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> It’s like the aesthetics of a pickup truck is offensive to some people. When a vehicle is driving in front of my house with a grill that's a foot higher than

by pkulak 5y ago

> It’s like the aesthetics of a pickup truck is offensive to some people. When a vehicle is driving in front of my house with a grill that's a foot higher than my oldest child... yeah, I don't much like those aesthetics. And it has nothing to do with "moving stuff". The UPS delivery vans that are actually built to, ya know, move stuff, have lower grills and way safer sight lines.

wanderingshi 5y ago
yeah show me where you can buy a ups delivery van type vehicle lol
- jagger27 5y ago
  It’s called a Ford Transit.
  - brewdad 5y ago
    Mercedes makes a couple of models as well if the idea of driving a Ford offends you.
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  Same place UPS does: https://morganolson.com/products/parcel/ https://morganolson.com/products/parcel/
- bluGill 5y ago
  Every city has a auto dealer who handles trucks like that. UPS has their own custom trucks so you can't get that model, but there are a lot of options. You won't find them in the typical dealer though. They are a niche, and most customers are buying several at once for their business and so the way the whole process works is different. Though there are just enough small buisness buying exactly one that you won't confuse them by buying one - but they may have trouble figuring out what tax applies.
- bombcar 5y ago
  They're called step vans and available anywhere commercial trucks are sold: https://www.comvoy.com/bodytypes/Step-Van https://www.comvoy.com/bodytypes/Step-Van You can find used ones in running condition relatively cheap.
jrsj 5y ago
As someone who used to work at a nursery that sold a lot of mulch, sod, etc, there are a lot of things that a typical single family homeowner would want that you absolutely wouldn’t want to transport in an SUV or minivan (which is all that is really worth talking about because pretty much no individual owns the type of delivery vehicle you’re talking about, which are meant for transporting packages anyways). People would have me load this stuff for them into SUVs of course, and we would do our best to line them with plastic first, but it still made an awful mess everywhere. And that’s not even getting into towing, there are common things having a truck bed is just better for. As for the tallness, you can partly blame EPA regulations for that as it’s more cost effective for manufacturers to make trucks taller and wider than more fuel efficient. That’s the #1 reason why the small truck market declined and why smaller trucks got bigger
- pkulak 5y ago
  I'm not at all saying that trucks aren't useful, or that they aren't the best vehicle for a lot of people and/or tasks. I'm saying that the trend right now is for trucks that are way taller than they need to be purely because the buyer prefers that look. I had zero issues with pickup trucks 10 years ago, before they turned into a political/biological/emotional statement piece, instead of a tool.
  - jrsj 5y ago
    I don’t think this is really the primary reason for this at all. There’s an element of that of course, but there’s other factors as well. This is a decent short article about it. But the tl;dr is popularity of crew cabs + a gap in recent regulations that encouraged trucks to become larger https://www.insidehook.com/article/vehicles/why-pickup-trucks-keep-getting-bigger https://www.insidehook.com/article/vehicles/why-pickup-truck...
    - dougmany 5y ago
      This is what I got from that article: >In other words, the regulations put in place to get better mileage out of vehicles also led to an increase in truck size. “There was kind of an incentive to maybe stretch the wheelbase a couple of inches and set the tires maybe an inch [farther] apart, because you get a bigger platform and slightly smaller target,” said Edmunds. “Now, the bigger vehicle would be heavier and might use more fuel, so it’s not as easy as just doing that. But certainly there was a feeling that if they did need to make it bigger to accommodate more passengers, the fuel economy target wouldn’t be onerous. They could do it.” That statement is not very convincing that the regulations lead to bigger trucks.
ajford 5y ago
They're also optimized for having a driver hand-deliver packages from the back of it hundreds of times over an 8hr shift. That's moving entirely different things than you'd move in a truck. A pickup truck would make a shitty parcel delivery truck, and a UPS truck would be a shitty way to move construction materials.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- bombcar 5y ago
  Amusingly enough a "step van" - the technical name for the type of thing a UPS truck - is often a much better truck for the average construction worker (the type who brings a truckload of tools to a job site) - as you can get into the truck and find things without having to unload the entire pickup. A friend started construction and bought a Tacoma new because he saw everyone else using one - and it had to go in for a repair and during that time the dealer lent him a van, and at that point he had serious regrets about buying the truck. But then again visit most construction sites and you'll see one or two company trucks full of tools, a delivery semi or two, and acres of pickup trucks with nothing in the bed.
  - jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
    I'm in a neighborhood with a ton of construction and remodeling. Here step vans, sprinters, and the like are very clearly much more popular with construction workers. Much easier to keep tools organized and securely locked and even more capacity than a truck bed.
    - bombcar 5y ago
      What I have see is construction workers where the step van is the "work vehicle" and a crew cab pickup is the "family car" - though as often it's an SUV or a minivan.
  - ajford 5y ago
    Oh totally, that's why sprinter vans or step vans work well for tools and small goods. But if you're moving sheet goods, pallets/slats of heavy goods, long materials, or things like dirt or gravel, then a truck bed is better. It's all about using the most suitable vehicle for the job.
jacurtis 5y ago
Maybe you have different UPS trucks where you live. But the UPS trucks where I live are far bigger than pickup trucks. The drivers sit much higher, and the grill comes up just as high, or higher. There is also a huge variability in pickup sizes because many of them have been customized. But truthfully the standard stock pickup truck doesn't have a grill much different than many SUVs. In fact most SUVs are built on truck frames. So I know there are trucks out there that have been lifted with 24" tires. But the standard truck that you buy from your dealership isn't much different than an SUV in size. They might be longer because of the bed... but your concern seems to be height, and they are often identical to SUVs. Edit: Crossovers are a bit different. Those are designed to be more like cars (hence the name). But a standard SUV is usually built on a truck frame. So the body is different, but the main vehicle is similar in size.
adrianmonk 5y ago
Driving off road is a more common use case for pickups than for delivery vans. Some pickups get driven around on construction sites, and some are used as farm vehicles. Obviously some people take this way further than practically necessary, but the basic form of a pickup does have a legit reason to be different than a delivery van.

by pkulak 5y ago

wanderingshi 5y ago

yeah show me where you can buy a ups delivery van type vehicle lol

jagger27 5y ago
It’s called a Ford Transit.
- brewdad 5y ago
  Mercedes makes a couple of models as well if the idea of driving a Ford offends you.
ceejayoz 5y ago
Same place UPS does: https://morganolson.com/products/parcel/ https://morganolson.com/products/parcel/
bluGill 5y ago
Every city has a auto dealer who handles trucks like that. UPS has their own custom trucks so you can't get that model, but there are a lot of options. You won't find them in the typical dealer though. They are a niche, and most customers are buying several at once for their business and so the way the whole process works is different. Though there are just enough small buisness buying exactly one that you won't confuse them by buying one - but they may have trouble figuring out what tax applies.
bombcar 5y ago
They're called step vans and available anywhere commercial trucks are sold: https://www.comvoy.com/bodytypes/Step-Van https://www.comvoy.com/bodytypes/Step-Van You can find used ones in running condition relatively cheap.

jrsj 5y ago

As someone who used to work at a nursery that sold a lot of mulch, sod, etc, there are a lot of things that a typical single family homeowner would want that you absolutely wouldn’t want to transport in an SUV or minivan (which is all that is really worth talking about because pretty much no individual owns the type of delivery vehicle you’re talking about, which are meant for transporting packages anyways). People would have me load this stuff for them into SUVs of course, and we would do our best to line them with plastic first, but it still made an awful mess everywhere. And that’s not even getting into towing, there are common things having a truck bed is just better for. As for the tallness, you can partly blame EPA regulations for that as it’s more cost effective for manufacturers to make trucks taller and wider than more fuel efficient. That’s the #1 reason why the small truck market declined and why smaller trucks got bigger

pkulak 5y ago
I'm not at all saying that trucks aren't useful, or that they aren't the best vehicle for a lot of people and/or tasks. I'm saying that the trend right now is for trucks that are way taller than they need to be purely because the buyer prefers that look. I had zero issues with pickup trucks 10 years ago, before they turned into a political/biological/emotional statement piece, instead of a tool.
- jrsj 5y ago
  I don’t think this is really the primary reason for this at all. There’s an element of that of course, but there’s other factors as well. This is a decent short article about it. But the tl;dr is popularity of crew cabs + a gap in recent regulations that encouraged trucks to become larger https://www.insidehook.com/article/vehicles/why-pickup-trucks-keep-getting-bigger https://www.insidehook.com/article/vehicles/why-pickup-truck...
  - dougmany 5y ago
    This is what I got from that article: >In other words, the regulations put in place to get better mileage out of vehicles also led to an increase in truck size. “There was kind of an incentive to maybe stretch the wheelbase a couple of inches and set the tires maybe an inch [farther] apart, because you get a bigger platform and slightly smaller target,” said Edmunds. “Now, the bigger vehicle would be heavier and might use more fuel, so it’s not as easy as just doing that. But certainly there was a feeling that if they did need to make it bigger to accommodate more passengers, the fuel economy target wouldn’t be onerous. They could do it.” That statement is not very convincing that the regulations lead to bigger trucks.

ajford 5y ago

They're also optimized for having a driver hand-deliver packages from the back of it hundreds of times over an 8hr shift. That's moving entirely different things than you'd move in a truck. A pickup truck would make a shitty parcel delivery truck, and a UPS truck would be a shitty way to move construction materials.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
bombcar 5y ago
Amusingly enough a "step van" - the technical name for the type of thing a UPS truck - is often a much better truck for the average construction worker (the type who brings a truckload of tools to a job site) - as you can get into the truck and find things without having to unload the entire pickup. A friend started construction and bought a Tacoma new because he saw everyone else using one - and it had to go in for a repair and during that time the dealer lent him a van, and at that point he had serious regrets about buying the truck. But then again visit most construction sites and you'll see one or two company trucks full of tools, a delivery semi or two, and acres of pickup trucks with nothing in the bed.
- jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
  I'm in a neighborhood with a ton of construction and remodeling. Here step vans, sprinters, and the like are very clearly much more popular with construction workers. Much easier to keep tools organized and securely locked and even more capacity than a truck bed.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    What I have see is construction workers where the step van is the "work vehicle" and a crew cab pickup is the "family car" - though as often it's an SUV or a minivan.
- ajford 5y ago
  Oh totally, that's why sprinter vans or step vans work well for tools and small goods. But if you're moving sheet goods, pallets/slats of heavy goods, long materials, or things like dirt or gravel, then a truck bed is better. It's all about using the most suitable vehicle for the job.

jacurtis 5y ago

Maybe you have different UPS trucks where you live. But the UPS trucks where I live are far bigger than pickup trucks. The drivers sit much higher, and the grill comes up just as high, or higher. There is also a huge variability in pickup sizes because many of them have been customized. But truthfully the standard stock pickup truck doesn't have a grill much different than many SUVs. In fact most SUVs are built on truck frames. So I know there are trucks out there that have been lifted with 24" tires. But the standard truck that you buy from your dealership isn't much different than an SUV in size. They might be longer because of the bed... but your concern seems to be height, and they are often identical to SUVs. Edit: Crossovers are a bit different. Those are designed to be more like cars (hence the name). But a standard SUV is usually built on a truck frame. So the body is different, but the main vehicle is similar in size.

adrianmonk 5y ago

Driving off road is a more common use case for pickups than for delivery vans. Some pickups get driven around on construction sites, and some are used as farm vehicles. Obviously some people take this way further than practically necessary, but the basic form of a pickup does have a legit reason to be different than a delivery van.