I know we have all seen them, and maybe someone on this forum owns one. The four door SUV with a small pickup bed.

I was behind one the other day, I think it was a Subaru or something like it. Anyway, the pickup bed was about the size of the ice chest I carry in my front passenger floorboard.

I started thinking about these trucks, and what is the thought behind them. Even the big Fords or GM's don't have much of a bed on them. I just dont see the purpose.

Can someone enlighten me what the attraction is?
JF

My wife has a Subaru Baja. We call it her truckette. She hauls all kinds of stuff that she wouldn't ever put in a car trunk and it means I don't have to unload my stuff from the work truck to do it. She gets in the high 20's mileage and just loves the thing. Now she wants a new one with an automatic and a Turbo. That little thing is a great vehicle. If they ever build a grown up truck, I'll try it.

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The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

Thom,
What kind of stuff? maybe I'm just not thinking it thru.

I have a 94 Toyota we call the mulch truck. We use it mostly to haul mulch, pick up lumber, building materials, etc. We only use it for hauling stuff. While it does have a/c, it does not have power steering or anything that comes close to an "option", and it is just a bear to try to park. It didn't even have a radio when I bought it.
JF

Fish caught, manure, lime, live plants, all the stuff that I used to have tossing around in the back of the truck because she wouldn't put it in a trunk. We made a recent trip up to some property we plan on retiring to and fit an amazing number of plants and pots in the bed. It has a fold out cage that makes the bed into 5.5 feet.

There's a pass through that opens up into the back seat area (the seats fold down) and I've carried a dozen or so 2x4's with other supplies still fitting in the bed. The little buggers hold more than you'd think. Of course, a full size person has to be a contortionist to get in and out. Okay, fat guys have to be.....

A/C, ps, pw, a bunch of goodies. The 4 cyl w/ 5spd is adequate when you're carrying stuff and boarding on spunky when you're not. It has all wheel drive and was good in bad weather in Colorado. It's comfortable enough on long trips.

Mostly, I'm not in it. I drive one of those things where I'm beginning to feel personally responsible for global warming. Hemi, club cab, 8 foot bed, etc.......I'm also beginning to really feel it at the gas pump. But I carry four ladders, all the tools, library, some emergency clean up stuff, emergency fishing gear, emergency four wheeling stuff........

I had a 94 S-10 with the 6 cyl and 6 ft bed. I used it like a truck. The Baja is her baby and it actually gets washed. It handles much more like a car and is adequate for the little jobs. Ergo, "Truckette."

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The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

Jack, I think that Mike O'Handley (TIJ) drives one out in Washington and loves it.

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Scott Patterson
Spring Hill, TN
http://www.traceinspections.com

Jack,

I have what is called a Ford Sport Explorer that has 4 doors and a small pick up bed. Is that what your talking of?

I carry just about anything in it I carried on my bigger trucks I've had.

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Rick Hurst_Home Works Inspection Co_Rockwall TX
In the words of Mike Tyson.... "Everyone has a plan until they get hit inda mouf"

Emergency fishing gear! What a hoot!

But hey, ya gotta have something to do when you drive a ways and find that your inspection got cancelled.

Hmmm, marketing or fishing? What a choice!

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Erby Crofutt, Georgetown, KY
B4U Close Home Inspections & Radon Testing
www.b4uclose.com www.kentuckyradon.com

OK got it. I didn't realize that there was a pass thru, or a cage that extended. I will quit thinking scoffing at them.

Scott,
I had dinner with Mike last year in Seattle, and I don't remember him driving one of them - but then, I couldn't find my clip on sunglasses this morning.

Rick,
Maybe if you didn't dump your grill in the back..........
JF

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/baja/b...imensions1.gif

http://images.automotive.com/cob/fac...__tailgate.jpg

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst.../BustTruck.jpg

Jack,

Would this one work for you? If it wasn't for 3.00+gal. it would be nice.

You could convert the rear of the cabin for an office.

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Rick Hurst_Home Works Inspection Co_Rockwall TX
In the words of Mike Tyson.... "Everyone has a plan until they get hit inda mouf"

Whats the attraction?
It fits in my garage.
It does everything I need it to do.
Cheaper insurance
4 cylinder engine - easy to maintain
Gas mileage is ~23 for my typical driving.
Will hold my motorcycle (I know its hard to believe that one will fit in the bed of these small trucks).
Will tow a small boat.

Like a car, house, tool - You should buy what you really need. No more, no less.

My glass is half full, not twice as big as it needs to be.
Personally, I cant see myself ever owning a big truck.
I see the bubba trucks around Houston all the time. Crew cab, dually, loud diesels pulling nothing.
Maybe pull a bbq pit on the weekend.

I drive a Dodge Ram Ext. Cab. I bought it in 00 when the gas still under 2.00per gallon.

If I had to buy another one today it would be something smaller.
Speaking of wanna-bees, I love watching people load truck load of land scape timbers and patio stones into what they wish was a truck.

My wife and I saw someone loading one of those Honda CRV things like that at Home Depot. Have you ever seen the rear axle on one of those? It looks like the rear axle would make a good closet rod. This one looked like it was gonna snap. I bet Stacey lunch that it wouldn't make it, so we followed.
To my suprise, I gave up after a mile or so. Heck, I woulda bought lunch anyway.

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Consistency is a direct path to perfection.

Import John (What's with import?)
Whats the attraction?
It fits in my garage.
It does everything I need it to do.
Cheaper insurance
4 cylinder engine - easy to maintain
Gas mileage is ~23 for my typical driving.
Will hold my motorcycle (I know its hard to believe that one will fit in the bed of these small trucks).
Will tow a small boat.

My 94 Toyota truck fits all of those criteria too. Except I can carry two scoops of mulch or top soil, where I just cant see those baby's doing that, extendo gate or opening to the back seat not withstanding.

I'm not advocating bigass trucks by any stretch. I was just posting a question because from what I saw, the little guy I mentioned couldn't carry much of anything. Maybe they never want to carry mulch, or plywood, or long boards. maybe all they carry is plants or tackle boxes, etc. Good for them.

JF

Until recently, we had a big arse truck, sat in our driveway most of the time because we only used it to pull our camper.

F350, diesel, crew cab, long bed, dually, 4x4, can't get any bigger unless you went with a medium duty truck (like that Freightliner shown, of the International Big Boss - which is just a heavy duty truck with a pick-up bed on it, think semi tractor trailer and it's the 'tractor' part with a pick-up bed).

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Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )

Jack,
A T100 isnt a big ass truck by any stretch of the imagination.
Im a huge Toyota fan. I would say the T100 is todays Tacoma (if you dont believe me look at the dimensions).

Im imported as a result of the inspection news change. Somehow, John Smith got converted to imported John Smith?

When I put up new fencing around my home, I went to the lumberyard and chose all of the materials. They told me what they charged for delivery, and it was cheaper than I could have picked it up for (even borrowing my buddies 3/4 ton long bed).

In addition, they drove on the easement behind my home and lifted the bed on their big truck and unloaded the lumber in the perfect spot.
That made a believer out of me.
If I need a big truck, I will gladly pay someone to deliver.
For my business, my small bed truck fits the bill perfectly.

To each his own. I dont own a riding mower, because I can get the job done with a push mower. Aint it kind of the same thing?

Dang ... am I the only one who pays someone to cut their grass for them? I haven't cut our grass in 25 years.

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Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )

Rocks, concrete, pool, deck, water, small garden. No grass; not allowed. The first thing I did when I moved here was get rid of all suits and ties. The second was to sell the mower and have the grass removed. I've had to replace the suits for weddings and funerals only. When we move up to th property, the only reason I'll have a mower is because a tractor, front end loader, trencher, and whatever othr toys come with a tractor will be there. One acre will be for the house and 14 will be for me to ride around and dig holes.

__________________
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

Rick, .... I went out and bought one of them Freight-Liners last month. Awesome trucks. I get a lot of business having one. But, the gas mileage sucks. I use the back as a portable office.

But then, ……

I woke up and realized it was all just a dream !!!

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MyDreamTruck.jpg (62.6 KB, 34 views)

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Robert
Roberts Home Inspection Service

Hi Jack,

Yeah, I drive a Baja and I love it. I bought it specifically for the business; the ability to be able to get into any parking garage downtown that I want to, to be able to squeeze into tiny parking spots on the street, to be able to get in and out of traffic quickly and easily, yet still have plenty of room to carry all of the gear I need to carry.

I drive it with the backseat folded flat all the time, my box of gear and tool bag in the back seat, and my two ladders in the bed.

It can do all of the stuff that Mr. Walker says it can and then some. It's enough for me, I don't need anything larger; in fact, I wouldn't want anything larger because I live in a townhome with a small two car garage and anything longer wouldn't fit.

I'd previously had a Dodge Caravan and a Chevy Astrovan and both were way too large for what I need for the business and were a pain in the butt when doing hi-rises in downtown Seattle 'cuz they wouldn't fit in parking garages and I had to park them on the street or in outside paid parking lots far from the inspection sites. Plus, neither could get out of it's own way - this little guy accelerates like it's ass is on fire.

This is the second one I've owned; the first was a 165 hp 5 speed that was peppy enough but sucked in 2nd gear in city traffic on hills, so I upgraded 2 years later to a turbo-charged automatic with 215 hp. Now it's probably got too much pep - the 165 hp with an auto probably would have been smarter 'cuz it would have used a lot less gas. This sucker burns only hi-test and it's got an appetite. Still, it does like to get up and go and it can corner at high speed like it's on a set of rails.

In 40+ years of driving, I've never driven anything that was so sure-footed in ice and snow. Even without snow tires, I'm able to easily navigate everything around here that nobody else, except other Subaru drivers, seems to be able to navigate when it's snowing or there's icy rain. My vans were literally death traps.

Lastly, take it from an old Toyota mechanic; the damned thing is built really well and it's mechanically very reliable (Of course, Toyota owning 40% of Subaru might have something to do with that.).

I'm happy; if I were a large multi-inspector company I'd have a fleet of them.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

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