Do it yourself

Out west, even in the suburbs of Portland, many folks have a pick up truck as a second or third vehicle (for me it's the fourth).

Get it with four wheel drive and you're golden.

Especially handy for dump runs and getting rid of trimmed foliage, as well as during snow / inclement weather and for boonie-bashing.

Point is: trucks are often a better alternative than a van.

Quote: missedhervee

Out west, even in the suburbs of Portland, many folks have a pick up truck as a second or third vehicle (for me it's the fourth).

Get it with four wheel drive and you're golden.

Especially handy for dump runs and getting rid of trimmed foliage, as well as during snow / inclement weather and for boonie-bashing.

Point is: trucks are often a better alternative than a van.

Had 4 pickup trucks in my life I'll take a van any day over a truck. Anything you can do with a truck you can do with a van and the opposite is not true. I've had all vans since about 1990. Best one was a 76 Chevy 3/4 ton van I bought at an auction with 34000 original miles on it for $300. The thing was mint, drove it from 92 to 2000.

I had a 65 Ford pick up, a 68 Ford, a 76 Chevy, and an 85 Silverado. The best was the 68 Ford. It was 15 years old when I bought it, high-mileage, I beat the crap out of it and sold it 5 years later still running. It belonged to the father of a friend of mine who bought it new in 68 and kept a log in the glove compartment of every single thing he ever did to it. Change the oil every 2000 miles like a religion. Rotated the tires. Regular complete tune-ups. It was a gem. I think I paid $300 for it and sold it for 300

Quote: Evenbob

Last spring when I spent two months looking for a used Toyota van people kept asking me why do you need a van. This is why. There's no way with my car can I can haul this 6 foot 44 pound telescoping multi ladder up from the barn to the house without the van. Real man are never without a hauling vehicle. I bought this thing for $250 10 years ago and I've used it probably five times. Well I'm not 62 anymore and I have to do everything in segments. Today segment was bringing it up from the barn. Tomorrow segment will be using it. It's a great ladder extends to 22ft. I will be using it as a very sturdy step ladder and not going up past the second step.

In 1995 I bought a house and decided to paint the trim on the house (that was back when I actually did things myself). I called a friend with a pickup truck to take me to Home Depot to buy a ladder. He wasn't available and I really wanted to paint that day. I decided the best course of action was to drive my car to a dealership, buy a pickup truck, drive to Home Depot, then drive home and paint the house trim. I managed to do it all in about 6 hours and I was happy with myself. I then had to find a ride to the car dealership to pick up my car that I left there.

I was just reminded of this story this weekend when the junk men were hauling away my extension ladder.

Quote: Evenbob

Anything you can do with a truck you can do with a van and the opposite is not true.

I can think of two hauls I did with my '01 F-250 4X4 that wouldn't have worked with a van.

I had them dump a couple scoops of river rock from a front loader into the bed of the truck; got home, spread the rock out for landscaping.

We prune / maintain our heavily landscaped property ourselves, and load the prunings, cut grass, limbs and such into the truck for a dump run.

Seems too messy, too cumbersome for a van to do these chores but yes, it can do a lot of the things pickups can.

4X4 pickups are also a blast for four wheelin'.

Quote: missedhervee

4X4 pickups are also a blast for four wheelin'.

I don't get that either. Why would I ever want to go through rough or muddy terrain if I could go on smooth asphalt?

Quote: missedhervee

Point is: trucks are often a better alternative than a van.

Totally depends on what you are using it for. Vans can carry more tools and keep them locked up and safe. I would take a truck for my needs, but I can see why some men prefer vans.

Quote: AZDuffman

Totally depends on what you are using it for. Vans can carry more tools and keep them locked up and safe. I would take a truck for my needs, but I can see why some men prefer vans.

Why not an 18 wheeler? Lots more room for tools and real men don't care about fuel prices.

Quote: DRich

Why not an 18 wheeler? Lots more room for tools and real men don't care about fuel prices.

Need a CDL.