A strange question about pick up trucks.....

[vi5]

I am a suburban, professional, middle class guy who lives in a suburban neighborhood, does not hunt or fish, and does not own a contracting or landscaping business.

Why would I need a pick up truck? Honestly, this isn't meant to be incendiary, I'm just curious what motivates so many in my position to buy pick up trucks. They just seem so impractical as every day cars, and if you dont' need them for the other reasons I listed I'm not sure what the thinking is. Especially the monstrous ones with 8 wheels that are almost double wide.

Am I missing something here or is this another trend of sorts?

[KCDem]

1. good question, I wonder the same thing.

What confounds me even more is seeing 20-something women driving them! Not to be sexist, but I seriously doubt many 20-something women own landscaping/contracting businesses and/or like to help their friends move. Maybe they're just really insecure about their own driving ability and want to have the bigger vehicle? :shrug:

[MuseRider]

2. I wonder about that

and SUV's. I have a heavy duty pick up but I need it for the farm and for towing horses. I had an SUV before because I lived on dirt and gravel roads in a place that gets snow and ice. I like my truck but not enough to ever drive one if I did not need it.

[vi5]

5. I'm sure there are many other reasons like you mentioned...

But most of the people I know who bought them don't for any of the multitude of reasons I could think of. Farming, contracting, fishing, camping, hunting....the list goes on.

[yella_dawg]

3. I'm a rural Texan

Trust me, pickup trucks are phalic symbols, thus the "point" of the huge mud-monster pickups.

[Aristus]

4. Nope. Image. That's all it is. I live in a town where pickup trucks

outnumber people, and I'd say maybe one in twenty is used to actually haul stuff. People get these things and think, 'Ahm a cowbaoh, gots me uh pickup.' Shitkicking sensibility, that's all. It would be like me wearing NASA coveralls because I like astronauts. I don't have a degree in orbital mechanics or astronautical engineering, I've never been in space, and I don't work for NASA, but looky here! Got me these coveralls! I'm an astronaut!

[DarkPhenyx]

16. So you mean like Bush wearing a flight suit?

OK, that makes sense. :)

[Aristus]

24. Perfect. Now, why didn't I think of that comparison?

n/t

[TXlib]

6. I see so many Ford F-350 Dualies

The monster pickup, with the double back wheels.

Often painted pristine white, and clearly never used to haul anything more than groceries.

And I've recently been seeing what look like testicles hanging from the trailer hitch.

*sheesh*

[ewagner]

7. Not wishing to be antogonistic, but

my wife's SUV comes in damned handy in the Winter here in Wisconsin. Especially when she has to go 130 miles into Madison for conferences about once a month....

We also use it to tow trailer-loads of brush and leaves to the community compost heap...pick up remodeling supplies from Fleet-Farm or Menard's...

Personally, I have a certain amount of peace-of-mind when my wife is on a winter trip in the SUV. I drive the little Mazda Protege and enjoy the 35-40 mpg it gets but I won't take it on a long trip in the winter.

[DarkPhenyx]

18. But you are using the damn thing.

I have a boss that owns a SUV and won't drive it in heavy rain or snow. :wtf:

[Kolesar]

25. Snow tires will make more difference than 4WD

We got 100 inches of snow last winter and my FWD minivan with snow tires did fine. My minivan has much more responsive steering than any SUV, so it is safer in the snow. Buy some snowtires.

[vi5]

26. I'm not talking about SUV's....

Much as I can see the issues with them, they are much more practical. I'm talking a pickup truck.

[Jokerman]

8. Cat Litter

I'm a suburban, professional guy who used to own a truck. Now when I have to lift heavy things like cat litter, cat food, water softener salt or many other things out of the trunk of my car, I really miss my truck.

My truck was a small, four cylinder, two-wheel drive that got better gas mileage than the car I drive now.

I agree though that the people who drive big trucks when they don't need them are probably over compensating for other inadequacies.

[rucky]

9. I Love My Pickup

Safe. Good gas mileage. Easy & cheap maintenance. Low insurance. I use the bed about once a month to haul shit - that's about as often as I'd use a back seat, so...

[NoPasaran]

10. Some folks

Just enjoy helping their friends move.

[rucky]

11. LOL...they come out of the woodwork

If I could live on beer & pizza, I'd be doing it full-time

[TXlib]

13. Bumpersticker for assholes

Many of the pickups i see here have a bumpersticker that reads, "Yes it's my truck. No, I won't help you move."

[DarkPhenyx]

20. Become popular and find friends...

...buy a pickup.

[MadHound]

12. Can you say overcompensation? I knew you could

I live in a town in the Mid Mo area, and see this phenomenon all of the time. Some college prof, or other suchlike professional, tool about in a ton and a half truck, complete with duelies on the back. And the damn thing is spotless all of the time. It absolutely amazes me.

Yet here I am, with a small farm, and I drive a small Nissan. Granted, it is four wheel drive(we live out on gravel/backroads), but it is a simple four cylinder. Gets great gas mileage.

Oh, and its dirty as all get out sometimes, inside and out. A working truck, not some damn vanity piece.

[DarkPhenyx]

14. I have no clue.

I own and drive a truck. I use it for hauling of DIY products to include landscaping materials. I help my friends move with it. Use it to haul camping supplies.

For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would by one, or a jeep or a SUV, if you aren't going to use it for the purpose they were designed for originally.

[Ernesto]

15. I live in a place called "hourse country"

by real estate agents. What drives me crazy is horse owners on the highway. Your typical middle aged woman driving around with $120,000 worth of equipment just to haul their "pets" to and from horse shows. These people have way too much money and time on their hands.

[CO Liberal]

17. I Bought My Chevy S10 Because It's Practical

Mine is the same color as the one in the pictures, with a white fiberglass camper shell on it. It's very useful for hauling stuff I need around the house, such as lumber or pipe. The dogs can ride in the back and my wife and I don't get covered with dog hair. And when we display my wife's jewelry at craft shows, we have plenty of room for our display tables, racks, and other stuff.

Plus, since it has a 4-cyl engin and a 5-speed, I get between 25 and 28 MPG. All around, it's the most practical vehicle around for me.

[alwynsw]

19. Campers, maybe

Fifth wheel arrangements are usually safer for towing camping trailers. You may never see them because many store them in commercial yards because of zoning restrictions, convenience, security, etc.

Just a thought.

[haele]

21. I used to have a pickup truck...

Because I - or rather I and several others in my hobby group - needed it for our weekend events.

Try packing up a 20 x 20 free standing pavilion and associated hardware, three trunks of costuming and other non-perishable camp-out type sundries, 7 sleeping bags, three breakdown beds, 8 folding director's chairs, 2 folding tables, three coolers, two suits of armor, four sheilds, and about a dozen different rattan weapons as well as a small armoring repair kit - not to mention four adults, a dog, and three children spread amongst 4 cars instead of just packing up a Ford Ranger and a Buick.

I also used my Ranger for work - not only to haul around about 70 lbs worth of tools and equipment that would ruin the average trunk or backseat - all of which I had to keep on hand even though I wasn't necissarally using at the time, but also for work-related "deliveries" when we couldn't get a duty truck to make an emergancy parts run out to a site.

Not only that, she ran like a champ for a little Canadian-built 4-banger, I had her for over 10 years (purchased when I was 28 and started needing a vehicle like that) averaging about 25 MPG before she started rattling apart at around 250K miles worth of abuse and intermittant maintenance.
My former next-door neighbor needed a reliable truck with towing capability for his "retirement" job (so he could keep affording to pay rent and medical), so he took her off my hands and rebuilt the engine and trannie - and she's still going, hauling his gear and a one ton trailer all over SoCal for his weekend swap meet sales events.

She's 15 years old now, and still going strong. And still, from what I understand, gets around 25 MPG on average.

My personal opinion - anyone who's a DIY'er, has a garden, or a lot of projects that otherwise need tools, equipment or other potentially heavy/bulky materials hauled around on a regular basis, might just need a pickup truck.
Even someone who just volunteers for a food bank probably needs a truck. They hold so much more than your average SUV or car does, and unlike the average equivelent SUV on the lower (affordable)end of the pricing scale, usually are built to handle the heavy hauling with the best road handling, maintenance, and gas milage as well as least emmissions over the longer period of time and equivalent usage.

Haele

[radwriter0555]

22. It's a penis enlarger, silly.

Come on. You knew that.

The bigger the vehicle, the larger the penis.

Geesh!

[CO Liberal]

23. Oh, Yeah - I Noticed a BIG DIfference.....

...when I went from a Suzuki Swift to a Chevy S10.

:-)

[Kolesar]

27. An S-10 or Ranger sounds like an economical & practical vehicle

You can get one pretty stripped down for not-a-lot-of-money. If you were on a budget and did not have to carry passengers it would make plenty of sense. If you lived in a place with unpaved roads or had to drive on a farm or off the pavement a bit, the extra ground clearance would make it all-around super.

Other than that, though, a passenger car makes more sense.

[MojoKrunch]

28. I can answer this.

Though I actually use my Ranger a bit more than not at all as a suburbanite.

I used to own a Neon.
I'm 6', 200lbs.
I got *TIRED* of other peoples headlights DIRECTLY IN MY EYES.

So I got a truck.
Plus I like having a truck for when I need to move things.
And I have things that need moving.

//They just seem so impractical as every day cars, and if you dont' need them for the other reasons I listed I'm not sure what the thinking is. Especially the monstrous ones with 8 wheels that are almost double wide.//
They can be hideously impractical and ridiculously expensive.
Some guys buy trucks for the same reason women buy SUVs.
To feel powerful on the road.
To *not* be intimidated.
To intimidate.

Mojo