Stepside Trucks--Cool but why?

[bigpete]

Since we have all figured out the half-ton market and decided that the truck we each own is the best truck that we could own (168 posts later /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif), I thought I'd stir up another little discussion on truck beds.

My guess is that the origins of the stepside design go back to the earliest production of pick-up trucks in the Twenties and Thirties. I'm sure it was easier to build a box, set it on the rear axle, drop two fenders over the rear wheels, and bolt it all together somehow.

As with most anything related to style, what once was functional now becomes fashionable. Is that all there is to it? Other than the subjective opinion of some that stepside pick-ups look good, I can't see any advantage at all. In fact, I think the size limitation of the box and bed makes the utility limited at best, and useless for most things practical.

Pure style? Any thoughts? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> Pure style? Any thoughts? </font>

Yep, they look cool.

 

[RobS]

Pete, I bet people were asking the same question back in the '50s when the "fleetside" beds were introduced. Some, no doubt thought it was pure style. Why would you want that rounded off bed when a "real" truck has nice square corners to sweep out?

Of course, fleetsides quickly became the norm as they have more capacity per length. Today's crop of stepsides hardly resemble their predecesors. Yes, pure style, but so is the fleetside.

If you want function over form get a flatbed /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Dozernut]

I like Toyotas, but the ugliest new truck I have seen this year was a stepside Tundra. It was beat with an ugly stick! There will be people out there who will love the styling, but not me!

 

[fivestring]

I still say the F150 is ugly. Must be the same designer.

 

[bigpete]

Coincidently, I just read a thread on a Tundra board with posts discussing the similarity between the cosmetics of the new F150 and the Tundra. Of course there was conjecture that one copied the other, and such, and such, and so on. You know the drill /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I actually like the looks of the Chevy stepside/flaresides form the late Fifties/Early Sixties. Only as a classic, though.

You know what...there are quite a few new styles that I dislike, now that I think about it. I am even ambivalent about the looks of my Tundra fleetside and think I like the 2002 front end better. I guess that will always be the case when new body styles are introduced. I think the only long-line vehicle model that I seem to like at every evolutionary turn is the Corvette. As far as fairly modern pick-up styles, I'd have to say I like the looks of the Silverado the best. Too bad it didn't handle like the Tundra /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[BigEddy]

Actually - I see value in being able to step on the side of the box to load stuff in. I load from the side all the time, and I end up stepping on the wheel to reach in and out. Maybe I'm just too lazy to walk to the back and drop the tailgate, but I'm certainly too short to reach the middle of the box from the side without stepping on something.

That said, I have a fleetside.

 

[GaryM]

Used to work with a fellow that had a F-250 with a slide in camper. He liked the stepside because the area in front of the wheel wells was useable with the stepside and lost with the fleetside. That's where he strapped on watercans and the like.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

It's all looks and styling. First, shortbed trucks have a neater look than longbeds regardless of bed style.

The stepside beds have a sharp look and are less common and so, by definition, more distinctive. They're definitely sporty and won't ever be mistaken for a work truck. They look neat in the short box version behind a regular cab.

That bed isn't nearly so cool on the extended cab trucks, though. Somehow the proportions are off on those. The ultimate in an ugly stepside has to be the 8' bed version for probably the same reason. For that bed length the fleetside is definitely superior in appearance.

 

[fivestring]

<font color="red">"The ultimate in an ugly stepside has to be the 8' bed version for probably the same reason. For that bed length the fleetside is definitely superior in appearance."
</font>

The ultimate in ugly fleetside is that Ford crew cab with that 4 or 5 foot bed... What a waste. Now that is a poser yuppie truck for sure!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif