> wtf is even the point of a "truck" with a 4.5 foot bed? I mostly agree, but I've also come around to the short bed compromise. A truck basically gives you t

> wtf is even the point of a "truck" with a 4.5 foot bed? I mostly agree, but I've also come around to the short bed compromise. A truck basically gives you three things: towing, hauling, and off-road. A short bed definitely compromises the ability of a truck to haul, particularly if you need to move a lot of 4x8 sheets or couches. But you can still haul quite a bit, and you can haul it to the middle of a field. Throw on a roof rack and you can carry 16' dimensional lumber and pipes like any other truck. Fill it up with dirt and gravel and you'll hit the bed's weight limit by the time it's full. And if you need to haul anything bigger, you just hook up a trailer. It will be easier to load and unload anyway. On the other end of things, when you have small children, not being able to take them with you when you run an errand in the truck is a much bigger limiter. I would prefer a truck with a cab-forward design to allow for two rows of seating and an 8-foot bed while still being able to parallel park, but if I were to buy a truck tomorrow I'd strongly consider a 4.5 bed because the tradeoffs are there.