this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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I live out in the country. We don't get garbage pickup. The garbage dump is very close to my child's daycare. It's 20 minutes away. It's open from 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. I either bring the garbage with me when I go to daycare, or I have to schedule time off from work to take out garbage.
I have a Ford Edge, so no, a minivan wouldn't work. To be clear, it's not impossible. But a truck would be 10x more convenient.
Thats a reasonable use case for a truck. The majority of hate I have for trucks are for more city based people who claim they totally need it when they maybe move something 2-3 times a year.
That said, a small trailer could probably handle your garbage behind an SUV or capable car. Although it would still require more parking than the truck so the benefits overall are arguable.
This obviously varies based on where you live, but using a trailer where I'm at incurs a ton of extra costs: *Landfill charges extra when using a trailer to bring your trash. *Tollway charges extra for the trailer *State charges annual property tax on the trailer Granted, I have an '04 regular cab Chevy Colorado (before they started making them as huge as half tons of years past), but I'm dreading the day it dies. There are no small pickups available anymore (Santa Few and Maverick's 4.5' bed is worthless for my use case).
I think this argument is a losing battle on this community. It's clear there is no room for nuance or reason.
You could do what you want for cheaper, and with less impact on the environment. Thats a fact. Thats where you are finding dispute.
A trailer isn't out of the question, it just adds a whole new level of inconvenience. It's extra time to move the car, hook up the trailer, verify the electrical is working (I always check left-right-breaks-4way whenever I connect a trailer), then parking the trailer, disconnecting it, then parking the car. I know it doesn't sound like much, but that time quickly adds up, and it can get 35+ in the summers and -30 in the winters (Celsius). When getting the kid ready to leave for daycare it's easier to load up in the relatively comfortable garage. I know that's a first world problem, but a truck would just simply all of that.
To be clear, I'm not getting a truck because they're as expensive as a sports car now, but the point stands.
Yes you like the convenience of it. Noones saying they aren't convenient. Its not only about your personal convenience, because cars affect everyone nearby.
Theres a reason they cost so much, and will continue to raise as the price gets closer to its actual cost to create and use one.
And I know you know this, because you ended the post saying that if you didnt have the truck now, you wouldn't buy another one. Have you actually thought this through or is it just some automatic cognitive dissonance reaction from owning a truck?
I think it has more to do with your reading comprehension and thinking I said anywhere that I own a truck.
And you are still avoiding my point. I understand you dont have a truck. I wasn't the only one that assumed you were defending your own use case.
I'm saying you admitting you wouldn't buy a truck now betrays how you say you feel about them.
You are saying there is at least one person that needs a truck, and im saying they dont, they just prefer it. Choosing the truck says something about what is important to the person who bought it.
And a flat trailer for your Ford would be even more convenient
how much garbage do you produce on a daily basis that you need a truck to haul it hoo lee
How size of your truck is compared to Lada Granta? Because my grandparents drove it with driver + 3 adults + child me + stuff including garbage from dacha.
Well, for one, I don't have a truck. Too expensive.
Second, child care seats in North America were revised recently to be larger so that they can protect children better.
To put it in context, putting a child seat in my 2013 Jetta makes it so that the front passenger can barely fit. Anyone over 5' 6" has to srunch their legs to fit.
The Jetta claim is weird because I fit a 6’ adult comfortably in the passenger seat of my GTI with the car seat in the back.
How big is your car seat?
I don't know the exact dimensions, but it's big enough that I actually had to get rid of my 2015 golf because the front passenger seat became unusable. And I'm not exaggerating. The car seat barely fit with the front seat pushed all the way forward and leaned forward past vertical.
I know this is a common complaint with parents in the past few years in Canada. I don't know if child car seat regulations are different at all in the US. I don't think they are, I'm just not sure.
You've convinced me, oversized pickup trucks surely should stay around to help fit these oversized car seats.