Before I go anywhere with today’s Ask, let me say loud and clear that the amount of truck you need does not have to correlate even a little with how much truck you want, or have. If you need exactly “zero truck” and your daily is an F-350 King Ranch, good. Drive whatever you like.
There, with that out of the way, let’s talk truck-need. And to be certain, virtually everyone needs a truck. At least sometimes, to some degree. Most of my truck-need is well covered by my Toyota RAV4, which swallows all the mulch I ever require and hauls the vast majority of things that I would throw into the bed of a truck, if I had a truck. When I do need a truck, which is approximately once every one to two years, it’s usually to bring something home that’s simply too big to fit in the RAV4, like a king-size mattress or a piano. I have the former, the latter is just an example (I do own a Casio keyboard, though).
Thankfully, I do have a truck for these occasions. It’s parked at Home Depot.
Your mileage may vary, but at my Home Depot, the rentals are always clean and well-maintained, and taking one out for an hour or two is super cheap. It’s invariably a lot more truck than I need for the task at hand, but Home Depot doesn’t rent Mavericks. Which, if I owned a truck, would also be more truck than I need. But I’d love to have one, because cool little truck. See also the Volkswagen Pickup in the topshot. That’s plenty of truck for me.
Antti dropped a nice reply in Slack, let’s see what he’s got to say:
The perfect amount of truck for me is the Skoda Felicia Fun. Kind of like a cross between the Caddy/Rabbit Sportruck and a Subaru Baja, the Felicia Fun is basically a ’90s Skoda with a strange sense of humour. Think yellow steering wheel and frog-themed yellow seats. Its party trick is a sliding rear wall that has folding jump seats, meaning you can have your passengers sitting out in the rain if they complain about your music choices. Bet my kid would love it, though.
Well gee, that does look like fun!
How much truck do you need? See you in the comments.
Top graphic image: Volkswagen
My 2012 Ridgeline turned out to be more “vehicle” than I needed! I purchased it, intending to use it for hauling stuff to and fro for the house renovation I planned to perform. I then sold the house and bought a condo, and the Honda just barely fit in the parking garage!
10 years later, I could the right-size vehicle, my Maverick. Enough truck when I need to truck and enough car when I need to car. And 40+ MPG to boot!
I get one vehicle. Most of the time it’s a commuter, racking up 30k miles a year as I drive for my job. But at least once a month, it’s a beast of burden as I do home improvement, tow my small hobby car around, go camping, or help out a friend moving some stuff.
The one vehicle that does both well is my Maverick AWD hybrid with 4k tow capacity. I’m nursing 40+ mpg on the current tank of gas. Last week I hauled a Model A Ford engine block and some other parts across the state. And the truck fits in my modest garage.
It’s all the truck I need, and all the car I need.
My 2003 Tacoma V6 5spd 4×4 with an extended cab (enclosed storage, not people), is literally perfect. I get a note left on my windshield at least 2x/month asking to buy.
Perfect.
It is a 3rd vehicle, behind a 23 rav4 awd hybrid and an 03 g500 benz, everything covered. I am awaiting my R2 delivery any week now and the g goes on to a better life.
Get a Tacoma, they are the absoulte best.
“Get a(n old) Tacoma, they are the absolute best.”
Fixed it for you.
I had a 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro for a rental vehicle in Albuquerque late in 2024 and it was the worst truck I’ve ever driven. WAY too big, hard to see over the hood, and there was this weird whistle that came from the turbo on and off even when having the cruise control set to around 70 mph. I was more comfortable driving my previous work vehicles which were 2019 F250 Diesel crew-cabs. At least they were honest about being big trucks.
And talk about range anxiety… Even with the 4-cyl, I couldn’t even get 300 miles out of a tank of fuel. I got about 16-18 mpg (at best) with almost all highway driving.
I own a regular-cab 6-foot-box 2WD 5-speed 2010 GMC Canyon and that’s more truck than I need.
I was happier with the size of my old regular-cab 6-foot-box 2WD 5-speed S-10, but it collapsed due to rust in 2015 so I had to replace it with the Canyon.
I’m thinking the Slate might be almost perfect sized once it comes out, as long as I can get a cab-height topper for it and my lawnmower or snowblower still fit in the box under the topper like in my S-10 or Canyon.
I’ll just have to cut down my Harbor Freight ramps from 72″ to 60″ so they’ll fit in the box along with the snowblower.
Edit: I also own a 5th-generation El Camino, but the only stuff I haul with it is car show stuff, and occasionally our suitcases if we’re doing a long-haul road trip to something like Elcofest in Indiana.
My calculation is
Will in fit in the space to store it?
Will it start with reasonably little fuss after sitting a few weeks?
Start with no fuss at all for the return trip?
Can it tow a trailer carrying a project car, large power tools or maybe a pottery wheel?
Is it cheap enough to have just in case?
Basically whatever 3/4 ton 2wd truck was the cheapest but reasonable safe.
Maybe put dual emergency brakes on it for fun in the snow and mud.
An old Hilux or Datsun 720 would be fine, but they seem to be spendy.
Those Rabbit Wagons look nice but I think I would probably kill it and I’m not sure what would fit it that i could not cram into a hatchback.
A beat to hell mid 70s F150 three on the tree 300 straight six would be about right. Maybe get some auxiliary air springs.
First of all, Thanks for all the pickup truck content today. It was wonderful!
As for all the truck I need? Stats wise, the Ford Ranger Super Duty would be perfect. It would carry and tow everything I need while being just the right size for me in and out.
I do like to work my trucks, so bed size means a lot. Four Wheel drive and high ground clearance is wonderful when driving through roads flooded from tropical storms and hurricanes to work. (I work at a retirement community, and I am part of the responder team that clears the roads for the first responders.)
My wife and I do a lot of DIY so a truck is beyond handy. It’s a necessity. I’ve designed and installed three dog runs, two raised garden beds, and thinned out many cabbage palms while my wife has framed out a pantry and an office. We’ve brought home antique doors and backers racks from markets three states away and delivered entire dining sets to the kids.
Versatility is key.
Old Tacoma 2WD long bed if I were to buy one.
2nd gen subaru brat sounds good right now. Sure a 2026 f150 beats it in mpg, but can you have the lols of the muffler falling off and it sounding like a ricers wetdream? Handles good too, even if it cant run with 2026 f150 in instrument tests. Much rather rally a brat slowly than a faster vehicle.
Practically zero need for a truck at this time myself. Nearly everything we need to haul fits in or on top of the Sienna. When we need a couple cubic yards of potting soil, we just pay the delivery fee.
Occasionally think a small truck would be fun to have and handy once in a while, but don’t NEED one for current life situation.
If needs must for a one off situation, there’s renting.
I find that I need a truck every few weeks. Transporting items that could go into a utility trailer, but I own neither the utility trailer or a suitable car to tow one. As such, I actually own two trucks, a 1990 Jeep Comanche which is an amazing truck particularly for long drives or towing a trailer. I also have a 1999 Suzuki Carry, which I’m working towards building into the ultimate snow blowing rig as well as use as a utility vehicle. It’s road registered so it’s getting a lot of miles on it with how excellent the fuel economy is. The Suzuki also has a brilliant flat floor that can carry 4×8 sheets of things much easier than the Comanche.
5×8 utility trailer.
I don’t need to own any truck at all. I took driver’s ed 60 years ago, I‘ve been a homeowner for 45 years, and in that span I’ve rented a medium duty box truck (for just one day each) four times. And never once did I make a run to the dump. Many of the guys around me own pickup trucks, but most of them (unless they’re in the construction trades) aren’t doing more than I am.
I have the same red/tan 81 VW Rabbit pickup from the top shot. GTI engine swap and 5speed. It’s good for chores but a manual Cummins would be nice for real truck stuff
Not much of one, really. I’d like a Pontiac G8 ST, but since that’s not going to happen, I could make due with a Ford Courier, Chevy LUV, that sort of thing. The Skoda Felicia Fun could easily do the trick though.
For a couple of years I had a Hyundai Santa Cruz. It fit my suburbanite needs nicely. Anything larger would be a wasted on me.
I need to haul four yards of sand in the bed at 2,600 pounds per yard; type Four pallets of sod; then tow a T300 Bobcat and a Holley tree with a four inch caliper trunk.
After that I need to do some light work and grab 20 bags of concrete (80 pound bags) for a pathway and 50 bags of mulch.
Home life is so much fun.
What the hell is “a Holley tree with a four inch caliper trunk”?
An autocorrect abomination of a Holly tree.
No barrels required.
Whatever truck my brother has at the time.Yeah,I’m that guy but at least I fill it back up with gas when I’m done.
That tank of gas goes a long way towards making sure the truck is available next time you need it.
It’s the right thing to do.
Oh yeah, definitely. I have always done the same when I borrow a vehicle from someone. Sucks though when you get it almost empty.
Pretty much the 1992 Mazda B2600i extended cab LE-5.
I have a 03 Dakota extended cab with a 4.7. Perfect truck for me. Runs to the dump, big box store and mulch yard. Pulls the camper and my dog loves the sliding rear glass. Sits most of the time, but it’s there when I need it. 103,000 miles. My biggest worry is the tires are 7 years old with less than 5,000 miles. I’ll have to replace them before the next road trip. Seems a shame.
I’m one of those who’s trucks sit until I need to do truck stuff and am in the same boat, tires with a lot of tread that should be replaced due to age.
Zero truck is enough for me, generally. My hatchback can fit a lot, and stuff that can’t (like refrigerators or mattresses) are usually delivered free, and come with haul-away of the old one, which is way better than having to do that yourself.
Sometimes I have garbage that I can’t just stick in my garbage can, which would require a truck to do a dump run, but I just save up a bit of that, and then pay a company $150 or whatever, to haul it all away for me. Much better than actually owning a truck.
I happily pay for delivery so I don’t need a hauler. Figure drivers need to eat, too.
That said, #FitsInAVolt is a fun thing to check out on the Book of Faces. We do carry a few bulky items in that rather comically undersized cargo hold.
So far my ’95 Geo Tracker seems to be all the “truck” I need, though my parents had to use their van and utility trailer to help me move recently.
I’m going to be buying a roller toolbox in the next week or so, and I think I can at least fit a 56″ x 24″ one in the car if I take out the rear and passenger seats. I’ll have to check if the 61″ one I’m eyeing will also fit, but if nothing else I can take my roof off and go full truck mode with it sticking out some place!
(Really wanted to buy a US General box in their nice green, but we don’t have Harbor Freight in Canada, and even if I wanted to drive out to the border, they don’t seem to actually stock the 56″ ones in store, and it doesn’t even look like I can have them ship it to store for me without first ordering in-store…)
Literally none; I have a wagon.
I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve used a truck in between a tonka truck and a 26′ Uhaul. The basic little 2wd Nissan Hardbody we borrowed from a friend 20ish years ago to haul some gravel for my parents’ driveway would have gotten the job done in every other use case as well, so I’ll go with that. 2 seat, 2wd Nissan Hardbody, once every 10-20 years.
My history and intent align with what you’ve written. The Home Depot hourly rental 3 times in the last twenty years, F250 and a several BOF full size SUV rentals for vacation or events including lots of people hauling.
If my vague clouds of retirement hobby ideas materialize into a real need I imagine I’ll value low lift over sides more than ground clearance so … I’ll be stuck with something 40 or more years old.
I recommend a 1st gen transit connect. Easy to get in with the nearlyly walk in front doors. Problem is finding one, they were all high mileage and/or smashed up years ago.
Or a minivan….