Can you live without a pickup?

[Kevin]

Last summer I traded in my Ram 1500 and got a GMC 2500.

I’m not sure why we do that. I wanted a diesel and they didn’t have any GMC 1500s with diesel engines. So we test drove the 2500 and it drove pretty nice.

But it’s so freakin’ big… We are thinking of trading it in for some sort of smaller SUV.

And then half of me wonders how it would be to not have a truck. We’ve had a pickup truck since 1998.

If you don’t have a truck how do you move furniture? What if you want some gravel or dirt for landscaping? Or some firewood?

Just now I picked up my neighbor’s Christmas tree. It’s going to go down to the beach to help against erosion.

So if you don’t have a truck do you wish you did? Or if you do have one could you get by without it?

And by the way, in looking at various SUV’s, any of them of a good size get the same mileage as a truck.

The 2500 size truck is just not city friendly.

 

[375hh1973]

No

 

[jg123]

Not if I want to pull my 35' fifth wheel!

 

[turd]

Never understood why city people own a pickup. They use it maybe once or twice a year. I think it is a manly thing - my truck is bigger/cooler than yours.

 

[Cholo]

I've had a PU since '78 until I sold my '96 F-150 about 6 months ago. I do still have a full sized, but not a high top, Nissan NV2500 van for hauling nearly everything I used a PU for in the past. I've used it to help my son move 2x in the last 2 years.

I have no need to own another PU.

 

[eveled]

I could and did get by with a utility trailer. When my Dad had my truck and we had an SUV. Sometimes even with a pickup truck the utility trailer is easier. Like loading a Harley for example.

I wouldn’t voluntarily go without a pickup truck again. But I could do without one. I like my pickup truck.

 

[coachk64]

While certainly there is a certain Macho element in having a pickup, I believe I regularly justify having one. I'm a bit of a DIY type and at least 2-3 times a month I'm hauling something that wouldn't fit into a car or a standard SUV.

A couple of years ago I was looking seriously at the Ford Maverick due to the low purchase price and high efficiency compared to the standard full-size half-ton version that I've been driving for about the past 40 years (several different trucks). But there have been at least a dozen different instances that I've been able to do something that there was no way the little Maverick could have pulled off, so I'm kind of glad I didn't get it.

But I also think that even if I got to a stage that I didn't need a pickup, I'd probable still have one. Currently driving a 15-year-old GMC Sierra, and very happy with it so far. Sometimes it is being able to do something, even if never called on to do it, that is important. Any of you other concealed carry folks agree with that?

 

[bedfordboy]

1st vehicle I bought in 1974 was a 69 IH Scout, it was great for hunting and fishing and okay for daily transportation and you could haul small loads in it, not really much of a chick magnet though so I sold it and got my 70 Nova SS. Bought my first pickup in 1980 and have been a pickup man ever since. When my kids were born I had to upgrade to a extended cab from the standard cab I had at the time and I’ve had extended cabs since, but I will never settle for less than 6’-6” bed. I tell people there are about a half dozen times a year that you NEED a pickup so you either have to borrow one or buy one, I choose to own one. This is my latest I bought in April of 24 when I retired, hopefully it will get me to the end of my road.

 

[Hvymax]

Haven't had a truck in 30 years. I have 5 trailers. 3 of them I pull with a Focus and HHR. The bigger ones I have an Explorer.

 

[Al James]

I have my daily drivers [SUV and Coupe] but I always keep a "ranch truck" for all of the above jobs. Its dirty and ugly but its perfect for dirty and ugly work around the property and the occasional dump run. I've often considered leaning out the fleet to save money on reg/ins, repairs, tires, etc. I'm currently really glad that I didn't. I recently lost reverse in my daily driver so now my "ranch truck" is a "drive to work every day until I can afford a new transmission truck"

 

[Hawk-in-Wi]

Joe Diffie - Pickup Man

 

[wproct]

I don't put a lot of miles on my truck, but I definitely need it. Mine is a 1998 Chevy Silverado 3dr extended cab with 6 ft box 4WD. I live in the country and it is essential in the winter time due to snow etc. Actually I would prefer to have a smaller mid-sized truck like a Colorado or Dodge Dakota, but my truck is in too good of shape to let go for very little just to get the smaller truck. I'm 80 so this one may very well do me for life.

 

[bigbillyboy]

No , I use a pickup and trailers on a weekly or at minimum semi weekly basis .

 

[southernbuck101]

Been driving a truck since 1980.
I don't even like riding in a car or SUV.
Currently own 2 trucks.
One for grocery getting.
And a Dually for pulling.
I do wish the small Toyotas of the 80s and 90s were still available in this country.

 

[s4s4u]

I wouldn't mind a spare vehicle that had better gas mileage, but I cannot live without a pickup truck.

 

[Johnnu2]

As you'd expect Kevin, I never had a pick-up truck. In the mid-80's I started buying Subaru "SUV's" with 4-wheel then all wheel drive. While dating women between marriages (about 10 yrs), I was often accused of "being married" because I drove a "station wagon". I never had a need for a PU; If I need anything hauled, I've always been able to stuff it into our current Subaru Forester.
J.

 

[flattop44]

Nope, I have had one since the early 1970s. I love them and I am a country boy, no city slicker.
FT44

 

[TULLYMARS]

Bought my first truck in 1973 and have had a truck ever since. There is always something that needs hauling.

 

[Joe Chartreuse]

I only got a pickup- GMC Sierra 2500- when I got a second place in the woods. I use it to haul- you guessed it- deadfall to use for my firepit. I also use it to hall scrap copper and brass and a bunch of other stuff. Before I got it I never had a pickup- though I had a panel truck or two. It's 33 years old, runs like a top. Started out as a DOT work truck. I think the best features are big hand crank windows, a huge bed, and exemption from DMV trips to the inspection station. That being said: While fine at the cabin it can be a pain to park around my main residence. I always seem to have to park the farthest away at the supermarket. The only places that have decent parking are hardware stores and lumber yards. I think that it's a waste to fire it up for quick trips to the store, so I have an old SUV for close in stuff.

 

[HW11]

I can not.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Never understood why city people own a pickup. They use it maybe once or twice a year. I think it is a manly thing - my truck is bigger/cooler than yours.

I carry stuff in mine all the time. Limbs cut from my trees in my city yard, soon it will be full FULL of grass clippings when I spring scalp, and I use it to take stuff to the dumpster at work all the time. My first truck was my first new vehicle ... a 1998 regular cab S-10. Went to an S-10 Blazer from that and then to a full size. I bought the S-10 because I wanted a new vehicle and at age 23 I could afford it or a Cavalier. Easy choice. Now I have driven a full size long enough I won't be without.

 

[Kevin]

Great answers all the way around.

I’m going to just drive my truck for a while longer. It’s a nice one. But sort of stiff. It’s the 2500 as I said but has the attachment points for a 5th wheel. No hardware though.

But it also has the rear end suspension from a 3500 truck. For the potential 5th wheel. This came from the factory like that.

So it’s very stiff around town.

And @turd as for a city guy with a truck. That’s just Dallas for ya.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

NOPE.

 

[WAYNO]

I could not live without a pickup.

Yes, I live in a city, but I still hunt and explore the mountains. I pull a trailer. I haul stuff and move furniture for friends and family.

City has nothing to do with it. I've fished and hunted my whole life, and I sure can't do what I do in anything but a pickup. I also haul some pretty substantial props to Ruger display shows. Couldn't do it with a Corolla.

 

[32shooter]

Not me, I tried it one time. Wasn't long and I was back to a truck.

 

[roylt]

I think if you can afford it everyone should have a "farm" truck and another vehicle as a daily. And no I don't live on a farm, city boy.

You can also rent a truck from Uhaul for 20 bucks. My local big box hardware store (Menards) also rents a truck for 20 bucks.

So could I get by without my own truck? Probably. Would I want to? No.

I also second the person that said they wish Toyota made little trucks in the USA again. And Manual transmission!!

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I suppose I could. Right now I'm driving a 2010 Mazda B4000 4x4, stretch cab, 6.5' bed, 5-speed. Does all the trucking I need, which isn't much.

It had occurred to me that on those very rare occasions when I actually need a truck I could easily rent one. But I like the little devil and will keep it for its or my lifetime.

 

[Jeepnik]

Dad had a pickup. In the service we had a lot of pickups and used them extensively. In '82 I got my CJ-8. Technically a pickup with a very small bed. But I used the heck out of it.
When I changed careers a pickup was the only viable answer for a work vehicle. Now that I am retired I still have one just smaller. I can't see ever being without one. Just too darned useful, especially with a crew cab.
Well wait, technically I have two pickups as the CJ-8 is still in the drive. Though all it hauls these days is fun stuff.

 

[Mobuck]

We have a 1/2 ton, a 3/4, and a 1 ton. Each has it's place although the 1/2 ton is mostly a car.
We haven't owned a CAR for at least 30 years.
"My local big box hardware store (Menards) also rents a truck for 20 bucks."
For how long or how many miles? Closest Menards to me is 45 miles/one hour drive time.

 

[contender]

Add me to the club of folks who can't live w/o a real pick-up truck. I have always done so many different things that were made easier by having a truck. Just the other day,, Penny wanted a chair taken to goodwill. Had to use the truck, because it would not have fit in her car.
Basically, daily chores & work as well as so many other things,, makes it the best option for my purposes.
Even if I lived in a city,, in an apartment,, I'd have to have a truck. too many various reasons to use one.