# Why are all pickup trucks now 4 door sedans **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552 "2021-05-20T13:47:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/41 "2021-05-20T20:43:00Z")
Some web sites say the two doors are available in the long bed configuration. I guess I am wrong that they were not. That being said I do not see anything but crew cab short box trucks on the lots. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/42 "2021-05-20T20:46:15Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > That being said I do not see anything but crew cab short box trucks on the lots. That suggests to me that the dealers in your area are ordering mostly crew cabs, because that’s what sells better in your area. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/43 "2021-05-20T20:53:12Z")
that thing is an abomination and should be burned in the desert as a sacrifice to the chevy and dodge gods … ---
**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:** [May 20, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/44 "2021-05-20T21:15:55Z")
> [@half-elf](#): > > The only thing I can say that when my parents had a Beetle it could tow a 4,5- 5m caravan That reminded me of a photo I once saw of a road winding up a mountain pass in Austria taken in the 1950s. Among the vehicles climbing up the pass was a VW Type 2 pickup, hauling a boat in its bed. > [@slash2k](#): > > There definitely seem to be differences in what US and European car manufacturers recommend. See here, for example. In the UK, the tiny Toyota Yaris is rated to tow ~2300 lbs. In the US, the owner’s manual for the exact same car “does not recommend towing”. > **[The Great American Anti-Towing Conspiracy - Curbside Classic](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/auto-biography/the-great-american-anti-towing-conspiracy/)** > > Son Will on the day we “towed” four houses in 1997 “Scion does not recommend towing a trailer… your vehicle was not designed for towing.” Welcome to the great American \[…\] > [@slash2k](#): > > in the US it’s pretty common to be going 75 mph on the highway with the boat or camper. The old VW buses like the one I mentioned earlier actually were rated with a much higher towing capacity than most people would expect, thanks to their low gearing, but I’m sure they were dead slow when towing. I mean, they were already dead slow when they weren’t towing. Yeah, to most Americans “able to tow” doesn’t just mean “able to move the trailer” but “able to maintain 75 mph while towing”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/45 "2021-05-20T21:34:27Z")
Speaking of Beetles towing things, check out this hodgepodge. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/73/43/b2/7343b2c46aa79edbb7c18590b1e3fc09.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/73/43/b2/7343b2c46aa79edbb7c18590b1e3fc09.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/46 "2021-05-20T22:42:31Z")
> [@half-elf](#): > > > [@slash2k](#): > > > > What size trailers and campers and boats are common in Europe? > > Absolutely no idea. > The only thing I can say that when my parents had a Beetle it could tow a 4,5- 5m caravan, and after scrimping and scraping for years they bought a Cherokee and a 10m caravan. > Thanks for explaining that a a car that fits a family might not have the capacity to tow the boat / caravan that best suits that specific family. > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Can your little Honda Civic do that? > > Pfffft… I don’t know whom you are addressing sir, but I assure you that my Toyota Yaris is fully rated to tow up to one (1) Just Married sign and up to ten (10) tin cans on ribbons! You must have the Sport package. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/47 "2021-05-20T22:56:12Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > In the UK, the tiny Toyota Yaris is rated to tow ~2300 lbs. In the US, the owner’s manual for the exact same car “does not recommend towing”. One problem is that these are not in fact “the exact same car”; they have the same name on the badge, but the most recent US version is (was) a rebadged Mazda, while the [European version](https://carbuzz.com/news/the-european-toyota-yaris-is-nothing-like-the-american-one) was actually an in-house Toyota design. It’s only rarely the case that models on both sides of the pond use the same engines and suspension parts and so forth, even if they are nominally the same vehicle, and that makes comparisons tricky. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/48 "2021-05-20T23:07:42Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > What size trailers and campers and boats are common in Europe? Evidentially, “drawbar” style trailers like the one shown in the post below are more common in Europe. That type of trailer would take almost all the weight off of the vehicle’s suspension. > **[CC Global: 2008 Volkswagen T5 2.5 TDI And 2006 Hapert Drawbar Trailer - The...](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-global-2008-volkswagen-t5-2-5-tdi-and-2006-hapert-drawbar-trailer-the-towing-transporter/)** > > Je kunt mij huren, it says on the trailer’s side; You can rent me. And that’s exactly what folks here do when they’ve got something to haul, just rent a \[…\] ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/49 "2021-05-20T23:31:58Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Gaah! I don’t want to defend pickups, but for those who really need them, they do have their uses. Yes, most cars are rated with “some kind” of towing capacity, but the question is, what kind? A suitably equipped F-350 **[can tow nearly 36,000 pounds](https://www.sherwoodford.ca/blog/what-are-the-towing-capacities-of-the-2021-ford-f-350-super-duty-pickup-trucks/#/)** (18 tons). Can your little Honda Civic do that? Just for perspective, a suitably equipped Ford F-350 with a 5th wheel or gooseneck towing adapter (kind of like a semi-trailer hitch) could haul this 50-footer, including the presumed weight of the trailer. This boat is so huge that its width exceeds legal highway limits so it would have to be escorted as a “wide load”. But its weight would be no problem. [![](https://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-content/gallery/hunter-50/H50runStern1HRWindow.jpg) ](https://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-content/gallery/hunter-50/H50runStern1HRWindow.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/50 "2021-05-20T23:35:15Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Yeah, to most Americans “able to tow” doesn’t just mean “able to move the trailer” but “able to maintain 75 mph while towing”. … while going up at least a shallow hill. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/51 "2021-05-21T01:54:49Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > See here, for example. In the UK, the tiny Toyota Yaris is rated to tow ~2300 lbs. In the US, the owner’s manual for the exact same car “does not recommend towing”. Although they are the same car, they may have different suspension packages. American cars were notorious for soft/sloppy suspension: I don’t know if European cars have changed in the last 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/52 "2021-05-21T10:35:29Z")
> [@half-elf](#): > > In most (European) countries I am aware of, most cars are rated with some kind of towing capacity. So one can indeed have a single car to carry the boat and the family to the vacation place. > Surely the same is true in the US? Depends on the toys, I guess. My camper is 36 ft and weighs 8000 lbs. My boat (on the trailer) is 34 ft and weighs 12,500 lbs. I don’t think anything but a large truck could safely move this stuff. Since I like to wander off the roads occasionally for hunting, and often encounter slick launch ramps, I have 4WD. Since we wanted long range capability and to transfer fuel for other reasons, we have a long bed to accommodate a big auxiliary tank. Since we’ve twice damaged the poorly protected intercooling system while climbing rocks/etc., we have a redneck-ish grill guard on the front. Since we wanted some rear seating space to accomodate 3 dogs, and the truck’s already huge, we went ahead and got a crew cab model. And since the tank, xfer plumbing, jib crane and rigging (snatch blocks, etc.) need protecting, we got a roll-up bed cover. And since we’re in our sixties and find the climb bothersome, we put the full-length step bar along the sides. Since we tow so frequently, it’s a diesel which really is better (although there are valid arguments against it). So when I’m not in my daily-driver Corolla and need the truck for some task, people see a guy in a huge diesel crew cab with bed cover, side steps, and giant grill guard in front – and probably make the typical assumptions about status symbols and penis size. Not much I can do about that, beyond driving politely and being considerate. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/53 "2021-05-21T12:11:25Z")
@pullin We often see these vehicles in parking lots trying to shoe horn into a Corolla sized parking stall ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/54 "2021-05-21T13:58:17Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Not much I can do about that, beyond driving politely and being considerate. In which case you’d stand out from the local pickup-driving crowd about like a guy in a red Lamborghini would. And good on ya’ for doing that! ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/55 "2021-05-21T14:31:12Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > We often see these vehicles in parking lots trying to shoe horn into a Corolla sized parking stall This annoys me too. Except for a few impossible-to-avoid situations, I’m way out in the lot somewhere, out of everybody’s way. If parking near others is unavoidable, I fold up all the mirrors (watching someone trying to duck under Bubba’s mirrors at CVS really gripes my cookies). > [@LSLGuy](#): > > In which case you’d stand out from the local pickup-driving crowd about like a guy in a red Lamborghini would. > > And good on ya’ for doing that! Thank you. I leave excessive following distances on the highway, because the truck’s size and grillwork look a little intimidating. I also taught my son to douse the headlights when waiting in certain turn lanes if a small car is immediately in front. At night it’s unsafe for smaller cars turning into traffic with the higher lights behind them. I was taught to do this when I learned to drive “real” trucks. Personally, I think there should be a separate license and test for those in unusually heavy and high vehicles. But you can imagine how this idea is welcomed here in Texas. Sigh… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/56 "2021-05-21T23:48:00Z")
Jacked up diesel pickups with no muffler and a trailer hitch extension sticking backwards about 2 feet as a radiator spear are quite the style among the fishermen and wannabe fisherman around here. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/57 "2021-05-22T01:04:03Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I was taught to do this when I learned to drive “real” trucks I asked my Dad why he bothered to take the trailer hitch off of the SUV when he wasn’t towing, and he explained that if someone bumped into the back of his SUV, it would penetrate their radiator. \> Mind Blown \< Somewhere along the line (he started driving at 12, and parked trucks for REO before he left high school), he’d learned that as a driver he was responsible for the wealth and safety of _other_ road users. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552/58 "2021-05-22T04:48:02Z")
I stopped owning pick up trucks when I had to help my ex wife’s sister move about 5 times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-pickup-trucks-now-4-door-sedans/942552.md?page=2)