kanaric wrote: What I think is funny is half the people who own them convinced themselves that they "need" a truck.
Nah, the funny part is that you interviewed several million truck owners to be able to know that. That is, of course, unless you really don't know what you just typed.
yamaha wrote:jstand wrote:Depends if the guy in the miata yells "HEEEEYYYYYYYYYY" while going by.......sarcasm + stereotypes, I suggest you learn to recognize them. You have about a 90% or greater chance that if a truck is lifted with the wide tires/wheels......it is NEVER used as a truck.yamaha wrote: This, if you see stock trucks.....chances are they're actually used to tow things. Lifted on big wide wheels? Nah, they just lack a hootus.Wow... that's like saying when you see a guy driving a Miata it must mean he felt the rainbow sticker on any other car was too subtle.
A lift kit and larger tires in the only way I was able to drive through my pond.....Well the stock height rig made it through once before hydro-locking on the next pass. 
jstand wrote: I'd be interested to know how many of the people saying trucks are unnecessary have actually owned one for any length of time. After having one for many years, and then selling it and going to just a sedan and a minivan, there are many times where I wish I still had a truck. It's the right tool for the job many times, and even when it isn't the right tool it does a pretty good job. It's easier to get groceries, commute, or drop the kids off with a truck, than the alternative of trying to get mulch, drywall, or tow anything bigger than a small uhaul using a hot hatch or other GRM approved car.
My apologies for my snark, but with this I agree with you. The modern truck is basically one of the, if not most utilitarian vehicle we have access to. Its kind of like that giant 80 function swiss army knife that while massive, can do about anything you want it to except be smaller. 
Where I live, and what I do basically require trucks. But out of 4 total between myself and dad, only one(his '14 F-350 PSD) gets driven daily, granted he doesn't need to drive anywhere to go to work.
In reply to Ian F:
In reply to Boost_Crazy: I'll agree with that as well. I also agree my main issue with people driving trucks is a lack of knowing where their corners are, but that is a problem for a lot of drivers regardless of the vehicle they're driving. Even my ex-, who is a pretty good driver, had trouble wrapping her head around how close I would get to the edge of the road. "Why do you do that?" she would remark as I was driving my 4x4 Cummins down a two-lane road, less than a foot away from the guard rail... "Because I can..."
I think it's the driver more than the truck. It just gets very obvious when you mix one of those drivers with a truck. I work in a busy industrial area that has a couple new car dealers at the entrance. We get a big mix of vehicles on the street. Lots of trucks, lots of cars. There are frequently delivery trucks unloading on the street, and traffic often has to share one side, which is still quite wide. Most of the people driving trucks know how to judge their size, and have no problem passing each other. Many of the car divers act as if their cars are 10 feet wide.
Funny story. I was recently in a left turn lane behind a Chevy Sonic in my Nissan Titan. When the light turned green, he went far out into the intersection as if he was making a wide left turn. As I'm completing my U turn, I hear an angry little beep. It turns out that the Sonic was making a u turn too, but thought he needed a football field to do it. I managed to do a U-turn inside of his with lots of room to spare. Imagine him driving a truck.
OK, GRM. This was my truck last night. Am I allowed to keep it now? 
Tom_Spangler wrote: OK, GRM. This was my truck last night. Am I allowed to keep it now?
Obviously "NOT". I could haul that teeny pile of stuff with my MINI and one of those folding Harbor Freight trailers.
If I cant fit it in, on, or tow it behind my secondary vehicle volvo 240 wagon I don't need it. And yes I regularly look like the Beverley hillbillies but it gets more use most brodozers.
In reply to Boost_Crazy:
True... a large portion of people driving cars don't have a clue how large their vehicle is either. I remember having to follow a Camry on one of the local 2-lane roads. Narrow, but wide enough to have a double-yellow down the middle. This person would usually be on the lines or straddling them. When a car would come opposing, they would come nearly to a stop. It was maddening to be behind them.
All that said, I can't criticize bro-dozers too much. One of my past trucks was a '78 F150 4x4 with a 6" lift and 36" mudders. I still have a distant desire to build another one using a 78/79 F-250/350 and stuffing 44's under it. Not that I would drive it much. Just because... 
I have no problem with truck ownership.
We just need to institute a national driving test & fee structure similar to Germany. You can drive whatever you can proficiently parallel park\slalom\etc during the driving test.
Oops, you failed? That'll be another $300 to retake it. And your license costs $3,000.
Weed a lot of these idiots off the road, encourage bicycling, carpooling, telecommuting, etc, etc.
Hate is underrated. When the first cave dude saw the other cave dude had a prettier spouse and better charcoal art on his walls, he hated them. We are programed to hate. We need hate.
Now you can target that hate in truly hateful ways (I'll let your imaginations wander) or you can direct it at people who drive giant trucks. Only you can choose, but choosing the former over the later means the terrorists win. Just ask Stephen Harper (you do know who he is?)
I don't like driving the cars in bad weather. I also have an addiction to having a truck.
I have to drive down to Columbus tomorrow to pick up a car. I will be pulling around 5k pounds with a truck rated for 15k. Will I be safe or will a band of rouge GRMers pull me from the truck and swap it for a V6 Ranger?
In reply to logdog:
We could probably arrange for an escort squadron of Miatas .
I have nothing against trucks, but I wouldn't own one.
I take that back, there is one in particular that I'd want if I could afford it.
Trucks kick ass. You trade a little bit in mpg and bulk for the ability to do whatever you need whenever you want. I love my truck...and my miata.
Interesting - I haven't looked at this topic since I first posted it and here it is at 5 pages now. Looks like people are reacting more to the title (which was the title of the article I linked) than to the data in the article.
This was my daily driver for quite a while. Sure was fun. I sold it to a Marine who bought it for his wife.
I live in eastern Ma. And I'm a nurse so that takes out the Southern Redneck quotient.
[URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/pickup.jpg.html]
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(1976 K5 Blazer chassis, 6" suspension lift, 3" body lift, 38" Super Swampers, 350/th350)
I find it pretty entertaining that people who live in a country with easy access to the vehicle of their choice are proponents of making it more difficult and expensive to own and drive said vehicles. Just as "there should be more rules to own a big truck" there could also be more rules to own something with a weight to power ratio better than 30:1...
Or why don't we go full socialism and base the vehicle and fuel prices on how much you make each year?
DeadSkunk wrote:Tom_Spangler wrote: OK, GRM. This was my truck last night. Am I allowed to keep it now?Obviously "NOT". I could haul that teeny pile of stuff with my MINI and one of those folding Harbor Freight trailers.
Weaksauce.
Then again, my 2500HD is overkill for the 6500lbs I towed around all weekend:
I'd gladly take a half ton if I could get a 6 speed truck for the same price as my 2500HD. Until that time, might as well have the extra towing capacity. Knocked down 13usmpg at 65mph for 1200kms!
my 89 f250 weighs less then a modern half ton and its even an industrial package truck. I find trucks handy for truck things but have no desire to ever DD a fullsize. ive never understood people who buy giant trucks for grocery duty. We have a regular customer at work who drives an 08 duramax 4x4 with a lift and 38's just because she wanted it. Never sees use as a truck its just a minivan with a bed in her life.
One of these days I'll have to go find a good used southern pickup, just so I can have a V8 before I die.......or, maybe a Suburban.
This was my daily driver several years ago, Z71 never driven off road
This was my daily driver several years before that, 2wd lifted 6' running 35's driven off road regularly
In the meantime I had a 98 Ram 4x4 with a slight lift and bigger tires. I really don't get the hate for trucks, well except Ford trucks, those should all be burned.
DeadSkunk wrote: Obviously "NOT". I could haul that teeny pile of stuff with my MINI and one of those folding Harbor Freight trailers.
OK, well here it was hauling Ugly home a couple of years ago:
And the parts car:
And Adrian's Saab:
And a load of stuff for the dump:
Now can I keep it?
In reply to Tom_Spangler:
NO! Obviously you could make do with a approved car. You never "need" a truck. You just selfishly want one. You are the devil and should be punished.
Personally I think you need a bigger one. Your last load didn't fit in the bed.
Toyman01 wrote: Personally I think you need a bigger one. Your last load didn't fit in the bed.
Yeah, the 5.5' bed is a pain at times, but if I had done the 6.5' one with the crew cab (necessary with my two tall teenagers), it wouldn't have fit in my garage. Compromises.....
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