Here's a question for all of you:

Why do you own a truck? Is it a necessity (work, towing, etc) or is a luxury - something that you could live without ? Just curious.

I have a truck because my husband has 4 kids and it's just easier to lug them and all their crap around. We also purchase alot of large items, TVs, etc, and it makes it convenient.

Jenn in MD

 

So people will think I have a bigger................. oh, that's why I bought a Harley............... oh, forget it! I think both reasons come to mind for me. Needed a truck for the occasional hauling of large sheet goods, etc. Also have always been into highly optionalized vehicles, so luxury for that part. Air conditioned vehicles were rare here in the Northeast until maybe the late 80's. Whenever I was in the car/truck market I would always check in the window for the A/C controls first. No A/C, I moved on to the next. Voila, I have a Lariat!

 

Work/towing truck here.

 

For me its a necessity. I use mine for towing. Although I guess I could use my wifes Taurus for towing but somehow I just dont think that would work out too well . I have also decided it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it

 

Do most people really "Need" a truck?
I suspect not.
Need and want are two very different things, and can easily be confused.

I know I don't "need" a truck, and could have quite easily bought a new car instead.

Occasionally in the past, I would take my wife's Windstar whenever I was taking long road trips, and I liked the roominess, and the fact it sat higher off the ground, providing a better view of the road.

Early this year, I took a trip in my friend's 98 F-150, and I fell in love with it. The first time I ever took a close look at one, I thought to myself "wow, these things are humongous"
I was impressed with the ride, and how roomy they were inside, also, I love how they look.

A few other reasons for a truck:
I'm almost 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and a cougar-like 250 pounds, it's hard to find a vehicle (for me) where I don't feel cramped in.

Driving this truck, I feel like I'm flying in business class, loads of room, and I don't feel squished in like a sardine.

I shop at Home Depot so often, that I might as well have shares in the company, this truck is the cat's a$$ for picking up home improvement materials. It's nice not having to hook up the utility trailer anymore. (I still do, but not nearly as often)

Also, we pull a small travel trailer during the summer, the Windstar went through 2 trannys (under warranty)
My new F-150 pulls it along with ease, I barely know it's on there.

I've had a few comments from my friends since buying the truck, some of them now call me "gramps", and lament how nice it is that I am "so comfortable with my middle-ageness"
(They are hot-rodders, so to them, a truck is for an old man) LOL LOL

These are most of my reasons for buying a truck, plus, it looks really cool.
I don't think I can ever go back to driving a car again.

Habibi

* I have to agree with Grunt, better to have it and not need it, than the other way around* My rational for the 4 wheel drive option.

 

Definetely a necessity for me. I drove a Mustang before the truck and couldn't keep it anymore.

1) As part of the program at my college, I have a co-op job. So, I have to move every 3 months, to and from school and my co-op job with Ford. My Parents live in NC, so they can't really help me on this one.
2)School and work are both in Michigan, where they never clear snow from the roads. Mustang+Snow=Disaster
3)I love alpine skiing. The only good time to go is when it snows. Mustang+Snow+Snow tires=Disaster(still)
4)I was always borrowing various trucks from my friends to haul stuff for whatever it was I was working on. To make it worse, they all drive GM trucks, and I didn't like being seen in them, especially the one with the big bow tie sticker on the rear window.

The Mustang couldn't do any of the above. I didn't really want to get a truck, but I had to. Now that I do own one, I love it. The cornering and maneuverability are the only things I don't like, but probably just because I drove a Mustang before. The advantages of the truck more than outweigh those two downfalls. I have noticed that my driving has calmed down, so thats probably a good thing, however I have started using the truck's size to my advantage. Plus, with the 5.4, I think its actually faster than my Mustang (only had the V6). And since all the GM guys in my fraternity have S-10s or the GMC version thereof, I'll get to make fun of them, as I have the only full size AND its a FORD! I'd better make sure to park away from them, I don't want them to scratch my rocker panels with the tops of their doors.

 

Bought a boat five years ago.
I wouldn't even considered hooking it to my little Toyota.
For a year I tried to use my wife's Windstar. I could tell this was going to cause a premature death of her vehicle. I didn't want to chance any more towing related problems so I bought way more truck than I really needed.

 

In law school a classmate of mine named Molly had a beautiful green/blue Ranger (I think the color was known as carribean blue) and all I talked about for the next ten years was getting a Ranger in the same color. With my student loans, all I could afford after school was my used Blazer. It is a two door and everyone complained about getting into it. It was handy for moving stuff around but somewhat restricting with its covered cargo area. So now I am older, a little wider, a little wiser and have the need for the four door cab and the larger truck bed.

Had Ford made a four door version of the electric Ranger, I may well have bought it instead. However, I did not know there was an electric Ranger until after I bought the Screw and I do not like the Explorer Sport Trac for any purpose.

 

I will always have a pickup. Its kinda a necessity because Im the only one in my immediate family who has a truck, so its used for hauling things around for my family plus any of my friends. I'm also a pickup kinda guy. Both of my parents are white collar kind of people but when I was only 4 I talked my dad into buying his first pickup and had him hooked! So when I got my license at the age of 16, of course I bought a pickup, then two years later I bought my F150! Whether I buy a new truck or a car as my next purchase Ill always have a truck in my posession, I cant live without one.

 

I've had a few cars and a few trucks. I found that even when I had a car, I still had to move stuff. I always hated cramming stuff into a car especially if it was a nice one.
I miss having a car. I like to zip around. You can't really "zip" in a truck.
My F150 doesn't do too much work. I try to keep it looking good. I got this particular truck because it has a V8 and a manual transmission. That is a combo that is harder to come by. Sure I could get a Mustang (and may some day) but I would feel really bad cramming things into a GT.
My girl drives a Honda Civic with a 5-speed. If I want to zip I'll drive her car. It might take a while to get to the "zipping" but it gets there eventually.
In closeing , I got this truck because of it's features, because I like the way it looks and because it was reletively cheap.

 

been driving some sort form of a pickup since 1991.

dont see how you can be a home owner and not have some sort of truck in the family (even a mini van if you were forced into it)

my truck was in the shop for about two weeks straight and i cant describe what a crappy feeling it was thinking 'we cant get it now, we dont have the truck yet'.

its not a need, people live without them just fine, but i would not want to be without mine.

i occasionally tow a boat, and i cant cound the loads of dirt/gravel/mulch that i have picked up, not to mention furniture and whatever else gets thrown back there which leads me to my next point.

how do people do this with those hard toneau covers? they look nice, but it seems like a big loss of functionality.

 

work during the week,big boy toy on the weekends. wrenching helps me relax and concentrate on other things beside the job. besides, it just pisses mama off when i buy another mod,but then i get something for her exploder(the door edge guards were a big hit fellas)

 

There's a few reasons why I have my truck. One is that I've always been a truck-guy. I've always wanted a truck - ever since I could remember I've wanted one. About once or twice a year I start talking about replaceing the truck with a car. Everyone looks at me like I've "goneloco". No one can imagine me without a truck - I guess it's just part of me.

Speaking about my truck being a part of me, the other reason I have a truck is that I'm a big fatso. At 6'5"/330#, I don't fit into normal cars. While most people test drive cars, I try them on. It's a real freakshow. With so many cars leaving me feeling clausterphopic, I'm even more glad that I'm a "Truck Guy". The only way I'll stray from owning a pick'em-up is if I get a big ole SUV.

 

for me its not necessity, but its great to have a bed to move stuff with. i also grew up around trucks(ford) my dad had a mid 80's F150 when i was a kid then he got a 90 F150 that became mine, and not i have a 00 F150. so its also all i have known. the only car was my mom when i was about 8 she had a delta 88

 

NEED IT...always hauling something around, like 4x8's, mulch, etc. Plus I tow an 18' car hauler at times.

WANT IT...I grew up driving V8 rear drivers, and the choice is limited there. I've rented so many FWD cars, that I've really grown to dislike them.