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This post isn't criticizing trucks. It's criticizing the oversized modern one's that aren't any better at work than the much smaller ones of the past.

I bring enough ice fishing gear to over night on the lake in a hut and fit it all with room to spare in a small hatchback. The idea you need a truck to do outdoorsy things is mostly propoganda.

Implying the majority of owners of those oversized things do any of those activities

I own a truck and I do not feel attacked by this.

Exactly BECAUSE it's used for hauling, I need the bed space for work, the ground clearance for personal hobbies, it's a '99 that I can keep running with recycled parts, and it's reasonably sized. I could do without the extended cab, but I didn't exactly have many options when I needed a vehicle.

Would I like to have a EVan with similar cargo space, ground clearance, and ease of maintaining/working on at home for a reasonable price? Absolutely. Unfortunately it doesn't exist yet. So I do what I can with what I have, and don't feel bad because this kind of post isn't talking about me.

It's talking about my neighbor with a spotless, lifted raptor who needs it to feel like a big strong manly man when he goes to pick up the groceries and beer, and blocks the handicap van access by parking in the stripes next to the handicap spot.

First of all fuck you,

Second I haul more sports equipment in my hatchback than most bro dozers ever do in their life.

Hell I've probably moved more construction materials than them too.

No one hates work trucks. We hate pavement princess. Trucks that are a status symbol, not work vehicles. Notice how the OPs image includes things like "same bed size" - realistically the only different work feature of the original two trucks pictured. Troll better.

Alright, so first you didn't read the post. It's about two trucks with the same bed size. However, one of the trucks is pointlessly large, to the point that it's actually harder to use it to haul things since the bed height is so much higher. A truck with a lower bed is easier to load.

Second, the vast majority of trucks are never used for anything a sedan can't do. If your bed liner doesn't have any scratches, you could have saved a lot of money and CO2 with a sedan. Hell, if you do need the cargo capacity a van (including a mini-van) can haul more cargo than a truck. A truck's advantage is that it can carry oversized loads, not a lot of cargo.

Third, if you do occasionally need a truck or other cargo carrying vehicle, it's probably cheaper to rent one the few times you need it. The amount of extra you're paying in gas and everything else will almost certainly outpace the price of a rental a few times a year it's needed.

Obviously there's still some use cases for a truck. The smaller one will be better though, and 99.9999% of US truck owners don't fit this group.

Do any kind of outdoor activity, maintain a property or mild home renovation on the regular with your sedans and we’ll see how long it takes before they look beat to shit or have mechanical issues.

Been using my Leaf to maintain my rural acre for 2 years now and the most beat up looking part of it is where my goats jumped on it the first time they saw it, and even that's just a dent in the roof

Have yet to need to rent a truck to do anything major, it's all been quite easily manageable in my little car. Should I need a bigger truck, I can rent one really easily for the time I need to use it

I've had a home for 10 years and done all of these things without a truck. My cars are in great condition. Sounds like a capability issue.

I second the others telling you to go fuck yourself. Go touch some grass instead of trolling on lemmy, or go back to Reddit.

As others have pointed out, the outdoor activities aren't that big a deal. It's homeowner shit that they're good for. Granted, I still think the full-size flagship models are pointless, mine's just a mid-size. I can transport small engine equipment (ride on mowers, snowblowers) that wouldn't fit in 99% of roofed vehicles. I can throw pavers, gravel, mulch, dirty tools, gas cans etc. in the bed without worrying about cleaning the interior or stuff getting into cracks, or noxious smells. All my plant waste from trimming and raking goes right in the bed and down to the local transfer station.

I had a spent oil jug crack in my SUV once and it took months for it not to smell like a mechanic's garage, not to mention the sludge stuck in corners that I literally could not get rid of and the permanent stain in the upholstery.

Eh it's anecdotes all the way down.

Do some people benefit from large pickup trucks for things like towing, gear storage, moving a squad of dudes to a job site, etc? Of course. If you've ever needed a machine like a modern powerful truck, you had no other alternative.

But lots of people get a lot of work done with small cars to. Not exactly the same, but still very rural, very real work.

And some still have massive trucks that never see dirt, and those are the ones Lemmy has the most ire for.

I'm fortunate enough to have an old Toyota tundra (which is the same size as the new Tacoma's, which is funny) that I drive rarely. I use it for work, camping, towing, hauling bulk materials. Otherwise it sits with a trickle charger on, and my wife and I drive our hybrid around town or state to state.