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I constantly see posts and hear conversations where people deride pickups owned by suburbanites. I once had that viewpoint myself. I bought an old beater pick up to use while we moved and restored out house and I got hooked. I now ascribe to the viewpoint that if you cannot understand the utility of a pickup, you simply have never owned one.
What did you do recently that made your pick up useful?
Last week, (13th) I loaded 47 American flags and poles and three other people into my truck and drove around putting up the flags as part of our Kiwanis flag program fundraiser. Other teams putting out a simlar number of flags used a minivan or an SUV, but they had to make multiple trips and one guy scratched his dash with flag poles. Then on Saturday, we drove around and picked them up again. Because they are so much easier to put in the truck and because we only had to make one trip, we were able to collect our flags in hours less time than the other crews. I also took my bicycle and my sons into the bike shop. Then my wife borrowed the truck to move some large things for work.
This weekend. I helped my daughter and her new roommate move into a new apartment. No possibility any of her furniture woudl fit into her Sonic, and her rented U-haul could not hold enough to complete the move in the four hours she had it rented. In the evening we took 16 loads of laundry to the Laundromat, then I went to Meijers and Home Depot (and Petsmart) and bought some large things as well as a lot of groceries and stuff which would not fit into a typical car or SUV. We also picked up my bicycle from the repair shop. Sunday, I helped my wife haul the Library books and displays and tent etc back to the library from a town festival where they had a display booth/used book and video sale. No one else at the library had a large enough vehicle. Today (Monday) I tossed my bicycle into the bed of my truck so I could ride in Detroit's Slow Roll (but I forgot today is fireworks day and even if they did not cancel Slow Roll I need to get out of town before 4 p.m.).
Next weekend, I will pick up a load of large rocks at my Dad's house to replace the rocks in our fire ring that burst due to the heat. Probably some other things too.
I distinctly recall the time B4 pick ups were as popular as they are now. Those w/o one constantly borrowing or asking favors of PU owners.
I've made two cross country runs in my Eco Boost. Very relaxing to drive and you can't believe the stuff we take w/ us. Yet, I still have a good sized trailer which hauls the loads I don't/can't haul in the bed.
My dad has a truck so i'm usually borrowing his. We just trade vehicles for the day.
In the last few months I've used it to pick up lawn furniture, pick up a new water heater, pick up a few new prehung doors I installed in my house, tow a car trailer to take my car for a dyno session, and a few other minor odds and ends.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I can only speak for myself. I am on my 4th pickup, 6th if you count the 1963 Ranchero and 1972 El Camino that I restored. We recently traded in the Ranger for an F150, in order to tow the 20' travel trailer we bought. In addition to hauling materials for various home projects, buying large appliances, and trips to the dumps, the truck is actually more comfortable with considerably more leg and headroom than a typical car, such as our CUV. In fact, despite sucking up more gas, we use the truck for long trips. We can fit 3 adults in the back seat comfortably, even one adult with two child car-seats. In the last few weeks I have hauled debris to the dump, brought home lumber, and brought home bags of garden mulch. Having a V8 with 385 horsepower also makes the pickup fun to drive.
Well let's see. On Thursday I had to use mine to take the outdoor movie equipment from where we store it down to the beach for a weekend film festival. We'll be taking the equipment back to storage later today.
In a little while I'm going to make a Convenience Center (used to be known as the dump) run with cardboard and yard waste.
A couple weeks ago it went to Daughter 2's house with ladders and other equipment for some roof work and to cut down a dead tree, which came back to be made into firewood.
In a few months it'll be used to haul goose decoys back and forth. One load will go to the permanent blind while a second load will be taken when we don't go to the blind and free lance a bit.
Daughter 1 and Son 1 will occasionally borrow it for various things like hauling stuff to their houses or to go camping in Western Maryland.
As a home owner, I'm realizing that a truck is something we could really use. There's been a lot of projects I put on hold or either don't do because we don't have a truck. Just staying de-cluttered can require a use of a truck to haul stuff away instead of just storing it out in a shed or the garage.
I'm definitely wanting to have one for the family in the near future once we're in the financial position to buy one. The times I've been in a full size truck, the ride was so pleasant and smooth. The only thing I worry about is the cost of tire replacement and gas.
The available models continue getting taller and heavier. The small, low, and lightweight pickups I prefer are getting older and rarer. Crossovers may be all that's left with seats at reasonable height.
Funny how the same people who deride pickup truck ownership, are suddenly your best friend when they need to move
I'm just over the dividing line between "suburban" and "rural". Anything too big or heavy to fit in the bed, that's what the trailer is for. Over the weekend, picked up PT landscape timbers, mulch, rocks...
Few smaller towns have municipal trash pickup, out here even the fancy trucks are mostly used for the weekly trip to the transfer station (last week in +90°F heat).
The available models continue getting taller and heavier. The small, low, and lightweight pickups I prefer are getting older and rarer. Crossovers may be all that's left with seats at reasonable height.
Yes and no. Get a regular cab the height isn't so much different. What Ford did was raise the truck to mostly eliminate the transmission hump in the back for the SuperCab and SuperCrew.
As far as heavier goes, I don't know. With the use of aluminum in more body parts the weight is dropping. Even my 2003 F150 (RIP) had an aluminum hood, as does my 2014. I think the tailgate is also aluminum. At least it's a lot lighter than the one on the 2003.
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Funny how the same people who deride pickup truck ownership, are suddenly your best friend when they need to move
