Nah I'm keeping it. I don't do everything for need. I like using the bed.
Discussion
If you have a 1/4 ton pickup like an S10 or Ranger or whatever, that's fine they have their use case. If you have a full size 3/4 ton or bigger, get rid of it. 1/2 ton stuff is a gray area. Most people own them to get groceries and a few bags of mulch in the spring. So that's what their built for and targeted at, so they have Cadillac features with a tiny box on the back.
I wouldn't say my low trim 13 Frontier has any Cadillac features. Lol I'm keeping that fucker until it turns to dust. Love that truck. Unfortunately, it's considered small by modern standards.
Nah those little guys are fine they're smaller than most modern SUVs. I've been looking for a little single cab to daily, while still being able to throw a set of wheels or whatever in the bed. They're hard to find and spendy.
My wife and I were just talking about this. I got her a RAV4 (not even the older smaller ones either) and she was concerned it would be too small for her one ass to get to work and occasionally pick up groceries. Then she saw the Highlander she thought might be a better option and told me I was right. She had no clue just how big they actually were in real life (she'd been screen surfing). I told I wouldn't even want bigger than a 4runner and even that would be more than I'd almost ever actually use (although this may be changing in the coming years). At that point I'm happier in the smaller truck I already have. Modern vehicles are way too fucking big. And I won't even go into the many old men who can barely walk having these gigantic luxury trucks (remember when people laughed at that idea?) they can barely steer or get into.
Yup. They're huge man. My pickup has a 6" lift (I didn't install it, and I'm too cheap to remove it XD) and It's still lower than a 2023 all factory. Newer suburbans and Escalade are bigger than Excursions used to be. There's nothing luxury about my 99 XTL. Might as well drive with the windows down everywhere XD
Yeah and it really kills me when I hear those people at work talking about gas mileage. Like you bought a fucking tank dude. And then they use these smaller engines with a turbo slapped on it and people wonder why it's all going to shit. Values and actions are totally misaligned in this space.
What most of these people *actually* want is something like a RAV4 at the largest. Even the older RAVs were plenty of space for daily driving. I had a 99 Rodeo before the truck and I would still have it had I not been a young dumb fuck at the time I broke it 😂
Yup. This is a long discussion, for a lot of reasons. Mostly regulation again. On the topic of you don't need it, it's true. But when you do need it it sucks not to have it. I mean I guess I'm that guy for my friends who don't have a truck XD
It's nice being able to pull a 38' 12klb camper without feeling it behind you.
I remember working at a thrift store at 18 and a dude bitching us out to not scratch the bed LINER in his full size luxury truck as we loaded in a used sofa.
Those mother fuckers are the types we can all unite to make fun of.
Now that I'm older, I figure he was probably a broke ass truck poor bitch buying a sofa at Goodwill. At least that thought gives me a chuckle
It's takes a pretty sizeable dent for me to even notice 😂
I only care about the long term stuff like rust. Inside the bed, as long as it's hanging on idgaf. It's a tool.
Yeah rust where I live is the major concern. Everything else is meh
Yup. I have to rust treat everything twice a year to keep the thing from turning into red dust.
What are you using?
Well I tried to do a frame on wire wheel and POR treatment, but I only got the outside of the frame done while I was still in school. I gave up on that dream and switched to Fluid Film. I hate the mess it makes but it really does keep stuff together with constraints that most consumers have.
Beyond that I always keep an oil can topped up with 1/2 engine oil and 1/2 ATF and lube joints, and anything that looks like it can hold junk or moisture - pinch welds, drain ports, cab corners, folds that kind of stuff. Sandwich metal like the gooseneck hitch and airbag mounts.
Yeah, sounds like we live in similar regions lol The southern US states are far easier on vehicles in this sense. Sun and heat damage there, but a lot less destructive on the actual safety and function long term. Just looks bad after a long time but who gives a fuck
But I don't tow. I may fill the bed, but that's always done it for me. I'm considering a very small tow camper but that's the extent of my towing needs right now. It's a small truck anyway. V6 but not exactly towing a lot of weight