4 ms·

Mid-size trucks like the Tacoma and Ranger are fantastic imo. They are perfect for 95% of "truck stuff". The full-size category has really become about excess,

Mid-size trucks like the Tacoma and Ranger are fantastic imo. They are perfect for 95% of "truck stuff". The full-size category has really become about excess, which I think this article is getting at.

Tiktaalik 4y ago
The Tacoma and Ranger have ballooned in size though. They have many of the same core problems as the full size trucks.
neogodless 4y ago
The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado is 4,900 lbs and larger than the 2018 Silverado (work truck/regular cab) in every dimension except width (it's about 6" more narrow.) (The Tacoma and Ranger will get new designs for 2024, and likely catch up on size!)
hindsightbias 4y ago
It's 99% excess. Most cars are good enough for 95% urban cowboy "truck" stuff. Can't fit a sheet of plywood flat in a taco or ranger and they get maybe 17 mpg. Even in TX, the parking lots are filled with tacos that have pristine, empty beds and off-road tires that have never seen a gravel/dirt road or back-country. Farm kids would have beaten me up if I'd showed up to school with a shiny taco like that and a big belt buckle.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  > Can't fit a sheet of plywood flat Reminds me to note that the Honda Civic hatchback from the late 1980s could in fact fit 4'x8' sheet goods in the back quite easily (it also got > 40mpg)
  - twblalock 4y ago
    That's absolute nonsense. I would believe you could get a 4-foot-wide item in a Civic. There is no way on earth you could get a 4x8 sheet inside one of those cars. Also, if you got t-boned by a Tahoe they would need to identify your body with dental records. Those things were basically street-legal go karts.
    - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
      Sorry, i didn't mean it fit 100% inside. I meant that hatchback was, then unlike today, wide enough to slide it inside, and you could get enough of material inside to safely drive it home with the hatch tied down. Today, this is no longer true of any "small car".
- rybosworld 4y ago
  You would need an 8.1 ft bed to fit a sheet of plywood. Most trucks don't have that. Plywood isn't usually laid flat in a closed bed for that reason. It's either: 1. Hoisted onto a roof rack (I do not recommend this but I've seen people do it) 2. Lays flat with the tail gate open and overhangs the bed. Secured by ratchet straps. 3. Lays on top of the tail gate and overhangs it a bit. Also secured by ratchet straps. I guess my point is that plywood isn't an issue for mid-size trucks anymore than it is for full size trucks. Heck, one of the selling points of the cybertruck is that you will be able to lay a full sheet of plywood with the tailgate up. It's only a selling point because it's an uncommon feature: https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/e60oxq/tesla_cybertruck_to_fit_full_4x8_plywood_sheet/ https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/e60oxq/tesla_c...
bcrescimanno 4y ago
Per the article, the size of "mid-size" trucks today is about the same as full-size trucks were in the 1990s. When the pandemic began and I started working from home, I gave up my car because it just didn't make sense to have two and I've continued to work from home and we've continued with only one car. I've decided that I want my next vehicle to be a pickup truck because, as a home owner, I often need to do minor hauling. The truck I have in mind is something like a late 90s Ranger or Tacoma; but, I don't want to buy a 25 year-old vehicle. Unfortunately, the modern alternatives are all so huge (and expensive) that it puts me off the idea almost entirely.

Tiktaalik 4y ago

The Tacoma and Ranger have ballooned in size though. They have many of the same core problems as the full size trucks.

neogodless 4y ago

The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado is 4,900 lbs and larger than the 2018 Silverado (work truck/regular cab) in every dimension except width (it's about 6" more narrow.) (The Tacoma and Ranger will get new designs for 2024, and likely catch up on size!)

hindsightbias 4y ago

It's 99% excess. Most cars are good enough for 95% urban cowboy "truck" stuff. Can't fit a sheet of plywood flat in a taco or ranger and they get maybe 17 mpg. Even in TX, the parking lots are filled with tacos that have pristine, empty beds and off-road tires that have never seen a gravel/dirt road or back-country. Farm kids would have beaten me up if I'd showed up to school with a shiny taco like that and a big belt buckle.

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
> Can't fit a sheet of plywood flat Reminds me to note that the Honda Civic hatchback from the late 1980s could in fact fit 4'x8' sheet goods in the back quite easily (it also got > 40mpg)
- twblalock 4y ago
  That's absolute nonsense. I would believe you could get a 4-foot-wide item in a Civic. There is no way on earth you could get a 4x8 sheet inside one of those cars. Also, if you got t-boned by a Tahoe they would need to identify your body with dental records. Those things were basically street-legal go karts.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
    Sorry, i didn't mean it fit 100% inside. I meant that hatchback was, then unlike today, wide enough to slide it inside, and you could get enough of material inside to safely drive it home with the hatch tied down. Today, this is no longer true of any "small car".
rybosworld 4y ago
You would need an 8.1 ft bed to fit a sheet of plywood. Most trucks don't have that. Plywood isn't usually laid flat in a closed bed for that reason. It's either: 1. Hoisted onto a roof rack (I do not recommend this but I've seen people do it) 2. Lays flat with the tail gate open and overhangs the bed. Secured by ratchet straps. 3. Lays on top of the tail gate and overhangs it a bit. Also secured by ratchet straps. I guess my point is that plywood isn't an issue for mid-size trucks anymore than it is for full size trucks. Heck, one of the selling points of the cybertruck is that you will be able to lay a full sheet of plywood with the tailgate up. It's only a selling point because it's an uncommon feature: https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/e60oxq/tesla_cybertruck_to_fit_full_4x8_plywood_sheet/ https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/e60oxq/tesla_c...

bcrescimanno 4y ago

Per the article, the size of "mid-size" trucks today is about the same as full-size trucks were in the 1990s. When the pandemic began and I started working from home, I gave up my car because it just didn't make sense to have two and I've continued to work from home and we've continued with only one car. I've decided that I want my next vehicle to be a pickup truck because, as a home owner, I often need to do minor hauling. The truck I have in mind is something like a late 90s Ranger or Tacoma; but, I don't want to buy a 25 year-old vehicle. Unfortunately, the modern alternatives are all so huge (and expensive) that it puts me off the idea almost entirely.