this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2024
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Trucks are for every tradesperson that does the things you lack the time, training or tools to do when something breaks at your residence. Trucks help you move.
Vans, you're thinking of vans. Becuase you can lock up all your expensive tools in a van, it keeps rain off your supplies, it gives you a mobile workspace with AC, and you can take out the seats or reconfigure it for the job at hand. All the tradesmen I know drive vans. All the idiots I know who want an expensive mall crawling pavement princess so they look like they could do actual work, buy trucks.
I'm glad you know enough people to make uninformed opinions about my professional needs. Are you going to recommend, like another poster here, that I buy a second dedicated vehicle that costs more than I make in a year for the occasions where I need to transport stuff that you can't load in a van? AC? You think I could afford to run the AC?
By the way is my 2005 Ranger with 200k+ miles that is worth less than $4k a pavement princess? Am I an idiot for owning one general purpose vehicle that covers all my personal and professional needs?
No, but I wouldn't call delivering gravel high skill labor that I couldn't do.
Sure there are legitimate needs for trucks. The vast majority of truck owners buy them to look cool, instead of actually doing truck things with them. Be proud that you may be the exception to the rule.
"No, but wouldn't call delivering gravel high skill labor that couldn't do."
I do work that others can't because they lack the time, tools or experience to do themselves. Gravel isn't high skill. Prepping an area for gravel takes a little more skill. But being able to shovel a ton of it in 100°f temperatures is beyond the ability of most people.
Trucks don't do that, vans do.
In Europe every tradesperson drives a van because it is a lot more efficient and can haul way more than trucks ever can.
They carry very different loads, and both are awesome.
Well then I guess I need a new vehicle because I'm a handyman and I use a truck. Dealing with a van full of stuff and trying to slide drywall in is kind of difficult. However, I can easily snap them on top of the bed of my truck and get moving. And it cost me a whole lot less to maintain this truck than it would to maintain a van. You ever tried carrying a ton of gravel in a van? I wouldn't. Takes much longer to load and unload that way.
Yes, yes you do.
there are way more trucks than tradespeople.
And that doesn't invalidate my statement.
Squares and rectangles
I always wonder about that:
And if said tradesperson doesn't want their equipment to get wet in the rain they get a van instead.
Or they just get some storage bins. I find them to be highly effective. Allows me to load just the tools I need for a job so unloading and loading is very fast.
Think of a van as an enormous truck storage bin.
But it's got a roof which makes placing 20 foot ladders or a ton of gravel in it very awkward. The fixed volume natural of it isn't compatible with the kind of work I do. But maybe you, a person that doesn't do my job, knows more about my situation than I do.
I did always wonder about the ladder thing. I see ladders on vans all the time, but it also seems inconvenient. Even as a taller guy, it looks like a reach. How do y’all do it, especially if you are on site alone? Are there racks with some sort of lifting mechanism?
Edit: nvm, someone already posted a picture of such a rack
The original point above was that vans are better than trucks if you frequently get rained upon. Maybe it's you who is lacking empathy.
Oh, and this.
But what would I care if gravel gets wet?
I know you tried with the whole empathy thing but since the subject here is my needs for a truck saying I lack empathy for myself kinda falls flat.
Really, you are coming off as a sociopath that thinks they know better than everyone what is good for them. I know my needs better than you. For some trades a van is perfect. But for my jack of all trades a truck is a better choice. A small truck. Literally the kind of small truck that doesn't get made in America anymore. Modern trucks are too big to actually be useful.
I'm not trying to tell you your job. The conversation expanded to other people's needs for a van.
Great. I think we can leave this conversation alone now.
What would you replace your current truck with (ignoring second hand purchases)?
I don't like any of the new trucks. A 20-year-old small truck like a ranger or S series is a better choice.
I need someone to sell a 1-ton capacity truck with an 8-ft bed where the top of the bed is no more than 3 and 1/2 ft tall. The truck needs to exist but the understanding that it will be abused and so a lot of fancy features that will break won't be included. Stereo and HVAC should basically be the only internal features. They keep cramming more and more features into trucks to sell them for more and more money instead of building trucks that are built for actual work.
Maverick?
The bed height is too tall to be comfortable. One of the other things happening on larger trucks is the bed length keeps getting shorter. A standard 8-ft. Long boards stick too far out the back end and we've reduced overall carrying capacity over previous generation small trucks. And by sticks too far out I mean way outside the bed. Drywall will break under those conditions. Do an image search for "Ford Maverick plywood" And you will see the potential danger here.
Edit, pretty much had to retype the whole thing because voice to text had badly messed it up and I didn't realize that at the time of posting
Get a fucking dump truck or something to deliver gravel, putting gravel in the bed of a pickup is probably the stupidest excuse to own one I have ever heard. Loading it would be a batch unloading it would be even worse, and you typically need a fuck lot more gravel than what a pickup can carry.
As a jack of all trades, I can't afford a dedicated piece of machinery like that. 60,000 on the low end for a dump truck plus the insurance and a place to park it. That's not a reasonable expense. I need general purpose, vehicles and tools.
Pay the company you buy the fucking dirt and gravel from you idiot. Jesus, you can even pass that cost off to your customers and they will happily eat it.
Do you know what the delivery fees are on a ton of gravel or topsoil? It costs more than the topsoil or gravel and the quantity is so small that some companies will refuse to deliver it. I literally live a kilometer from a place that sells topsoil, gravel, mulch etc. They refuse to deliver such a small quantity to me. Even though it's seven driveways away.
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