We have a truck, but it's not a main commuting car.

To the poster that said a truck is not a good first car for a teenager--I agree with this. I drove it around recently in the icy/sleet days we had and yes, the back slides around, and you have to give yourself more stopping time (I only have about 20k miles on my truck and it has new tires).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to have a pickup. I'd use it for lawn/garden work (like when buying mulch) and for trip to the dump and recycling center. I'd also use it bringing home large purchases. We have an SUV but the garden stuff can get it dirty. But, if I had a pick up, I'd probably only use it about half-a-dozen times a year for those tasks -if I bought one solely for those purpose. I've considered a king-cab type truck as a replacement to my car so I could still transport the kids. But those trucks seem so huge. When our oldest turns 16, I might like him to get a small truck, so I can borrow it and so he isn't driving a carload of his friends around.

Just an fyi, pickups are notoriously more difficult to handle in the snow and bad weather. My parents would also weigh down the back of their pickup truck during the winter, so that the backend wouldn't slide around so much. Maybe not as much of a big deal around here, since we don't get a lot of snow, but still something to think about with a newbie driver.

I had a small pickup for my first car. It does teach you a LOT about how to handle a car on slick roads. I would also throw sandbags in the bed all winter long, or shovel the driveway snow into the bed.

Back in my day, we solved the "carload of friends" problem by simply loading everyone into the bed. Thankfully, today's teens won't get away with that.

To answer the OP: we use ours now for picking up home improvement supplies or gardening supplies, getting a load of mulch or firewood, picking up a Christmas tree, carrying camping supplies, carrying bikes around. Plenty of these could be done with an SUV or other larger enclosed car, but we went with one pickup and one sedan for our family cars.

2010 Tacoma Double Cab for landscaping projects, home improvement, furniture (antiquing) and for towing the husband's sports car and an occasionally parade float...

We have an older small pick up that DW uses when she does home projects ( gay couple) Righy now it is filled with boxes from the new floor she just put in our house and an old desk and we got a new one. Will be going to the dump shortly.
She also does side jobs for friends so uses her truck for that too.
Her main car is a Ford 4D that she uses to get to work and back and drive DD when she has her. Then I have a Pilot that I use for work , transporting dogs and we use as family car when all together.

We'd love an F-150 but they're pricey and they don't fit in the garage. We have a sedan that we use to pull our trailer (trailer folds in half and fits in the garage in front of the sedan. We use that trailer at least 100x a year. It is SO useful! Craigslist hauling, lumber and dry wall for home improvement projects, helping friends move, you name it. We cut down trees in the front yard and just take them to the dump (there's a mulching section) instead of paying for removal. We get mulch and soil in the spring when we're gardening. DH dreams about his F-150. His dad's is so nice with a leather interior and a full sunroof. You wouldn't know you're in a truck.

Anonymous wrote:I would love to have a pickup. I'd use it for lawn/garden work (like when buying mulch) and for trip to the dump and recycling center. I'd also use it bringing home large purchases. We have an SUV but the garden stuff can get it dirty. But, if I had a pick up, I'd probably only use it about half-a-dozen times a year for those tasks -if I bought one solely for those purpose. I've considered a king-cab type truck as a replacement to my car so I could still transport the kids. But those trucks seem so huge. When our oldest turns 16, I might like him to get a small truck, so I can borrow it and so he isn't driving a carload of his friends around.

Just an fyi, pickups are notoriously more difficult to handle in the snow and bad weather. My parents would also weigh down the back of their pickup truck during the winter, so that the backend wouldn't slide around so much. Maybe not as much of a big deal around here, since we don't get a lot of snow, but still something to think about with a newbie driver.

I have my old 2001 Ranger and just can't part with it. It was the first vehicle I bought entirely with my own money. the insurance is minimal and it's trade in value is next to nothing, so we've kept it. It's amazing all the uses you find--we never have to worry about delivery when buying anything major like a new appliance or a trip to IKEA. As PPs have mentioned, Christmas trees, Costco, trips to the dump/recycling center, even lending it out to friends. I love it so much.

DH drives an old Jeep (his own "I bought it myself" nostalgia) but I would like to eventually say goodbye to the Ranger and the Jeep and get an F150 with a full back seat, so the kids can ride in it. Aaaaaand, we also have a minivan.

We use it for everything. Buying furniture off of CL, bringing home stuff from HD, filling it bikes/beach chairs, camping, mulch, wood.

I can't imagine not having it.

I have an old 4WD Subaru that I use for hauling: trips to Costco, home improvement projects, hauling firewood, hauling stuff to the dump, buying used stuff off Craigslist, hauling furniture for friends, going up the mountain to go snowboarding, etc.

I'd LOVE a pick-up truck, but DW insisted on an enclosed vehicle. C'est la vie. We live in NW DC.

I would love to have a pickup. I'd use it for lawn/garden work (like when buying mulch) and for trip to the dump and recycling center. I'd also use it bringing home large purchases. We have an SUV but the garden stuff can get it dirty. But, if I had a pick up, I'd probably only use it about half-a-dozen times a year for those tasks -if I bought one solely for those purpose. I've considered a king-cab type truck as a replacement to my car so I could still transport the kids. But those trucks seem so huge. When our oldest turns 16, I might like him to get a small truck, so I can borrow it and so he isn't driving a carload of his friends around.

For camping equipment, bikes, and hauling furniture to be refinished.

Our RV.

I'll be watching this thread with interest. We are seriously considering buying an F150 to replace my husband's SUV. Our friends have an F150 and riding in it is just as comfortable as our SUV. My husband would use it for daily use; he also builds furniture, so really needs something large for deliveries.

I have a very old small pickup. I use it for home projects, throw the Christmas tree in the back(live in nw and get a 10% pickup discount from the guy selling trees lol), haul the kayaks, landscaping stuff, etc. My wife likes driving it to pick the kid up from a big name private school(it’s really beat up).

The funny thing is how many offer to buy the thing we get.

Curious to know if you mainly use the truck for home projects, etc.... Do you regret buying?