Lifted pickups - what's the point?

[AngliaGT]

my first thought was.......these drivers are just fools, that happen to be in trucks.

but, maybe not, a big powerful truck does give one a sense of power on the road, I think.
a formerly nice kid who lives down the lane from us just got a big tricked out (& loud) jacked up tundra for his 15th Bday.
Now that he roars past our place, he doesn't seem like the same kid.

cause & effect?

He probably tells his friends "I worked all my life for this".

 

[GTP1960]

For me...I like my pickups clean and low (easier to load the bags of birdseed).

jay,

mind sharing some pics pics of your truck?(under the hood etc.)
looks nice.

are you happy with the tilt nose?

 

[dklawson]

I agree... to each his own. We all have our preferences in cars (and trucks).

Pickups and SUVs are popular and plush compared to what they were when I was a kid. As was said on the first page of this thread... pickups were not jacked up or loud. They were often dirty and dented from use. They were used as trucks... not cars.

I am not one to endorse taxes. However, if society wanted to make sure pickup trucks and SUVs were only owned by people who needed them, then they would be taxed as if they were "trucks" and not taxed like cars.

 

[3798j]

jay,

mind sharing some pics pics of your truck?(under the hood etc.)
looks nice.

are you happy with the tilt nose?

Guy, Thanks, I get approached by folks more often (in parking lots and gas stations) when I'm in this than when I'm in anything else I drive. Rather than hijack this thread, I put some pictures up on the BCF's "Other" forum...https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...phone-quot-55-Ford-F100&p=1047883#post1047883

I'm just fine with the tilt nose. It was a dollars and cents choice though.

 

[pdplot]

Down here in Florida, it's a cultural thing. Duck Dynasty guys in big pickups vs. almost everybody else, especially out of state sedans driven by older people. Some of them have what sound like boat whistles to scare the %$#$% out of whoever is in their way.

 

[Basil]

As we were driving to church this morning, I had the occasion to make a phone call to USAA to set up an appointment to have my windshield replaced (for the second time in the Santa Fe). Last week I took a rock down low on the windshield where you don't see the damage. Within a couple days a very large, jagged crack developed right in front of the driver's face. As I was calling, I thought about something Tom said in his OP. "But they're never dirty." I wish I could say they were never dirty out here. In fact, most are kept clean, and for that I'm thankful! But too many people around here with trucks, Jeeps, Rovers, other off road vehicles, will drive around for days with their trucks, Jeeps, etc., caked with thick, rocky mud! Of course if you are within a half mile behind them you risk taking a rock that falls off their vehicle. So for me, I'm not bothered so much about how big someone's truck is, but for heaven's sake wash it off when you're done off-roading!

 

[glemon]

I am another one of those guys who doesn't get the big trucks. Trucks from 20 years ago still weren't my cup of tea, but they made sense for what they were intended to do. Newer ones are about two feet higher off the ground.

I talk to a lot pf people who love them, I have driven them, I almst broke an ankle when I stepped out and forgot how high up they are. I get liking the increased vision from being high up, the downside is not being able to see little things close to the vehicle (children for example) more weight, less aerodynamic efficiency, higher lift to load and unload.

The thing that gets me about the ride height is it is kind of like the nuclear arms race, every new truck is taller still, and others have to keep up so they can see over them, car beltlines get higher and higher, in my opinion making them ugly and felling like you are driving a submarine.

Sorry to rant, but I really feel the whole tall vehicle thing is getting out of hand, but I guess the market decides all this and I am in the extreme minority.

 

[coldplugs]

We don't see too many of them here. A plow ruins the image, wide tires aren't good in snow, and you can't get your stuff out easily because the bed is so high.

At least it's easy to get under a lifted pickup to change u-joints every 90 days because of the extreme angles in the driveline.

 

[JPSmit]

We don't see too many of them here. A plow ruins the image, wide tires aren't good in snow, and you can't get your stuff out easily because the bed is so high.

:lol: I must say that here many of the more aggressive truck/suv drivers fail to grasp the fundamentals of physics on icy or snow covered roads - ye canna change the laws o physics!

Speaking of aggressive driving - first really nice day of spring:

https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/lamborghi...ounded-for-stunt-driving-on-hwy-400-1.3351309

Cleverly the police actually closed Hwy 400 and funnelled the drivers off the highway into an EnRoute highway gas station/ rest area.

The video is fascinating - including the Lambo where the driver literally had a sticker on the drivers window that says "Let me guess, license? registration?"

 

[NutmegCT]

J-P - we've got those "masters of the universe" here too.

The club decides where to meet, then they take over a section of interstate for their own fun and games.

Must be my fuzzy ol' brain, but I don't seem to recall aggressive driving clubs taking over public highways back in the olden days.

Sad that if a bunch of guys can afford Lamborghinis and Ferraris, etc. they could probably also afford to build their own track. But they don't. I'm thinking J-P's earlier comment about it all being "compensation" is the cause.

yeesh

 

[JPSmit]

Must be my fuzzy ol' brain, but I don't seem to recall aggressive driving clubs taking over public highways back in the olden days.

Oh they did - just in the middle of the night on a back road in 1/4 mile sections - this is not a new invention. What is new is the sheer power and drivability of these cars - that was reserved for the track back in the day.

Remembering that the Muscle Cars of days past could only really travel in a straight line - and that today's mini vans have more power.

https://www.thrillist.com/cars/nati...er-than-a-minivan-corvette-mustang-and-camaro

 

[NutmegCT]

Yep - that's exactly what I mean. Back roads have always been used for racing, drag strips, etc. Even back around 1900.

But not major public highways during daylight.

eek

 

[PAUL161]

J-P - we've got those "masters of the universe" here too.

The club decides where to meet, then they take over a section of interstate for their own fun and games.

Must be my fuzzy ol' brain, but I don't seem to recall aggressive driving clubs taking over public highways back in the olden days.

Sad that if a bunch of guys can afford Lamborghinis and Ferraris, etc. they could probably also afford to build their own track. But they don't. I'm thinking J-P's earlier comment about it all being "compensation" is the cause.

yeesh

I'm not into the highway racing, too old I guess, but from a little experience of the past, tracks are easy to build, the permits to build them are not. If a group is lucky enough to purchase a property and then get the controlling government officials to give a permit, which is usually expensive, zoning laws to deal with and then they have the insurance industry to deal with and now the cost really escalates pretty much on a daily bases. Insurance has caused a lot of tracks to close in the past, plus the fact that they take up a lot of valuable property. Been involved in this situation in the past. PJ

 

[coldplugs]

...Must be my fuzzy ol' brain, but I don't seem to recall aggressive driving clubs taking over public highways back in the olden days....

Didn't spend much time out on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington & Berlin back in the 50's, then?

I remember when they built route I84 near the "Trout Brook Drive" exit in West Hartford (CT) - before it was opened it had "Start" and "Finish" lines painted on it 1/4 mile apart.

Also, the "Flats" in Farmington (CT) were heavily used, always at night when you could see lights coming.

Edit - just saw your comment about "day" and "night" racing. True - the above was all at night.

 

[NutmegCT]

John - agreed. The history goes *way* back. When I worked for President Lincoln, they did it using buggies and stallions.

:wink-new:

Seriously - what's much more dangerous is the flagrant racing of today, on major highways - daylight - while full of traffic. It's also increasing with motorcycle "gangs" who actually force drivers off the road.

 

[pdplot]

We see that all the time here on I-75 and I-95. Mainly smaller cars like Civics with fart cans or other Japanese or American beaters cutting in and out and using the highway as their personal race track. The pickup trucks seldom if ever seem to do that. They specialize in bumper tailgating and bullying smaller cars.

 

[DavidApp]

This takes the Lifted trucks to a new level.

Spotted this in the hotel parking lot in Richmond several years ago. Just found the photo.

David

 

[AngliaGT]

Another thing I've noticed with these overdone/oversized trucks -
They can't even fit them in their driveway,as they have to take up the sidewalk,
& they have to pull themselves up into the cab (especially the short women).
That,for me,would get really old in a hurry.

 

[NutmegCT]

But ... but ...

it makes the owner look cool!

 

[dklawson]

... they have to pull themselves up into the cab (especially the short women).
That,for me,would get really old in a hurry.

While I agree with you, I am sure the giant-pickup-truck crowed have the same perception of us sliding into the seats of our short little British cars.