Comment by wlesieutre

1 day ago

And when they pick up groceries they load everything onto the floor of the back seat because the bed is so high up you’d need a step ladder to use it

16 comments

wlesieutre

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Eueudhsbsj32  21 hours ago

I think the more important reasons are to prevent the groceries from sliding around in the bed and to protect them from the sun and precipitation.

  • bakies  18 hours ago

    Dang, if only someone made an everyday car with a soft weather proof enclosed cargo area, possibly you could have the tailgate open up and away as well so it's not in the way. I would think Americans would love to have something more practical than a work vehicle

  • wlesieutre  15 hours ago

    Still see this in the ones with tonneau covers as if they intended to put cargo in the bed

    But who knows maybe it’s already full of stuff under there

    • fultonn  2 hours ago

      > But who knows maybe it’s already full of stuff under there

      This is why I'm excited for REO.

      I live in a pretty dense city and don't have much storage space in my residence. On the weekends I'm clearing and developing a lot a couple of hours away. My vehicle doubles as storage for all the stuff I need for that and don't want to leave unattended (saws, tools, winch, etc).

      I used a Forester for the first two years, which was cramped but doable. The bigger issue was messes. Oil has a way of getting everywhere. I also had one gas spill from a faulty saw gas cap which was both dangerous and a huge PITA to clean up. I also got to a phase where the difference between awd and 4x4 matters, and where I was yanking milled planks around which didn't feel safe doing with the forester.

      I switched to a truck after a couple of years and went small. The box is completely full between tools, saws, gas, winch, ropes, etc. When I do groceries I can usually fit some of the "hard" bags back there (cans, bottles) but the rest has to go up front.

      A REO would be great for my use-case. The price is low enough that for the price of a new Tacoma or F-150 I could (get close enough to) buying both a REO and a used beater 3/4 ton at the property, which is a better fit for the things I need a big truck for anyways. And I wouldn't be driving a dumb big truck around a very cramped city.

      For now I'm stuck with a big truck in the city because owning more than one personal vehicle in this town is insanity.

    • stasomatic  4 hours ago

      A friend with a RAM 1500 truck (a brute of a machine) bought a Harley in a neighboring state, I kept him company during the 8h ordeal. He rented a trailer because the bike was too heavy to hoist on the bed. Hillarious.

      It's just a style thing, folks, however silly. Why do Texans wear cowboy hats and boots?

      1 reply →

analog31  20 hours ago

Another reason is to avoid letting the inside of the bed get scratched. I lived in Texas for a while, and people were that fussy about their trucks.

  • prmoustache  5 hours ago

    As a european I would have thought having scratches in the bed and dirt on the bodywork would be a mark of pride.

    • t-3  4 hours ago

      Nope, sign of (relative) poverty. Big trucks are expensive, and having one that has obviously never seen so much as a 2x4 is very effective class signaling. The people who actually need trucks to work with buy the cheapest option that gets the job done and wring every last dollar back out of it.

bloomingeek  21 hours ago

So true! My Ram 1500 was purchased to pull our travel trailer. It has the tow package and is factory raised up some. I'm kind of old, so I keep a three-step ladder in the bed so I can easily climb into it.

Because of the poor gas mileage, I always wonder at why people drive these gas guzzlers as their main transport. But each to his own. (BTW, some claim safety, but it's probably fashion.)