4 ms·

> It is a known fact that the vast majority of truck owners rarely ever use the truck bed. Just want to point out that big pickups are really about the hauling

> It is a known fact that the vast majority of truck owners rarely ever use the truck bed. Just want to point out that big pickups are really about the hauling capacity, it's not like their beds are much bigger than a modern Ford Ranger. An F250 can safely pull 10 tons, and a dually F450 can pull 20t. Usually you aren't towing...but when you need to haul nontrivial loads you need a big truck.

troupo 1y ago
> Usually you aren't towing...but when you need to haul nontrivial loads you need a big truck. That you can probably rent. "I may need to haul a non-trivial load once 10 years from now" is hardly a justification for buying one
- bluGill 1y ago
  you probably cannot re&t such a truck. Home depot and all rental cars places have a no towing clause in the contract. Uhaul only tows the own trailer by concract. the few rent for towing places are rare, and charge high fees such that it is cheaper to own your own truck.
  - troupo 1y ago
    Searching "rent a truck to tow": - Enterprise https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckrental/en_US/towing.html https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckrental/en_US/towing.ht... - U-Haul https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/Pickup-Truck/ https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/Pickup-Truck/ I'm sure there are plenty more + services for towing.
    - bluGill 1y ago
      Most enterprise locations are no towing. Most uhaul trucks are the same despite that webpage. When hou find otn that can tow the costs are so high that it is almost always cheaper to own a truck you drive empty 95% of the time. You have to run your own numbers but everytime I run them for me I can't justify a car and renting a truck when I need one. (I mostly ride my bike)
      - ricardobeat 1y ago
        That might be a side effect of everyone owning a pickup, so demand is low. In the Netherlands you can easily rent a transport van or truck for €30+/day. Owning your own would never be cheaper, especially as road tax is based on vehicle weight.
Too 1y ago
What's a reasonable scenario where average citizen need to haul 10, let alone 20 tons, on such regular basis that they need to own that capability themselves? Just rent or hire help. I would imagine that to also require special driving license, even if the car technically can handle it? We are not talking about professional use here, for that, use as big of a truck as you want.
- conductr 1y ago
  Let’s cut to the chase here and flip this around. You tell people how often they need to be using the bed or towing things before you would accept their decision to buy versus rent as reasonable? I go through periods where I tow weekly for months. Then I also have periods where I may tow nothing for 6-12 months. I rented for a bit and it was a huge pain in the ass for many reasons not to mention fairly expensive, can be so expensive to make paying the high price on a truck worth it. If, as I suspect, you have never had the need to tow. Or do not live a lifestyle by trade/hobby that occasionally necessitates it, just say you can’t relate to the problems and inconveniences that renting poses and quit pretending nobody has thought of this before.
  - bluGill 1y ago
    You cannot rent a truck with a bed. Try it - nearly all rental 'trucks' have storng use restrictions such that you can't use them as a truck. even home depot trucks are for taking your purchases home and can't be used for other truck work. Even if you can use it, they often check the condition so if what you haul will scratch the bed you are out of luck. if you manage to navigate that and find a truck that will work - the cost is so high that you are money ahead owning your own truck after rediculasly few rentals.
    - SoftTalker 1y ago
      And towing anything is also forbidden. Yes there are commercial rentals but they are priced substantially more than the trucks at Home Depot or other consumer rental places.

troupo 1y ago

> Usually you aren't towing...but when you need to haul nontrivial loads you need a big truck. That you can probably rent. "I may need to haul a non-trivial load once 10 years from now" is hardly a justification for buying one

bluGill 1y ago
you probably cannot re&t such a truck. Home depot and all rental cars places have a no towing clause in the contract. Uhaul only tows the own trailer by concract. the few rent for towing places are rare, and charge high fees such that it is cheaper to own your own truck.
- troupo 1y ago
  Searching "rent a truck to tow": - Enterprise https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckrental/en_US/towing.html https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckrental/en_US/towing.ht... - U-Haul https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/Pickup-Truck/ https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/Pickup-Truck/ I'm sure there are plenty more + services for towing.
  - bluGill 1y ago
    Most enterprise locations are no towing. Most uhaul trucks are the same despite that webpage. When hou find otn that can tow the costs are so high that it is almost always cheaper to own a truck you drive empty 95% of the time. You have to run your own numbers but everytime I run them for me I can't justify a car and renting a truck when I need one. (I mostly ride my bike)
    - ricardobeat 1y ago
      That might be a side effect of everyone owning a pickup, so demand is low. In the Netherlands you can easily rent a transport van or truck for €30+/day. Owning your own would never be cheaper, especially as road tax is based on vehicle weight.

Too 1y ago

What's a reasonable scenario where average citizen need to haul 10, let alone 20 tons, on such regular basis that they need to own that capability themselves? Just rent or hire help. I would imagine that to also require special driving license, even if the car technically can handle it? We are not talking about professional use here, for that, use as big of a truck as you want.

conductr 1y ago
Let’s cut to the chase here and flip this around. You tell people how often they need to be using the bed or towing things before you would accept their decision to buy versus rent as reasonable? I go through periods where I tow weekly for months. Then I also have periods where I may tow nothing for 6-12 months. I rented for a bit and it was a huge pain in the ass for many reasons not to mention fairly expensive, can be so expensive to make paying the high price on a truck worth it. If, as I suspect, you have never had the need to tow. Or do not live a lifestyle by trade/hobby that occasionally necessitates it, just say you can’t relate to the problems and inconveniences that renting poses and quit pretending nobody has thought of this before.
- bluGill 1y ago
  You cannot rent a truck with a bed. Try it - nearly all rental 'trucks' have storng use restrictions such that you can't use them as a truck. even home depot trucks are for taking your purchases home and can't be used for other truck work. Even if you can use it, they often check the condition so if what you haul will scratch the bed you are out of luck. if you manage to navigate that and find a truck that will work - the cost is so high that you are money ahead owning your own truck after rediculasly few rentals.
  - SoftTalker 1y ago
    And towing anything is also forbidden. Yes there are commercial rentals but they are priced substantially more than the trucks at Home Depot or other consumer rental places.