A question, What make people want Pick-ups over other vehicles like Vans?

[Merc63]

Originally Posted by wamer27

You could also drive the car to all the backcountry camping spots on creeks/rivers I went to in Colorado and northern MN and pitch a tent.

I did tenting for many years, and could still go with the Boy Scouts as a scout leader if I wanted to. But I'm done with doing that. I've been rained out too many times, and I want to take my dogs with me and they don't do well in tents, especially when wet. And again, dogs and resorts are not usually compatible.

So I have this:



I only paid $2300 for the truck, but have since replaced it with a newer Suburban 2500 to tow the trailer, as it's easier to carry people and the dogs in the Suburban.

[JD59]

The travel trailer is not used for camping it's used for year round living. I live in a trailer parks now. My future motorhome or 5th wheel will need to be a all seasons which my travel trailer isn't. Reason for a newer truck is I will be traveling around the country and don't want any worry of breaking down.

[Challenger76]

I'd rather have a full-size stalker van. 70's style

[shyguylh]

Speaking as a non "blue collar" guy, in terms of that I don't haul gravel etc, I also find trucks vastly overpriced. (For those who do haul gravel etc, naturally their needs & priorities etc will be different.)

Heck, I saw someone trying to sell a 1997 Nissan pickup with a 5-speed and 315,000 miles for $3150, at least $1000 more than Kelley Blue Book said it was worth. Meanwhile I saw someone selling a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan with 165,000 miles for $1700, and 3 days later it's still available. My wife had been wanting a truck to be able to haul large items & I kept telling her a van would do that fine most-times for the things we deal with (large items at a garage sale you need to bring home), it certainly would do so far better than our current small-sized trunk car, and would be cheaper than a truck, and also enable us to drive around our nieces/nephews when her sister lets us have them over to play with our kids as their cousins. She finally relented when we had the time of our life finding a truck for a reasonable price but had no problem finding vans at a reasonable price.

For someone who's not doing the blue collar "gravel hauling" deal, and simply needs more cargo room than a typical car provides, vans are actually better, I'd argue. Their lower ground clearance makes it easier for people to get into & out of, the cargo is protected from the elements and theft a lot better, and you have versatility to choose between hauling lots of cargo or lots of people. With all the seats in place, you can haul 7 people around and still a respectable amount of cargo, about the same amount as a modern Honda Civic or the like. Or, you can remove the back seat and it's a 4-person hauler with lots more cargo room than practically any car (except maybe a European mid-sized station wagon, if they still make those). OR, you can remove ALL the rear seats and it's a 2-person hauler with a HUGE amount of cargo room.

Also, the tires tend to be cheaper, as does the insurance, and as for image--WHO CARES? To me, the silliest reason in the world to buy any vehicle of any sort is based on its image. Unless you're someone with enough money to have a second "fun" car like a Mazda Miata for those "reliving your youth in a convertible" outings, image should be the LAST thing on one's mind with regards to the kind of vehicle you choose to purchase. What should matter is what the vehicle can actually DO for you.

Trucks are better if you don't have serious people-hauling considerations (and of course you can get an extended cab that can handle 4 adults) and instead are totally about hauling cargo and ESPECIALLY cargo that doesn't lend itself well to a closed-cabin environment, things like trash or gravel etc come to mind. Also they're better at dealing with torn-up roads and such due to their higher ground clearance.

But for families wanting extra people & cargo room and not dealing with off-road considerations, to me vans are better than anything, including SUVs. I could give a flip less what the IMAGE of such a vehicle is, the image concerns fade quickly when you have a vehicle that actually meets your NEEDS. Save the image concerns for fashion, or the furniture, or perhaps the COLOR of the vehicle etc.

[Pretzelogik]

I think it has something to do with macho compensation factor.

[Merc63]

I'll be seeing how well the 2500 Suburban is a replacement for my truck. I'll miss being able to do stuff like this:



and other oversize loads for myself and heloping friends move furniture. But I've already made a couple runs to the local landfill with scrap materials in teh Suburban and it's worked fine.

Neither the 3500 dually or the 2500 Suburban have anything to do with image or compensation issues, however.

But image is a great reason to build customs and hot rods, which I've been doing for decades...

[Listener2307]

Here's my solution. I bought this 4X4 GMC new in 1990 for about $16,000. With 400,000 miles on it, it still runs like new. But I have maintained it well.....

The cap has been on it since 1993. For hauling sand and the like, I just have the guy park the scoop behind the truck and then I hand shovel it in. Only takes a few minutes.
The cap keeps things completely dry.

It has a sunroof, but you can't see it in the photo. 5.7 Liter; bucket seats that I got out of a Suburban.
Not really for sale.....

[JD59]

GMC must be a excellent vehicle because I find very little of them on Carmax. I can find tons of Dodge Rams and Ford trucks.

I had a 1992 GMC 1500 pick-up which was easy to work on.

[boxus]

"and as for image--WHO CARES? To me, the silliest reason in the world to buy any vehicle of any sort is based on its image."

Your opinion, but the fact is automakers spend millions a year on image and style for their products. Many consumers purchasing cars include factors other than utility.

[JD59]

I'm buying a truck only for pulling power for 5th wheel trailer or my travel trailer. I can live with a bare bones work truck for the right price. Who needs all the toys that you most likely never use anyway.