MotorTrend has lost it !!!

[mikester]

The Maverick Hybrid has 0 lbs tow rating!

Most modern pickup trucks are just an SUV with a mini outdoor storage bin designed to fit in suburban garages. In other words a pseudo or poser-truck. IMHO it's not a pickup truck unless it has an 8 foot box and you can carry a full sheet of plywood with the gate closed.

For bonus points you probably have a truck if :
* you need a CVOR and a CDL to operate legally when fully loaded
* need need an annual inspection safety sticker
* you have commercial insurance

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

The Maverick Hybrid has 0 lbs tow rating!

Most modern pickup trucks are just an SUV with a mini outdoor storage bin designed to fit in suburban garages. In other words a pseudo or poser-truck. IMHO it's not a pickup truck unless it has an 8 foot box and you can carry a full sheet of plywood with the gate closed.

For bonus points you probably have a truck if :
* you need a CVOR and a CDL to operate legally when fully loaded
* need need an annual inspection safety sticker
* you have commercial insurance

that’s really not much of a criteria to be a truck. A minivan can

The Maverick Hybrid has 0 lbs tow rating!

Most modern pickup trucks are just an SUV with a mini outdoor storage bin designed to fit in suburban garages. In other words a pseudo or poser-truck. IMHO it's not a pickup truck unless it has an 8 foot box and you can carry a full sheet of plywood with the gate closed.

For bonus points you probably have a truck if :
* you need a CVOR and a CDL to operate legally when fully loaded
* need need an annual inspection safety sticker
* you have commercial insurance

Is that the criteria? A minivan can haul a sheet of plywood with door closed.

 

[McMXi]

Is that the criteria? A minivan can haul a sheet of plywood with door closed.

Too bad I didn't have a real truck when I dragged the M6060 over four mountain passes on the 650 mile trip home from Sheridan, WY. I really wanted to buy a bunch of plywood in Sheridan and haul it home too, but it just wouldn't fit in the 6-1/2 ft bed.

 

[chim]

Interesting conversation going on. There are all sorts of trucks made to satisfy the needs of individual customers. To have minimum specs that should apply to everyone is silly. Sort of like "If you don't need to go up at least three step to get to the cab, it ain't a real tractor". Does that mean that anyone with something smaller than an M series shouldn't comment about Motor Trend's opinion on a truck?

When I ordered a new El Camino in '70 it was all the truck I needed at the time.

EDIT TO ADD: It is true that when I was shopping for the L3200 Wifey (a farm girl) told her cousin we were looking for a "garden tractor"

 

[John T]

Interesting conversation going on. There are all sorts of trucks made to satisfy the needs of individual customers. To have minimum specs that should apply to everyone is silly.

True.
And auto companies have one goal. Make Money.

So it's supply and demand.... The country (world) is changing.
They still make Regular cab pickups..... although you might have to order one or search dealerships...

Most dealers lots I go by, 99% of the trucks have 4 doors and small beds....
not practical for a person that works with the truck.

 

[McMXi]

Interesting conversation going on. There are all sorts of trucks made to satisfy the needs of individual customers. To have minimum specs that should apply to everyone is silly.

Exactly! It's beyond moronic to tell someone that they don't own a "real" truck because they can't haul 8ft sheets of plywood in the bed with the tailgate up. My F-450 has an 8ft bed and my F-250 has a 6-1/2 ft bed. They're both trucks, and if I want to pick up a bunch of plywood with the F-250, I can easily hook up one of four trailers and haul a lot more than I could fit in any full-size bed.

Frankly, I have little use for a traditional bed on a pickup truck. One of the upgrades I'm interested in for the F-450 is an aluminum flatbed with a transfer tank, storage and gooseneck receiver. I bought the F-450 for towing duties, not hauling plywood.

 

[chim]

True.
And auto companies have one goal. Make Money.

So it's supply and demand.... The country (world) is changing.
They still make Regular cab pickups..... although you might have to order one or search dealerships...

Most dealers lots I go by, 99% of the trucks have 4 doors and small beds....
not practical for a person that works with the truck.

Back when I bought a Power Wagon in '73 I had a couple people ask if it could be driven for any distance at highway speeds because of the 4WD. Around here in '73 a pickup with 4WD wasn't the norm. Now most of the new trucks ARE 4WD. Almost all pickups from yesteryear were 1/2 ton, 8' bed and one bench seat. "Three on the tree" was standard and 4-speed truck transmissions could be had. Rear bumpers were optional as were A/C, power steering, radio (and then you could order AM or AM/FM), power windows and a multitude of what are now included in "base" trucks.

 

[chim]

Exactly! It's beyond moronic to tell someone that they don't own a "real" truck because they can't haul 8ft sheets of plywood in the bed with the tailgate up. My F-450 has an 8ft bed and my F-250 has a 6-1/2 ft bed. They're both trucks, and if I want to pick up a bunch of plywood with the F-250, I can easily hook up one of four trailers and haul a lot more than I could fit in any full-size bed.

Frankly, I have little use for a traditional bed on a pickup truck. One of the upgrades I'm interested in for the F-450 is an aluminum flatbed with a transfer tank, storage and gooseneck receiver. I bought the F-450 for towing duties, not hauling plywood.

View attachment 167269

Funny that you mention trailers. I built a small utility trailer in 1989 when my "company truck" was a Bronco II. Following the Bronco II they gave me different Chevy 1500's, SUV's and Ford F150 to use. Upon retirement in 2021 they sold me the Trailblazer for $1,200 and it was going to be a beater till we got a Tahoe. Today the Trailblazer (now with 295,000 miles on it) and the utility trailer still do everything I need to do. The Tahoe Fund (CD) is still in the bank

An earlier post of yours mentioned "low IQ fashion statement" and it made me smile. I mentioned before that there are rigs running around here with winches, Rotolock fuel cans, Hi-Lift jacks, traction boards, etc fastened all over them. They almost always look like they've just come from the detail shop. If that suits them - great. I do reserve the right to laugh when I see them,

 

[Shawn T. W]

I guess this isn't a real truck either, doesn't have an 8' bed, or even a tailgate! (At least my white one has a tailgate!) But it does have a twin xl mattress!

Where do I turn in my "man-card" so I don't feel too humiliated by driving a poser non truck???

 

[NCL4701]

Whether in person or online, these “real truck” conversations are, I think, oddly common and usually kind of humorous.

Reminds me of a co-worker’s reaction when I first got my Tundra (which IMO is a small truck, albeit one that meets my needs quite competently). It replaced my Frontier only because we bought a 9,000lb camper, so I needed a bigger truck.

I was at in an in person internal meeting with about a dozen folks. One was one of the very few co-workers with whom I shared a mutual dislike. After everyone was seated but before the meeting started, he said plenty loud enough for everyone to hear, “I see you got a big, new, four wheel drive truck. Looks like you’re compensating for something. You know what they say, big truck, little d***.” I responded by admitting the truck was to assist with the inadequacy of my d***, and launched into a list of stuff the truck had accomplished following the failure of my d*** to perform. I’d tried to pull our camper over the mountains on our recent trip to Gatlinburg with my d***, but my d*** was so pathetic when I hitched it up, it wouldn’t even get it out of the driveway, yet the truck had no problem getting the job done. Last deer I processed, I needed to haul the bag of guts 10 miles to a dumpster and of course my first option was to use my d***, but it became obvious 10 miles wasn’t happening so I had to use the truck. Went on with a few more and ended with admitting after much experimentation and disappointment in the inadequacy of my d*** for so many activities, I had come to the conclusion my d*** was actually only good for a couple things and the only commonality I’d found with truck activities was if my wife wanted to go for a ride, some clarification might be needed to avoid an embarrassing miscommunication.

After some laughter and a short awkward silence, the guy running the meeting said, “Well, I think we’ve covered the utility of trucks and d***s pretty thoroughly, so lets strike any record of that from the minutes, our memories, or anywhere else it might be recorded, and move on to the first topic on our agenda.”

Edit: BTW, 35 years with the same employer and zero HR complaints. Numerous co-workers were amazed.

 

[xrocketengineer]

 

[jyoutz]

They call that a truck? I want to see someone put a cord of firewood or a ton of coal or 10 ewes in the bed of that thing!

What is this ”coal” thing that you speak of?

 

[dirtydeed]

 

[jyoutz]

View attachment 167373

Photo circa 1950. No coal plants anywhere nearby anymore.

 

[Shawn T. W]

Still a lot of coal being hauled by trains ... To power plants ... https://www.statista.com/statistics/1252352/us-coal-power-plants-by-state/

 

[Shawn T. W]

Hope he doesn't hit a bump!

 

[Russell King]

View attachment 167448

Hope he doesn't hit a bump!

No problem- that is a “REAL” truck not some city poser vehicle!

 

[TheOldHokie]

Again. I love Ford.
But a Mexican made uni-body sheet metal frame.
It might be a truck. But not a real truck anyway.

One of the best "trucks" I ever owned was a Dodge Power Ram D50. That little rebadged Mitubishi 4WD mountain goat was agile as hell and had more guts than a lot of bigger ones I have owned. If I could find a modern day equivalent I would be sorely tempted.

 

[McMXi]

That little rebadged Mitubishi 4WD mountain goat was agile as hell

What's the RTI of the truck in that bottom photo? Big ol' tires with tiny little wheel wells. If only I had a $ for every little pick up truck I've had to rescue on a trail. One father and son that I pulled off a mountain in Hawaii back in 2010 (I did it for my friend's recovery business as a paying job) have yet to pay me. They stiffed me for sure to the tune of $250. I enjoyed it though pulling their fancy Toyota out of trouble with my crappy little TJ.

 

[TheOldHokie]

What's the RTI of the truck in that bottom photo? Big ol' tires with tiny little wheel wells.

Based on what I see on the road here thats mild by local standards.

I had "reasonably sized" Goodrich A/T's on mine and it was a real "go in the snow" machine. A wee bit better than my Jeeps and far better than any of the Dakota's or 150's

That photo kind of reminded me of one of my favorites - the Dodge Power Wagon. Woof!

Dan