I have no idea why,maybe it's all those truck commercials (esp the Ram but don't want thread to veer off on brand disputes!).

I maybe could use a truck once a year when I need to get the lawn tractor down to shop but for other purposes like buying 30 bags of lime or mulch the Expedition does the job. Yeah a truck would be easier but not the only option. Could always rent a trailer in either case.

So I got to wondering. Anybody bought a truck just because?

No, but the F150 remains the largest selling vehicle in the United States, in fact the top 3 largest sellers of 2021 are all pickups, so obviously, a whole lot of people who don’t really need a truck, own one. I can’t imagine NOT having a truck, but the rural West and “NoVA” are worlds apart, aren’t they.

C&D 2021 best sellers

Prefer having a truck, like the room, view and size.

Having said that, be sure you tell everyone your $64,000 pickup isn't a moving truck...

Sometimes I consider how convenient it would be to have a pickup truck.

Then I recall how inconvenient it would be to be asked all the time to help with the truck or to loan out said truck.

I just rent a trailer. The nearest uHaul rental center is conveniently located and has an online rental and appointment system with real time inventory. $20-30 a few times a year is really hard to beat.

I've had a truck as my primary vehicle 82% of my driving life. I used to have a full-size and every other year used it for something more than I could do with a mid-size so I've been a mid-size truck owner for the last 2 trucks. My truck will be 6 years old in the spring and I've been thinking that 99% of the time I'd be better off with a SUV.

For my next vehicle, I'm seriously considering doing what my Dad has been doing the last decade. Dad used to drive a truck too, but went to a SUV and one of those fold-up trailers (i.e. the ones that have wheels and store vertically against a wall).

I've had at least one pickup continuously since 1973.

While I don't use the capability very often, there's no replacement when I need it.

I bought my F150 when my wife's business could justify it & it was too much work to load everything into her SUV.
Subsequently bought a trailer & used it for the business as well.

Closed the business & not long after (and shortly before the warranty expired) sold the truck & got back into a car.

About 3 years later & I'm slumming it in a 2012 Malibu. Been keeping an eye on the car market & thinking about what might replace it.
Odds are, I won't end up in another full-sized truck, and don't really care for the majority of the mid-sized trucks apart from the Taco.

Once dealer inventories improve, may take a look at the new Ford Maverick. As a DD, it seems like a good compromise for the majority of what I'd use a truck for. And, I have nearby relatives with full-sized trucks (2 Tundras & a Silverado) so I've got a fallback if needed.

I see a lot of pickups with no tow-hitch or an unscathed tow hitch. I always look in the back-bed and they are usually unscathed/unscratched as well. Maybe some folks just like sitting higher off the road? Better to have it and not need it. (I drive a car and every once-in-awhile I will mention a pick-up truck to my wife and she'll say "what the hell are you going to do with it?")

I enjoy the one I have now, very much.
I do carry emergency equipment (which I have had to use on occasion).
I can and do haul/tow.
However, the primary reason I have this truck is a matter of physics. Unless and until everyone else is driving smaller, lighter vehicles mass matters and steel protects.
I would've lost 2 loved ones in a wreck 4 years ago caused by someone who decided to ignore our infidel traffic laws because there would only be a wreck if it was the will of Allah. Ultimately, the judicial system found the collision, and resulting sternal fracture and other injuries, to be her fault, and not Allah.
Until peoples' driving attention and skills improve we are staying high visibility, high vision and with Newtonian physics on our side.
Oh, and the reliability and durability of this truck compared to most vehicles.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
I see a lot of pickups with no tow-hitch or an unscathed tow hitch.

Back in the 60s and 70s families used station wagons for a lot of jobs a 1/2 or even 3/4 ton pickup seems to be needed for today, like towing boats and camping trailers. When I was a kid in the late 70s my parents towed a 20-foot camper all over Utah and Colorado with a Caprice Classic sedan. These days it's not uncommon to see a guy towing a jet ski with a 3/4- ton diesel pickup. LOL.

I got a great deal on a well used pickup about 7 years ago so I went from a SUV to a pickup. The SUV did what I needed (towing a boat mainly), but after having owned the truck for a while, I don't see myself not having one. And I really love having a beater truck since I don't worry about messing it up.

It doesn't get much use these days since I took my wife's sedan as a daily when it was time to get her a new car, but when I need it there's nothing better. Appliance moving...check, furniture moving...check, nasty trash runs...check, have a load of gravel / dirt dropped in the bed...check, tow the boats...check, haul the mower over to the secret shooting spot...check, prone shooting from the bed to get above the brush...check.

Yup.

Three of them.

Yeap, sure.

Have a 2500HD that I tow a 5th wheel with.

Bought a Colorado earlier this year (before prices started going crazy). Just cause, I wanted it.

The HD does all my "truck" stuff, the Colorado, just cause.

I bought more truck originally than I thought I'd actually need, a 3500 series single rear wheel diesel four door 4wd, manual transmission long bed.

The heaviest thing I planned on hauling was a bobcat on a trailer. Now my other half is into horses and we have a 4 place draft size slant load trailer and do a variety of heavier hauling than I anticipated originally. If I'd known I was going to have horses back when I bought the truck, I'd have gone for the dually.

The truck was originally my daily driver, but these days, it only gets used a few times a month. It's really nice to be able to throw an entire pallet (~2000lbs) of something in the bed, or a load of dirt, wood, or other materials without needing a trailer or having to plan ahead and rent a truck.

You could probably just buy a decent utility trailer and keep your SUV to accomplish your intended purpose unless you're just looking to get a new vehicle.

Love the truck, the better view of the road than the car, the extra elbow and head room versus the car, but maintenance parts are costlier than the car.

I recently trading my pickup for a crossover SUV because I thought I didn't "need" the truck anymore. I'm surprised by the amount of times I could have put it to good use since.

I have a large SUV - mainly to take trips where cars are not indicated. Lakeside. Off road.

But many times now I've wished that I would have bought a capable double cab instead of an SUV. Not sure if grass is greener or not.

I rent trailers from HD when needed - it's easy. But having a truck would be nice - more maneuverable, don't have to worry about parking, saves a couple of hours on rental process, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
No, but the F150 remains the largest selling vehicle in the United States,

Well it depends on how it gets spun...

GM fans would beg to differ.
For decades... GM full size trucks have outsold Ford, but that is only if you add GMC and CHEVY branded trucks together... and to some that is reasonable and justified as they are built on the same platform and on the SAME assembly line.

Being a DYI'er and a home owner, I couldn't survive without one. Plus I used to run it on the beach to fish, but not lately. My daily driver '04 Ram Cummins just turned 256k and is still going strong. As long as it doesn't rust away, it will outlive me. Plus I find it alot easier to climb up and into and fall out of than get my ass in and out of a car.

quote:

Originally posted by The_sandman_454:
The heaviest thing I planned on hauling was a bobcat on a trailer. Now my other half is into horses and we have a 4 place draft size slant load trailer and do a variety of heavier hauling than I anticipated originally. If I'd known I was going to have horses back when I bought the truck, I'd have gone for the dually.

I hauled horses my entire career in the Forest Service, and I had a variety of capable trucks. My last was the favorite, a 1T, Super Duty, Power Stroke, flatbed. I had one dually and couldn’t wait for it to be gone. I just don’t like a dually in the snow, and I see you’re in Michigan. As is often said here, YMMV

quote:

Originally posted by RogB: Anyone bought a truck who didn't really need one?....

My SIL did, he always wanted a pick up so earlier this year he bought a new 2021 GMC 1500. He really liked it at first but I get the impression a little less so now after living with it. It doesn't fit in their garage, it's a PIA or impossible to park in tight parking spots, and while MPG is ok "out on the highway" it's pretty poor in daily driving. With both kids in the back seats there's no covered storage so he had to buy a tonneau cover to keep their stuff dry.