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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Are semi trucks regularly driving down residential roads backwards?
How is the front height of a truck (not even specifically the bumper, you could have a low bumper but a giant hood that makes seeing a small child or animal almost impossible) and the rear height of a semi even comparable?
Also, YES all cars should have the same bumper height so cars who hit each other are less likely to do fatal damage to the occupants. Bumpers reduce the total impact felt by the occupants and decrease the damage done to the vehicle itself. You can make the bumper any height and still have the rest of the car as tall or short as you want. Do you even know why semi trucks have the lower bumper on them?
They haven't been banned yet because the American auto industry has a really strong lobbying arm that both parties bow to. Why do you think Biden just announced a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs while specifically saying it was to protect the US auto industry?
That's why every semi trailer has a back bumper below the deck height. Those bumpers are mandated by law for safety. Also, the EU mandates those skirts underneath the sides, to prevent other road users from going under the wheels, and the skirts are becoming more common on U.S. trucks, too.
And, yes, the regulations for cars mandate compatible bumper heights, so it's not just me that thinks so. It's just that pickup trucks don't have the same regulations, for stupid political reasons.
Incorrect. The regulations on car bumpers require that they be between 16" and 20" off the ground. The rear guard on a semi trailer must be no more than 22" off the ground. True, that's not exactly lined up with a car bumper, but it's enough to prevent underride crashes.
This is kind of far afield from my point, though, that what somebody else chooses to drive is my business, because they're on the road with me. Pickup trucks are much, much more dangerous to me, because they're much more likely to cause head and chest injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists, and much more likely to push them under the wheels instead of onto the hood. The traffic casualty rates in the past couple of years prove this empirically.
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