I have a Ford F-150 (14 gen) and the front is so huge I need to step on the front grill guard to reach anything inside the engine compartment. It is all around an unreasonably sized vehicle. My excuse is that (a) I do use it for home improvement stuff and for hauling stuff around and (b) I work from home so no commute. But for most people who do not work construction this is an insane daily driver.

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Aaargh20318 a day ago | parent [-]

> I do use it for home improvement stuff and for hauling stuff around

I don’t understand this argument, as they seem incredibly impractical for that. There is very little space for ‘stuff’, there is only the uncovered bed which is relatively small. The bed is also at an awkward height so very impractical to get stuff in or out. Since the bed is open, you always have to take all your ‘stuff’ out, you can’t leave tools in there or anything of value or it will get stolen. If you put a hard cover on. it leaves even less space. And since a large part of the vehicle has no roof you cannot have a roof rack.

You do not see these used by people in construction or other trades here in Europe. They use vans. An (extended) van has an ungodly amount of lockable storage space, easily accessible with side and back doors, with a floor at a reasonable height and if that isn’t enough you with a roof rack you can strap a lot to the roof as well.

I really don’t see how something like an F-150 is more practical for ‘hauling stuff’ than something like a Mercedes Sprinter.

I did look up some numbers (used the most capable configuration I could find for each of the vehicles):

Max bed length for an F-150: 247cm Max cargo space length for a Sprinter: 481cm

Bed/cargo width: F-150: 126cm, Sprinter 178cm Bed/cargo height: F-150: 54cm, Sprinter: 200cm

Max. payload capacity: F-150 : 1106kg, Sprinter 1477kg for the extra-long version, 2447kg for the long version.

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IgorPartola 19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Have you ever loaded drywall into a van? It is not fun. A truck bed is sized to load it perfectly. Strapping down lumber is also simpler. Lastly with nothing above the truck bed you can carry much taller things than in a van.

It isn’t the only way but yes a truck is very practical. That’s why they are used so much in the US. The difference between the US and the EU isn’t just arbitrary either. In the US gas (sorry, petrol) is a lot cheaper, roads are bigger, wider, longer, and sometimes you need to tow a large trailer. I tower a 3 ton excavator with my truck to build my home office.

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prmoustache 17 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I find it crazy that people would buy ton of stupid stuff from amazon, aliexpress or Shein but would not check the delivery option for stuff that is actually annoying to carry around yourself.

People who need a pickup bed for work usually buy those that come with the chassis of a commercial VAN which have a much bigger bed than you'd ever dream of on a Ford F series.

The rest are simply getting delivered or using trailers, either rented when used sporadically or bought. A trailer is usually at a more decent height and you don't have to carry the weight and have to manage a huge vehicle when you actually don't need all the space.

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IgorPartola 14 hours ago | parent [-]

I totally agree with the trailer concept. But you also need to pull it. And in case you have not done a lot of construction work, understand that while delivering materials is free, returning excess materials is not an option outside of carrying it back yourself.

Basically I can tell you that yes there are a lot of advantages. Another thing is carrying things like fill or gravel. Good luck with a van on that one. And while delivery is an option it depends on how accessible the area where you want it delivered is.

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prmoustache 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Around here you typically rent an ampliroll dumpster delivered by a hooklift truck that will get it back and take care of disposing the stuff back later.

	▲	IgorPartola an hour ago \| parent [-]
		And if a large truck can’t get to where you need the stuff delivered due to terrain? Or it won’t deliver on a schedule convenient to you? Look you are trying to convince me that there are no upsides to using a picking where I live based on how things work where you live. I am telling you from personal experience that there is tangible utility to it and you are telling me from no experience that there cannot possibly be utility to it since where you live things are done differently, discounting any notion of specifics of either place. Do you see why this is absurd?

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blackguardx 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Loading drywall into my minivan is a lot easier than a truck. I can fit whole sheets and close the back gate so I don't need to strap them down and they are protected from the elements.

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IgorPartola 14 hours ago | parent [-]

How about gravel? Fill? A yard of mulch? Manure? Construction debris?

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LeChuck 9 hours ago | parent [-]

Indeed. When is was remodeling my house, I bought an old van for €2000,- (the successor to the C15, actually) *

I had no compunction to fill it with debris, earth, sand etc. but that’s not something your European tradesman does. He uses a separate trailer.

* https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/2005_Cit...

	▲	IgorPartola an hour ago \| parent [-]
		OK but I do not live in Europe (though I am originally from there). You are trying to convince me that there is no possible utility that a pickup truck can have where I live, despite you having no experience with it. I am telling you from personal experience that it does have utility while also having had experience with using cars, vans, trailers, and delivery services. What makes you so convinced that your lack of experience makes you correct and my years of experience makes me incorrect?

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bluedino a day ago | parent | prev [-]

You can fit a full size dresser in the rear sat compartment in the crew cab models (the most popular model)