# I'm really annoyed by pickup truck options **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739 "2023-02-13T21:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/41 "2023-02-16T00:54:59Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > IIRC, the Ford Transit Connect cargo van is built in Turkey. To avoid the chicken tax it was imported with back seats and rear windows installed, so it was officially imported as a passenger vehicle. The first generation was built in Turkey, but subsequent models have been built in Spain and Poland. But the chicken tax story is true, and may have gotten Ford in trouble. > **[Ford's creative efforts to avoid $250 million in 'chicken tax' tariffs under...](https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-ford-tariff-chicken-tax-20180709-story.html)** > > Brand-new Ford Transit Connect vans, made in Spain, are dropped off at U.S. ports several times a month. First, they pass through customs - and then workers ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/42 "2023-02-16T01:13:02Z")
What I REALLY don’t understand is the 3500 trucks with a topper/cap on. You need to tow a fifth wheel once a year, or what? Or getting 9 mpg on diesel fulfills some fetish? ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/43 "2023-02-16T01:13:29Z")
Especially the duallies. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/44 "2023-02-16T01:21:45Z")
Dualies with out a lot of weight in the truck is bad in slick conditions. Ya need that pressure on the ground when you have that much rubber meeting the road. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/45 "2023-02-16T02:09:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Or a very tall station wagon. _ducks and runs_ Nah, those are “crossovers”. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/46 "2023-02-18T00:43:50Z")
Im a construction guy so work Trucks / vans are part of life. I survive okay without the 8’ bed but I understand the grievance. As a carpenter I would carry a lot of 8x4 sheet goods of various types. I always had a false deck with full depth sliding drawers for tools, so the wide stuff could always go on top and didn’t have to fight with the wheel wells. Its a system I strongly recommend. I hear you on the minivan thing wolfpup. A great vehicle format but maligned by stupid male pride. A friend that works in IT got a Dodge Journey a couple years ago. He insists on calling it a truck. He cringes if you call it a minivan. I think minivans are awesome. As someone that liked to play a lot in the mountains when I wasn’t constructioning minivans are frickin great. Fill em with bikes and packs and skiis and get to the hills. Fuck male insecurity. Big 1 ton and 3/4 ton trucks and vans are great for heavy work and robustness but suck otherwise. I drive em but they’re not fun. Im management now so I drive a extended cab Frontier. Its a fun little truck, has enough punch and can still haul some material. I way rather drive it than one of our bigger work trucks or vans. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/47 "2023-02-19T20:38:02Z")
I guess the Maverick has some cool features for a mini-truck, like the tailgate can be locked at the same height as the wheel wells to support 4x8 sheets. I think the Transit vans are changing a lot of peoples minds about vans, too. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/48 "2023-02-20T00:16:57Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > I think the Transit vans are changing a lot of peoples minds about vans, too. They’re definitely a different sort of vehicle from minivans, and are more akin to the old “full-sized” vans, like the Ford [E-Series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_E-Series) and the [Chevrolet Van](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_van), which had commercial trim levels, and were hugely popular with contractors and other professionals who needed cargo capacity (as well as also being popular as the base for “conversion vans” for consumers). ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739/49 "2023-02-20T02:45:00Z")
If I’m not mistaken the Transit and Ram Promaster are front wheel drive, which allows for a lower floor, which creates an absolutely cavernous cargo area. That was, IMO, the same formula that made Chrysler’s minivans such a hit almost 40 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that those vans are a step up in size and they are full sized vans. The Transit Connect would probably qualify as a minivan, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-really-annoyed-by-pickup-truck-options/979739.md?page=2)