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How Cars Turned Into Giant Killers
(slate.com)
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this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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I work with a lot of contractors, and they all still love their big trucks, having at least some utility argument that they are useful for work. But several of them have switched to smaller vans like the Ford Transit, Dodge Ram ProMaster, Nissan NV200, etc., and say they aren't as cool but they're so much easier to drive and park at job sites. And they lock up all your stuff, so you don't have the same theft from work sites, a serious problem where I live. They have racks on the roof to carry ladders, which you had to put on top of the trucks anyway because most trucks can't even fit a step ladder in the bed. These guys will still keep a few trucks in their fleet for pulling large equipment, but most of the time I meet them on a site, they're driving the vans.
Vans are superior to trucks for working in nearly every way. More storeage space for tools and materials. Room to build custom shelving/storage. Everything stays dry in the back of a van. Larger vans can even fit a workbench. Vans are more fuel effecient, which should be a no brainer from a business perspective.
The major downside to most vans is if you need to transport more than 2 workers per van.
Van configurations can accommodate 4+ people, just like trucks, if you need it. Maybe not in the smaller vans as easily, if you have a lot of equipment, but the larger vans (Transit, ProMaster, etc.) can fit plenty. Heck, people convert them to live out of as campers. They just don't feed the same masculinity crisis that trucks do.
I have an F150, but believe me, I tried to go another way. A van wasn't ideal, because I need something that has an open cargo area, unless the idea of carrying a van full of manure, dirt, or compost seems like a good idea.
What I wanted to get was one of the little kei trucks, espeically a Suzuki Carry, but at the time I couldn't find one in running condition for less than $25k, and I wasn't going to pay that, especially when I found a base model F150 with 81,000 miles for $12k. The market may have changed in the past two years, but I have the truck now and it would be silly to waste the time and energy to sell it and find a kei truck.
Yeah, stuff like landscaping is a use case that really does favor open-bed trucks. My neighbor runs a landscaping business and uses a couple Isuzu N series trucks for that purpose. I think one is crew-cab. They're obviously a bit bigger than the Suzuki Carry, but used ones are close to that price range.
The Isuzu N-trucks are much larger than my F150.