[FC4]

Never understood Americans' fascination with pickup trucks. Without a tonneau cover, how is a bed even useful for groceries or random items you'd keep in a typical trunk?

In 25 years of driving, not once have I had the need of a pickup truck. Are more people hauling gravel and dirt during their day-to-day than I realize, or is there something else I'm missing?

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by FC4

Never understood Americans' fascination with pickup trucks. Without a tonneau cover, how is a bed even useful for groceries or random items you'd keep in a typical trunk?

In 25 years of driving, not once have I had the need of a pickup truck. Are more people hauling gravel and dirt during their day-to-day than I realize, or is there something else I'm missing?

I don't think the numbers reveal an uncanny fascination with trucks for personal use but rather commercial / mixed use. If you work in a trade, it is not very common in the US for your employer to provide a vehicle. The flexibility to pick up materials, do side work, etc. cannot be understated. Add to that the cost of trucks have exploded, so many who used to have a second 'work truck' now just have a nice truck to do everything. I would guess differences in labor/tax laws and cultural norms feed into the popularity of personal vehicles used in the course of employment in the US.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by FC4

Never understood Americans' fascination with pickup trucks. Without a tonneau cover, how is a bed even useful for groceries or random items you'd keep in a typical trunk?

In 25 years of driving, not once have I had the need of a pickup truck. Are more people hauling gravel and dirt during their day-to-day than I realize, or is there something else I'm missing?

I had the same thought until I moved to a rural area. I use mine to load up topsoil, mulch and the like for gardens around the house. Mine has a hitch but I do not tow and in any event my Ridgeline is not rated to tow heavy trailers.

I do think that for many buyers a pickup truck is a lifestyle statement.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by FC4

Never understood Americans' fascination with pickup trucks. Without a tonneau cover, how is a bed even useful for groceries or random items you'd keep in a typical trunk?

In 25 years of driving, not once have I had the need of a pickup truck. Are more people hauling gravel and dirt during their day-to-day than I realize, or is there something else I'm missing?

The bed is useless for groceries or random items. That stuff goes on the floor in or on the massive backseat, or in a ram you could put them in the in floor bins.

They're incredibly useful for large items, dirty stuff, etc. Buy an 85" TV? Stand it up in the bed and strap it down. New appliances or furniture? No problem. King size bed? Easy peasy. Need a scoop of dirt or mulch, or to move a big lawnmower or something? No problem. I used to get mulch by the school and then shovel it out of the bed to spread it, it was a dream compared to the nightmare of hauling tons of bags of mulch and spreading that. Heck of you've got big ass palm fronds or other yard trimmings a truck makes it easy to get rid of.

I bet a raised bed planet a couple weeks ago. Hauling theum er for that was a total pain in the ass. It would be a little bit easier with my trailer now, but it was a cakewalk in the truck. Throw it in the bed, strap it down, rock and roll.

I think a lot of people don't "do stuff", especially BMW owners. A few of my friends just pay people to do everything around their house, so their only cars are small or midsize sedans, effectively useless vehicles. I struggle with how one can own a house and not have a truck. I've been making it work for ~2 years now and it's been a pain in the ass. My trailer will hopefully make it slightly less of a pain.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by FC4

Never understood Americans' fascination with pickup trucks. Without a tonneau cover, how is a bed even useful for groceries or random items you'd keep in a typical trunk?

In 25 years of driving, not once have I had the need of a pickup truck. Are more people hauling gravel and dirt during their day-to-day than I realize, or is there something else I'm missing?

If all you do is go to the grocery store then you 100% do not need a truck at all. Lots of people do other stuff though.

Originally Posted by Llarry

I had the same thought until I moved to a rural area. I use mine to load up topsoil, mulch and the like for gardens around the house. Mine has a hitch but I do not tow and in any event my Ridgeline is not rated to tow heavy trailers.

I do think that for many buyers a pickup truck is a lifestyle statement.

This.

If you live in the city you will probably never need a truck for anything. Even in FL I never really needed a truck until I bough the RV.

However out at the NC house where I keep the truck permanently now. I always have a use for it. Mulch is way cheaper when you go buy a bucket load instead of bags from Homedepot. There's no bulk garbage pickup so all that needs to be taken to the dump. I always have projects out here which involve lumber, either fixing stuff on the existing barns, building new stuff etc. Then of course there is towing. Boats, RVS, quads, trailers etc. You could argue maybe you could tow some smaller stuff with certain SUVs, but the truck can tow and do all the other stuff.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

This.

If you live in the city you will probably never need a truck for anything. Even in FL I never really needed a truck until I bough the RV.

However out at the NC house where I keep the truck permanently now. I always have a use for it. Mulch is way cheaper when you go buy a bucket load instead of bags from Homedepot. There's no bulk garbage pickup so all that needs to be taken to the dump. I always have projects out here which involve lumber, either fixing stuff on the existing barns, building new stuff etc. Then of course there is towing. Boats, RVS, quads, trailers etc. You could argue maybe you could tow some smaller stuff with certain SUVs, but the truck can tow and do all the other stuff.

My two trucks were both bought when I lived in the rural foothills of NC. We had a small lot in a fairly suburban area (0.3 acres) and the trucks were must haves.

People like trucks becatthey do everything. Luxury car stuff, no problem. Haul stuff? Easy. Off-road? Sure. Go fast on road? Absolutely. Family.road trips? Sure. They can be as nice as nay luxury car or as bare bones as a work truck. They do everything.

[eliphil]

I like pick up trucks but rarely have a need would prefer an suv w an enclosed bed for most weekend warrior stuff

[RM7]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

If all you do is go to the grocery store then you 100% do not need a truck at all. Lots of people do other stuff though.

Naw, here there are extended periods (in the major city) where you need the ground-clearance of something like a truck at the very least...for going to the store. I was recovering from surgery this year when the major screwed up plowing after the first major storm and the city was shut down for more than a week, in terms of being able to get around. I needed some stuff after surgery and it just happened to fall right in this period. Most roads would break your car if you attempted, even with ground-clearance, due to the impacted snow and how cars would just slide. I finally relented and got a truck for this, realizing there are time when I need to be able to get to the store or wherever. True, an outback or similar vehicle would "probably be ok", but I don't want to "probably be ok", I wanted the locking diffs to ensure I was. That and reaching some of the trailheads for skiing in the winter, but that I could probably do it easier with ground clearance and some AWD. The truck has more utility in being able to put stuff in the back with a topper and lock it and have be reasonably secure and out of the elements.

I just went to a "car show" this weekend though...well, a car-race I was participating in and there was a car-show as well. We do the race as a charity benefit. The "car show" had lots of "show trucks", from giant monster trucks to lowriders and everything in between. Most of this was just ridiculous crap...crap that either is too purty and shiny that no one would ever take it seriously off road, despite being 8 feet tall, or stuff that had basically lost any real truck capability through mods. I don't really understand that stuff, because the function is lost one way or another.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by FC4

Never understood Americans' fascination with pickup trucks. Without a tonneau cover, how is a bed even useful for groceries or random items you'd keep in a typical trunk?

In 25 years of driving, not once have I had the need of a pickup truck. Are more people hauling gravel and dirt during their day-to-day than I realize, or is there something else I'm missing?

I've been driving for 46 years. 40 of those years I've owned a pickup truck. I've owned a small version, full sized, and mid sized (current). 20 of those years I lived in the suburbs of a major city and 20 of those years in a rural area. I was rebuilding the houses I lived in, helping friends and family fix their homes. Taking shit to the dump. Own a pickup and you'll have friends for life 🤣🤣🤣. I can't imagine life without a pickup. When you need it, you need it.

And yes, I put groceries in the bed. My truck bed let's you put a 2x4 cross way about 16" ahead of the tailgate. It's great in the winter when you have cold/frozen food. Tie up the plastic bag handles and sit the bags between the 2x4 and the tailgate. I have a diesel tractor. Not an ideal situation to load a 5-gallon can of diesel fuel in the posh trunk of your 5-Series, or gasoline for that matter. A lot of us country folk take their trash to the county dump (err... "waste transfer facility"). Next week I'm taking a 55-gallon drum of used engine oil to my local auto parts/lawn equipment guy for recycling. He uses it to heat his shop. He gives me a drum to fill up every few years.

Once you have had a pickup truck, you’ll never want to not have one.

[freakystyly]

A lot of that list reads as the same group of people who can't live without AWD on their cars.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

A lot of that list reads as the same group of people who can't live without AWD on their cars.

Yep. I dunno, commercial use aside I just don't get trucks in an urban environment, Yeah you can move a 75 inch tv but you're paying for the running costs of a massive truck to move a tv once every 10 years?

90% of this urban use would be better served with a minivan that no one seems to want to be seen dead in.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Yep. I dunno, commercial use aside I just don't get trucks in an urban environment, Yeah you can move a 75 inch tv but you're paying for the running costs of a massive truck to move a tv once every 10 years?

90% of this urban use would be better served with a minivan that no one seems to want to be seen dead in.

That's why there is the Maverick Hybrid.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

A lot of that list reads as the same group of people who can't live without AWD on their cars.

Thank you Audi...

[freakystyly]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Yep. I dunno, commercial use aside I just don't get trucks in an urban environment, Yeah you can move a 75 inch tv but you're paying for the running costs of a massive truck to move a tv once every 10 years?

90% of this urban use would be better served with a minivan that no one seems to want to be seen dead in.

I can't argue work truck and vans, but I'd say more often than not these days pickup trucks are personal daily drivers hauling air and taking up extra spaces in parking lots. Sure the owner may own a trailer or do some home renovations on the odd weekend, but the rest of the time? I agree, if I need a truck I can borrow one from work or rent one for $30 or whatever they cost for the day.

This is talking city use... On heavily plowed and salted roads in the winter where a lowered Miata would suffice.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Yep. I dunno, commercial use aside I just don't get trucks in an urban environment, Yeah you can move a 75 inch tv but you're paying for the running costs of a massive truck to move a tv once every 10 years?

90% of this urban use would be better served with a minivan that no one seems to want to be seen dead in.

You've missed the fact that trucks are super reliable, so running costs are low. They're designed to be abused as work trucks for 500k miles or more, so being used as suburban haulers is no big deal. Brakes last like 150k miles on them. Tires can do 60-100k. Suspension components last indefinitely. And if something breaks, parts are plentiful and cheap, and you can have it worked on by any mechanic in the country.

And it's not about moving a TV every 10 years. It's about like every weekend your needing to haul something. Maybe it's a TV, maybe it's mulch or dirt. Maybe it's kayaks, maybe it's lumber, you never really know, but I'll be damned if throwing something in the bed isn't easy. I had my big ass coolers in the truck bed most weekends in NC. I see people.lugging around coolers and folding canopies/chairs and all kinds of stuff.

Trucks are just prepared for anything. That's why they're so popular, they're so versatile. And there's virtually no penalty for it, they get pretty good mpg nowadays, the 150s all rode really nice, they drive well, and the only time they kinda suck is small.parking areas and street.parking, but in those cases.you just hang one end.out over the line and recognize that they should have made the spots larger.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by RM7

Naw, here there are extended periods (in the major city) where you need the ground-clearance of something like a truck at the very least...for going to the store. I was recovering from surgery this year when the major screwed up plowing after the first major storm and the city was shut down for more than a week, in terms of being able to get around. I needed some stuff after surgery and it just happened to fall right in this period. Most roads would break your car if you attempted, even with ground-clearance, due to the impacted snow and how cars would just slide. I finally relented and got a truck for this, realizing there are time when I need to be able to get to the store or wherever. True, an outback or similar vehicle would "probably be ok", but I don't want to "probably be ok", I wanted the locking diffs to ensure I was. That and reaching some of the trailheads for skiing in the winter, but that I could probably do it easier with ground clearance and some AWD. The truck has more utility in being able to put stuff in the back with a topper and lock it and have be reasonably secure and out of the elements.

I just went to a "car show" this weekend though...well, a car-race I was participating in and there was a car-show as well. We do the race as a charity benefit. The "car show" had lots of "show trucks", from giant monster trucks to lowriders and everything in between. Most of this was just ridiculous crap...crap that either is too purty and shiny that no one would ever take it seriously off road, despite being 8 feet tall, or stuff that had basically lost any real truck capability through mods. I don't really understand that stuff, because the function is lost one way or another.

Might be true in snowy places, honestly never had to deal with snow so dunno. I lived most of my life in FL without a truck so I think in certain places you can get by without a truck and rent one or have stuff delivered for the few times you may need one. Also in FL it's just more of a pain to park, wont fit in garage, takes up half the driveway which makes it hard to take the other cars in and out etc. I don't have any of those issues at the NC house and I have a lot more use for it.

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Yep. I dunno, commercial use aside I just don't get trucks in an urban environment, Yeah you can move a 75 inch tv but you're paying for the running costs of a massive truck to move a tv once every 10 years?

90% of this urban use would be better served with a minivan that no one seems to want to be seen dead in.

Maybe.... but the way I see it why would I want 90% when I can just get a truck and have 100%? It's not like the minivan is a sports car so at least it's fun to drive. So I'm not sure what the upside is to the minivan vs the truck. I don't think the running costs are much different, my F350 has been rock solid (knock on cyber wood) and all I do are oil changes and fuel filter changes (diesel) and it's not that expensive at the dealer. I did brakes myself and the parts were super cheap.

Especially with all the smaller trucks they are making now... shit Hyundai even has like an el camino mini truck/car now.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Might be true in snowy places, honestly never had to deal with snow so dunno. I lived most of my life in FL without a truck so I think in certain places you can get by without a truck and rent one or have stuff delivered for the few times you may need one. Also in FL it's just more of a pain to park, wont fit in garage, takes up half the driveway which makes it hard to take the other cars in and out etc. I don't have any of those issues at the NC house and I have a lot more use for it.



Maybe.... but the way I see it why would I want 90% when I can just get a truck and have 100%? It's not like the minivan is a sports car so at least it's fun to drive. So I'm not sure what the upside is to the minivan vs the truck. I don't think the running costs are much different, my F350 has been rock solid (knock on cyber wood) and all I do are oil changes and fuel filter changes (diesel) and it's not that expensive at the dealer. I did brakes myself and the parts were super cheap.

Especially with all the smaller trucks they are making now... shit Hyundai even has like an el camino mini truck/car now.

Where in Florida do you have those issues? We never had truck issues in palm beach clunty, I'm up on the space coast and again no issues. We haven't ever been "trucks in the garage" people, so maybe that, we can kinda almost get our expedition in the garage. But keeping it outside in the driveway is no big deal and more convenient anyways because we can remote start and it will be cool when we get in.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Maybe.... but the way I see it why would I want 90% when I can just get a truck and have 100%? It's not like the minivan is a sports car so at least it's fun to drive. So I'm not sure what the upside is to the minivan vs the truck. I don't think the running costs are much different, my F350 has been rock solid (knock on cyber wood) and all I do are oil changes and fuel filter changes (diesel) and it's not that expensive at the dealer. I did brakes myself and the parts were super cheap.

Especially with all the smaller trucks they are making now... shit Hyundai even has like an el camino mini truck/car now.

No contest the minivan is WAY more flexible, with a huge caveat that trucks always win if towing large. Sliding doors, stow n go seats, 3 easy to access rows, better MPG, enclosed storage etc. I increasingly see tradesmen here with dodge caravans rather than trucks. If you're pulling a motorhome or legit hauling gravel/dirt etc on the regular then different story.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Where in Florida do you have those issues? We never had truck issues in palm beach clunty, I'm up on the space coast and again no issues. We haven't ever been "trucks in the garage" people, so maybe that, we can kinda almost get our expedition in the garage. But keeping it outside in the driveway is no big deal and more convenient anyways because we can remote start and it will be cool when we get in.

Palm beach county, but I think it's more an issue of my house/driveway/garage than it is the county. Also a lot of small shopping plazas and what not where it would be a pita to park (at least for my F350 long bed). If I was out in Loxahatchee that's a different story.

Originally Posted by Alfisti

No contest the minivan is WAY more flexible, with a huge caveat that trucks always win if towing large. Sliding doors, stow n go seats, 3 easy to access rows, better MPG, enclosed storage etc. I increasingly see tradesmen here with dodge caravans rather than trucks. If you're pulling a motorhome or legit hauling gravel/dirt etc on the regular then different story.

If you haul more shit than people the truck wins. Since it's just me and the gf trucks beat minivans all day. Tons of covered storage in the backseat area and seats fold up so you have the entire floor. Plus just get a tonneau cover. The only upside of the minivan is MPG (although you can get a smaller truck) and 3rd row seating if you have a bunch of kids.

[freakystyly]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Palm beach county, but I think it's more an issue of my house/driveway/garage than it is the county. Also a lot of small shopping plazas and what not where it would be a pita to park (at least for my F350 long bed). If I was out in Loxahatchee that's a different story.



If you haul more shit than people the truck wins. Since it's just me and the gf trucks beat minivans all day. Tons of covered storage in the backseat area and seats fold up so you have the entire floor. Plus just get a tonneau cover. The only upside of the minivan is MPG (although you can get a smaller truck) and 3rd row seating if you have a bunch of kids.

You have a legit truck with long bed. The vast majority of F150s on the road are short bed quad cab, basically glorified SUVs in that department.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Palm beach county, but I think it's more an issue of my house/driveway/garage than it is the county. Also a lot of small shopping plazas and what not where it would be a pita to park (at least for my F350 long bed). If I was out in Loxahatchee that's a different story.



If you haul more shit than people the truck wins. Since it's just me and the gf trucks beat minivans all day. Tons of covered storage in the backseat area and seats fold up so you have the entire floor. Plus just get a tonneau cover. The only upside of the minivan is MPG (although you can get a smaller truck) and 3rd row seating if you have a bunch of kids.

Man that's wild, we never had issues. I was up in Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter and never had issues. That said, to the previous point I had an F150 crew cab short bed, not a 350 long bed, lol. My dad had a ram 2500 mega cab regular bed, it was a bit more of a pain but it also didn't have 360 cameras or anything like that and mega cabs are crazy.

Definitely could see issues in downtown west palm, maybe on palm beach island, but not really anywhere else. Everyone there has trucks lol.

[Donatello.]

Sad that people love boring cars