pickup truck size

[jjeff]

Have an 05 Chevy W/T 2 wd, sits low so I don't need an oxygen mask, just what I need a single cab, easy to heat and cool, 8 foot bed, 294 V eight with plenty of go , NO electric windows, locks or other niceties. They only thing I added was cruise. Just had to add the t/s stick to add it. Years ago (in the 70's)when I worked at a farm equipment dealer one of the mechanics drove a Ford with a short bed, unusual for that time, we often called it his :short buck truck" as he was a deer hunter. The manufacturers make those fancy trucks because the are a high profit item. People want all the gizmos in there trucks abd are willing to pay the price. Art the current price this will probably be my last truck.

Short beds are definitely more manageable in the woods/ two tracks etc

 

[blee03]

I’ve always had a full size truck since I got my drivers license... it’s all I’ve ever known.

I’ve gotten to be the point where I’ve found the truck that suits me best, and it was under $19k

Everyone likes different stuff.
I like 1000ft lbs TQ with a heated steering wheel and heated/cooled seats. Also enough room for the dogs in the back (mega cab)

She’s my tow pig, but 100% daily driver too. Even though it’s a short box, it’s still on the long wheel base chassis which definitely tows better. Whatever I can’t fit in the box goes in the trailer.

There isn’t a small truck on the market that could do what I need it to do. Plus, a full size truck is way safer with all the people on the road that have sub par driving skills, lol

 

[Lab Guy]

A lot of this is driven by the stupidity of government regulation. If you are a tall or large person, even the allegedly big cars these days are not going to do it for you. Now, thanks to the environmental wacko crowd, the government is cracking down on trucks. The CAFE standards are an asinine regulation. People were buying trucks so they could take their family of four with them and some belongings without being stuffed in a small vehicle.

 

[SuperFun]

Trucks are crappy daily drivers, yet so many people use it for that. I drove a truck for years, because I only had 1 vehicle and needed the 4X4 capability. But then I got a sporty car and kept a truck for when I need it. So much better. I see so many trucks that have never been off road or towed anything. But many people buy them because they think they're cool. Or they think they're safer. In a multi car accident their size may help, but in a single car accident they're worse. Your more likely to roll in an accident. Watch the dashcam accidents on youtube, trucks often end up on their sides or rolling over. And because they're big and heavy they do more damage to smaller vehicle. I put less than 3,000 miles a year on my truck and over 10,000 on my car. My first choice is always the car. My truck is a 4x4 powerstroke diesel. Awesome truck, but terrible car.

 

[Alan46]

A lot of this is driven by the stupidity of government regulation. If you are a tall or large person, even the allegedly big cars these days are not going to do it for you. Now, thanks to the environmental wacko crowd, the government is cracking down on trucks. The CAFE standards are an asinine regulation. People were buying trucks so they could take their family of four with them and some belongings without being stuffed in a small vehicle.

Hey Lab Guy, please be nice "Waco Crowd"?☮️

 

[blee03]

Trucks are crappy daily drivers, yet so many people use it for that. I drove a truck for years, because I only had 1 vehicle and needed the 4X4 capability. But then I got a sporty car and kept a truck for when I need it. So much better. I see so many trucks that have never been off road or towed anything. But many people buy them because they think they're cool. Or they think they're safer. In a multi car accident their size may help, but in a single car accident they're worse. Your more likely to roll in an accident. Watch the dashcam accidents on youtube, trucks often end up on their sides or rolling over. And because they're big and heavy they do more damage to smaller vehicle. I put less than 3,000 miles a year on my truck and over 10,000 on my car. My first choice is always the car. My truck is a 4x4 powerstroke diesel. Awesome truck, but terrible car.

I always had a sports car too, in addition to my trucks. (4 Camaros and 1 Corvette - all LS1)

That got expensive, specially for insurance.

I decided a truck that was fast should fit the bill, and it did. Sure it doesn’t handle great, but it’s left a few sports cars in the dust. Nothing like being pushed back into your seat with the turbo singing...

 

[Cattleguard]

The carpenter or carpet layer who just wants a PLAIN half or three quarter pickup for work can’t find one and can’t afford one. And all the 2021 pickups have giant grills like some sort of creature. It’s all just stupid.

 

[jeffgreef]

I recently got a 95 Dodge Ram Cummins which the previous owner had done a lot of repair on. Paid $8,000. I know I'll have to put money into it, but far less getting a new one which doesnt have as good an engine.

 

[Pleease]

Trucks are crappy daily drivers, yet so many people use it for that. I drove a truck for years, because I only had 1 vehicle and needed the 4X4 capability. But then I got a sporty car and kept a truck for when I need it. So much better. I see so many trucks that have never been off road or towed anything. But many people buy them because they think they're cool. Or they think they're safer. In a multi car accident their size may help, but in a single car accident they're worse. Your more likely to roll in an accident. Watch the dashcam accidents on youtube, trucks often end up on their sides or rolling over. And because they're big and heavy they do more damage to smaller vehicle. I put less than 3,000 miles a year on my truck and over 10,000 on my car. My first choice is always the car. My truck is a 4x4 powerstroke diesel. Awesome truck, but terrible car.

My truck is a Honda Ridgeline, and while it handles my truck needs - which are fairly moderate - it's also a very good driving machine. It's not really "fun" to drive because there's no drama - it just starts, stops, steers/tracks very well. It's a compromise, like anything, but in my experience very good at the dual-function game. And I bet a decent portion of bigger pickup owners don't actually need more truck capability than the RL has. That said, I don't begrudge anyone for driving the truck they want; I like a lot of them myself.

 

[cabbydonkey]

Our most liked pickups have been the 1984ish Dodge Rampage and the 1996 Toyota Tacoma. The present 2005 Tacoma that we got back around 2008 has had only about 6-7k miles on it because we DON'T LIKE TO DRIVE IT. We liked the Rampage and earlier Tacoma. Toyota just kept making the T100 and renamed it "Tacoma"

Give me a pickup with radio, AC, heat, power steering and brakes and roll u/down windows and be able to wash the roof without climbing onto something. That was the Rampage and earlier Tacoma.

I've been looking for something used and affordable for occasional livestock hauling (yeah right... affordable.) Haven't found much in a price I could manage that wouldn't need extensive hauling and overhauling.

My daily is a '93 Toyota 2wd, 4 cyl 5 speed manual. It gets mid-20s mileage and people keep trying to buy it from me in parking lots. Currently has almost 1/2 million miles on one engine rebuild and one rear end change - lets just say the paint job needs new paint.

A buddy bought one of those pretty short-nose late 90s F150 4x4 trucks lifted way up - paid about $5k for it, managed to blow the head gasket from overheating his aluminum V8 and asked if I could help repair it. I quickly decided that wouldn't be happening, I couldn't get to most of the back of the engine with the overhanging firewall... I suspect Ford just pulls the body off the frame to do engine stuff, that was the only way I could see pulling heads would work. A mechanic told him "yeah we won't touch those with major engine issues." Nice job, Ford. I'd consider an older F150, especially with a 302. Cast iron head and block, thank you. No commonly broken spark plugs, overheat failures were fairly rare, but not impossible on anything if you operate stupidly.

I had a 75 chevy 1/2 ton pickup. Straight 6 250, I could pull the head in half an hour and slap in a new head gasket in a little more, and it got low to mid 20s gas mileage. It wasn't a comfy drive, and the doors never would shut right, but I miss it. BTW those doors were bare metal inside so they always had rust issues in the wetter states. Apparently they went from painting inside to saving money on painting inside by not painting.

When they started building trucks for people shopping for cars, that's when they went to fancy garbage. It also drove truck insurance rates up to car insurance prices, they were cheaper until trucks became popular to replace urban and suburban cars.