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

Hey all, apologies for the original title of this item.

I misconstrued the main theme of the blog, and I hope the new title we (the editorial staff) came up with better reflects what Tim is actually trying to say about trucks.

So, on that note, why do you love your truck?

In reply to Colin Wood :

Better title. 

I'm just glad to see that we as a community can calmly accept the views of people who have a different take on things.  If we can agree that some will drive big trucks and some will drive little cars, it bodes well for our ability to agree on other more contentious issues.

My absolute favorite truck was this beast. Big block 460. Impractical as can be. Painful to drive in traffic. Beat your fillings out. I should have never sold it. 

I honestly think I liked it because it was so impractical and they weren't very common. 

I'm a tall guy - I slide in and there's a ton of room inside - it's got a V8 and moves along nicely.  4WD is nice in the winter.

I'm comfortable inside - I had an Accord and that was nice but low to the ground.  I hit my head getting in and out of my daughters Civic. 

Yesterday I drove to Madison, WI and back - 300 miles and it is easy to drive.  

Last week I was in Kentucky for part of the week - 1,100 miles.

The truck just chugs along effortlessly although efficiently it's in the 17-19mpg world.  

Although I'd sell it and buy a 400Z $40,000 base model if Nissan can fix their paint or production issue.  Although my customers aren't big on Z cars inside their quarry. 
 

I have 4 trucks (only 2 currently run) they have somewhat specific purposes. They are also mostly old – like me.

96 Ranger – pretty much a daily, hauls parts from the yards, bought as a flip, and to haul stuffs. It does most of what I have it for – comfortably and reliably. Is that love?

84 Toyota – was a daily, hauled parts etc, will be fixed and flipped.

74 Dodge W-100 – a backup in case, got it cheap, can play with it in asphalt challenged areas. It is kinda of like a Tonka toy. Is that love?

64 C10 – hauled race cars (for that alone it is loved), did various camping trips with it (more love) now an engine swap project.

When I was car shopping, a small pickup was in consideration for a daily driver. However, when prices went wild for them, I opted for a crossover. As a taller driver, I, too, have grown to appreciate trucks for the headroom.

David S. Wallens said:

Time to close the thread? 

Not on my account, but please do pass the word that the recent trend toward aggregator-style clickbait tag lines is not popular.

Other than rot from a life in the salt belt for 17 years, I have zero complaints about out 06 Sierra. It's efficient, practical, does everything we need from hauling dogs/people, engines/transmissions/messy parts, tows 6k lbs and just does it all in decent comfort. In fact, if GM offered this truck brand new, we would repurchase it in a heartbeat. the flat folding rear seat is the largest benefit for us, throw down two dog beds, hook them into the LATCH system and off we go cross country. 

I'm going to be heartbroken when it finally gives up. 

I don't love any of the trucks that I've owned. it's a necessary tool to tow the race car to the track. It sits if it isn't towing. 

Until I built the Exocet, I never owned a truck. I just drove my cars to go racing, raced, and drove home. Really forces you to know your car, know how to fix it in a parking lot (or side of the road), and build it to be reliable.

I don't have any desire to drive the Exocet on the interstates around here, so I built a ramp truck out of a cheap machine hauling truck we had at work that I talked the boss into selling me. Total investment, including the race car, less than a base model no frills F150, and I don't have to mess with a trailer either.

Oh, and getting 15mpg isn't too bad for a 6.0 GMC.

I drive the thing maybe a dozen times a year, it's kinda pointless, but, it scratches that itch for racing, and I'm sure it'll come in handy someday.

I get 16mpg with my 4 cylinder Silverado... while pulling a VERY Angry Corvair through mountains at 65-70mph with the AC on. 

Any other time it's about 24. Best tank was a lightly loaded run to Missouri putting down 27.9mpg.

Why do I love my truck? It's big, comfy, quiet, low maintenance, pretty, quick, functional and exceptionally well equipped for essentially an entry level truck. 

Is it worth $45k? No, but I boughtbit with a GMS discount and I feel good about the investment. 

I love my cheap, used up truck so I can do "truck things" at the spur of the moment.  I don't daily it. The battery has gone dead between trips. But sacks of sand and concrete can ride with me any time I feel like my wife is telling me to do something productive at the house.

So, really, my wife loves my truck.

I'm on my 4th pick up. I've put around 200k miles in them combined.

We just bought an F-150 Tremor. Why? It's the most comfortable vehicle I've ever owned. I can drive it for 3-4 hours without getting uncomfortable. It seats 5 adults comfortably. It smooths out all but the worst roads. It's quiet. It hauls ass (400hp/500tq, 10 speed, 5.5 second 0-60). It hauls a lot of E36 M3. It's rated to tow 11k lbs. It can go damn near anywhere (33's stock, rear locker, front torsen, dual transfer case out of the Raptor with clutches (AWD) and dogs (4WD)). It has great visibility.  

The only downsides are that it consistently gets 17-18mpg and it can be a little hard to park.

In 2015 the only car I owned was my M3Ti. Small, loud, firm. Before it I had only owned classic cars. Ted was driving a 1992 Range Rover some days and an E39 wagon some days.

We needed to move a few cars to different places over a few days so we rented a UHaul to tow his dad's car trailer, in this case a GMT900 Sierra in base trim. We both marveled over how quiet it was. How comfortable it was. And how much more so than a "premium" car from 30 years prior. We got about 18mpg highway with 5000lbs behind us in comfort and ease. I'm also sure the Sierra was, adjusting for inflation, cheaper than a Caddy or Lincoln from 1985.

When I was a lad, my dad owned a couple of old trucks. One looked a lot like this:

They both had payloads of around 4 tons and weren't as hard to drive as one might expect, once you figured out double-clutching and such. riving these around as a teenager was a hoot. They'd back down practically any vehicle short of a semi.

Colin Wood said:

So, on that note, why do you love your truck?

I bought it just before my first deployment, then I proceeded to drive it across the country several times.

Over the years I saw 3/4 of the states in our incredible country behind the wheel of this truck.  I've watched over a quarter million miles of road through its windshield and when I got it it already had 155k on it.  The only time it ever gave me a problem that wasn't caused by my neglect was the fuel pump dying on a cross country trip.

Hell, even when it spun a #1 bearing at ~375k or so, it still gave me 10,000 miles of trouble free driving before I could get the engine pulled for the new one.

Even half dead it did whatever I asked of it.  

Its the vehicle that anyone that is close to me recognizes as a symbol of me.

This is my truck.  There are many like it, but this one is mine.

rob_lewis said:

Maybe I'm just kinda slow, but Tim's article didn't seem to knock trucks. 

The original title challenged whether or not reasons to own a truck were valid.  Its a call to arms to the trolls on this forum and generally results in the arguing you see here, with the icing on the cake being the spiral down political rabbit holes.

ProDarwin said:

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.

It's not hate, it's [evidently very poor] comedy.  I was simply saying that we have created a demand and the OEMs have responded.

I love my "truck."  It's actually a van, but more or less a 1/2 ton truck that has a 12' dry, lockable bed that can haul up to 12 people.  I also like that the bed floor isn't 5' off the ground.

Reasons to love:

- AWD
- Cushy seats
- can tow 7500 lbs
- 12' of dry, secure storage with the rear seats out
- 12 passenger capacity with the seats in
- doubles as a camper
- visibility
- Incredibly useful, yet doesn't attract the "can I borrow your truck" vibe

Reasons to groan:

- 16 mpg
- slightly larger than a Fiat, so parking isn't always a slam dunk.

"For the same reason why many could give a ratz arse about the "answer". When one has experienced the truck dynamic regardless of the plus and minus's , the moment when one no longer resides in the stable the yearning reappears."....The wording makes no difference 759NRNG......oh ask the previous poster how my beat to e36m3 Dmaxx made his day at the 2020 $2000 challenge.....late 

I love my truck because:

In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :

That's hot.

I miss that one and I wish it made sense to have one like it in the driveway right now, but these days I make do with the kid hauler mobile:

So you can love your truck, Miata or race car?  Heck yeah!  Carry on!  This just got a whole lot better.

What about Subaru?  Can you love your Subaru or Biturbo?