Pickups for non construction purposes are the dumbest shit ever. You literarily have half the car that is useless for transporting people.
What if you have to help a friend move a couch once every 5 years? What then?
lol right? Surely you couldn’t just rent one by the hour from Home Depot or some crazy shit like that… Oh wait, you can and it’s like $20. There really is no justification for the vast majority of personal truck ownership. It’s just a status symbol for trashy jerks. Although I suppose that technically counts as hauling a lot of trash.
If you actually need to haul stuff a van is vastly superior in most scenarios. The only use case that a pickup truck really makes sense for is for towing, but even then something like a range rover seems like a better option?
The biggest use case for a pickup over a van is loose materials like sand, dirt, etc. Ya know, stuff that suburban pickups usually aren’t carrying because the owner doesn’t want to get it dirty
Tilt trailers make transporting loose materials even better. Lower bed so loading is much, much easier, too. And these can easily be towed by sedans or vans.
Definitely, but we all know suburban pickup owners would be hiring someone to deliver the dirt anyway
I agree about trailers, but one full of sand will weigh too much for most American SUVs/CUVs let alone sedans.
I’m pretty sure cars and non trucks are vastly underrated for towing in the US though, since the same cars in Europe often have 50%+ towing capacities. The excuse is always that our highway speeds are higher, but I suspect maintaining high truck sales has more to do with it.
Hauling trash, debris, or brush works way better in a pickup. I want to be able to hose the shit off and not have it inside with me lol But i agree that a van is better than everything else
I have a 2015 Honda Pilot with a roof rack. Can seat 8 and tow 4400lbs (probably not both at the same time, lol). I can also throw full sheets of drywall or plywood on the top (within reason). I’ve hauled 1000lbs of stone in it. Has no problem with 10ft PVC pipe or lumber. Thing is a fucking swiss army knife of a vehicle.
Have you ever been in a high roof van in high wind? I like the idea of vans as I can load motorcycles and keep them hidden but almost coming off the road was terrifying.
Not really. You can haul things upright in a pickup, which you can’t do in an SUV or van. If you’re going to be hauling lots of sheet goods a van interior will get trashed immediately, and most will have to have the back doors open for full sized sheets. A truck bed will hold up quite well and you won’t have to deal with tying back doors closed.
That’s not my experience. I bought a rusty, old E350 cargo van for towing a boat, but it’s useful for carrying materials. It’ll fit 4’x8’ sheets, and 10’ boards diagonally. Most of the pickup trucks that I see around these days have 6.5’ beds, and the suburban dad models have vestigial, 5.5’ beds.
Ever heard of trailers? You can rent one of these for cheap and haul whatever crap without needing to worry about your car interior. And any old sedan can tow a trailer, not to mention vans.
Trailers work, but they’re not easy to get in and out of wherever you’re going. Most cars don’t come with a hitch, so you’d have to add that as well. You don’t just tow a trailer around for fun, so if you frequently find yourself needing to move something or buy something with little notice it’s not a good solution. Then there’s parking.
Listen, most people don’t need a truck. Or an SUV. Or a trailer. And no one needs a truck with a hood that’s 6 feet off the ground. Plenty of people use their pickup trucks a lot and the other options have massive tradeoffs.
I own a trailer because I didn’t want to have to get a truck and I’ve found it inconvenient enough I’m looking at buying a truck in the next couple months.
Yeah that thing i need a license for and don’t know how to back up because i was never taught. We should all do that.
I had an Isuzu pickup once. I bought it because it was the cheapest new car you could buy: $4995 MSRP if I recall. No power steering or power breaks. Manual transmission. I think it had AC and an FM radio. Its fine for transporting 2 people and I rarely ever had a need for more than that.
Rent a van
Well what if I need to prove my dick is tiny tho?
Stop body shaming
I’ll never stop calling you fuckers out on it
It’s a joke. And it’s metaphorical more than anything else. I have no desire to care about the size of anyone’s penis. The idea is that they are compensating for something, and those dudes are the ones who actually do care about that shit
In the same vein, things can “suck dick” without it mattering who sucks dick and any value judgments were placed on that in the past. It’s an expression.
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So you body shame women too or just men? Lol
Weird question. Why not read replies if you’re gonna pretend to care?
I read it, but I just don’t know how to reply to your mental gymnastics
In the same vein, things can “suck dick” without it mattering who sucks dick and any value judgments were placed on that in the past. It’s an expression.
How is this the same vein as making fun of someone’s appearance? You have a choice to suck dick lmao. It feels so stupid to even type this out, that’s why I didn’t take the bait
So what situations is it acceptable to make fun of how women look if this is so nuanced?
…I never said there was nuance. It’s pretty simple. If someone chooses to be a shithead you can use their insecurities against them.
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Honestly the older I get I kinda agree. Like the same as something being gay in place of lame.
But gosh it does pack a punch. What is another thing we could say that summarizes what we’re trying to get across so succinctly without having to act like we have a psychology degree?
Yeah in 10 years this will be totally unacceptable and cringe
Well, there’s no time like the present
It’s only body shaming if they actually have small penises
It’s only body shaming is they care.
Speaking as an Asian in a honky dong world: even if I gave a shit there’s nothing I can do about it. Shame away, kings
Couple things super quick. 1) nothing screams “I don’t care” like fighting someone for several lengthy replies and
- the insecurity about your race is gonna turn women off way more than your size.
When did I ever say only femmes are tasting my lumpia? C’mon, homie. My diminutive oriental dingus is less lonely than you think.
I’ve never had a problem with my race. Reading your weird rebuttal makes me feel downright chauvanistic. 2 quips is “several lengthy replies” if you’re not genetically predisposed to be good at math, i guess
Bruh I got you and rab mixed up. This is why I try not to comment once my ADHD meds wear off.
I just want to repeat the phrase “honky dong.” Thank you.
Comments like this is what turns regular people “off” of the left.
It’s a fucking joke, not everything needs white knighting.
It’s still body shaming, though.
So do you think that all of the following are true?
- I have actual evidence that men who drive trucks have small penises
- I care about the size of their penises
If both were true, congratulations, you would have successfully found someone body shaming. Since neither are true (obviously), you found jack shit but sounded pompous anyhow
You’re really passionate about shaming people for their physical shortcomings (ba dum tss). I suggest you invest that energy into becoming a less toxic person.
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/penis-size-shaming-is-still-too-normalised.-its-time-to-talk-about-it
What a weirdo. I guess tells us your size, or that you have a big redneck truck. Both?
Don’t label me left wing lmao
I’m just a decent enough person to not make people feel bad about things they have zero control over
Dude real shit I work in construction and I can tell you that you don’t even really need a pickup for that either.
I mean it depends what you’re doing ofc but vans are what’s actually used as work vehicles for the most part. And those are generally company vehicles so for personal use you can drive whatever vehicle you want.
Yeah, trucks really were designed for hauling heavy trailers
Which even then a 350 transit can haul our tractor.
Really, the bed is only used for oddly shaped shit or stuff that is covered in mud. I was only in a work pickup truck as a new construction plumber, everything else has been a van.
I have a crew cab pickup (half ton), and yeah it has come in handy numerous times over the years. But I do agree those larger, “more rugged”, trucks are not for the people who own them.
“The only thing better than owning a truck is having no fucking reason to own a truck”
It’s a statement. You don’t need to work; but you still could if you wanted to.
And even for construction purposes, most trucks nowadays are kinda pointless. A 4ft bed is good for hauling like 1 bike placed diagonally, much less a typical sized piece of lumber or plywood.
Can’t beg a place to sell you a 6ft bed unless you want to wait for it to come off the manufacturing line.
Don’t forget you have to lift that bike like 4ft to get to the tailgate on newer trucks! Can’t imagine trying to load a four wheeler on a newer truck without like folding ramps at least 2x the length of the bed so it’s not a vertical fucking climb.
Funny thing, you can put that bike into a BMW 3 Series no problems.
What if I never transport people? WTF do I need all these extra seats for? A giant grocery cart in the back is much more useful.
Truck driver has no friends.
Forever alone.
The dream
A cart that’s exposed to the weather and leafs and dust. Totally worth it…
Someone smart should invent a cover!
Or you know… A car with a roof to begin with…
Can I take the roof off to haul a fridge? Or my taxidermied camel?
A friend transported a pretty big fridge in a Hyundai Tucson the other day
Fucking get a van, then. You wouldn’t believe how much shit you can fit into a Renault Master, one of the most popular vehicle in Europe for contractors and other people who need to haul actual stuff, not their inflated ego. And Mercedes V-class has a very nice interior while still being able to haul more than an average american pickup “truck”. These vans can haul boats, too, easily.
If I could have bought a work van for around what I paid for my truck, I would have instantly. But around here there are too may idiots buying trucks they can’t afford and dumping them later. Used market is way too good to pass up. Now it’s paid off and I shouldn’t have to worry about that choice for another 10-15 years.
Altho I don’t really get why people are so militantly “Get a van! Fuck a truck!”. Are you that concerned with other people’s form factor choices? Because vans with similar load/tow capacities as trucks are going to be just as big and take up just as much space in traffic. With worse visibility around them; As a pedestrian, a van blocks more of my view of traffic than a pickup.
Get a Mercedes van, just not a truck?
I believe it was in a not just bikes video, but he talked about how some large percentage of truck owners openly admitted they never use their beds for hauling.
Camping, hunting, dirt bike riding, moving, general utility and many other things done by most adults that don’t like to rely on other people. I don’t want to pay a moving company if I move, I don’t want to ask someone else if I want to tow my trailer out to camp. I don’t want to call some construction company everytime I need so much as a 2x4 to repair my home. Anyone who doesn’t own a truck will at some point rely on someone who does. It is not dumb as shit to own a truck for everyone. Not everyone lives the same life you do. I live in a rural area, I spent 6 months at one point in my life without a truck, I will never do it again. Probably 95% of the time I don’t need a truck, but when I need it, I need it. My daily driver is a beater car, most of the time, depending on logistics and weather. But if I had to only have one vehicle it would be a truck. A truck will haul 5 people, so will most cars but a truck can drive through weather and haul things when you need it. Although I am a middle aged dad in a rural area. 🤷♂️ I must be dumb.
Someone should open a rental place for that 5% and call it home depot or something catchy like that
“Probably 95% of the time I don’t need a truck, but when I need it, I need it.”
This was the exact rationale I used to justify not getting a truck. I liked the idea of having a truck and being able to use it to move etc. but the fact that a smaller more economical vehicle would suit my needs 95 percent (more like 98-99.5 for me realistically) of the time swayed me in the other direction. I paid a good 30 percent less for the vehicle I have now and it gets 40mpg so I’ll save thousands in gas over the life of the vehicle.
You can rent a utility trailer for a day or weekend and tow quite a bit of weight with most vehicles. There’s rental trucks for the rest. I have an F350 and it costs a fortune to keep up. $150 fills, 15L oil capacity, tires are 400 bucks a pop. It adds up quick. Gonna be replacing it with a micro car and some rentals here and there.
I ride a bicycle in a rural area and built a new office this spring. With a trailer, store delivery or a $20 rental I don’t think I ever ran into any of the problems you describe. The bicycle has gone hunt camping rain or shine, I dirt bike, street bike and work a rugged job.
If I really needed it I have the wife’s sedan which handles -40 winters and 50cm snow drifts just fine. Equipped with a roof rack and small trailer I can move myself just fine if the need is there.
Aside from hauling large trailers or campers I fail to see the utility of a pickup as described. Even when hauling plywood or construction supplies I’ve opted for the home depot van before even considering a pickup. If I wanted a 2*4 sticking out of the end I would have taken the Sedan anyway.
I think a lot of the truck owner mentality comes down to mental gymnastics or “What if?”. Aside from rare use cases it just doesn’t seem like the play. Even for yourself you mentioned the pickup is an edge case.
These are all things people consider when talking about truck owners. The rest of the world can see life without pickups, can justify life without pickups and even prefers life without pickups but for some reason… Pickup drivers can’t stop talking about them as if they need to justify it to themselves more than to the world.
We’ll see but I solved that with a crossover and a trailer. I can tow up to 3500 lbs which covers all of that and I’m more efficient literally any other time.
I did seriously consider a pickup but it just makes no sense day to day
Pickups today are huge monstrosities but I swear their beds are about as long as the one I had in my 1987 Ranger. When I did get a full sized truck, it had a longer bed because if you can’t carry standard sized plywood, sheetrock, and lumber, I’m not sure I’d want it.
for real. had a friend with a big relatively-new truck with a stubby bed try to have me help him move. I show up with my 2003 ford ranger, made before trucks primarily became male fashion accessories. he’d teased me about it before because it’s apparently a “small truck”. yet somehow barely anything fit in his toy truck and my “small” truck handled his couches and mattresses fine. teased him about his truck in return, used the ol “not the size it’s how you use it” line, and have never heard him talk shit about my little truck again.
Blame CAFE, the EPA (I like most of the EPA), and the Chicken Tax. Those three have basically made it to where the US can’t get the smaller trucks the rest of the world gets, has a fuel economy loop-hole for larger vehicles, and basically makes it incentivized for companies to make boxier, bigger vehicles in order to lower their average fuel economy standards. Most people I talk to want the ford Ranger from the 2000s brought back in size, but we literally cannot. The closest we got was the maverick (still too big comparatively) and that’s because they gave us a hybrid option and based it off the escape.
I’d probably blame regulatory capture as a whole than individual regs and agencies, but I agree. My feeling is that if you’re going to make a fuel efficiency regulation and then allow exceptions, they should be exceptions based on use, not based on class of vehicle. There should probably be additional fees/taxes, maybe applied annually.
Otherwise, yeah, the incentives point in the wrong direction.
I had an Isuzu mini-truck that had nearly the same wheel base as my old mustang. That thing was sweet. I miss mini trucks.
Didn’t the maverick only come in a shortbed? Or was that the lightning?
I believe both are limited to a “crew cab, standard bed” configuration. A standard bed length being like 5’7” instead of the 6’4” which is the long bed size for 1500 and under and the standard size for 2500s.
I swear their beds are about as long as the one I had in my 1987 Ranger.
So I asked my aunt for help hauling things back and forth to a convention this past spring. She has an enormous Ram pickup, I have a tiny little xB. A lot of the stuff I was bringing was stored in 45 gallon totes, and I knew from past experience that I could fit three in my car with the back seats folded down, and have room for thinner containers on top.
Imagine my surprise when we go to load up the truck and find that it fit the same number of totes in the bed, and they just barely cleared the bed cover. The cavernous back seat helped make up for it thankfully, but I was floored that the cargo areas were comparable.
Those Rangers were death traps in anything more than 35mph. But then again most cars back in 87 were. So nevermind. Lol.
Crumple zones? Fuck that! Truck so light I’ll just bounce off the wall.
Haha, even heavy duty cars had terrible crumple zones.
My son has a Mazda 3 hatchback and is often bringing stuff to work sites because the guy with the big truck and the bed cover can’t fit tall boxes in the bed
I’ve had trucks and now I have a mini cargo van.
90% of the time the van is better, but that last 10% can be a big deal.
Yeah but you can just rent a truck for that last 10% with the savings from not buying the truck, and still have cash left over.
I mean… I still had to buy the van. And vans aren’t cheap.
Overall I prefer owning the van because I’m mostly hauling tools and dive gear, but for people who haul plywood or tall objects more often than me a truck makes more sense.
Vans hold lots of little things very well. They’re not great for real big things.
Oh - and I really miss having a tailgate as a working surface.
Sure, but we are getting to the point where 99% of truck owners do not have needs that your van or a hatchback sedan couldn’t handle 90% of the time, all while using less fuel and being safer for everyone else on the roads.
And when they need to haul 1 ton of dirt they can order it with delivery in a dump truck, because you never need just 1 ton anyway.
So for the final 2-3 trips a year that actually needs a pickup they can rent for like 200 bucks total.
I think small trucks make a lot od sense, but they’re virtually impossible to find now.
Ever notice how the old Ranger, S10, and Dakota left the market at the same time. Then a few years later the “small” models came back larger than the 2000s full-size trucks, which had gotten ludicrously large?
There was a change in the CAFE standards that accidentally led to this mess. Lots of manufacturers were classifying vehicles incorrectly to cheat on their emissions numbers. The freaking PT Cruiser was classified as a truck by Chrysler.
So the CAFE standards were changed starting in 2012 to be based on vehicle footprint. It closed one loophole, but created a massive new one. Trucks are inherently less fuel-efficient than more aerodynamic vehicles with different engines and transmissions. Making a small truck that met CAFE standards was really, really difficult. And on top of that, CAFE gets stricter over time, so it gets even harder.
You know what’s easier than solving the efficiency problem? Increasing the vehicle’s footprint to improve the score. By making trucks bigger and bigger, they don’t have to make them more fuel efficient.
It’s actually why the Ford Maverick has the hybrid engine as the standard and the traditional engine as the “upgrade.” With the hybrid as the standard they meet CAFE.
The hybrid Maverick is probably the vehicle I’d own right now if they weren’t impossible to buy when I was last vehicle hunting. They’re affordable, get 40 miles per gallon, have 4 doors, and a small bed. It checks every box for me.
But I’m pretty happy with my NV200. Though all the manufacturers have also stopped making small cargo vans now (Transit Connect, RAM ProMaster City, and NV200 are all discontinued), because their footprint is no longer large enough to meet fuel economy standards.
Overall I prefer owning the van because I’m mostly hauling tools and dive gear, but for people who haul plywood or tall objects more often than me a truck makes more sense.
If those were the only people who bought trucks then I doubt anyone would have a problem with them.
Oh man you threw me back to some great memories of my old man. We had a minivan when I was a kid and he built a little slide out/folding table that perfectly so he could work on it like a tailgate. I used kneel in the back seat facing backwards and watch him do whatever. Man that thing was amazing for camping too.
Dude was a pretty handy guy so not sure if that’s something you’d think about doing, but that shit was so cool and I haven’t seen anything like it since.
We rented a Uhaul box truck when we demoed an old hot tub. As a bonus, the truck was so cavernous, we also cleaned out the entire garage that day.
$50 + gas.
Ya, I was very close to getting a transit van but it was more expensive than a truck with the features that I need (awd and 4 seats). Truck gets better mpg too surprisingly. The truck just made a lot of sense for me, even though I think most people with trucks or SUVs would be better off with a minivan. I’m not going to bash truck owners though, buy what you want or need, but if you are worried about scratching the bed or your stuff getting stolen or wet you probably should have just gotten a minivan.
From what I’ve seen, the majority of people with trucks and SUVs never need them to haul anything greater than groceries or Christmas presents.
Uhhh isn’t the whole point of a bed that you can put things of whatever height you want in it because there isn’t a roof or anything?
I absolutely do not believe this. Those bed covers role right up.
Some roll up. Others are hard tops.
“If someone is on the fence I’ll just tell them some unfettered shit like Pete Buttigieg wants to ban halogen headlights or mud flaps and they’ll throw their credit card at me. It’s like taking candy from a baby.”
Lmfao, I know it’s satire, but this is so dead on it almost stings as well. The 90% Medicare reimbursement thing was the same way.
I don’t understand why people buy pickup trucks. Unless you are a handyman or something.
Handymen around here drive transporters like this:
You can get them slightly lifted and with AWD, I really don’t get how a pickup with an open bed is better than that.
I’m in a slightly more…redneck(?) area and the benefit to open bed trucks tends to be things more akin to landscaping, logging, wood and stone moving, and for those with hobbies; moving smaller vehicles (if they don’t own a trailer attachment).
Basically the ability to throw dirty things into a hauling vehicle with good suspension on non-paved areas with easy cleaning capabilities.
It comes down to what you’re doing is and what is required for a vehicle. HVAC, House work, some masonry or such you could use an enclosed vehicle for sure.
To your point, handymen and tradesmen will usually use a van or similar. And way more people own a truck than actually utilize it for the proper use cases. But there are valid reasons for open bed trucks too
May I introduce you to… a VW Transporter with flatbed. Also available with double cab (don’t let the price confuse you it’s for a flatbed floor).
You largely see them used by landscapers. Almost wanted to say hauling compact excavators but that’s generally done with a trailer, flatbeds tend to be quite a bit too high for comfort you’d need a sturdy crane which you of course also might need but now you’re at a point where you’re trying quite hard to justify getting an unimog.
Forestry tends to be done with specialised harvesters and then trucks, hunters tend to have bog-standard station wagons. Heavy construction materials like pallets of bricks will generally be delivered by whoever sells them, on trucks with cranes.
Probably not allowed in the US due to some shitty law? I’m guessing… I’m going to check it out. Maybe get one from Craigslist one day in the long future.
Looks great! 💯
You have low floor flatbed like this to transport everything needed for landscaping including an excavator. Trucks are for the bling bling.
This is the way
I’d love a cargo van like that, but I still need something to tow heavy trailers long distance, unfortunately.
2.2litre turbo diesel doesn’t have enough pulling power for you?
If you’ve got one that can haul 6 tons over the Rockies, let me know.
The secret to pulling trailers, for the uninitiated American, is simple: Don’t have an automatic transmission. It’s a torque thing, most automatic transmissions aren’t designed to haul because enabling them to do that requires actively cooling the torque converter which is yet more moving parts, cost, and weight, so only SUVs and upwards ever have that capability.
Meanwhile, Europeans haul things all the time with cars. Regulations and different approaches to tongue weight are yet another factor.
Many cities and towns across the Rockies in North America have elevations above 1800 meters. That’s the starting point. By comparison, “high” cities in Europe, like Bern (500m) and Innsbruck (574m) don’t Even come close. It’s not a factor of one thing like having a manual transmission, but a multitude of factors like road condition, grade, elevation, distance driven, humidity, etc. It’s a completely different environment. The 2.2 turbo diesel may indeed not have enough power to get over any of the many 4000+ meter passes if it can’t get enough air or cool itself while towing.
Many cities and towns across the Rockies in North America have elevations above 1800 meters.
Elevation does not say anything about incline. Total elevation btw also does also not say anything about elevation starting from the base of the mountain. Ask a Mountaineer who scaled the Kilimanjaro, the summit is 4.9km above its plateau base.
Also, have a look at other places in the US: Flat like a pancake. Yet you don’t see cars hauling stuff there while people haul things with cars in the Alps. How come?
The 2.2 turbo diesel may indeed not have enough power to get over any of the many 4000+ meter passes if it can’t get enough air or cool itself while towing.
Motor torque doesn’t matter add an extra gear and anything can pull anything (slowly). Any motor is also plenty powerful enough to cool itself. Do you even know what a torque converter is. What it does. Why it’s in an automatic, but not a manual.
These cargo vans are heavier and get worse fuel economy than a half ton with a similar engine. I’m not sure why lemmings hold them out as the more viable alternative to pickups. They’re great if you have a bunch of stuff to protect from prying eyes but don’t tow well and you can’t put long, heavy or tall things in.
Probably because tricked out cargo vans on chrome wheels with ultra bright headlights on rear mirror level aren’t a thing. They really are work vehicles, nobody drives them for clout.
I read somewhere that farmers have started to buy very tiny Japanese pickup-trucks, because for most of the work they have to do during their day these small ones are much more practical. But American car manufacturers only make these oversized mob atrocities anymore, so the only solution is these Japanese ones. In size they’re basically these little busses where there’s no space between the two front seats.
Most vans have a greater payload than a lot of 4 door duel cabs, they offer more storage, more security,a lower loading floor height, more accessibility with side access and greater resale.
But yeah gotta get my Chevy.
I used to be a tradie, most of them don’t need them either, and unsurprisingly, there are always tradies around whining their tools got stolen from the back of their Ute.
The funny thing is that the biggest badasses I met don’t drive these kinds of cars. In fact, I can’t recall any guy here in Australia who has demonstrated an ounce of courage who does drive a larger ute, and its generally a reliable indicator imho that they need fashion accessories to impress people.
Also yeah, they always suck at parking. Not because they can’t, but simply because they don’t care
I saw a giant lifted truck the other day at Home Depot and I realized that these things only really impress pre-pubescent boys.
Ergo, the only reason to drive a giant truck like that is to attract and impress pre-pubescent boys. Can’t think of any other good reason for them to exist.
I got my ears blasted by a lifted diesel truck that clearly did something to kneecap their muffler that was…excellerating from stopped in a bank branch parking lot. It was seriously louder than most semis, and significantly louder than most tractors (my father in law restores antique tractors, so I’ve ridden on several tractors) and could compete with a diesel train with 3 engines lashed together hauling 2 miles of freight up a grade
These and every single sports car out there.
When I was a teen, I think pickup looks super cool and would definitely buy one if I could.
Now as a more practical adult, I don’t think I’ll ever buy a pickup because I have no use for them and there’s a lot more downsides to it (higher tax in my country, higher maintenance, bigger footprint, lower fuel efficiency). But I still think they look cool.
There are certainly practical reasons for them, like if you do a lot of ATVing, you can negate the need for hauling it in a trailer and just drive it up into the bed. It can definitely be nice to have a truck bed for certain things, but many people buy trucks for stuff they do once a month (if that), and not something they do every day, like commuting.
As a homeowner there are shit ton of times that it is really nice to have a truck. There are a lot of things that I would prefer to throw in the back of a truck rather than the back of a van, SUV, or car. Dangerous chemicals, gas cans, gas equipment, anything that might be bug infested, anything that is significantly cheaper by the truck load (mulch, dirt, stone, ect.), anything loaded by heavy machinery, anything that won’t fit in a van (furniture, appliances, ect), things that stink, things that are muddy, ect, ect, ect.
And if I had the money to have a spare vehicle, I would probably get another truck. But right now a minivan hauls a lot more people and I can do most of what I need with it and a small utility trailer. But don’t think that the utility trailer isn’t a huge pain in the ass all by itself.
When I was much younger, it was fairly typical that when a family needed a 3rd vehicle for their kids, they would buy a cheap beater of a truck for the kids. The trucks were slow, could take abuse, limited the number of other idiots you could pack inside, and had all the utility of being a truck when you needed it.
The problem is that those kids got used to having a truck. It became a personal image thing. Trucks got faster, the ride improved, they got not just more comfortable but fucking luxurious inside. They went from utility vehicles to overpriced status symbols.
Even worse is that the same shit is happening with minivans. I went to buy another minivan this year and they are not only all luxury lined on wheels, but there was a shortage and they wanted more than MSRP for the stupid thing. They had plenty of every other vehicle on the lot, but they can’t make minivans fast enough to meet demand.Why would you drive dangerous shit or truckload of mulch yourself? Don’t you people have delivery services over there?
Yeah I’m a homeowner and I got my dirt and mulch delivered by a REAL truck. All my equipment for yard work is electric and fits in my van/suv, and any dirt that is left is vacuumed later.
So, your solution is to just be rich? That is so helpful, thanks, I hadn’t thought of that. Hell, now that I am just going to be rich, why even save money by doing it myself? I’ll just pay my new yard guys that I can suddenly afford, to do it for me.
Wut? Delivery is much cheaper than hauling yourself. Are you bloody nuts?
So paying someone extra money, above and beyond the cost of an item, is somehow cheaper than not paying them that money?
You must be a lawyer, or in finance, because they’re the only ones that I know that can come up with crazy math like that and fully believe it.
I ended up renting a brand new f150 lariat since it was the cheapest option available at the time and honestly I kind of get it. The thing was comically huge but I felt like a king in there. Super spacious interior too, my 7 yo nephew was standing up without his head even hitting the ceiling. I would never buy one since they’re ridiculously expensive and too unnecessary, but man if I didn’t like driving it.
That’s fair, I have a truck but I also have a ladder rack on it that gets used often…
I bought one when I moved to a rural area. Since I worked from home I used it mainly to haul dirt, pig feed, yard equipment, and garbage a couple times a week. I spent about $12,000 on an older Chevy in relatively good shape and drove it until it rusted out from under me.
I bought a truck primarily for off- grid camping. Much easier to get a single vehicle into places.
I’ve found it extremely useful for truck stuff on nearly a weekly basis. One advantage it has over a van is the bed space is physically separate. I keep a porta potty in the back for my young kids. Never have to worry about it stinking up the cab.
I bought one to tow a 5th wheel RV. Since I sold the RV, I didn’t need the truck so I sold that as well. Nothing wrong with owning a large truck.
I think everybody agrees that there’s nothing wrong with owning a large truck to use regularly for things that need a large truck. It’s when people buy a large truck to haul a 5th-wheel RV for vacation for 2 weeks a year, and then use it as a daily-driver for the other 50 weeks that we mock them.
I still don’t see a problem with that. Most sportscars are worse for fuel economy and utility but because they’re not trucks they get a pass. In the end, what’s the problem with letting people drive what they want without judging them? It’s just a weird.
Trucks are far more dangerous to other road users, especially pedestrians and bicyclists, especially those with the 5 foot tall, blunt front end that’s fashionable these days. But the high bumper height makes them much more dangerous to other drivers, as well.
That’s a weak argument. All vehicles are dangerous. What about Semi’s? UPS/Amazon vans? You can make anything dangerous and the height is hardly an issue. If it were, they would be banned from being on public roads or mandated to have a bumper that’s not too high. Height of bumper is such a stupid argument to make.
Well, you’re wrong. There’s no nice way to phrase it. Bumper height is definitely an issue, blunt front ends are a visibility and impact danger, and bumper height regulations do exist for various classes of vehicle, and in various jurisdictions. Not Just Bikes covers it pretty comprehensively.
Yet the height of the back of a Semi trailer is higher than any truck’s bumper. Do you think really think all vehicles should have the same bumper height? Oh dear.
Get out of my fucking lane you big dumb asshole I’m just driving down the road and you’re big ass truck can’t fit in your lane, and then i see you parked like an asshole in a parking spot, just get something that fits on the road
Seek therapy. Not everyone with a truck parks like an asshole, just like not all Lemmings are assholes.
No just u
No way, are they that much? Playing with vehicle customizers on car manufacturer websites is legit fun when they let you change and see every little thing. The prices do get outrageous fast! I had no idea trucks went over 100k.
Oh yeah, the base model F-350 starts at almost $50k and the top trim more than doubles that.
I understand that this article is satire, but people should stop using “liberal” as a pejorative. It really doesn’t make sense within the contexts that it’s most often used, and only creates linguistic confusion by messing with previously understood definitions.
In Australia the “Liberals” are the centre right capitalist centric party. We do have better terms like social progressives, socialists and social-democrats, but even with this, it’s all relative terms. Everyone’s different in their own ways.
In Australia the “Liberals” are the centre right capitalist centric party
In America too; they just don’t know they are until they meet an actual leftist, and even then most of them don’t figure it out.
Do take note of the lowercase L in the term that I used. I am not referring to the name of any particular political party that happens to have the name “Liberal”. I am specifically referring to “liberal” as in reference to the political science concept of “liberalism”.
Wow if you read through that article liberalism suddenly makes a whole lot of sense
I hate the lack of field of view in modern trucks
So does everyone else in the road.
Seriously, ever since I drove alongside one of the new 2024 GMC Sierra Denali trucks and realized its hood was as tall as my entire car, I’ve been utterly terrified of being anywhere near them. You probably can’t see anything less than 10-15 feet in front of you, which is absolutely bonkers for a noncommercial vehicle. To say nothing of how getting hit by one is going to be like getting smacked directly in the face like a brick wall, because there’s no way you’ll be knocked up onto the roof to dissipate the force of the impact.
Car companies have absolutely lost the plot with this whole arms race of BIGGER BOXIER TALLER MANLIER trucks ever since Ford got made fun of around 2000 or so for making a car that was too “feminine” because it dared to have a more rounded exterior. The next generation refresh made it bigger and boxier, slapped a 12" Ford badge that was 2-3x the size of the badge on the previous generation, and it’s been all downhill ever since.
I just wish modern pickups were built for hauling rather than towing. Nobody is hauling anything in a bed that sits at shoulder height!!
it’s not just light trucks
They kind of have to do that.
Safety rules frown upon vehicles that crush everyone inside in an accident, so a modern vehicle’s roof is required to be able to support the entire weight of the vehicle. If it’s a big vehicle, that means very chunky pillars.
I get the pillars. They also have curtain airbags, electrical lines etc. Most newer vehicles will have that.
I mean the engine and hood itself. So square and chunky that you can hardly see the road, and that’s without lift kits or anything
I mean… therapy can be expensive, yeah:-P
waiting for the inevitable “liberal owns conservative by dailying an ex military truck just to spite republicans”
I genuinely have more respect for people dailying industrial trucks, rather than pickups. I don’t care how silly it is, i can respect it to some degree. (i may be biased)
Unironically it would be fun to see. I don’t like the mpg but reusing it is better than sending it to a junk yard I suppose
the MPG would be horrid, but you can be sure they won’t bitch about gas prices lmao.
lol facts
i sure as hell wouldn’t. I mean look at me, i’m living the dream, what do i have to complain about? Not living my life the way i please?
How is own the cons not a thing. I need politicians to own the cons
because they’re fragile, or something idk im not a con.
I really don’t get the appeal of fancy new cars… If I see someone in a new car then I usually assume they’re in debt tbh.
I always find it funny driving through posh areas and you usually see a Corsa on the driveway of a 1 mil+ house.
All new cars are trash, ask what your mechanic drives and it’s gonna be like 20 years old
I mean, I’m a computer guy and some of the computers I use daily I wouldn’t tell other people to use, I just use them because I know what’s broken and what incantations to get it working well enough and its dirt cheap to keep using a half broken and dying machine. I assume many mechanics cars are similar
Well, like consumer electronics, vehicles are not made to be serviced or repaired, and in the car world it’s the exact same
Example, replacing the blower motor on a 2006 Sierra is a 1 hour job vs 15 hours on a 2015 and it’s all intentionally difficult like this to charge insane rates for labour
It’s not reliability the mechanic is picking older cars for. It’s the ability to work on it themselves.
Most people would be paying more to have somebody work on an older car over and over again because the parts aren’t made anymore.
Yup, as I replied to other guy, newer vehicles are intentionally difficult to service is the main issue
I disagree. Newer vehicles have more parts for a variety of beneficial reasons.
I really feel sorry for them :( They could do things that would make them happy with that money, like go to therapy or hike in the woods or whatever.
Oh boy another fun Lemmy thread where every commenter says the same thing about vehicles
deleted by creator
Whichever one permits me to have the tiniest dick
Ya these threads might as well be AI generated
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small dick body shaming comments
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trucks need to fit a full size plywood comments
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something about only people in construction should be allowed trucks comments
I already blocked fuckcars to avoid this brainless discussion. As someone who lives in the middle of nowhere it makes me think all city people are morons lol
I live in the country and my next door neighbor has two trucks that he alternates commuting 40 minutes into the city for a job that doesn’t require a truck. Never see them used for anything else. That just oozes smart to me.
Where I live on Vancouver Island you need a 4x4 and a truck makes the most sense because 4runners are too expensive
Also because it literally never stops raining it’s useful to have a place to put wet things outside of the cab
because 4runners are too expensive
Because those are the literal only two types of 4x4 in existence, right? Smaller cars don’t ever have 4x4 capability
Also because it literally never stops raining it’s useful to have a place to put wet things outside of the cab
Plastic liner or bin in the trunk. Bonus that it won’t keep getting more wet
I love seeing people insecure as fuck because hey actually know deep down they don’t need the truck, so they come up with “reasons” they need it
Spoken like someone who’s never had a car buried up to the rocker panels in mud or snow and needed extra ground clearance to get out.
Prolly cuz I’m not stupid enough to drive my car off-road if it ain’t capable of handling the terrain.
I have taken appropriately lifted vehicles off-road many times, though, and many of them weren’t big ass lifted trucks because that’s rarely what’s actually needed. Oh, and even if you do need said lift, a truck ain’t even the best vehicle for that purpose.
But go on, keep pretending the .01% of truck owners actually travelling through 4ft of mud to get to and from their farm are the normal use case for trucks.
Dude there isn’t even a paved road leading to my town, everything is off road, go touch grass lmao
Show me on the doll where the big truck touched you
We need ground clearance too lol
Also awd isn’t 4x4
Also if you put wet things inside the cab and turn on the heater you are going to have a condensation nightmare
Maybe stay in your own lane gamer dude
We need ground clearance too lol
And there are vehicles other than trucks or 4-runnerd that have that.
Also awd isn’t 4x4
Never said AWD, I said 4x4
Also if you put wet things inside the cab
Never said put it in the cabin, I said put it in the trunk
Maybe stay in your own lane gamer dude
I’d love to, but these oversized pavement princesses are forcing me to dodge around them because they can’t control a big, heavy vehicle.
Which small vehicles are 4x4
Uh oh, found the terminally online guy.
Nobody is “insecure” about owning a truck, because normal people just use their vehicle as they see fit. They aren’t worried about what some basement dweller thinks of their vehicle use lol
Peak brain dead take of the whole thread ⭐
Nobody is “insecure” about owning a truck
Homie I can see you and at least one other person whining in every thread possible about how your use case is valid
They aren’t worried about what some basement dweller thinks
Nice ad hominem, bud, really shows you’re not defensive. How about the opinion of someone on land with livestock, yet doesn’t feel the need to own a truck? Isn’t that, like, the exact person you guys claim needs one so desperately after all?
I’m really confused as to why you think people need to justify owning a truck. Do I, or anyone, owe you or anyone else an explanation on why we have a certain type of vehicle?
My use case is valid, simply because I deem it so.
Others use cases are valid, simply because they deem it so.
It’s really that simple.
This is the kind of nuance Lemmy isn’t prepared for. You either hate trucks, or fuck you
I live in the sticks too and most of my neighbours have trucks. Know why? Because they need them. I don’t look at a truck sitting in a driveway and sit in a bubble of self righteousness thinking how dumb they are for owning a truck. I let them own a truck, assume they need it, think nothing of it, and move on with my life, because it doesn’t affect me.
But why do they need them? Because usually they don’t actually, they just think they do. I also live out in the sticks, I’m two hours away from the nearest actual real town. But I’m literally driving a smart Fortwo, with its short wheelbase I don’t have to worry about ever getting high centered on anything it dirt drives real good with the lift springs and the quatrac tires, when i need 2x4s or plywood I’ve got a scion XB with a roof rack i can shove pretty much however many i want up there and strap em down. Decent pulling with a hitch as well. Had To lift kit it up a bit as well but not too bad.
If you just like having a truck that’s fine, I’m just tired of people saying they NEEED them because it’s almost always false. Now, if you live in swamp land, have no road, and need mud tires (no not AT tires, MT tires) and 4-wheel then sure. But most people don’t even in the sticks.
Hell even in snow, dedicated winter tires keep the xb/smart going strong in all but the absolute worst conditions that you probably shouldn’t be in even with 4x drive
I live and work on the road. I travel from wind farm to wind farm, hauling nearly everything I own in a camper behind me. I need a truck. My job and no kids goes a long way to offset my carbon footprint. Honestly though, never really wanted it.
5th wheel i assume, at which point ye you need a truck. If it’s not a 5th tho you don’t need a truck to haul it many an suv could pull it. Technically you can get a 5th wheel dolly too but i don’t trust those things
Because they’re farmers. They move hay and other shit around their property. In any case, it’s not my business what they have or why they’re using it, and I certainly don’t judge them or think there needs to be some ridiculous justification as to why they have it.
Weird, i know several farmers and they usually greatly prefer tractors for that. But to each their own. And like i said if someone just wants a truck or just likes a truck that’s fine, enjoy the truck. But if they are gonna be tell me they need the truck I’ll challenge that, because usually they don’t. They just like/want it. Which again is fine, just be honest about it.
Same, I just assume they want it instead.
“Everyone’s use case is perfectly identical and can be addressed by high-density urban living and public transportation” seems to be a common one as well.
Lots of idealists, not many realists.
Fuck cars was the first thing I banned coming to this site. I swear that whole community is just brain dead people who are terminally online.
I thought I was the only one. That community is dumb as hell and is probably doing more harm to the bike movement than it does good for the anti-car movement. This is coming from a cyclist who would love to see more bike centric infrastructure.
Agree. Fuck cars ≠ pro bike.
I would absolutely kill for better bike infrastructure in my area as well. Thankfully, we have a pretty progressive local council that is pushing for more bike infrastructure, but it’s a long process, and as of now, pretty dangerous to be riding a bike next to a main road.
Stay safe out there friend.
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