Why are trucks so big?

[jimh406]

The rise of the Pavement Princess:

I didn’t watch the video but isn’t the lowest height, independent front suspension still the pavement princess. Yeah, I know Chevy finally made it possible to use full size tires, but they were slow to adopt.

In their defense, I think most feel that Chevy/GM with the independent front suspension still rides the best no matter what year you compare.

Ford/Ram never tried to make their full size trucks ride well on road. Not horribly riding, but not Chevy/GM ride either. The only exception is the Ram rear coil 2500 which is really a tweener based on all I’ve read about how they handle loads.

Any more, you don’t have to lift a truck to make it pretty tall and run stock 35s. I think the GM in the thumbnail was probably 27 or 28s.

 

[D2Cat]

My '02 F-250 has a Fumoto drain valve but I typically use a 5-gallon bucket when changing oil. I never thought of filling 1 gallon containers.

The Fumoto valve is nice for sending in oil samples also.

 

[dirtydeed]

I use the Ronin plug on my F-150. It works great. I really disliked the ford factory plug that produces a 2 gallon oil gusher that blows oil over the trans cooler and other chassis parts.

 

[BBFarmer]

The regular Ford mechanics can take the entire cab off in less than an hour. I think I remember seeing one post from a mechanic that said he could do it in 30 minutes. In other words, they are made to take off, so it's a lot less labor intensive.

Actually, was a very good job engineering although it does sound strange.

Yea around an hour on most taking your time.

I cut my teeth on cabs in the late 2000s when the 6.0s started coming in. Too much practice.

This was for a timing service. Not necessary to remove the cab but keeps me from laying on my chest for too long.

I'm alot less bitchy when standing next to something while working on it, rather than head down upside down uncomfortably. LOL

 

[Lil Foot]

My diesel guy (who specialized in 6.0s) says he and his helper can pull a cab in 20 minutes.

 

[BBFarmer]

My diesel guy (who specialized in 6.0s) says he and his helper can pull a cab in 20 minutes.

I've heard of times like that with 2 good hands going at it.

6.0s definitely take me a little longer than 6.4 and 6.7 cabs.

 

[McMXi]

The rise of the Pavement Princess:

The description reads ....

"Pickup truck ownership has skyrocketed since the 90s despite these trucks becoming less functional, more expensive, and harder to drive every single year - so what’s going on here? In today’s video, I make the case that the rise of big, impractical trucks is a side effect of the broader economic and male mental health crises that we are experiencing in the United States."

"less functional" and "harder to drive" .... really?

Click bait is alive and well it seems! I wouldn't waste 10 seconds on this low cog content.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: "less functional" and "harder to drive" .... really?

yes, IF you USE a truck for hauling stuff. Really , can anyone get 20 sheets of drywall(full size ) into a 5' pickup box ?? Pictures please !
yes, who ACTUALLY goes offroad with their 4wd, 4 door, $100K pickup into the bush to retrieve broken down tractors or D4s ?

It seems this style of vehicle has replaced the minivan which replaced the station wagon ?

 

[Bmyers]

re: "less functional" and "harder to drive" .... really?

yes, IF you USE a truck for hauling stuff. Really , can anyone get 20 sheets of drywall(full size ) into a 5' pickup box ?? Pictures please !
yes, who ACTUALLY goes offroad with their 4wd, 4 door, $100K pickup into the bush to retrieve broken down tractors or D4s ?

It seems this style of vehicle has replaced the minivan which replaced the station wagon ?

Guess I'm an exception to your rule. We have always taken our trucks off road through the fields and into the back pastures. We buy them to be used. That is the nice thing with our Ford Ranger, it can get places the bigger trucks can't, but it has its limits. Just last weekend after moving rock, we hauled a few items to the back pasture shed with the F250 which is through the field and into the edge of the woods.

 

[McMXi]

re: "less functional" and "harder to drive" .... really?

yes, IF you USE a truck for hauling stuff. Really , can anyone get 20 sheets of drywall(full size ) into a 5' pickup box ?? Pictures please !
yes, who ACTUALLY goes offroad with their 4wd, 4 door, $100K pickup into the bush to retrieve broken down tractors or D4s ?

It seems this style of vehicle has replaced the minivan which replaced the station wagon ?

Once again, take one specific model and one specific customer and extrapolate to every truck and every owner. No wonder McDonalds had to put pictures of food on the cash register!

There are many situations where 4WD is essential that have nothing to do with going off-road, and for the record, I know a lot of folks up here, myself included, that take their $100k trucks into the backcountry for hunting and camping. Some people should get a personalized license plate that says CLUELESS.

 

[Moose7060]

I have owned many full size pickups since 1990, each bought new and equipped with winches and headache racks. Majority of use out in the bush, hunting or fishing and have never been concerned about using these expensive vehicles off road or through overflown rivers.

Full size trucks in my opinion also have 8 foot boxes. If you can't close the tailgate with a quad in the back or even sheets of plywood, then you have a station wagon with a missing roof.

 

[Daylight]

Peace, Bro! If you watch it, you'll agree with what the man says; he clearly distinguishes people who actually need such a vehicle, and those living in the suburbs who only want a "Pavement Princess", totally impractical and much too expensive for their needs.

The description reads ....

"Pickup truck ownership has skyrocketed since the 90s despite these trucks becoming less functional, more expensive, and harder to drive every single year - so what’s going on here? In today’s video, I make the case that the rise of big, impractical trucks is a side effect of the broader economic and male mental health crises that we are experiencing in the United States."

"less functional" and "harder to drive" .... really?

Click bait is alive and well it seems! I wouldn't waste 10 seconds on this low cog content.

 

[NCL4701]

Peace, Bro! If you watch it, you'll agree with what the man says; he clearly distinguishes people who actually need such a vehicle, and those living in the suburbs who only want a "Pavement Princess", totally impractical and much too expensive for their needs.

We have a Bentley dealership, Ferrari dealership, and Lamborghini dealership all within a relatively short drive. “totally impractical and much too expensive for their needs” describes every vehicle on all their lots and every vehicle they can order for you. Apparently all of their customers have unresolved mental and/or emotional issues?

I don’t see the difference between driving a Bentley Continental and driving a 4 door 4WD F150 without a specific need for a truck. And if I ever need help determining what’s “much too expensive for my needs” I’ll let you know. Haven’t needed your help for the first 58 years.

 

[McMXi]

And if I ever need help determining what’s “much too expensive for my needs” I’ll let you know. Haven’t needed your help for the first 58 years.

Exactly!

What's the motivation behind videos like this? Is there a social agenda here? Is it environmental, socioeconomic, political, social? Or is it simply about generating views and likes in order to generate income by picking a topic that polarizes people? There are a lot of people who've never done anything of any significance in their lives, have no qualifications, have no experience, no skills or talents to speak of, but make a career out of criticizing other people's work, decisions or choices. The non-doers criticizing the doers! Social media has only served to give low cog mediocrity a platform from which they can influence others that are incapable of critical thinking.

How much truck experience does the host of the video have? I'm guessing very little to none. I'm sure he's an expert when it comes to brands of hair conditioner or nail polish, but trucks and psychology .... doubtful.

Yep, I'll stick to my original position of not watching click bait crap created by those who are wholly unqualified to give an opinion on the matter, much less see the nuance in anything.

 

[Botamon]

Exactly!

What's the motivation behind videos like this? Is there a social agenda here? Is it environmental, socioeconomic, political, social? Or is it simply about generating views and likes in order to generate income by picking a topic that polarizes people? There are a lot of people who've never done anything of any significance in their lives, have no qualifications, have no experience, no skills or talents to speak of, but make a career out of criticizing other people's work, decisions or choices. The non-doers criticizing the doers! Social media has only served to give low cog mediocrity a platform from which they can influence others that are incapable of critical thinking.

How much truck experience does the host of the video have? I'm guessing very little to none. I'm sure he's an expert when it comes to brands of hair conditioner or nail polish, but trucks and psychology .... doubtful.

Yep, I'll stick to my original position of not watching click bait crap created by those who are wholly unqualified to give an opinion on the matter, much less see the nuance in anything.

Love this post! Expresses my feelings exactly!

 

[Botamon]

I have owned many full size pickups since 1990, each bought new and equipped with winches and headache racks. Majority of use out in the bush, hunting or fishing and have never been concerned about using these expensive vehicles off road or through overflown rivers.

Full size trucks in my opinion also have 8 foot boxes. If you can't close the tailgate with a quad in the back or even sheets of plywood, then you have a station wagon with a missing roof.

Couldn't agree more! But have you ever seen an F150 or a 1500 at a dealership with an 8' box? Rare as hens teeth! Pretty much a custom order - and they come with only a single cab, no extended cab or crew cab versions.

And a word of advice for those who have vehicles with winches....test them every so often to make sure they still work. I was paged out by Sheriff's Dispatch a couple weeks ago to go rescue a couple who tried crossing a creek in their long bed crew cab GMC 2500HD. Got the front end mired in the mud and the rear bumper hung up on the creek bank. The truck had a beautiful custom front bumper on it with a Warn 15,000 lb winch inside. The guy hadn't tested the winch in several years to make sure it worked and when he got stuck he found that all it would do is click. Plenty of battery power, sounded to me like the solenoids were dirty/bad. We winched him out of the creek bed and sent him on his way.

 

[Moose7060]

Couldn't agree more! But have you ever seen an F150 or a 1500 at a dealership with an 8' box? Rare as hens teeth! Pretty much a custom order - and they come with only a single cab, no extended cab or crew cab versions.

And a word of advice for those who have vehicles with winches....test them every so often to make sure they still work. I was paged out by Sheriff's Dispatch a couple weeks ago to go rescue a couple who tried crossing a creek in their long bed crew cab GMC 2500HD. Got the front end mired in the mud and the rear bumper hung up on the creek bank. The truck had a beautiful custom front bumper on it with a Warn 15,000 winch inside. The guy hadn't tested the winch in several years to make sure it worked and when he got stuck he found that all it would do is click. Plenty of battery power, sounded to me like the solenoids were dirty/bad. We winched him out of the creek bed and sent him on his way.

Good advice on the winch. I test mine at least once a year either by plan or requirement!

My wife and I have a 3rd vehicle we consider as our "farm truck". 2020 F150 with 8 foot box and extended cab. Don't use it very much. Only 14,000 miles on it. Was hard to find, don't even know if they can still be ordered.

 

[Bmyers]

This is the first tow with our dump trailer. Was taking it from this field about mile and half down the road to the next field so we could move some debris from that field to the brush pile.

So as you can see we take our truck off road.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Well it is nice to see a handful of trucks actually being used 'properly',though I don't see many with 'scratches of honour' on them.

 

[NCL4701]

‘Scratches of honour’ aren’t usually a bragging point. But since you asked.

I’m sure others can beat this. If I still had the 1973 D100 it might contend for top honors.

Yes, it does truck stuff.

No clue where this came from.

Or this.

Nothing obvious. Other than this is a tail light from Keystone. Wife busted the original jack knifing our enclosed trailer while backing. She hadn’t backed a trailer before but saw me do it a bunch of times and I’m a goof that’s nowhere near as good a driver as her so it must be easy. No reason to wait for me to get home.

Didn’t come with extendable tow mirrors. After knocking the left one off not quite clearing a tree, found out I could get two aftermarket extendables for the same price as one OEM I needed, so I swapped them both.

If you look back at the pic above with the camper, you might notice the grille changed. I was in heavy traffic, a Chevy Z71 1500 in front of me panic stopped. I needed about 2 more feet I didn’t have. My insurance offered him $15K to fix his. He refused and his insurance totaled his for about $40K. After arbitrating, they got $14K from my insurance. I bought a $350 grille, $50 emblem, and installed it myself. That was the total extent of damage to mine. I had a decent opinion of Chevy trucks before that. Now, if someone gave me a 1500 series Chevy, I’d sell it immediately. If I put a couple 5 gallon gas cans in the bed of a Chevy 1500 I’d be concerned the weight would bend the frame beyond repair. Anyway, I never much liked the original grille so I replaced it with one from a later year model which still fit.

Backed into a large tree at about 5mph with the corner of the tailgate while the tailgate was down. Top of the corner was about level with top of the tail light when I tried to shut it. I really needed it to shut. 30 minutes with a variety of large punches, hammers, and pry bars resulted in the functional but ugly mess above. Maybe I’ll replace the tailgate someday but probably not. Tailgate has several more minor issues but I can’t recall the events that caused them,