Quote:
Originally Posted by EckyX
I can imagine a few categories of truck owners.
1) There are those who never use the bed and just like driving a truck. Maybe all of the other guys at work have trucks and they're tired of being the only Camry in the parking lot.
2) There are those who occasionally throw a few boards in their bed, some mulch or dirt for which they'd need to lay down a tarp in a vehicle that didn't have a bed. They might once or twice per year use it to move a huge TV or a grill. While it would be cheaper to just rent a truck twice per year, or have these delivered, it's enough justification for them to own a truck and pay insurance and depreciation on it to sit in their driveway.
3) There are those who own expensive toys like boats, four-wheelers, travel campers or other money pits :  and need a truck to move them around. They have money so an expensive truck is a non-issue.
4) There are those who (really) use a truck for work, where other vehicles would not work and renting a truck now and then is unreasonable; stuff like regularly moving 4000lbs of masonry, stacks of sod, pulling a horse trailer, etc. - the sorts of things trucks were typically used for before they became luxury vehicles.
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I do not fit any of your categories. I do not need my truck for work, other than occasionally vising super muddy job sites, or sites with no real roads. I do not put a "few boards" into it very often. In fact, I frequently overload it. I probably should have gotten a 2500, but this is what was available for a good price. I do not really like driving a truck, I have always preferred sports/muscle cars, but the 393 HP and coil spring suspension all round, makes the truck a little less lame. I use my truck as a truck pretty much every weekend, some weekdays and frequently on vacation trips (camping in remote areas, hauling the canoe or kayaks (before they were stolen), etc. We do have a small boat (16' 1957 Cadillac Runabout) but we rarely take it anywhere. It is not working. However when it works we do use the truck to pull it around. I have also used it to pull a trailer with a small skid steer that i rented to use at home, but that was just once.
Weekends I use it for all kinds of things. For example recently (in the past month):
Loaded up some old batteries and misc scrap metal (car parts, remains of an old washing machine, some aluminum, a couple of heads, etc) to take to the scrap yard.
Pulled some dead trees out of the ground at the end of our driveway.
Hauled tables, chairs, flags, games and a banner to a community event where we had a Kiwanis table.
Hauled a lawn mower out to Dad's house (his is broken).
Cut up a tree and hauled the logs back to the woodpile.
Hauled four five gallon and two one gallon gas cans to the gas station and filled them up (one tends to splash a bit it does not have a top). Hauled 5 gallons of motor oil to a disposal place.
Filled the bed with tools for a charity neighborhood clean up in a run down part of Detroit.
Picked up some more rocks form Dad's house to replace the ones around the fire pit that exploded or cracked.
Picked up a cool antique desk someone was throwing out and took it to a church storage unit to be given to a formerly homeless person trying to furnish their first apartment.
Took three bicycles in for repairs that I do not have time to do myself, then took the bicycles to a park for a group ride.
Took by bike to work so I could participate in Detroit's "Slow Roll (but did not go, I was too tired, maybe next weekend).
Hauled a load of too large trash to the community dump place.
Jump started the riding mower - for some reason the cars do not generate enough juice to jump start it. the truck has a very large alternator.
Hauled 60 flags on 10 foot poles and placed them in front of various homes for Labor day and for Patriots day and then picked them up and brought them back to our carriage house (Kiwanis fundraiser project).
Picked up some pool maintenance supplies, home repair supplies and large grocery items.
Bought and picked up a washing machine to replace our's (which broke months ago, we just have not been able to find an equivalent replacement for under $700 used. Finally found one for $300, but we had to act fast because it was a bargain).
Drove home in an apparent spin off from Hurricane Flo through roads with up to 2.5' of water on them in places and pulled a couple of cars out who were stuck in the deeper water areas.
Parked in the side parking area of our yard which was way too muddy for the cars to park in, but there was no more practical room in the driveway.
Sat in comfort with plenty of room to spread out and work at a job site for several hours using my computer plugged onto the inverter with my phone hotspotting while plugged into the USB charging outlet.
Moved my sons crap to the dorm in one trip.
Hauled a huge load of books to donate to the local library and about five huge bags of clothing to Salvation army.
Picked up some straw bales for Atlatl targets and a tree that was on sale.
Loaded the truck for a camping trip to the UP, but we ended up not going (at least we were ready had we been able to go).
Did I pay a premium for it? Not really, it was $18,000 four years and 80,000 miles ago. The car I wanted more (Pontiac G-8 GXP) costs more and does less. Not sure, but I think even a Toyota Camry will run around $18,000 when it is four of five years old (and that is probably one of the the last cars I would consider buying).
Yes it sucks gas down, but not compared to the said Camry if it has to make 2 or 3 trips to haul what the truck can haul in flesh and materials. Not to mention said Camry begins to lose its MPG edge very quickly when you load it up. My truck gets pretty much equally bad MPG regardless of the load. Very little difference really (in part because I drive a bit slower with a heavy or large load).
Ideally I would park it except on weekends and when needed during the week and drive something more fun for commuting, but I do not have an extra $20 or $40K laying about. Hopefully I will get the Jensen back on the road this winter and I can drive it when it gets nice again and leave the truck behind (but I can use the truck to tow the Jensen home when it breaks).
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