A few questions about pickup trucks

[Axing]

Gentlemen, I would like to ask, is pickup trucks very popular in your local area, because I watch some foreign movies, and there is always a pickup truck in the rural shots
Do you have any special rules for pickup trucks, such as pickup trucks are not allowed to enter urban areas in China, and pickup trucks have the same status as trucks
Also, if I'm going to buy a pickup truck, what do I need to look out for?

 

[deezler]

Yes pickup trucks are very, very common as daily-drivers for many people in rural and even suburban areas of the united states. No restrictions on where you can go with them, although some city centers and parking structure sure aren't very fun to navigate.

We like to drive full size, "half-ton" trucks. F150, Ram 1500, Chevy/GMC 1500.

What trucks are common around you there in China? Are there many compact Japanese trucks? Probably some Chinese brands we have never heard of as well.

 

[JeepHead]

Pretty much every family has at least one truck where I am at. The norm around here is 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton trucks. For some weird reason, everyone around here thinks they need a diesel even though they don't tow or haul things. I needed a diesel for a very long time so I was forced to own them but luckily for me, I don't have that need any longer. I absolutely despise modern day diesel trucks with a passion and much prefer gas any day.. A full size truck with a small lift kit is what I prefer to drive. Oh, and it must have mud tires as I don't do all terrain tires...

 

[RobertN]

In the US, pickup trucks are often driven like cars. While many are used for work, or farm etc, many are infrequently used as a "truck".

If you are thinking about a pickup truck, some basic question are:
What is the purpose?
How big of items will you carry ie large items, small items?
How heavy of items will you carry
Will you tow trailer?
If so how big, and how heavy of trailer and load.
Is two wheel drive sufficient, or do you require four wheel drive for rough road, snow, mud?

Answers to questions like that will start to guide you to what you should look for in a pickup style truck.

 

[grsthegreat]

except for my first vehicle in high school, all ive ever owned are pickup trucks. Mind you, back in 1975 a new truck was the more inexpensive vehicle to buy. Now days, they cost more than most luxury cars.

I have 3 vehicles at home. All are pickup trucks.

Edit: i forgot about the 1979 vette i had for a few months. That money pit went back to my brother. Nothing was cheap about that vehicle except for the build quality.

 

[ning]

Gentlemen, I would like to ask, is pickup trucks very popular in your local area, because I watch some foreign movies, and there is always a pickup truck in the rural shots
Do you have any special rules for pickup trucks, such as pickup trucks are not allowed to enter urban areas in China, and pickup trucks have the same status as trucks
Also, if I'm going to buy a pickup truck, what do I need to look out for?

Everyone and their mother has a pickup truck around here... apparently there's almost 5M pickups in California state for a population of about 40M people. Lots of pickups. You often see two pickup trucks in a house's driveway, not counting large SUVs.

American pickup trucks are they way they are because of American travel distances and roads. Our roads tend to be fairly wide (two lane roads are almost always at least 6m wide unless you're in very rarely traveled areas) with gentle curves; Americans think little of driving an hour to get to a job site - and in many parts of the country, 500km trips are regular and 1000km trips not unheard of. As a result, pickups tend to be pretty wide (~2m wide) and long, spacious and comfortable.

Cabover (COE) trucks are entirely a "medium duty" to "heavy duty" thing - there are no American pickups which are COE (Jeep had a "forward control" until 1965), because Americans don't need a shorter vehicle that has an "inferior" ride.

American pickup trucks come with very powerful engines. Typically even the smallest engine offered is more than sufficient for most actual "pickup truck" needs; the lowest output engine that the F-150 is offered with gives this large pickup truck acceleration which would be respectable in the sports car class 40 years ago, and considerably higher output engines are available, though they increase in complexity and fuel consumption and often put the pickup truck solidly into the "medium duty" range of things with GVWR up to 8800kg.

What to look out for? Assuming you're looking at a used vehicle, look out for the same issues as any other used vehicle. A pickup is just another shape of car, really. You can look for signs of overloading by closely inspecting the frame, but in all likelihood unless the truck has been seriously abused you won't see problems there before they're severe.

 

[Axing]

Yes pickup trucks are very, very common as daily-drivers for many people in rural and even suburban areas of the united states. No restrictions on where you can go with them, although some city centers and parking structure sure aren't very fun to navigate.

We like to drive full size, "half-ton" trucks. F150, Ram 1500, Chevy/GMC 1500.

What trucks are common around you there in China? Are there many compact Japanese trucks? Probably some Chinese brands we have never heard of as well.

There are two popular Japanese pickup brands in China: Zhengzhou Nissan and Suzuki, both of which are joint ventures between China and Japan. In recent years, the sales of Japanese pickups in China have significantly declined, and currently, the best-selling pickup in China is "Great Wall" pickup.
Sir, I would like to ask what 'half-ton' pickup truck means. Does it refer to the load limit?

 

[Axing]

Everyone and their mother has a pickup truck around here... apparently there's almost 5M pickups in California state for a population of about 40M people. Lots of pickups. You often see two pickup trucks in a house's driveway, not counting large SUVs.

American pickup trucks are they way they are because of American travel distances and roads. Our roads tend to be fairly wide (two lane roads are almost always at least 6m wide unless you're in very rarely traveled areas) with gentle curves; Americans think little of driving an hour to get to a job site - and in many parts of the country, 500km trips are regular and 1000km trips not unheard of. As a result, pickups tend to be pretty wide (~2m wide) and long, spacious and comfortable.

Cabover (COE) trucks are entirely a "medium duty" to "heavy duty" thing - there are no American pickups which are COE (Jeep had a "forward control" until 1965), because Americans don't need a shorter vehicle that has an "inferior" ride.

American pickup trucks come with very powerful engines. Typically even the smallest engine offered is more than sufficient for most actual "pickup truck" needs; the lowest output engine that the F-150 is offered with gives this large pickup truck acceleration which would be respectable in the sports car class 40 years ago, and considerably higher output engines are available, though they increase in complexity and fuel consumption and often put the pickup truck solidly into the "medium duty" range of things with GVWR up to 8800kg.

What to look out for? Assuming you're looking at a used vehicle, look out for the same issues as any other used vehicle. A pickup is just another shape of car, really. You can look for signs of overloading by closely inspecting the frame, but in all likelihood unless the truck has been seriously abused you won't see problems there before they're severe.

Sir, the F-150 is considered a luxury vehicle on our side, and it feels completely out of reach for me. I am planning to purchase a full-size domestic pickup truck, as I sometimes need to transport fertilizer to the mountains to fertilize eucalyptus trees. I will choose a diesel engine because it provides better power for transporting on mountain roads; of course, the fact that gasoline is more expensive than diesel is also an important reason. Thank you for sharing interesting things about pickup trucks.

 

[Axing]

In the US, pickup trucks are often driven like cars. While many are used for work, or farm etc, many are infrequently used as a "truck".

If you are thinking about a pickup truck, some basic question are:
What is the purpose?
How big of items will you carry ie large items, small items?
How heavy of items will you carry
Will you tow trailer?
If so how big, and how heavy of trailer and load.
Is two wheel drive sufficient, or do you require four wheel drive for rough road, snow, mud?

Answers to questions like that will start to guide you to what you should look for in a pickup style truck.

Thank you for your guidance.

 

[Axing]

Pretty much every family has at least one truck where I am at. The norm around here is 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton trucks. For some weird reason, everyone around here thinks they need a diesel even though they don't tow or haul things. I needed a diesel for a very long time so I was forced to own them but luckily for me, I don't have that need any longer. I absolutely despise modern day diesel trucks with a passion and much prefer gas any day.. A full size truck with a small lift kit is what I prefer to drive. Oh, and it must have mud tires as I don't do all terrain tires...

I think I would still choose a diesel generator because diesel is cheaper than gasoline by two yuan per liter, and diesel is more economical. Of course, the National VI compliant diesel engine will have a set of troublesome after-treatment devices.