It's time we talked about pickup trucks

[Pato del Muerto 52498]

10 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Moonroofs/sunroofs have got to be the worst value for money premium feature on a car. I had one on aforementioned Passat and really can’t remember opening it up. I don’t have one now and I have never, ever said “I wish I could open up the moonroof.”

Extra weight, extra money for a window you never look out of. 

And they’re usually tied to a package of options so you can’t option it out without losing shit you want, or if you do want one without including shit you might not want.  THEY FUCK YOU AT THE CAR DEALERSHIP!!!

[Samson's Wig 3192]

I don't have a problem with anyone driving a pickup that wants to, whether their reasons make sense to me or not.  If you have a bug up your ass about what other people drive, you're a dick and should spend time reflecting on where you went wrong with your life.

However, I do think modern pickups are ridiculous due to the bloated size and goofy appearance.  My last full size truck was a 2013 crew cab, and it is completely dwarfed by the ugly ass giants rolling around now.  I don't understand the mindset driving the design shifts, but it's clearly what people want and more power to them.  They lost me as a customer, however.  I still drive a mid size truck (which is similar in size to what full size trucks were 10+ years ago.  

Regarding safety issues, I completely agree that the sight lines are atrocious.  The bigger issue is too many dumbasses who can't drive a truck are rolling around in them now.  Same with soccer moms in Suburbans.  They're a fucking menace, but they should drive whatever the hell they want to.  I'm more interested in the psychology behind wanting the biggest vehicle on the road than I am interested in shaming them for their choice.  EV drivers are just as delusional and silly as giant truck drivers, they just have a different underlying psychosis.  If the argument is that practicality should drive these decisions, both groups are off the rails.

[elfenix 34240]

4 hours ago, El Tri said:

2021 Sierra here. I love it. It's our family car. It's been very useful when we need to haul stuff. Haven't towed anything yet

Edited January 24, 2023 by elfenix
image switched to surly hosting

[Samson's Wig 3192]

16 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Moonroofs/sunroofs have got to be the worst value for money premium feature on a car. I had one on aforementioned Passat and really can’t remember opening it up. I don’t have one now and I have never, ever said “I wish I could open up the moonroof.”

Extra weight, extra money for a window you never look out of. 

Yeah, well you don't have a vagina.

[South Austin 52500]

2 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

If you have a bug up your ass about what other people drive, you're a dick and should spend time reflecting on where you went wrong with your life.

Sounds like something a Porsche owner would say.

[956 Worldwide 34715]

6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Fantastic point.  My grandfather on my mom's side worked in the S. Texas oilpatch in the 1970s.  The guys would go do what they needed to get done for the day (grandpa checked tank levels on leases), and then hit the beer joint.  Every vehicle in the parking lot was....a big American sedan (Ford LTDs etc.).  They all had a crushed roll of TP in the rear window (you needed TP in the field, because sometimes you gotta shit, but you crushed it so it wouldn't roll around when you turned corners).  And they took them EVERYWHERE - dirt "roads" through ranches, the whole deal.  Back then, if you saw a pickup truck, it was an actual farm truck most of the time.  You saw a few in the cities, mostly for actual work/towing, not as personal daily drivers.  Not to say that there weren't personal trucks around, there just weren't that many of them.

I may be coming back stateside for a bit and if I need to get a second car— I have honestly been looking at last gen low-mileage Grand Marquis.  (That’s most of them since only grandparents bought them). 
 

They’re cheap as hell. They basically do not break (as evidenced by every PD in America flogging their Panther platforms to shit). I like the old-school feel and THAT is a true road trip cruiser. 

[Samson's Wig 3192]

Just now, South Austin said:

Sounds like something a Porsche owner would say.

lol.  Not this guy, but yeah.

[midtown 3345]

2013 F-150 XLT.  Paid $32k in 2013.  120k miles.  Probably $5k in maintenance/repairs/tires etc over the 10 years.  Served me well.  With bikes and yard stuff I use it enough to keep it.  By owning a pickup you never have to think about space.  You can buy almost anything and just throw it in the bed.  You can throw fishing poles or anything else in the bed and just go.    Its not uncommon to show up to a soccer field and find myself  parking in a field or having to go over a curb

 

With my kids getting their own cars and I'm not doing as much hauling kids and cleats etc Im looking at compact truck maybe even a hybrid,  

Edited January 23, 2023 by midtown

[YGIFS 19450]

So if you're using it weekly, get the big one.  If you're using it monthly, keep the old one or get a smaller/mid-size one.  If you use a few times per year...may I interest you in a timeshare?  We all know 20% of the ownership of these trucks is totally justified.  The other 80% don't need them and they know they don't need them. 

You can rent them at U-Haul or Home Depot but they are beat to hell true work trucks and it takes 3 hours to rent the damn thing.  And nobody wants to drive out to the airport to rent one, even if they have any in stock which they almost always don't.  Every city in Texas should have some sorta timeshare/uber/pickups to you type rental deal.  You need it for the whole weekend for chores?  Cool.  You need it for a 4-day camping/fishing/hunting excursion?  Cool.  They deliver it to you like Enterprise rental car.  A 250/2500 crew cab or extended cab (your choice for differing prices) and long-bed, and 4x2 or 4x4 (again, differing prices) with the larger V8 in all.  They maintain a fleet, like Silvercar of just 1 or 2 model variations so they can easily maintain them.  Yeah, pickups depreciate, so do all rental cars.  You use it for the agreed upon timeframe with preapproved drivers and disclose if it's staying in state of interstate, just like a rental car.  Charge rates similiar to a full-size SUV rental at Hertz.  Bring it back full just like a rental and you have to agree to clean out the bedliner as well (not too big a deal since you can do that at home after you unload your gear).  Maybe some kinda cleaning surcharge on top of regular shit and deposit.  

They can either get a ride back to the fleet terminal with a coworker or uber it back.  Sure you pay for an extra hour or so, but it gives you the convenience to load up gear at home instead of switching out in a parking lot somewhere.  If you're using it for just local weekend projects/hauling/boat to local lake, you can get a discount for coming to pick it up in person and just heading back home to start the weekend.  But if you need it for longer/farther trip, I'd gladly pay for an extra hour or two to take my time loading and prepping all the gear.  Works mostly like other rental cars and u_haul, but you get a better, newer, more capable pickup.  Convenience of athome packing or usage.  They all come with HD tow package, etc.  You show proper type of insurance that covers your boat/5th wheel/etc. so they can minimize shit on their end.  

Best of all, you don't do a single-driver daily commute to a crowded parking garage in your old F-250 at 12 mpg and $800/month in payments.  You use this service a few times a year at a few hundred per weekend.  And drive something everyday more sensible.  I'd use the hell out of a service like that for weekend chores, landscaping projects, and camping/fishing trips.  And I'm barely the target market.

[Sandman 3403]

12 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

And they’re usually tied to a package of options so you can’t option it out without losing shit you want

I really wanted a Kia K5 but in order to get the advanced safety/tech stuff, you HAD to get the sunroof as well. Fuck that.

[Hpara759 1778]

My first vehicle (age 14) a pickup. 

My current vehicle (age 64) a pickup.

My last vehicle ( whenever that might be) a pickup.

Always stock, except for putting dual exhaust on them. None were obnoxiously loud.

[RDCanecutter 26442]

Pickup Truck is a feminine word in both French and Spanish. I taught a class in Waco where a kid about lost his shit at that fact.

[elfenix 34240]

thread: hai gais y trucks so big an 'spensive an driveway queens?

surly: fuck sunroofs!

[52-80 19157]

3 hours ago, Orange&White said:

Even if someone never uses their truck as a truck and they just prefer to drive a truck, why does that matter to other people?

full size trucks (and i put full size SUV in that category) fuck up the visibility for everyone else on the road.

cant see in front of them, cant see around them.  they hog the width of parking spots and some poke out of the length of the spots as well.

theyre obnoxious vehicles.

[Bateshorn 9927]

As somebody who lives on the Eastern seaboard and does not have giant, Kramer-esque, Texas roads, Pick ups are the bane of my existence.  

Also, trying to figure out which of you guys actually need a pick up and which of you just have little dicks. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Bateshorn

[fattyflattie 4639]

Have owned trucks my entire life.  Boats, camper, cattle, hay, tractors. I don’t think that will change any time soon.  Most of my shit doesn’t work with a 1/2-ton either, but I once you are used to driving it, it’s not difficult.  But I’ll probably stay single wheel, unless there’s just a smoking deal on the dually (used to be that way).  I wished less people bought them too, so they wouldn’t cost 85k. 

4 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

Also, trying to figure out which of you guys actually need a pick up and which of you just have little dicks. 

 

There is some overlap, for sure. 

[CooterBrown 18012]

Would totally get a Maverick or whatever future GM/Chevy or Toyota model in thay nich,

I think many truck buyers know they don’t need a full size truck and don’t even want a Tacoma sized truck and price tag. That’s why the Maverick sales have far exceeded Ford’s expectations. Toyota will release one soon. I think VW has one waiting in the wings also.

[YGIFS 19450]

1 minute ago, Bateshorn said:

As somebody who lives on the Eastern seaboard and does not have giant, Kramer-esque, Texas roads, Pick ups are the bane of my existence.  

Also, trying to figure out which of you guys actually need a pick up and which of you just have little dicks. 

I don't know where you used to drive in Texas, but we do NOT have luxurious, Arthur Burkhardt style lanes in Texas.  Our widths are the federally mandated size which barely accommodate said trucks.  And our parking spaces are dictated by the bare minimum impervious cover ratios for commercial development, which effectively operate under the assumption that we all drive full-size, dually, turbo-diesel, extended.........Vespa scooters.  From parking garages to surface retail lots, it's a shit show.  Not the truck owner's fault but they should at least take it into consideration.  

I know there's a prevailing notion for other threads/forums about how Texans with so much O&G and rugged lifestyles will never part with their gas/diesel full size trucks in exchange for electric vehicles and/or public transporation.  Okay, I'm halfway that myself.  Fine with me.  But let's collectively demand a road system and transportation infrastructure worthy of the most energy abundant, full-size truck driving state in human history.  Don't rant and rave about charging stations and solar fucking everything up for your huntin' truck.  Demand we get some fucking halfway safe roads up in this bitch.  We have the energy and vehicular demands of a mid-sized country.  And have the road network and infrastructure of fucking Burma.

[CooterBrown 18012]

If you really need to haul stuff for work, you’d have a flatbed to maximize cargo capacity. Otherwise, it’s just eye candy to appeal to other truck bros.

[TexasHooch 5122]

I drive an older Silverado and love the utility of it.  I don't put a ton of miles on it though.

Honest question:  In TX (and I suppose other warm weather states) what is the ratio of 4X2 trucks to 4X4?  I remember 4X2s being really common in TX, but they're nowhere to be found in MN- for obvious reasons.  

[BabaYaga 15297]

7 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

 

I think many truck buyers know they don’t need a full size truck and don’t even want a Tacoma sized truck and price tag. That’s why the Maverick sales have far exceeded Ford’s expectations. Toyota will release one soon. I think VW has one waiting in the wings also.

 

Toyota needs to get the god dammit Hilux produced here in the USA.  There is not a more robust, bulletproof vehicle made.  

[Pato del Muerto 52498]

2 minutes ago, TexasHooch said:

I drive an older Silverado and love the utility of it.  I don't put a ton of miles on it though.

Honest question:  In TX (and I suppose other warm weather states) what is the ratio of 4X2 trucks to 4X4?  I remember 4X2s being really common in TX, but they're nowhere to be found in MN- for obvious reasons.  

None in WY either and the ones that are around are dirt cheap. 
 

I’ve actually thought about the Hyundai Santa Cruz as basically a car with a bed and a taller ride height.  Or a ridgeline for that matter.  If the utility of an open bed is all that is wanted, and weight and towing wasn’t a consideration. 

[HenryJames 66052]

23 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

full size trucks (and i put full size SUV in that category) fuck up the visibility for everyone else on the road.

cant see in front of them, cant see around them.  they hog the width of parking spots and some poke out of the length of the spots as well.

theyre obnoxious vehicles.

[YGIFS 19450]

8 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Toyota needs to get the god dammit Hilux produced here in the USA.  There is not a more robust, bulletproof vehicle made.  

Yeah, what is the deal with that?  I've heard a dozen rationales for why it's not here anymore.  Emissions, tariffs (I thought we won the tariff war recently but I've missed a lot of meetings), production requirements, spare parts under-supply?  Fucking Taliban doesn't seem to have a problem getting them, but the Baldwins at Gulf Coast Toyota just give you that look...you know that look?

Also, I'd never heard that above post about assuming men in trucks know how to do shit and men in sedans don't.  That's a weird take.  A guy in a shiny, 4x2 F-250 would be the last guy I'd ask for help with a project on.  The only other self-sufficient guy on my street that I trust for help with outdoor projects or to go fishing drives a Tesla.  Every other guy in a big truck on my street has to ask me for help when he wants to move his armoire.  

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

11 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

If you really ONLY need to haul stuff for work, you’d have a flatbed to maximize cargo capacity.

Fixed it for you.  I do own two flatbeds that run the majority of our deliveries.  They're great for that, but the ride is rough, and they're single cab.  

I don't disagree with your statement, but when my week consists of hauling stuff and carting around my three kids, then I'll take a pickup truck.  

If you really ONLY need to get to and from work, you'd have a motorcycle or scooter to minimize expense and save fuel.  The catch is, it's not ONLY for those functions.  Same with a truck.  Heck, if I had my way, I'd have a car, an SUV, a pickup and a flatbed.  Use each for their intended purpose.  But, if I can only have one, I'm taking a pickup.  

[YGIFS 19450]

^
actually, according to my city council...I'm better off cycling to/from work.  You know, that thing people do when they have to drop off two kids at school first?  If I didn't have to use Mopac to cross the river and all the assholes who drive on it, I'd get a scooter or small motorcycle in a heartbeat.  I wish I would have kept my old F-150 but there was a run on its 5.4L V8 components at the time so they offered me something ridiculous for it.  

But yeah, a full-sized truck is a good catchall, but you're usage is rarer than most, and a single-row flatbed doesn't cut it for most.  You know what I don't see much of anymore is a full-sized truck with a covered bed, like there'll be a roller cover that's flush with the bed but time was half the trucks on the road had that camper cover (not even for camping, just security from crime and elements.  Don't really see that much anymore.  The ones that are the same height as the cab top, sometimes even with that little 'attic' towards the back 

Edited January 23, 2023 by YGIFS

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

The Hilux wouldn't sell that well here after people realize that they can't tow very much and are instead made to carry a lot of weight in the bed, which doesn't do the average American much good.

[Brisketexan 105139]

The Hilux wouldn't sell that well here after people realize that they can't tow very much and are instead made to carry a lot of weight in the bed, which doesn't do the average American much good.

It does if what you’re hauling in the bed is other fatass Americans.

[midtown 3345]

Oh and almost $70k for a modestly equipped 1/2 ton truck these days is ridiculous

[BabaYaga 15297]

7 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

You know what I don't see much of anymore is a full-sized truck with a covered bed

Man, I love mine and all my friends with trucks also have them.,  You can secure so much stuff with them.  All our kids sports gear:  chairs, blankets, etc.  I keep ratchet-straps, a tow rope, umbrellas, even an aftermarket jack for flats all the stock one is a nightmare to use.  Great on trips as well in inclement weather like ski trips.

[YGIFS 19450]

11 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

The Hilux wouldn't sell that well here after people realize that they can't tow very much and are instead made to carry a lot of weight in the bed, which doesn't do the average American much good.

I would think Americans use the bed more than the towing capabilities.  I mean yeah, I guess when we tow...we tow a lot but it's more rare, no?  I dunno, I think I only towed shit with my full-size a half dozen times in 8 years but I used the bed probably 40 outta 50 weeks a year.  And probably over-filled it a dozen times per year.  I didn't realize that about the Hilux, I always assumed it was emissions or finances or where to build it.  My neighbor is a radiologist and got a pretty nice short-box F-150 with all the fixins.  Obviously as a doctor he doesn't haul anything but firewood, but he said he needed it to tow a boat.  And I thought, "You're the asshole who talked me into that boat sharing club with you at that marina!"  But he liked boating so much, be bought one and uses the new truck to tow it.  But our HOA doesn't allow boat parking so he parks it at his medical practice which of course is suing him even though he groundleases his portion.  A truly American story.  

Shit, just tell 'em it's going to Mexico and suddenly that Hilux can tow 3 minivans at a time so long as the last one says, "In  Tow" on the back window.  If a fucking '97 Bonneville can do it, a Hilux can!  

Edited January 23, 2023 by YGIFS

[BabaYaga 15297]

2 minutes ago, midtown said:

Oh and almost $70k for a modestly equipped 1/2 ton truck these days is ridiculous

That's insane.  But I will say many hold their value as well.  Bought the Tundra used @ 48K.  Put tens of thousands of miles on it.  Blue book value is 47K years later.  Taco's and 4runners are even better

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

22 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Yeah, what is the deal with that?  I've heard a dozen rationales for why it's not here anymore.  Emissions, tariffs (I thought we won the tariff war recently but I've missed a lot of meetings), production requirements, spare parts under-supply?  Fucking Taliban doesn't seem to have a problem getting them, but the Baldwins at Gulf Coast Toyota just give you that look...you know that look?

Also, I'd never heard that above post about assuming men in trucks know how to do shit and men in sedans don't.  That's a weird take.  A guy in a shiny, 4x2 F-250 would be the last guy I'd ask for help with a project on.  The only other self-sufficient guy on my street that I trust for help with outdoor projects or to go fishing drives a Tesla.  Every other guy in a big truck on my street has to ask me for help when he wants to move his armoire.  

Tacoma (same as Hilux right?) is the best truck around. Not that i know anything about trucks. 

[Brian Fantana 6687]

2 hours ago, JMFP said:

When I see a man that drives a sedan I think of him as a person that doesn't or can't do things for himself. When I see a man driving a truck I think of him as a person who is at least capable of some self reliance. I know its wrong to be stereotypical but that's just my perception. Like my brother in law. Dude doesn't even mow his own lawn and I seriously doubt is able to change his own oil. 

But I'm not from a big city and don't have navigate the same areas or deal with the same issues as some of you.

Imagine the freak you have to be to unironically have this opinion. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Brian Fantana

[Pato del Muerto 52498]

3 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

same as Hilux right?)

Nope

[Brian Fantana 6687]

6 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

Tacoma (same as Hilux right?) is the best truck around. Not that i know anything about trucks. 

Hilux is different than a Tacoma, and pretty barebones. Pretty much meant to be a work vehicle and nothing else.

[YGIFS 19450]

3 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Hilux is different than a Tacoma, and pretty barebones. Pretty much meant to be a work vehicle and nothing else.

And by work, he means either Heavy-Duty carpentry or driving terrorists to the theater.  

Been in some in Africa and Latin America and they are fucking badass.  You could use one for one of those prom awareness campaigns where you beat the shit out of a vehicle to show what happens when you drive on Molly.  But the Hilux would just laugh at you and your hernia.  

Edited January 23, 2023 by YGIFS

[Deej 76790]

8 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Hilux is different than a Tacoma, and pretty barebones. Pretty much meant to be a work vehicle and nothing else.

 

[Hawndoh 2386]

I daily drive a Honda Fit to work because I have to commute across town. We do own a truck that in I use to tow an RV and for crap from Lowes.

My wife daily drives the truck because her commute is 1 mile across the neighborhood.

I don't mind truck owners of they occasionally use them for truck things.

Most truck owners overbuy though. Many 250 owners could make do with a 150. Many 150 owners could make do with a Ranger or Maverick.

But ego gets in the way.

[Paul Wesley 3278]

3 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

the venn diagram with some surly bmi thread where everyone just lifts and isn't a huge fatass is probably a single circle.

Uh, do you know where the weight room is?

[Hawndoh 2386]

I spotted a Hilux with Mexico plates just the other day in the Dallas burbs. Looked nice enough.

[hornmpa96 2618]

53 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Yeah, what is the deal with that?  .  Every other guy in a big truck on my street has to ask me for help when he wants to move his armoire.  

How many times have you taken him to the airport?

[YGIFS 19450]

I'm not driving him to the airport!!!

[RDCanecutter 26442]

I grew up around a small fleet of Chevy work  trucks in that chalky Glen Green paint scheme. Had tool boxes I could sit on until I inevitably started acting apeshit, then it was sit down in the bed like some kind of peasant. Interior full of cigar smoke, carbon copies of work orders, random housewiring widgets, and a Co-Cola bottle rolling around.

I need to get one of those and drive it around pretending to be an electrician from the 60s.

[YGIFS 19450]

22 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

I grew up around a small fleet of Chevy work  trucks in that chalky Glen Green paint scheme. Had tool boxes I could sit on until I inevitably started acting apeshit, then it was sit down in the bed like some kind of peasant. Interior full of cigar smoke, carbon copies of work orders, random housewiring widgets, and a Co-Cola bottle rolling around.

I need to get one of those and drive it around pretending to be an electrician from the 60s.

Excuse me ma'am, I'm electrician from 1960's...I'm here to plug your fusebox...lemme get my tool...I mean tools.  

[atomheartbevo 89665]

3 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

If I could buy a truck the size of my 1998 Dakota or my dad’s 1996 S-10, I would. Rangers and Colorados are now the size of an F-150 from that era.

I'd love a modern small pickup.  Other countries get them, we don't, and I've heard from friends who work at dealerships as to why, and it sucks.

I keep kicking around finding an older Ranger that's in decent shape.  Yeah, won't hold the whole family, but I would find it very useful and very economical.

And then I saw this beauty, but $35,000 for a 1968 vehicle with a 1985 engine is not something my wife is keen on (unless it was a sports car for some odd reason, she could see that).

Edit: Just saw @RDCanecutter's post above.  Matches this.  a 1960s Ford F100 Ranger.

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by atomheartbevo

[Brew 3049]

These threads are the best threads. I’ve had a truck for 29 years since turning 16 with most of that being 2 year old or less F150’s. I’m not going to drive a mini truck, anything it can do can be accomplished with a trailer. I haul boats, trailers, stuff in the bed, etc pretty often and never considered going away from trucks. However, while I was waiting 9 months for my F250 I currently drive I sold my boats, toys, etc and don’t have a need for it right now. They will give me more than I paid, so I think I’m going to trade it for my Bronco (18 month wait) and then start looking for an older F250 to use when I need one.

I will miss blinding slow drivers on the interstate in the left lane at night. 

[Deej 76790]

3 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

If I could buy a truck the size of my 1998 Dakota

I had a 98 Dakota. It was a great truck and just the right size for around town. Plus, it had a manual transmission.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Deej

[Macanudo 12978]

1 hour ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

The Hilux wouldn't sell that well here after people realize that they can't tow very much and are instead made to carry a lot of weight in the bed, which doesn't do the average American much good.

Look, if I want to mount a dual barrel .50 cal in the bed of a Hilux, it's no business of yours.   Stop treading on my freedoms.

[52-80 19157]

29 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

I'd love a modern small pickup.  Other countries get them, we don't, and I've heard from friends who work at dealerships as to why, and it sucks.

Kinda silly the lowest trim of fords smallest truck is called…the XL

Hyundai has this

But what america really needs is this

https://carsbase.com/photo/Ford-FG_Falcon_Ute_XR6_mp8_pic_55480.jpg