3 ms·

You know what else? I've been toying with the idea of getting a pickup truck because I often go to home improvement stores and do other light transport of commo

You know what else? I've been toying with the idea of getting a pickup truck because I often go to home improvement stores and do other light transport of common construction materials. I've been doing this with a hatchback Focus for ages now and it's been working OK, but I keep thinking all these pickup truck owners must know something I don't. Then I realized you can't fit an 8' 2x4 into an average pickup truck bed, where it fits perfectly fine into my Focus. WTF?

acdha 3y ago
Also Home Depot will rent a truck which is actually usable for roughly $20/hour, which just for the difference in fuel prices or insurance versus your Focus you could probably do almost weekly.
engineer_22 3y ago
I have a sedan but also need to move things around. I bought a 1,700 lb trailer at harbor freight for around $500 and a tow hitch, and now I can do almost as much as someone with a pickup. Bonus, I get great gas mileage when not towing a load and auto parts on this vehicle are inexpensive. I've moved my motorcycle, industrial embroidery machine, lumber, tools, etc. all very comfortably. It might be nice to have more payload, but right now I dont need it, and very few people do.
reaperman 3y ago
Pickup bed sizes are egregiously small nowadays. Trailers are amazing if you have storage space for them. However, most non-pickups (SUV’s etc) max out at towing 1,500 lbs and most sedans rather less. I know europeans get away with much higher towing ratings on their sedans than American equivalents. I never could figure out if this was conspiracy in underrating American sedans to force sales of pickups, slight engineering upgrades specific to EU markets, or the fact that you just drive slower in Europe so there’s less stress on components allowing greater trailer weight.
cityofdelusion 3y ago
You don’t need an 8ft bed to haul 8ft material. I have a small truck with a 4.5ft bed and I move 12 ft boards and 4x8 sheet just fine.
- foobarian 3y ago
  I realize people just lean things against the gate or leave the gate open, but I figure if I'm going to pony up mid 5 figures for a PICKUP truck things I pick up should at the very least fit no worse than in a little hatchback. :-)
dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago
Short of having a large family or having to haul very heavy things, hatchbacks are ridiculously practical cars for most purposes. And they tend to be the cheapest to buy and run too. I've never owned a car that is not a hatchback of some sort. The fact that Americans seem to have rejected them wholesale boggles the mind. Probably has to do with the "more is better" mind disease.
- warrenm 3y ago
  >Short of having a large family or having to haul very heavy things, hatchbacks are ridiculously practical cars for most purposes Or being over ab out 5'8" Or being over about 40y old Or any of a host of other factors
  - dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago
    I'm 6'1" 350lbs and 56 and have no problems using my tiny 2016 Kia Rio. People can make whatever choices suit their desires and circumstances, but most people shouldn't pretend huge SUVs and trucks are a necessity.

acdha 3y ago

Also Home Depot will rent a truck which is actually usable for roughly $20/hour, which just for the difference in fuel prices or insurance versus your Focus you could probably do almost weekly.

engineer_22 3y ago

I have a sedan but also need to move things around. I bought a 1,700 lb trailer at harbor freight for around $500 and a tow hitch, and now I can do almost as much as someone with a pickup. Bonus, I get great gas mileage when not towing a load and auto parts on this vehicle are inexpensive. I've moved my motorcycle, industrial embroidery machine, lumber, tools, etc. all very comfortably. It might be nice to have more payload, but right now I dont need it, and very few people do.

reaperman 3y ago

Pickup bed sizes are egregiously small nowadays. Trailers are amazing if you have storage space for them. However, most non-pickups (SUV’s etc) max out at towing 1,500 lbs and most sedans rather less. I know europeans get away with much higher towing ratings on their sedans than American equivalents. I never could figure out if this was conspiracy in underrating American sedans to force sales of pickups, slight engineering upgrades specific to EU markets, or the fact that you just drive slower in Europe so there’s less stress on components allowing greater trailer weight.

cityofdelusion 3y ago

You don’t need an 8ft bed to haul 8ft material. I have a small truck with a 4.5ft bed and I move 12 ft boards and 4x8 sheet just fine.

foobarian 3y ago
I realize people just lean things against the gate or leave the gate open, but I figure if I'm going to pony up mid 5 figures for a PICKUP truck things I pick up should at the very least fit no worse than in a little hatchback. :-)

dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago

Short of having a large family or having to haul very heavy things, hatchbacks are ridiculously practical cars for most purposes. And they tend to be the cheapest to buy and run too. I've never owned a car that is not a hatchback of some sort. The fact that Americans seem to have rejected them wholesale boggles the mind. Probably has to do with the "more is better" mind disease.

warrenm 3y ago
>Short of having a large family or having to haul very heavy things, hatchbacks are ridiculously practical cars for most purposes Or being over ab out 5'8" Or being over about 40y old Or any of a host of other factors
- dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago
  I'm 6'1" 350lbs and 56 and have no problems using my tiny 2016 Kia Rio. People can make whatever choices suit their desires and circumstances, but most people shouldn't pretend huge SUVs and trucks are a necessity.