• SuiXi3D
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    1 year ago

    I have a buddy that owns a big truck. It exists for one reason - to haul his trailer RV thing when he, his wife, and their FIVE kids go camping. Otherwise it sits there and looks pretty. He hates driving it, but the trailer is freakin’ yuge so yeah. It’s never, ever used as a commuter vehicle. The trailer has solar for power in addition to using an external generator that can use like, two or three different fuels.

    He works from home, she doesn’t work and takes care of the kids/house. Their ‘commuter’ vehicle is a small hybrid SUV, again, to carry the five kids to and from school.

    Their house is decked out in solar panels and they normally pay next to nothing for electricity, which they get from the grid via wind power because Texas.

    EDIT: I need to stress the size of the trailer. The thing in it’s towable state is every bit as big as a semi trailer. If it was smaller, yeah, I’d agree (and so would he) that a smaller truck would be required. But he did his research and got a truck that can actually tow the thing properly. And again, he uses the thing maybe twice a year.

    • @[email protected]
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      101 year ago

      Do you know what people in Denmark, the Netherlands, and similar RV-heavy countries in Europe use to haul an RV with a family of four to six? Anything from a hatchback to a minivan depending on the amount of people. A truck is wildly inefficient for anything (except for the modest sized ones which hardly gets made anymore).

      • @[email protected]
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        51 year ago

        Not to dissuade your point or anything, but from reading their comment I’m picturing one of those large campers that you really only see in NA, like a tour bus that you have to tow. I’m no expert on towing capacity but I think one would actually have a use case for a large truck in that situation. Totally agree that they’re utterly overkill for just about any other situation though.

        • SuiXi3D
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          21 year ago

          You nailed it. The thing is basically a tractor trailer. The truck isn’t far off from being a semi.

          • @[email protected]
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            31 year ago

            I feel at that point they should just get a large motorhome, instead of owning a car to uniquely tow the trailer?

            • SuiXi3D
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              11 year ago

              He looked into that, but apparently it wasn’t the best option for his family.

  • @skymtf
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    31 year ago

    These trucks suck, they have massive blind spots. I was recently crossing the street in my local area and the signal changed and I ran and fell. I was thinking at that moment if a truck were turning, I would of been crushed!

    • Dharma Curious
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      181 year ago

      While I agree generally, just check for a handicap license plate first, please.

      My mom is disabled, and we have to use a pick up truck for hauling her power chair (too heavy for a lift gate). They don’t make small trucks anymore. We drive a Nissan frontier, so not as ridiculous as this, but still a large truck. She has to use a step to get into it. Our other car is a small SUV, and we pull a trailer when we need to take her wheelchair. I’m all for shaming people for driving gas guzzling monstrosities, but it’s really important to check the tag first. When we first moved to our current location, the nearby city had a group that would slash tires on oversized cars. We got signs printed explaining, because honestly, if it weren’t for the whole wheelchair situation, I’d be down for that. Lol. I wish they made an electric vehicle capable of hauling her chair that we could afford. Shit sucks. :(

      • @[email protected]
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        81 year ago

        I hear you. But at the same time if you brodozered your wheelchair mover with a bush bar and off road tires, I’m still yoinking the step stool haha.

        More seriously, yeah it sucks there are so few practical vehicles being made that aren’t the size of an Asian elephant.

        • Dharma Curious
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          41 year ago

          Legit guffawed at “brodozered”

          And it really does. It’s damn near impossible to afford an actual wheelchair van, and the only options outside of that are SUVs and pickups. And if you want anything newer than 25 years, it’s gonna be absolutely enormous. We got lucky when a friend had a decent running 2002 CRV. It’s “small,” at least when compared to most SUVs, but capable of pulling a trailer.