranger4x4]

There are times you need a truck and it may be nice to bring everybody without bringing a second vehicle too though.

I have had this debate too with my fiance. Her dad has a Supercrew F-150 she thinks is great... but combined with a 6.5' bed (which I want/need) I think it is about like driving an oil tanker. She doesn't think a Supercab F-150 is safe/big enough for future kids... but I don't want to dd said oil tanker just for the odd chance we need to take everybody somewhere.

But everyone's situation is different, if you camp and boat a lot you may not want to take two vehicles if you can do it with one. Some people may like the oil tanker experience, some may not need a whole lot of a bed... everybody is different.

And by the way... my standard cab Ranger's future (that only seats two) is not up for debate.

 

[bronco2fan]

I personally like the vehicles I have and wouldn't part with them just because of kids. I drove my BII with 2 kids in the back for a long time before I could afford something else. And it was an Explorer Sport lol. Just saying, children are no reason to sell your toys. Children eventually grow up and leave home, toys are here as long as you want them and can afford to maintain them.

 

[wildbill23c]

I don't think I'd trade or get rid of your Ranger just because you have kids. Just because you buy a new car doesn't necessarily mean its going to be safer...the only thing may be easier to get the kids in and out of car seats, but what on earth did people do before there were super cab trucks or mega cab trucks? How about no car seats at all, etc.

The vehicle and occupants are only as safe as the driver and other driver's on the road...and I wouldn't consider a Ranger to be dangerous anymore than any other vehicle on the road.

I don't have kids, but take care of kids once in a while for friends and relatives but they're old enough to not need car seats. They love the bronco 2. I'm sure it would be a bit of a pain if they were car seat age but I wouldn't go buying a car payment on top of having to pay for kids LOL. People have been making due with the vehicle they have for decades even with kids.

If you wife wants the truck gone maybe she should go too LOL.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I don't think I'd trade or get rid of your Ranger just because you have kids. Just because you buy a new car doesn't necessarily mean its going to be safer...the only thing may be easier to get the kids in and out of car seats, but what on earth did people do before there were super cab trucks or mega cab trucks? How about no car seats at all, etc.

Dad added a fourth seatbelt to his truck which worked for awhile... once we couldn't get the doors to shut sitting four across it was a chosen few got to ride with dad in the truck and/or mom drove separate.

Back then the truck was the truck though too. I bet it never went to Omaha (closest real city, an hour away) more than a dozen times, and if it did it was to Menard's or somewhere like that.

Nowadays there are safety regulations about car seats too...

 

[Doofy]

Don't know how I survived childhood riding on the shelf under the back window. No seatbelts, no airbags, no abs brakes and no collision avoidance systems. Also spent time in the trunk, sneaking in to the drive-in movies.

I've regretted selling almost every vehicle I've ever owned. They were all special in some way. Life moves on and circumstances change but eventually comes full circle. You will wish you'd kept that Ranger.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Don't know how I survived childhood riding on the shelf under the back window. No seatbelts, no airbags, no abs brakes and no collision avoidance systems. Also spent time in the trunk, sneaking in to the drive-in movies.

My uncle almost didn't when a drunk hit my grandparent's '58 Chevy.

They found him next to a fence post, his siblings got to watch the doctors pick glass out of their baby brother (who was still a baby) at the hospital because he went thru the windshield.

 

[Doofy]

Yes, only by the grace of God do any of us survive. Dumb stuff and many close calls...

 

[fastpakr]

And the ones that didn't aren't here to explain what went wrong.

 

[tbunch]

Mine didn't even have the jump seat, standard cab at its most basic. I always felt it was safe, but I didn't drive it like a low sports car either. Safety is mostly in the hands of the driver. The original post was aimed at the safety of putting a newborn baby in the front seat=unsafe, but it was also in part mentioned because the primary reason ford didn't make a supercab ranger here in the states (of the older style that is) was that they failed on rollover tests from my understanding.

 

[XLTsplash]

There's always the Explorer Sport Trac if you want a Ford with four full doors and a small bed.

 

[tbunch]

after re-reading this whole thread I feel I should clarify on a couple things, probably just for my own piece of mind, LOL.

Firstly, I'm not trying to be a total whiner or bag on Ford, I loved my ranger and Like many Ford trucks, I just wish they put a little more effort into bringing the supercab ranger to the US market, it can be had in other countries, but not here... I dislike the sport track not because its a ford, but rather because I don't find the styling appealing to me and its not the same as the ranger, more specifically its not my ranger.

Second, the same safety nazi's that prevent the US from having the supercab ranger are the ones saying a young child cant ride shotgun. Here in UT they pull over and ticket for that crap. That is not to say I consider it safe to have a car seat and a newborn upfront either, but I agree with comments regarding kids and family being fine on the bench seat. I grew up with no issues doing this all the time, and riding around in the bed.

third, I made the call on this one, not the wife, she was fine with me doing whatever I wanted, we have another car that she drives, but with work schedules there will be many a time I have to cart the baby around, to me its an overly laborious pain to swap cars and schedule around each other just so I'm not in a situation where seating is a problem. To reiterate, I just had a standard cab, not extended, no jump seats. Could I have made it work? Sure, but at the end of the day it wasn't practical.

Lastly, I should answer the response on getting rid of it... while keeping it wasn't practical I wasn't dumping it for scrap pricing either and needed the money to transition to the new truck, at the end of the day I made out very close to $5,000, (not to mention it sold in 3 hours) for a 1994 with many a dent I have no complaints. I felt really comfortable with the buyer loving that thing as much as I did too. I ended up with a used Tacoma, 4dr with all the bells and whistles. It lacks the allure and feel of my ol' ranger, but life moves on and I'll get over it. Truth be told I love driving different vehicles, and working on them, there was just something special about that one. Maybe I'll have to grab a Bronco in the future...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Firstly, I'm not trying to be a total whiner or bag on Ford, I loved my ranger and Like many Ford trucks, I just wish they put a little more effort into bringing the supercab ranger to the US market, it can be had in other countries, but not here...

The Supercab Ranger was in production in the US from 1986 to 2011...

 

[tbunch]

You are absolutely correct, my mistake, I meant crew cab. Like this:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn37/eljoako/1.jpg