4 ms·

In 20 years of non-truck car ownership, I've never had to rent a truck. I could always just buy a service that e.g. delivers my large goods from the store to my

by badpun 2y ago

In 20 years of non-truck car ownership, I've never had to rent a truck. I could always just buy a service that e.g. delivers my large goods from the store to my door, or move all my things and furniture when moving apartments etc. What are the use cases when actually driving the truck myself is necessary?

trimethylpurine 2y ago
Your shelter, goods, and services are provided by truck owners. The roof you sleep under, the walls you take comfort in. If you take a moment to reflect, you'll quickly realize that your seemingly truck independent existence is little more than a thin, single layer of obfuscation from a societal framework that affords you such pretenses. You don't need to own a truck because at least 20 other people do, and I think that's your point. You'll rely on them. But think about that point for a second. It's not saying what you think it's saying.
- badpun 2y ago
  I also don't need to own a backhoe, every time I want to dig a hole I just rent a guy with one. It's very similar to trucks and yet nobody owns personal backhoes, but plenty of people own their personal trucks. It's a waste of resources.
  - bluGill 2y ago
    I know a number of people with personal backhoes. They all have a fair amount of land. It doesn't take long to pay off a personal backhoe if you use them. Though most people don't have nearly enough need for large holes to make it worth it.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
      /me raises hand as someone seriously considering it.
- vel0city 2y ago
  What are you trying to say with this? That everyone should bother to daily drive a semi-truck and a Panamax-sized shipping vessel to live in solidarity with those who drive trucks and operate giant ships for a living? That truck drivers are the new deietys we should bow down to for every bite of food we eat? What exactly is your point?
  - trimethylpurine 2y ago
    That in totality, one guy driving an electric car might have a bigger footprint than a gas guzzling pickup owner, so we should focus on the bigger picture when we compare the size our virtue with one another.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
      I'm worried that I might run out of upvotes to give you ever since that "can't we all just get along" comment :-)
bluGill 2y ago
There are always alternatives. The question is are they worth the hassle and cost. If you have a truck it is there and ready anytime you want to use it. I've spent half a day trying to find a place to rent something. I've reserved something for rental and when I went to pick it up the last person hadn't returned it and I was stuck without. Rental trucks are expensive and have per mile charges (and you still have to return it full of gas) Of course everyone has a different life. Who are you to judge the life of others?
- vel0city 2y ago
  > Who are you to judge the life of others? I'll be judgy when their excessive life choices make my family less safe, excessively poison our water and air, and ruin our city designs catering to their excess.
- happosai 2y ago
  Your grandchildren will judge you for cooking the planet "because it would have been too inconvenient to drive an economic car"
steveBK123 2y ago
I think a lot of people are conflating "bigger cars / SUVs over Prius" with "hey you don't need a Ford F-150". I agree I don't need an F-150 (so I don't own one), and 75% of F-150 buyers don't either. There is drastically different cargo space in a midsize (not even 3 row) SUV than a sedan. Even a hatchback is drastically different cargo capacity. Some of it is you don't know what you need until you need it. With my non-hatch sedan I had all sorts of problems bringing home even moderately sized normal purchases. I'd have to unpack products to fit them into the car and/or wedge into the backseat with sales rep assistance. Lamps, mini fridges, large home air filters, plants from the garden center, wood/drywall from the hardware store that I'd need pre-cut down just to fit in care. Some of these purchases were emergency backup mini fridges when my home fridge died & replacement would take a week. Or $10 of wood/drywall to DIY repairs instead of $100s of a contractor. Or paying 5x the price of the materials for home delivery. Likewise for plants vs paying a landscaper. Just pretty frequent stupid stuff that a tall SUV trunk with a large hatch opening solved. Even a midsize hatchback would do the trick.
- badpun 2y ago
  I own a Civic-sized sedan and don't have any complaints. In part that may be because I live in a condo in Europe - I barely need to do any home repairs or maintenance (it's all done by the co-op), the condo is not spacious enought to fill it with various large-sized crap so I hardly buy it, I don't have a garden so I don't buy large plants or gardening equipment etc. I agree though that, for a typical Americans suburban lifestyle, a SUV could be more practical than a sedan.

by badpun 2y ago

trimethylpurine 2y ago

Your shelter, goods, and services are provided by truck owners. The roof you sleep under, the walls you take comfort in. If you take a moment to reflect, you'll quickly realize that your seemingly truck independent existence is little more than a thin, single layer of obfuscation from a societal framework that affords you such pretenses. You don't need to own a truck because at least 20 other people do, and I think that's your point. You'll rely on them. But think about that point for a second. It's not saying what you think it's saying.

badpun 2y ago
I also don't need to own a backhoe, every time I want to dig a hole I just rent a guy with one. It's very similar to trucks and yet nobody owns personal backhoes, but plenty of people own their personal trucks. It's a waste of resources.
- bluGill 2y ago
  I know a number of people with personal backhoes. They all have a fair amount of land. It doesn't take long to pay off a personal backhoe if you use them. Though most people don't have nearly enough need for large holes to make it worth it.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
    /me raises hand as someone seriously considering it.
vel0city 2y ago
What are you trying to say with this? That everyone should bother to daily drive a semi-truck and a Panamax-sized shipping vessel to live in solidarity with those who drive trucks and operate giant ships for a living? That truck drivers are the new deietys we should bow down to for every bite of food we eat? What exactly is your point?
- trimethylpurine 2y ago
  That in totality, one guy driving an electric car might have a bigger footprint than a gas guzzling pickup owner, so we should focus on the bigger picture when we compare the size our virtue with one another.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
    I'm worried that I might run out of upvotes to give you ever since that "can't we all just get along" comment :-)

bluGill 2y ago

There are always alternatives. The question is are they worth the hassle and cost. If you have a truck it is there and ready anytime you want to use it. I've spent half a day trying to find a place to rent something. I've reserved something for rental and when I went to pick it up the last person hadn't returned it and I was stuck without. Rental trucks are expensive and have per mile charges (and you still have to return it full of gas) Of course everyone has a different life. Who are you to judge the life of others?

vel0city 2y ago
> Who are you to judge the life of others? I'll be judgy when their excessive life choices make my family less safe, excessively poison our water and air, and ruin our city designs catering to their excess.
happosai 2y ago
Your grandchildren will judge you for cooking the planet "because it would have been too inconvenient to drive an economic car"

steveBK123 2y ago

I think a lot of people are conflating "bigger cars / SUVs over Prius" with "hey you don't need a Ford F-150". I agree I don't need an F-150 (so I don't own one), and 75% of F-150 buyers don't either. There is drastically different cargo space in a midsize (not even 3 row) SUV than a sedan. Even a hatchback is drastically different cargo capacity. Some of it is you don't know what you need until you need it. With my non-hatch sedan I had all sorts of problems bringing home even moderately sized normal purchases. I'd have to unpack products to fit them into the car and/or wedge into the backseat with sales rep assistance. Lamps, mini fridges, large home air filters, plants from the garden center, wood/drywall from the hardware store that I'd need pre-cut down just to fit in care. Some of these purchases were emergency backup mini fridges when my home fridge died & replacement would take a week. Or $10 of wood/drywall to DIY repairs instead of $100s of a contractor. Or paying 5x the price of the materials for home delivery. Likewise for plants vs paying a landscaper. Just pretty frequent stupid stuff that a tall SUV trunk with a large hatch opening solved. Even a midsize hatchback would do the trick.

badpun 2y ago
I own a Civic-sized sedan and don't have any complaints. In part that may be because I live in a condo in Europe - I barely need to do any home repairs or maintenance (it's all done by the co-op), the condo is not spacious enought to fill it with various large-sized crap so I hardly buy it, I don't have a garden so I don't buy large plants or gardening equipment etc. I agree though that, for a typical Americans suburban lifestyle, a SUV could be more practical than a sedan.