[ChrisPlatt]

Some folks need trucks to haul large loads for the work they do.
I'm not sure what the purpose of today's huge pickups is.
Most I see are driven around empty and are far too clean and shiny to have been used for any actual work.

Chris

[Canada_Rockies]

Some folks need trucks to haul large loads for the work they do.
I'm not sure what the purpose of today's huge pickups is.
Most I see are driven around empty and are far too clean and shiny to have been used for any actual work.

Chris

They are used to (hopefully) impress everyone else. Personally the impression from lifted diesel pickups for me is "what a waste of money!". The lift is marvelous to create instability (check the flip over rate on Highway 1 near Abottsford BC in high side winds). The routine maintenance cost (oil, filters) on Diesel engines is twice that of a gas engine. They are b****y to start at -20 either scale. If the owner isn't towing a fifth wheel trailer over 10,000 pounds there is no need for it. Those who use them for work, that's different, and they aren't usually lifted.

[ivanvernon]

They are used to (hopefully) impress everyone else. Personally the impression from lifted diesel pickups for me is "what a waste of money!". The lift is marvelous to create instability (check the flip over rate on Highway 1 near Abottsford BC in high side winds). The routine maintenance cost (oil, filters) on Diesel engines is twice that of a gas engine. They are b****y to start at -20 either scale. If the owner isn't towing a fifth wheel trailer over 10,000 pounds there is no need for it. Those who use them for work, that's different, and they aren't usually lifted.

You are mostly right, but out on pipeline construction sites, welders like 12-inch lifted Dodge 3500 duallie with Cummins diesel with off-road tires and special bed for welding machine, gas bottles, and tools.

[Canada_Rockies]

You are mostly right, but out on pipeline construction sites, welders like 12-inch lifted Dodge 3500 duallie with Cummins diesel with off-road tires and special bed for welding machine, gas bottles, and tools.

The exception that proves the rule. They actually need the lift to stay out of the mud. My neighbor with the 3500 Cummins and 6 inch lift is the other side of it. He uses it to go to buy his beer.

[ivanvernon]

The exception that proves the rule. They actually need the lift to stay out of the mud. My neighbor with the 3500 Cummins and 6 inch lift is the other side of it. He uses it to go to buy his beer.

Expensive rig for haulin' air.

[Canada_Rockies]

Those trucks are very common here. More $$$ than brains.

[sibyrnes]

Nice bike....TW 200. I saw one at the local Yamaha dealer a number of years back and I've always found this model intriguing. It's been around so long that it must be in a tie for longest lived modern motorcycle with the KLR 650 Kawasaki. Both bikes don't need much revision...they work well for their intended audience. I think If I lived on a farm or ranch...either the Yamaha or the Kawasaki would be a great general purpose utility machine.

Thanks. The TW200 has been essentially unchanged since its introduction in 1987. Small changes like front disk brake and newer CV carb. I don't live on a farm or ranch I just love cruising back roads and trails and it is perfect for that.

[RookieGuy]

Some folks need trucks to haul large loads for the work they do.
I'm not sure what the purpose of today's huge pickups is.
Most I see are driven around empty and are far too clean and shiny to have been used for any actual work.

Chris

Same purpose as a 'vette or restored 42 Ford coupe or something impractical as that. Some think they look cool. Personally, I don't care for them. But that's why I don't drive one. Honestly, there's no reason for me to have a charger. A simple Corolla would probably serve me even better. But the guys with the stupid trucks would probably agree with the next statement. Life is too short and vehicles are too expensive not to drive something you really like.

[cooltouch]

Same purpose as a 'vette or restored 42 Ford coupe or something impractical as that. Some think they look cool. Personally, I don't care for them. But that's why I don't drive one. Honestly, there's no reason for me to have a charger. A simple Corolla would probably serve me even better. But the guys with the stupid trucks would probably agree with the next statement. Life is too short and vehicles are too expensive not to drive something you really like.

Yeah, I just wish life wasn't so short and cash even shorter, cuz I really want to own a few exotics before I kick it. Nothing much, just a Shelby Cobra and Ford GT40 and I'd be happy.

[Ratmagiclady]

Good catch!

I test drove one of those S-10s with the 4.3L back in 1993 and was quite impressed. Ended up getting a Ford Ranger XLT with the 3.0L. In retrospect I wished I would have gotten the one with the 4.0L instead, but it served me well enough. It was a good truck. I find that body style and size to be ideal. Sometimes -- actually most of the times -- I don't need some honking big full-sized truck to get done what needs to get done. I miss that old Ranger, though. I'd still like to find a clean used one -- either Ford or Chevy, heck, even Dodge for that matter -- to put back into my stable.

Actually, if you don't need 4WD, nice-looking Rangers are real common on the market around here, I know from all this shopping. (You could check out Craigslist.) I guess they're somewhat lighter-duty than S10s for about the same size, if seemingly popular enough with the four-wheeler set, hence the relative rarity/sometimes beaten-on-ness.

The smallness here is kind of an advantage, even if a full-sized one would probably end up more useful for some things, though we've got a lot of woodlot and some parking spots here that it'll probably be a lot easier to navigate with this guy. I think we've got plenty of power and at least durability, it seems mostly like they crammed a full-sized truck into smaller packaging ( I'm sure he'll have the usual maintenance delights about *that,*) really. This guy'll carry more like a half-ton, at least with some fresh springs, which ought to be good for about a bed's worth of gravel, and won't be the constraint on how much dirt he can hold.

We'll see about mileage, (This truck's surprisingly heavy for a little one) but this truck isn't *here* to log a lot of miles, just be there for utility and a backup/bad road conditions vehicle.

Being a little fair to some of the serious offroad types around here, it seems a lot of em do roll right into a self-serve carwash with sprayers once they get back from covering things in mud. This red dirt gets pretty hard to remove if left on something very long so you rarely see people driving around a while caked in mud for bona fides, I guess. It's when the paint suspiciously doesn't show much of that that you wonder. I can usually see the difference between 'babied' and 'pristine.'

Also, as Corollas go, I'd love for my next sporty car project to do something with a mid-late Seventies Celica GT Liftback. Or maybe an Alfa GTV/6, one of my bucket-list cars, and it seems the real afficionadoes have mastered the secrets of making them not-break-all-the-time.

[ThorSanchez]

Same purpose as a 'vette or restored 42 Ford coupe or something impractical as that. Some think they look cool. Personally, I don't care for them. But that's why I don't drive one. Honestly, there's no reason for me to have a charger. A simple Corolla would probably serve me even better. But the guys with the stupid trucks would probably agree with the next statement. Life is too short and vehicles are too expensive not to drive something you really like.

You can have fun driving an old car or a Corvette, or maybe even a Charger on a normal back road on your way to work without venturing too far into the illegal. That's why I'd like something like an old Mini. Run it flat out on a twisty road and not even be over the speed limit.


But it does seem that a large number of people spec out cars for a 1% use case scenario, and don't even have "fun" or "enjoyable to drive" on their list of requirements. Or even practical. Once every two years they need to haul their extended family somewhere, and there was that time they got a bunch of plywood from Home Depot... so F250 for me, Suburban for the wife. Example, twice a year my parents haul their four grandkids somewhere local. So it was a hard-and-fast requirement that they have a three-row SUV, instead of just taking two cars every once in a long while.


When you drive home from work today observe how many full-sized 4x4 SUVs you see with a single occupant, driving on nicely paved roads in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

[mattb123]

Those trucks are very common here. More $$$ than brains.

I was at a dealer for some scheduled service a couple of weeks ago and glanced at the sticker prices of some of those large diesel trucks on the lot.
They cost about as much as my first house did!

[Canada_Rockies]

The cheapest diesel pickup costs 3x my first home. I'm a bit older than you, I guess.

[csa]

observe how many full-sized 4x4 SUVs you see with a single occupant, driving on nicely paved roads

Uh, guess that describes me. I drive an '87 GMC 1500 Suburban, and always single occupant, since I live alone! I have to drive on nicely paved roads to get to town. However, I also drive on a very mean mountain one-lane road to get home. Oh by the way, why do I drive a suburban? What else that's smaller can haul a 100-gal water tank, weighing 800# when full?

[MarkJerling]

Uh, guess that describes me. I drive an '87 GMC 1500 Suburban, and always single occupant, since I live alone! I have to drive on nicely paved roads to get to town. However, I also drive on a very mean mountain one-lane road to get home. Oh by the way, why do I drive a suburban? What else that's smaller can haul a 100-gal water tank, weighing 800# when full?

Carol, you need a Landrover.
(Actually, even if you never hauled water up a mountainside or drove a nonexistent road, you need a Landrover.)