Now I disapprove of our car centric society as much as anyone, but there are definitely legitimate business reasons for a 150 sized pickup. I run a landscaping business and use a truck slightly smaller to haul my tools including a trailer with a riding mower (electric for whatever it’s worth, and I’d rather convert the lawn to native meadow but I do what they pay for so I mows the grasses.) Carpenters and other tradespersons, except the really heavy stuff like masonry, would use a truck this size, and even ones who may prefer something bigger like stone and concrete guys may only be able to afford this, and it gets the job done. Could it be done with Kee trucks and sprinter vans? If the ranges weren’t so wide. Here a tradesman might need to take themselves, their helper, and 2 people’s worth of tools and supplies an hour away, daily. I wish we had trains, local supply depots, etc. But for the system that’s been built already, for people who can’t change it today but need to go to work today, there are good reasons for some of that size of truck. It’s much smaller than most, though I do agree something smaller would be nice if viable.
You can do a lot of that in a transit. Transits are great, I love the extra cover of the back and almost bought one over my current Tacoma. Their are limits, though. For example, as a gardener, I use a lot of wood chip mulch. It’s sold by the scoop from a front end loader they drop right in the bed of a truck. If I had a van, I’d either need to bring the trailer, which adds weight, fuel inefficiency, and maneuvering difficulty (parking). I could buy it bagged, but it costs twice as much, weighs more because the bags trap moisture, and now I have to schlep it around instead of shovelling it into a wagon and dumping it where I need it. It’s just one use case, but I’m sure there are more. Also, I’m pretty sure a transit doesn’t have the flex body of a cab-bed truck, so weight in the bed or towing is strain on the entire body, causing wear and tear. But I do wish most people had vans instead of trucks, where those vans are more efficient and safer than trucks of equivalent class.
I agree! These big pickups have purposes (just like large ambulances and fire trucks)… The only problem is, a lot of people aren’t like you and they drive their pickup solely to commute or to shop at Costco.
Now I disapprove of our car centric society as much as anyone, but there are definitely legitimate business reasons for a 150 sized pickup. I run a landscaping business and use a truck slightly smaller to haul my tools including a trailer with a riding mower (electric for whatever it’s worth, and I’d rather convert the lawn to native meadow but I do what they pay for so I mows the grasses.) Carpenters and other tradespersons, except the really heavy stuff like masonry, would use a truck this size, and even ones who may prefer something bigger like stone and concrete guys may only be able to afford this, and it gets the job done. Could it be done with Kee trucks and sprinter vans? If the ranges weren’t so wide. Here a tradesman might need to take themselves, their helper, and 2 people’s worth of tools and supplies an hour away, daily. I wish we had trains, local supply depots, etc. But for the system that’s been built already, for people who can’t change it today but need to go to work today, there are good reasons for some of that size of truck. It’s much smaller than most, though I do agree something smaller would be nice if viable.
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You can do a lot of that in a transit. Transits are great, I love the extra cover of the back and almost bought one over my current Tacoma. Their are limits, though. For example, as a gardener, I use a lot of wood chip mulch. It’s sold by the scoop from a front end loader they drop right in the bed of a truck. If I had a van, I’d either need to bring the trailer, which adds weight, fuel inefficiency, and maneuvering difficulty (parking). I could buy it bagged, but it costs twice as much, weighs more because the bags trap moisture, and now I have to schlep it around instead of shovelling it into a wagon and dumping it where I need it. It’s just one use case, but I’m sure there are more. Also, I’m pretty sure a transit doesn’t have the flex body of a cab-bed truck, so weight in the bed or towing is strain on the entire body, causing wear and tear. But I do wish most people had vans instead of trucks, where those vans are more efficient and safer than trucks of equivalent class.
I agree! These big pickups have purposes (just like large ambulances and fire trucks)… The only problem is, a lot of people aren’t like you and they drive their pickup solely to commute or to shop at Costco.