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I'm probably one of the few people in this thread who are actually truck shopping right now The ranger is a great option for most people but one of my capabili
by jeron 9mo ago
I'm probably one of the few people in this thread who are actually truck shopping right now
The ranger is a great option for most people but one of my capabilities for the truck is to bring my bike to motorcycle track days. Usually I'd only take a single motorcycle, however track days are more fun with friends. to fit two motorcycles in the back of the Ranger, you need to adjust the angle of the handlebars awkwardly to fit both on the bed.[0]
that leaves only the bigger 1500 class trucks as options for me, and why I'm going with an F150
[0]:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmegARwXN7Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmegARwXN7Q
- k4rli 9mo agoTrailers do exist and there is no good reason to drive a commercial vehicle every day for simple trips. It is also less expensive to use a trailer.
- acheron 9mo agoYes, I’m sure that guy made the comment so he could get advice from HN’s top minds about how he doesn’t actually know what his requirements are.
- dpark 9mo agoClearly he made the comment to justify to strangers on the internet why he needs to buy a bigger truck. Truly the need to “adjust the angle of the handlebars awkwardly” is a great burden.
- 4gotunameagain 9mo agoIt is fine if one of your key requirements is to compensate for something ;) Fellow motorbike trailer owner here.
- c22 9mo agoThis is a great solution. I have a small utility trailer I use to move my dirtbike (and lots of other stuff!) I tow it with a CR-V. Since I don't need the hauling capacity every day, or even every week, it's great to leave the trailer at home and park in more places.
- kristianp 9mo agoI'm interested in a trailer, but the space they take up while not being used (which is most of the time) is a big negative.
- kube-system 9mo agoThere are some pretty slick folding trailers out there. They save a little bit of space
- hn8726 9mo ago> to fit two motorcycles in the back of the Ranger, you need to adjust the angle of the handlebars awkwardly to fit both on the bed. can't you position one bike facing forward and one facing back, so the handlebars don't collide? Either way, going with an absurdly big and dangerous car to avoid _awkwardly positioning_ some cargo is pretty American thing to do
- loeg 9mo agoIt's much easier to load motorcycles pointing forwards, just because you have to get them up a ramp into the bed. In the forward direction, you can use their engine to get up the hill.
- overfeed 9mo agoIt does checkout that people buy bro-dozers to avoid being slightly inconvenienced. Sucke for everyone else who unfortunately have to deal with their rearview mirrors perfectly line up with those headlight beams, unless they also buy a 'dozer.
- jeron 9mo agoLook, my other car is a 1993 Mazda Miata. I know how much it sucks to be the small car in the sea of brodozers I’m buying a used work truck. It’s a pretty far cry from the “brodozer” you imagine
- loeg 9mo agoI'm understating it, maybe. I don't think it would be practical to load a motorcycle backwards. If your requirement is "two bikes fit in the bed", they both need to be facing forward.
- b40d-48b2-979e 9mo agoOr, hear me out, just get a trailer which is what I do to tow my motorcycle with a sedan.
- tabiv 9mo agoI prefer small trailers for this but if you don't have the space for a trailer, F150 it is.
- jijijijij 9mo agoYou can probably fit a normal sized car and trailer in the space of an F150. Stupid argument. Or, you know, rent a trailer. It's utterly idiotic to carry around the weight and size of the F150 when you don't need the loading space. I hope American gas prices adjust to reality and people start considering efficiency, cause this mentality is not sustainable and hurts everyone on the planet.
- kstrauser 9mo agoSo, the normal size truck actually carries the things you want to transport, if you move their handlebars. You’d pay an extra $7000 because… you don’t like to pack?
- big_toast 9mo agoIsn't that generally the case, convenience? 20% to 50% extra in price to handle edge cases and unknown unknowns seems pretty cheap. That's like, $100/month to $200/month for a lot of extra flexibility in the US. As someone unsympathetic to big vehicles in urban areas, and probably most suburban areas, the challenge as always is figuring out how to re-internalize externalized costs. Or I guess reduce externalized costs. (Additional safety features? Increased road wear tax? Vehicle size class limitations on certain roads or lots?)
- jeron 9mo agoBuying secondhand, the F150 is actually cheaper. I neglected to mention this but there’s a lot more used F150s than Rangers on the market
- kstrauser 9mo agoAh, I could see that point.
- idiotsecant 9mo agoThis is dumb, I've lost count of how many times I've hauled multiple motorcycles somewhere and you know how I do it? A trailer. It's easier and safer to load and unload, which is why almost everyone else does that as well. If you want an 'image' purchase just own up to it. Your post hoc justifications don't really hold water.
- beezle 9mo agoDon't know why you are down voted. People just assume that you have a place to store a trailer (and truck and motorcycle). As to your choice of the Ford,as a rural late model (2018) F-150 owner, I'd encourage you to consider something else. A used Tundra V8 or one of the GMC/Chevy's. My mechanic is thumbs down on the Rams longer term. I've had nothing but stupidity with this F-150 and all I do is personal plowing and a few loads of gravel or dirt each year. Granted, my steep dirt road can be very rough in mud season. But I've now spent about 8K in non-maintenance repairs. I say this as a past owner of multiple mustangs and rangers - I'm done with Ford.
- jeron 9mo agoI’ve done my research pretty thoroughly, I found a 2022 with the 3rd gen 3.5 eco boost, so the cam phasers are fixed. The only thing I have to look out for is the 10R80 10 speed. During the test drive the shifts were smooth and minimal gear hunting so hopefully it’s alright
- prmoustache 9mo agoYou usually don't buy a vehicle that doesn't fit on a regular parking space when you don't have place to store a trailer. Funny how some people go stupid justification after stupid justification for what is just an impractical for anything vanity product.
- beezle 9mo agoRegualar US parking spots are 18-20 feet deep (depending angle) and 9 feet wide. A F-150 supercrew w/ standard 6.5 foot bed is 20.25 feet which is about as long an f-150 you can buy. The shortest is about 17.5 feet.
- IgorPartola 9mo agoGet a trailer. Way more flexibility that way and easier loading/unloading.
- loeg 9mo agoA lot of commenters saying you "need" a trailer (instead of an F150), but another option would be one bike in the bed and the second bike (if needed) on a hitch-mounted rack. A hitch rack takes less space to store when you're not using it than a full trailer. It would probably be more annoying to load and unload than just putting two bikes in the bed. Anyway, if you want an F150, get it -- I don't really care.
- joshu 9mo agoSimilarly I have been thinking about a van so I can sleep in air conditioning between track day sessions and/or races. I also want to be able to bring materials to my workshop. Not sure what I will do, yet.