Pickup Philosophy Question

[dodge man]

To the OP, thats a tough question and it sure got a lot of answers. Its not like a tool, say a sawzall, because they only cost a couple of hundred dollars, where a truck can cost as much a 50k. I actually stopped and tried to think of the last time I NEEDED a truck. I actually can't think of the last time. Maybe the last time was when I hauled my tractor to the dealer to get it worked on, maybe six months ago. On the other hand, there have been several times I hauled stuff in my truck that I wouldn't want to haul in a car, such as used oil, a propane tank, mulch, 5 gallon diesel and gas cans etc. I also use my truck for my job on ocassion, but I don't HAVE to. Like so many other things in life, its more a matter of wants then needs sometimes. Thinking back to before I had a truck, I can remember several times buying something that just won't fit in a car, but isn't that big, such as a TV.

 

[CBW1999]

When my wife first saw it she said, "Oh, it's kind of cute."

I like your wife........can she talk to mine?

You could tell her you're buying her a Mercedes.

Hmmm...never thought about that. She always has said she'll own a Mercedes some day. She wasn't specific about just the drive train or the whole thing- I guess I'll work that angle in MY favor!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I think we have a winner here and that is the answer we all should be looking for.
Plus, my wife feels way safer in a pickup and now prefers it over a car. Who would have thunk it?

Your wife is living a fantasy. She is much safer in a car than she is in a pickup. Highway death statistics don't lie.

 

[LD1]

Your wife is living a fantasy. She is much safer in a car than she is in a pickup. Highway death statistics don't lie.

Any links to prove that?

I am NOT trying to start an argument. But Am just wondering if it is on of those "statistics" that you can make say whatever you want.

IE: could it be because their are more cars on the road? and that people who drive cars (IMO) are a little more cautious than those in a 4x4 that think they are invincible in the winter?

I too feel safer in my truck. And wouldnt it depend on WHAT car is being driven too?

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I drive a Mazda B3000 4x2 as my daily commuter vehicle. It's a Ford Ranger with slightly different bed tin and name plates. It's a pretty good truck. I would rate it at an honest half ton. Several times I have had 1000 lbs in the bed and it drives like a car with that load. I welded up a lumber rack with angle iron bed rails that let me slide the canopy in or not, as the case may be. I added a receiver hitch and electric brake controller, and have a 14' utility trailer with electric brakes that will handle a ton and a half, so I can motor down the road with a 3500 lb. load, albeit slowly. A load leveler hitch and sway control keeps a heavy load pretty stable. The trailer also helps when I have long poles on the rack, because I can let them hang 12' off the rear of the rack and still not protrude past the trailer, keeping the load legal on the highway. 6-ply tires help a lot. Passenger tires are too squishy to keep a load stable, particularly when it's up on the rack.

The advantage is price. It cost me $16,000 brand new in 2004, and hitches, brake controller etc. cost me about another $700. Mileage is not great, but I get 22 mpg on the highway. It's a flexible hauler, and a surprising amount of time it has a bed full of something.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Any links to prove that?

I am NOT trying to start an argument. But Am just wondering if it is on of those "statistics" that you can make say whatever you want.

IE: could it be because their are more cars on the road? and that people who drive cars (IMO) are a little more cautious than those in a 4x4 that think they are invincible in the winter?

I too feel safer in my truck. And wouldnt it depend on WHAT car is being driven too?

SUV and pickup truck safety.

"In summation, the increased safety of an SUV or truck is largely an illusion,
and a dangerous illusion at that. My suggestion is that you do yourself, and
everyone else, a favor and abandon that illusion; chances are you'll live
longer if you do."

 

[Bird]

I haven't paid any attention to the latest statistics, but as far as I can remember in the past, they've always indicated that cars are safer than pickup trucks in a crash. And yes, I tended to feel safer sitting a little higher in a pickup, but I'm afraid the facts don't support that.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probably the best statistics you'll find.

 

[Bird]

Larry, I guess you typed just a little faster than I did.:laughing:

 

[MossflowerWoods]

How many times per month do you have to need a pickup, before it makes sense to buy one?

I believe ONE is the correct answer.

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I've considered getting a "bobbed" Deuce. Big, Ugly, Tough. Wife won't have any part of it. I like Unimog's, perhaps she would consider that....View attachment 280190

That is AWESOME! Where can I get that! :licking:

David

 

[MossRoad]

Wasn't it related to pickups and SUVs being more prone to rolling over in a crash and outside objects penetrating the passenger cabin, etc...?

 

[dmccarty]

Wasn't it related to pickups and SUVs being more prone to rolling over in a crash and outside objects penetrating the passenger cabin, etc...?

The reports/studies I have read stated that what kills in rollovers is people not wearing a belt getting tossed our of the car and said car rolls over them. Or they bounce around inside the vehicle and die. Certainly other things could happen in a roll over but it seems being tossed around or out of the vehicle causes the damage.

Later,
Dan

 

[LD1]

Either way, I still think I am safer in my 1-ton dually than I am in my little saturn work car

 

[aczlan]

From what I have read, a smaller vehicle is more able to get out of the way of an accident, but if you actually crash, there is no replacement for displacement.
Personally, I have a 1997 Volvo V90 which is a good middle ground between size and crash survivability.

Aaron Z

 

[bcp]

That is AWESOME! Where can I get that! :licking:

David

Many of the surplus truck dealers offer them.

Here's one:

Bobbed Deuces, 5-tons

Bruce

 

[sixdogs]

We spent 25 years living in a very remote New England setting and I have seen countless accidents of cars and trucks with each other as well as trees, ditches, deer, moose, etc and my experience is that in the accidents I saw, truck occupants fared far better than car occupants. This wasn't a test lab or controlled setting or whatever but actual field results and was not on the flat concrete surface of a test area but included the variables of daily life not possible with a controlled setting. Moreover, friends of mine were involved with police accident investigation as well as the longer term aspects of how the occupants fared. This incleded the non-typical accidents as well and I recall a small, but safe, BMW that got sucked ender the wheels of a rolling semi. Sorry, Charlie...

Bottom line....I'm keeping my truck for the enhanced safety results that I have personally witnessed and others can do as they choose and follow the advice they personally believe is in their best interests.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Wasn't it related to pickups and SUVs being more prone to rolling over in a crash and outside objects penetrating the passenger cabin, etc...?

The difference is that pickups and many SUVs are bodies bolted down to a steel frame. When you hit something, the vehicle stops but you don't. You hit the interior of the vehicle with sometimes lethal force. Cars are built with a unibody chassis that has crumple zones. The car may get totalled, but it gives the passenger much more time to come to a stop in an accident. The crumple zones absorb the energy of the impact before it gets to your body.

And yes, pickups and SUVs are much more likely to roll over. Rollover accidents are just 4% of all traffic accidents, but account for 86% of fatalities. The higher you sit off the road, the more dangerous your perch is. A pickup may be more useful than a car, but it is not safer.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Wasn't it related to pickups and SUVs being more prone to rolling over in a crash and outside objects penetrating the passenger cabin, etc...?

Duplicate post. I didn't think that was possible. Edited.

The higher you sit off the road, the more dangerous your perch is. A pickup may be more useful than a car, but it is not safer.

 

[aczlan]

The difference is that pickups and many SUVs are bodies bolted down to a steel frame. When you hit something, the vehicle stops but you don't. You hit the interior of the vehicle with sometimes lethal force. Cars are built with a unibody chassis that has crumple zones. The car may get totalled, but it gives the passenger much more time to come to a stop in an accident. The crumple zones absorb the energy of the impact before it gets to your body.

Not quite. My parents have a 1999 E350 (one ton 15 passenger van with a 7.3L Diesel) and it has crumple zones. Right behind the bumper the frame is corrugated and has cutouts to crumple on impact. If hitting something smaller, the phrase "you are my crumple zone" comes to mind.
Also in a larger mass vehicle, you will be less likley to "bounce back" in impact and as such, will be less likely to have whiplash.

And yes, pickups and SUVs are much more likely to roll over. Rollover accidents are just 4% of all traffic accidents, but account for 86% of fatalities. The higher you sit off the road, the more dangerous your perch is. A pickup may be more useful than a car, but it is not safer.

And how many rollover deaths were from idiots who couldn't be bothered to belt in before driving off?

Aaron Z