Anyone here have a truck? If so, what do you have and what do you use it for? I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to get interested in them...

 

If you have only recently been interested in a truck, you might be in the same boat I am: I only need it for the trips to Lowes/Home Depot but otherwise no real need. I have been looking @ a truck for the next house I build bc the last time was not cute loading my Honda Accord full of of bags of mulch & topsoil nor did it hold a lot, requiring multiple trips

Therefore, #1 on my list is a Toyota Tacoma. Not only bc of the usual benefits like reliability but also bc it comes in a 2 wheel drive - 4 cylinder model which is probably enough for me. No point in spending $ on a big/powerful truck that I would never really need. Plus, the price for such a model is not that high {<$20k} & I like the way it looks altho all the different variations on the lot are as confusing to me as BMW 3series.

My 2nd choice would be a Honda Ridgeline bc of its versatility -- it is basically a cross over SUV w/ a truck bed in the back. Granted, the bed is kinda short @ 5ft but the interior is very spacious & I like all of the innovations like the in-bed trunk & 2-way swinging door. The price is kinda high but according to Edmunds, they are going for under invoice in my area & I am a sucker for a good deal. I just have to get over the unconventional looks.

Now, if I was smart I would just buy an old Tacoma to save money {including tax, insurance} & spend that on my next Lexus which will not be used to haul around fertilizer

 

I've got a Nissan Titan Crew Cab, we use it mainly as a daily driver for my girlfriend but it's a blast to drive. Over 300HP and gobs of torque, you can have quite a bit of fun on the highway in it. The bed is great for hauling stuff around and it came in quite handy when we moved 2 miles last year. The front having 4 doors makes it just like a car and then some, you can haul your friends around comftorably on small trips or large. Overall I was somewhat unsure about getting a pickup initially, but now that we have one I get plenty of use out of it, having the 4 doors and seating for 5 makes it quite a bit more usefull as well. The only downside right now would be getting 13-16mpg out of the thirsty V8.

 

I have also been thinking about getting a Titan, Tundra or the new FJ for daily use and for work around the house. I had a Nissan pu years ago and I really miss it now

 

GS69 - trucks like the Tacoma and Ridgeline are ok for quite small loads, but payload capacity (how much weight you can put in the bed) and bed size is more of an issue than most people think when looking for a truck.

Once you throw ten 80lb bags of concrete mix in the back plus some lumber the vehicle can barely move and the front wheels are in the air.

Max. payload on a Tacoma 4x2 is 1350lbs.
(see here http://www.toyota.com/tacoma/specs.html)

That's less than the Ridgeline (1550lbs)
(see here http://automobiles.honda.com/models/...ine&Category=4)

Five 8 foot 6"x6" posts probably weigh 1000lbs. Add some boards and other stuff and these trucks are maxed out.

And I'm not even talking about towing capacity.

Now about bed size...
Tacoma: 6ft long, 3'5" wide between wheelwells
Ridgeline: 5ft long, 4'1" wide between wheelwells.

So about that 4'x8' sheet of flooring or plywood you want to bring home... Tacoma? Good luck. Ridgeline is wide enough but it will stick out 17" beyond even the end of the tailgate.

There's a reason that full size trucks like the F-150 sell so well. The capacity is great. In the standard bed you can put a 4'x'8' sheet of plywood flat and put the tailgate up. Beyond the size it can hold a whopping 2800lbs weight. Now that sounds like a lot but the other day I managed to push it! I'm building a double compost bin here with posts, boards, concrete to set the posts. Went to the supply store, picked up ten 6"x6" eight foot pressure treated posts, about third 1"x6" boards of 8' and 10' in length, and ten 40lb bags of concrete mix. You'd be making at least 2 trips with a smaller truck.

If your hauling is in never going to be that big or less frequent, then I suggest just renting the trucks they have at Home Depot when you need one. Probably a whole lot cheaper!

 

Forums I found on quick google searches:

http://forums.pickuptruck.com/ubbthreads.php

bit, you have an F-150? Check out http://www.fordf150.net/forums/index.php.

Some of the people have a real anti-Japanese / Toyota slant... Say Toyota and the others will never dominate the pickup truck segment in the US, not for another 3-4 decades at least.

Anyway, I've tossed ideas between getting an Escalade EXT (this is all future / daydreaming plans), an F-150, a Tacoma, or just renting when I need it. Bit raises a lot of good points I hadn't considered.

 

I have a solution for times that I need a truck; I pay $19.95 and rent one from Lowe's or Home Depot for 75 minutes. Perfect for hauling sacks of gravel or lumber when I'm building that patio cover in the back yard. I've even rented one to pick up a bed frame at Plummers.

Best of all, I get to return it when I'm finished with it. I don't pay extra insurance, I don't have to store it, I don't have to lend it to friends, I don't even have to put gas in it. To me, pickups ride terribly and create ZERO fun in the driving department. I can't see how anyone can say they are fun to drive. And they are notorious gas guzzlers.

Just my suggestion. 95% of the peole I know with trucks don't need them. I'd say 60% of them don't even like them... after thirty days of ownership, the novelty wears off.

 

We have a titan and we love it. My dad bought it because we now need to tow a boat. He uses it as his daily driver and sometimes I get to drive it and wow is it fun to drive!!! Tons of torque and a nice big truck. We also tested a Tundra and did not like it aswell because it did not have enough power....

-Elliott

 

Just wait for the 500 horsepower Ford SVT lightning

 

Thanks for all the info!

However, I am one of those people that do not do heavy hauling -- @ most like 10 bags of 40lb top soil so thats 400 lbs. I think mostly I need room, not power. Kinda like when I bought that 5 gallon weeping willow tree & drove down I40 w/ it coming out of my moonroof

Renting a truck probably would be wisest but not sure how convenient it would be everytime I found a new tree I wanted to buy ... since they are sold seasonaly depending upon bloom time & such.

I have time before I move into another home to decide but I do fancy having a truck whenever I need it ...

 

OK, here's the fun. When you drive a pick-up, you can drive it without giving a rat's patoot if it's gonna get a scratch, whether it's dirty, if there's a pothole, even if it handles well. You just mash the gas, squeal the tires, and you're off. It's a hoot! You can yell YEEEEEE HAAAAWWW and feel right at home. You can throw stuff in the bed (we have Linex spray in liner) and not care. LOL.

Oh it's fun all right.

 

I got my 2001 Tacoma Srunner three years ago strictly to haul sea kayaks and camping gear, because SCs are great, but they will neither accept roof racks nor carry much of anything else. I was going to look for a basic 4 cyl. Tacoma, but, when I went to carmax, they had this red supercharged 3.4 liter, 5-speed one with 25k miles on it. I had so much fun test driving it that I bought it immediately. I really don't know about all trucks being slow and boring, etc. This truck is far faster (at 249 whp, 3125 pounds) than my SC400, and it handles pretty damn well too; the handling can be improved with better shocks, bigger sway bars, poly bushings, and a traction bar. I don't carry heavy equipment around, so I don't have to put up with one of those horrible pigmobiles, uh, I mean full size trucks, and I get 25-26 mpg on the highway. Not too bad, eh?

 

Problem is, despite the tons of power in trucks like this and the Ram SRT10, you really can' t DO much with them outside of burn up the rear tires....the manufacturers usually don't allow any towing with them, which IMO is ridiculous with 500 HP and 500-ft.-lbs of torque.

 

Exactly.

It also allows me to take my race Supra anywhere I want without spending 11/gallon on C16, the Titan can tow up to 8500 lbs so you can even bring some spare parts with you at the same time. With over 300hp on tap it's fasther than most economy cars and you'll get a laugh from time to time waxing your riced out Honda Accords and Civics.

 

I love driving our F-350 with the 7.3L PSD. It's too much fun mashing the gas and waiting for that huge turbo to spool up and kick in. Quite a rush. It's definitely gotten me addictedto boost.