Pick Up Trucks

[Mydogmax]

Just curious. I see more and more pick up trucks on the road. Much more so than in past years. All shiny and pimped out with 18-22" rims. When I was a kid my Dad always had them but he worked road construction and so there was a need. My question is..... How many of you truck owners have them because of a need or just like them.

 

[Engineer1911]

The dirt driveway into the gun club has a high center that would scrape on the bottom of a car -- fuel lines, transmission lines, crankcase, anything that is frame mounted.

You don't want to make a dump run with a car, go to the lumber yard, or haul stuff to the neighbors burn pile in a car. I guess I need my Colorado extended cab because it is a truck -- ok a little truck, but it does everything I need a truck to do with 16" wheels.

 

[chuckster57]

I've had a truck of some type since the '70's. Always because I had a need for one. I've had a fifth wheel RV since '89 so I do USE mine. Getting ready to pick up a ton of pellets for winter. Here she is with her current assignment:

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Oh yeah, I can just imagine someone riding up to the Club in a pickup with 22in spinners.... It would get pushed onto the Plinking range.

 

[Marshwheeling]

These days I'm driving a Ranger, 2wd, made right here in the (now defunct) Saint Paul Ford plant. I drive it because my mechanic had it on hand when my Astro van **** the bed. I was driving the Astro because I was traveling a lot, hauling dirt bikes to riding venues, and dual sport bikes to Texas so I could ride to Mexico.

If I don't have to haul bikes around, then I prefer a German sedan, doesn't have to be too sporty, just so it has the road manners to behave at elevated speeds. An in-line six is best for smoothness at all speeds.

 

[Herknav]

I had a old Monte Carlo that got more time off the paved roads than most pick-ups today.

 

[williamlayton]

All vehicles are designed to haul something---otherwise they are useless.
Blessings

 

[GRIZZLYBEAR]

I've had at least one 4X4 pickup in the stable since the late '50s and they're all used for what they built for hauling, towing, hunting, going off the pavement, etc.

Always had some sort of car for the wife also as she refused to drive a pickup from the '60s thru the '90s. In about 2001 I got a steal on the price of a GMC Sonoma 4X4 to be used as a beater and the old lady got in it one day to haul something for my daughter and the now she says I must have a "little 4X4 truck" for her use, she liked the 4X4 in the winter. She drives her "little truck" more than her car now.

Right now the stable consists of 2 cars and three 4X4s

 

[joeintexas]

I can't even imagine not having a pickup, always something that needs hauled or pulled. Besides, I can see better out of it than I can a car.

 

[bricker]

I don't HAVE to drive a pickup anymore. I was a brick contractor for a lot of years, and the trucks I drove HAD to be trucks. Now not so much. Few trips to deer camp and Home Depot is all I need one for now. I have an F-150 Super Crew with more cab than bed. Shiny 18" wheels, back-up camera, and more doo-dads than I know what to do with. More like a large car with an attached cargo area. I love it!

 

[walnutred]

I drive just a basic truck, does not even have carpet it's so basic. Had to install the cruise control myself. While I admit most of the time there is nothing in the bed it's been pressed into service hauling a wide variety of stuff. To me it would seem odd driving a vehicle designed to carry 4-6 people when most of the time it's just me?

 

[speedyquad]

for years, i had an s-10 because there was usually a quad in the back. then i had two quads so there was usually a quad in the back and one in a trailer. my wife quite riding and we decided to have a 2nd kid. the truck had to go so i went with an suv.

i like the suv better and using the trailer is not that hard. it's easy enough to hook up, but sometimes, it's a pain. just the other day, i used it to haul a single sheet of ply wood, two 2x4s, and a sheet of pegboard. it would have been nice to just throw that stuff in the bed of a truck.

 

[Nebraska12]

I drive an '05 Dakota 4x4 with a topper...and I love that little darn truck! The topper offers up some great options, and can be removed if necessary, for additional head room.

We've always had at least one truck in the driveway. I do use it as its intended: off road trails, camping trips, fishing, and for hauling whatever needs to be hauled. Plenty of room for the family and dog with space in the bed. And, I have never gotten stuck.

 

[flundertaker]

I drive a mega cab dually. I don't need it but I like it and will never not have enough truck. I really want to put a set of 22.5" on it. Big wheels on big trucks look good to me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

 

[Brian41]

We had pickups for years but gave them up ten years ago and I miss them. I didn't know how much I used them. We were at Menards yesterday and couldn't get a cabinet we wanted because it won't fit in my SUV and will have to go back with my trailer.
My wife's car is getting old and plan on replacing it next year with a pickup only they're darn expensive today. Probably get a used one with less bells and whistles to reduce cost some.

 

[ChuckS1]

I'm on my third F-150 4X4, which is a relatively plain-jane Supercab. Hauls the horse trailer, hay bales, dump runs, and is the primary way out of the subdivision when the HOA doesn't get the road plowed in the winter.

I can't imagine not owning a pickup.

 

[Art Doc]

I think I heard that three of the top 5 selling vehicles are pickup trucks. I have 2006 Chevy Colorado.I always prefer a manual transmission so it has a 5 speed and I wanted fuel economy so I got the four cylinder engine. Sometimes I wish I had more power but it's been a good truck and it's still fun to drive.

 

[mod34]

Went without a truck for a period of time and it didn't take too many trips to Harbor Freight, Home Depot, the Farmers Market, etc to start missing having one. Just bought this 4x4 Ranger recently and wonder how in the world I went a day without one.

 

[jframe]

I drive an '06 Ranger regular cab five speed. I figure if it won't haul what I need it to haul, I need to just have it delivered. My big issue with new trucks is it's so hard to find one that has some damn bed space. Most of them are Quad Cabs, Mega Cabs, or what not with four huge, full sized doors, and a five foot bed. Seems to defeat the purpose. I work in parts for a Dodge dealer, and we only have a small van for parts deliveries. Occasionally, I have to deliver a truck bed side or some such to a customer, and I borrow a truck from the used lot. Virtually nothing has enough bed space to haul an item like that. While these big cab trucks are really nice, I believe I would buy a car first if I was going to have a people mover. JMHO.

 

[Donn]

Once you've had one, it's hard to live without. Had two pick-ups. My '90 Dodge was a bare bones work truck. V-6, rubber mats, no radio or headliner, long box. It didn't look as good as a short box, but paid for itself moving my kid back & forth to school. The long box meant the difference between closing the tailgate or having stuff hanging out the back with a red flag tied to it. In '04, got a GMC 4x2 has a 5.3 V-8, standard cab, long box. It's a SLE, so it's got more candy than a standard issue work truck, (Not as tough as I used to be). 90% of the time, it serves as a car. When there's work to do, I've got plenty of room and power.

 

[loknload]

Just got rid of mine,,,,05 GMC Extended cab 4 wheel drive.
Due to health reasons I figured I wasn't going to be needing it any longer plus I was tired of driving a truck every day.
Do I miss it? not really. I was driving a truck or some type of SUV since 1988 and back in 78 I had a new El Camino.
My most favorite though was my 97 GMC Suburban,that I wish I still had!

 

[islamoradamark]

DRIVE MY CHEVY pick up single cab with 8 foot bed haul full sheets of plywood and lots of othe construction equipment.

 

[Brian41]

My complaint too is the small beds on trucks today. I don't need a back seat in one and plain extended cabs with long beds seem to be getting rare here at least.
We need 4 wheel drive to get out of here winter time. One reason I sold last PU as it was two wheel drive. We lived in the city when we bought it and 4 wheel drive wasn't as necessary.
We plan on getting into RVs in the near future so a proper PU will be needed for towing one. Not sure on what type RV or PU yet so we're holding off awhile yet.

 

[Xfuzz]

Last car I had was a 69 Camaro.
Trucks ever since all 4x4.
My wife has had at 4 Chevy Suburban's
in our 35 years of marriage.

 

[MTKTM]

I think the question posed by Mydogmax is one deserving of some reflection. Where I live, NW Montana, there are a huge number of pickups and large SUVs. Does everyone who drives one need one? Probably not. I live in town, not in the country or on a farm. I'm a white-collar worker, don't have to haul stuff as part of my work. But I have a pickup. I went for a decade following my move into my current home without a pickup, had a Jeep Wrangler and would hook up a small utility trailer when I needed to haul something large, or a bunch of pruned bush/tree branches or construction/remodeling debris to the landfill. It worked okay, but was not always convenient. Eventually, when I could afford it, I bought a truck. It isn't my daily-driver, I mostly use it when I go camping or hunting, or when I need to haul something. It's definitely a luxury, not a necessity......like so many things in the lives of we Americans living in the early 21st Century. We live in a world where the poorest people are often fat and have cell-phones and big-screen HDTVs......and sometimes a car or a pickup!!

 

[Old TexMex]

I have a cargo trailer and FIVE boat trailers, and I use them all.

 

[Arik]

Used to have a 99 Ram 1500 4x4. Awesome in snow but that love affair faded quick since she was a hungry beast.

Last 10 years I've been driving 4 cylinder compacts and like it just fine however I've been looking into getting cheap 4x4 for winter. Truck or suv. Really wish they'd still make the Chevy/Geo tracker

 

[LostintheOzone]

I tow a 25' trailer with my Duramax. Otherwise a compact truck like a Tacoma would be all I needed. Had those for many years until I retired and purchased a trailer.

 

[NYlakesider]

When we got married in 1970 we both were working. I gave her our 70 NovaSS to drive and I went out and bought a new Chevy 2 wheel drive pickup truck for me. I was a construction worker and hunter and that was a good choice for me.

I live in heavy snow country and that 2x2 just did not cut it and 73 I traded it in for a 4x4 PU. Since then I have always had a 4x4PU. Going to work, going afield hunting and a few years later when we bought the camp on the lake it was very handing for moving furniture, supplies back and forth and launching/retrieving boats.

Now retired and living on the lake we use it for snowplowing and hauling firewood.boats & other trailers and all sorts of things as delivery charges out here in the boonies for many items are prohibitive. I normally tend to get the biggest engine available in anything I drive!

To sum it up IMHO for many people a nicely optioned PU is very handy. She still has her own ride(A 4x4 SUV), my daily driver is the PU and the 3rd vehicle is the Vette in my Avatar.

 

[CatSnipah]

I have a "beater" pickup that's our third car. As a home owner, you need something able to make an occasional haul from Lowes or Home Depot.

Also comes in handy when we go to the outdoor ranges, carrying bicycles, etc.

I also use it when I'm leaving a vehicle at the airport for my frequent work trips. No need to leave my nice Beamer in the lot for 3-4 days for people to ding the doors, etc.

It's a 2007 GMC Canyon with nearly 138,000 miles. Bought it wholesale in June 2013. If I was using it daily, I'd not have bought this, but since it's the "extra", it serves its purpose well.