Question for the group: Why do you love your truck?

Jawga boys called.  They dun't keir if y'all's hating' trucks.

Trucks are comfy. I would have used my '94 K1500 (4x4) as a daily if it wasn't for the fuel economy. Great visibility, cushy seats, tons of sidewall, and with Hotchkis swaybars front (and rear!), it actually handled pretty well. My other cars were down for the count one weekend when I had to go to a wedding 5 hours away, and it just hummed along at 70 MPH on the highway. I miss that truck!

I think our 2010 f150 crew cab (happens to be a platinum) is the most powerful, most luxurious, best off road, best road trip, best towing, best sound system, best at carrying dirty stuff vehicle we own. It fits the whole family, it burns gas or e85 or anything in between. It's very likely to keep you alive in most crashes. And it goes 500+ miles on a single fill-up.

yes, it is annoying to park downtown, and yes, it only gets 15-17 mpg. But holy crap it really is a do-it-all machine. 

it truly is a vehicle that is good at almost everything. I know humans tend to idolize the vehicles (and people) that do one thing better than all the rest. But there is real life value in the jack of all trades. And a crew cab half ton is the true jack of all trades right now.

edit - as a guy that already has too many cars, having one that covers multiple needs is a big win.

Oh, look, this thread again.

I have a farm.

My Escape won't haul my horse trailer or my tractor on a flatbed.

I am growing fonder of pickup trucks each year and REALLY want one now.  My friend has a V6 RAM and it gets well above 24 mpg (he claims 28) which is better than most of our cars.  Having a pickup around would be amazingly useful for hauling, which I do often, although the Camry just doesn't like it much.  I will own one and I will like it.

Well I made it clear I loathe them as daily drivers they do make sense for what we do. It would simplify my life by having a daily that is also my tow vehicle.

I actually NEED a truck-ish vehicle at least 4 days out of 7 a week.  For days that I don't, I have a car.  I tow frequently, constantly hauling lumber or steel or engines or fenders or driveshafts or...

That's why I have a van.

I do have to chuckle at some of the "trucks" out there.  I look at something like an Explorer SportTrac and I think... if I wanted to haul 5 people and let my 4' cargo get wet or stolen, I would just take the trunk lid off my Lincoln.  It's pretty clear that the OEMs have responded to the demand by making trucks that aren't trucks just so that people can have trucks.  "un-trucks."

Since this is a motorsports site, I'll just say this. If I could go back to the beginning of my car and racing hobby, the first money I would spend would be on a good fullsize pickup. It took me too long to realize that.  My pickup is the vehicle that enables all of my other car-related shenanigans to take place. 

The self-centered (tail) gatekeeping snobbery that gets directed at crew-cab short-bed trucks is laughable. Just because you want a Swiss Army knife, doesn't mean others aren't better off with a Leatherman.

msterbee said:

Absent a logical need for one, I am completely baffled by the current craze for giant pickups and SUV's at all much less as daily drivers. In my mind it's a bit of an indictment of the people who own them that they care so little about the earth and the people around them. 

That's a petty bold statement...

Ironic that I've never seen similar condemnations around here being directed at people who chose to daily drive minivans and/or sportsy cars.

In reply to Driven5 :

LONG BEDS FOREVER! 

"The heart wants what the heart wants" 
Why does someone need to determine if it is a valid reason? 
Who gets to decide what IS a valid reason? 

I agree that marketers are pretty good at feeding desire even perhaps inventing 'need', but crew cab pickups are pretty versatile.   I like to drive old, slightly (?) needy european cars. Do I need a reason that someone else has determined is 'valid'? (I'd struggle to come up with one).  

I just want to note, publicly, that the click bait and rage bait articles and forum posts of late are really not attractive. 

I totally understand they drive engagement, but they also reinforce a lot of behaviors that this place is supposed to be above. 

How to be the coolest guy in the paddock. Those two story haulers have nothing on this.

Why do I love old pickups so much? No idea. I guess because they are as blue collar as I am. I also like old Jeeps, which are horrifically impractical and generally terrible road transport devices. 

As I got older, I became less tolerant of vintage 'charms' for a working vehicle so made this change. Ahh, power steering and brakes! Air conditioning! Comfy seats! More car-like than the old '65 but certainly not a car.

I will say that modern trucks hold almost no appeal to me. Flimsier sheet metal, higher prices, more complexity (Ford can stick the Triton 5.4 up their you-know-what) really don't offer anything I need over this 1993 example aside from fewer fluid leaks.

TBH, I also have a small utility trailer to haul motorcycles. That device is arguably more useful and less costly than the truck (which I no longer tow cars with). But, having just done a 1000 mile trip in it, the pickup is a comfortable way to travel. Commanding view, spacious interior, effortless cruising. The only downside is the 14 mpg. 

Ultimately, I like trucks because they are cool. I like looking at them, I like them as useful tools, and the older ones never depreciate.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I do have to chuckle at some of the "trucks" out there.  I look at something like an Explorer SportTrac and I think... if I wanted to haul 5 people and let my 4' cargo get wet or stolen, I would just take the trunk lid off my Lincoln.  It's pretty clear that the OEMs have responded to the demand by making trucks that aren't trucks just so that people can have trucks.  "un-trucks."

I dont get this hate.  I dont have much experience with the Sport Trac, but it seems similar in size/capacity to the Maverick, which a significant number of people love.  Carries random stuff, seats more than 2 people, gets excellent gas mileage, not unwieldy like a full size truck - seems like a truly excellent vehicle for me.  It will do everything my crappy Soul can do, except for parallel parking as easily, while getting 30-40% better mileage.

It seems like a better fit for most of the average persons truck usage than a full size.

In reply to NOHOME :

Bingo. I think we, as enthusiasts, greatly overestimate the amount of time/effort/thought that most people put into their vehicle purchase. For most people if the price is right and has the tech goodies they're looking for, it's a win. Add a little function like a pickup bed and it's worth an extra $200 a month over a similarly equipped sedan. 
 

in response to the homeowner comments--we bought our first home back in April and for the first time I'm thinking "wow, a lot of this would be so much easier with a pickup bed". Mulch from Home Depot, hauls to the dump, my SO's penchant for vintage furniture...

Any way, for the first time in my 36 years on this planet I'm starting to see that I *might* need a truck.  I guess need is a strong word, rather, would greatly benefit from the utility. 

RevRico said:

I just want to note, publicly, that the click bait and rage bait articles and forum posts of late are really not attractive. 

I totally understand they drive engagement, but they also reinforce a lot of behaviors that this place is supposed to be above. 

Hear, hear. We get this "Nobody really needs a truck" thread about every two months on here, alternating with the "Are EVs good?" thread. But to see it posted in an article by the magazine, by Tim himself no less, is kind of disappointing.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

RevRico said:

I just want to note, publicly, that the click bait and rage bait articles and forum posts of late are really not attractive. 

I totally understand they drive engagement, but they also reinforce a lot of behaviors that this place is supposed to be above. 

Hear, hear. We get this "Nobody really needs a truck" thread about every two months on here, alternating with the "Are EVs good?" thread. But to see it posted in an article by the magazine, by Tim himself no less, is kind of disappointing.

Also the "Is it time to say goodbye to the manual transmission?" thread or similar.
 

I liked my old suburban a bunch more than my current F150. the F150 is a better vehicle,  gets nearly 10mpg more.. But the Suburban was more useful as a camping/mountainbike hauler for my family of 5.  

similar year mileage suburbans were 10-15k more expensive than an f150 when I was buying so.. truck it is.

Driven5 said:

msterbee said:

Absent a logical need for one, I am completely baffled by the current craze for giant pickups and SUV's at all much less as daily drivers. In my mind it's a bit of an indictment of the people who own them that they care so little about the earth and the people around them. 

That's a petty bold statement...

 

Ironic that I've never seen similar condemnations around here being directed at people who chose to daily drive minivans and/or sportsy cars.

Now that is funny.   

We've done this 1,000 times here, it seems, but I'll take the bait yet again. 

Trucks are useful, multi-purpose vehicles. Growing up, my dad always had a truck. In our town, there was no trash pickup, so every weekend, we'd load it up and go to the dump. Could my mom's cars done that? Maybe in a few trips, but it would have been a messy experience. If the truck bed got dirty, we hosed it out. Hard to do that in the trunk/interior of an Oldsmobile. Also, he hauled my bikes, go-kart, and minibike all over the place for me. Again, mom's car wasn't doing that. 

When I bought a house, one of the first things I did was buy a truck. Found a cheap Dodge Dakota for sale by a friend, fixed it up a bit, and drove it all over the place. I later had the itch to get a 4x4 full-size truck to do full-size 4x4 truck things, and after looking at a bunch of stuff, I brought home my '79 Power Wagon. It checks off multiple boxes:


It's a project vehicle... 


A cruiser... 


A parts-runner...


And a workhorse all in one convenient package.  

My only lament is about modern trucks. They are way more expensive than they should be for what they are. I understand that's where the automakers make their profits, but the dearth of basic, affordable, working-class trucks is annoying in today's market. I'd love to have a newer truck, but the prices keep me away. I'll stick with my classic rig and improve it as I go along. 

RevRico said:

I just want to note, publicly, that the click bait and rage bait articles and forum posts of late are really not attractive. 

I totally understand they drive engagement, but they also reinforce a lot of behaviors that this place is supposed to be above. 

Why would you say that?

This forum and it's owners encourage this type of behaviour on a regular basis. To wit: This thread.

Why trucks? Generally speaking, people will drive the largest vehicle they can afford.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

RevRico said:

I just want to note, publicly, that the click bait and rage bait articles and forum posts of late are really not attractive. 

I totally understand they drive engagement, but they also reinforce a lot of behaviors that this place is supposed to be above. 

Hear, hear. We get this "Nobody really needs a truck" thread about every two months on here, alternating with the "Are EVs good?" thread. But to see it posted in an article by the magazine, by Tim himself no less, is kind of disappointing.

Don't be mad it keeps the lights on and more importantly we are not being forced to read/post.  Even with a bit of click bate this is still one of the best places on the internet.