Truck cruelty

That's fake. There's way too much bed space.
Peak Chevy truck grill

The smaller one has a bigger bed 🤦

Lol and easier to load
- My biggest gripe with modern trucks really. Have fun putting that new refrigerator you needed in there and then getting it out once you're home, and God forbid you put a toolbox behind the cab, you're climbing into that bed to get every little thing you didn't think you'd need because you can't just get it by reaching over the side.
There is a four door version of the front truck with a similar sized bed.
Also, you could probably put three of the front truck on a car trailer and tow it with the back one.
- You could probably tow 4 of the front truck with the front truck.
Bigger one also has 5 seats.
- If you need 5 seats get a car.

God I miss small trucks. So much. So so much.

Right? All it needs to do is carry a stack of 4x8 plywood and a bunch of 2x4s, or the entire contents of a two-room apartment -- something a 1980's "mini" pickup like the Ford Ranger or Chevy S10 could easily handle.
- The bed is a little narrow for 4x8' sheets of material on a 90s Ranger. There's only about 41" between the wheel arches and the opening in the bed itself above the arches is about 44" which is not quite enough. (It's wider in the gap above the arches but before the top lip of the bed, but you'll never get anything into that space that can't be disassembled or moved with a shovel...) You could stand your material up on edge, but don't try that with drywall. 48x40" pallets are no problem, though. Or at least one of them at a time. It'll slide right in there provided if and only if you orient it with the skinny dimension between the arches. Ditto with 2x4s if you want to leave the tailgate up. Otherwise your strap game had better be strong because the standard model has a 6' bed and the longer 7' bed is both rare and also not quite long enough. I used to drive a 90s Ranger for work and believe me, I crammed, or tried to cram, every type of thing you can think of into the back of it at some point or another. You can get a lot done with one but sheet goods are their downfall.
  The 8' bed work trucks of the era could do what you're describing perfectly, and do so better than today's "full size" trucks while maintaining a smaller footprint on the pavement. That, and you can actually see out of the goddamned windows. I have a 90s Silverado in fleet truck spec, crank windows and a single cab with an 8' bed. I can indeed stack 4x8' drywall or ply neatly between the wheel arches and even close the tailgate on it. Much to the envy of my coworkers, who still pathologically own dinkum 6' bed crew cab so-called trucks that they can't fit anything into the back of, and then destroy the back seats "ThAt tHeY ToTaLlY NeEd bEcAuSe oF ReAsOnS" by jamming them full of tools and dirty materials anyway, so the whole thing is pointless. At that rate you may as well just get a van and call it a day.
- I want a 2 door version of the Telos Truck. Less screens more physical buttons. It's the length of a mini cooper, and can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the back. Was hoping it would launch for cheaper but without the cash back and crap this administration has canceled it will likely be a 42-45k sticker price. Which is to high.
- i just bought a Ford Maverick. and it’s a smaller truck. it’s basically everything i needed.

Describing one of these as "on the right" is a wild choice.

What they have told us is true ... from a certain point of view.
- Technically true is certainly a form of true.

the one on the right

is also the one on the left... 😂

the text is actually from a pre-existing post

https://publications.lawschool.cornell.edu/jlpp/2024/11/25/the-unchecked-rise-of-trucks-and-suvs-in-america/ if you want to see the "breeders" of that monstrosity. Basically the result of a semantics loophole game in federal regulations. This is why the smaller Ford Ranger is a "European Model" only.

At my job, I load full pallets of concrete, drywall, plywood, etc, into customer trucks all day every day.

The bigger the truck, the more likely the customer is going to be a pain in the ass. Wishy washy about how much load they can carry, and crying up a storm if you touch the tailgate.

Smaller truck? Load up and go, They'll probably be back for more in a few hours too.

I like to tell people that if their truck can't handle the load, then they paid too much for the truck.

Also also, bigger trucks tend to be parked like douchbaggs more often than smaller trucks, just blocking the way for everyone.

Every time I see a complaint about truck sizes, I make it a point to share this video explaining how it's actually the EPA's fault trucks have gotten so big.

https://youtu.be/azI3nqrHEXM

how it’s actually the EPA’s fault trucks have gotten so big.
🤨
No, the corporation's horrible behaviour is the fault of the regulators & regulations.
- Plus those corporations are the ones lobbying for those regulations.
- It may not be only the EPA's fault, but an unintended consequences of the CAFE standards and how they change over time is a perverse incentive to increase wheelbase and track, lowering the fuel efficiency instead of raising it.
  If you haven't yet, watch the video. It does a good job explaining why you can't make the Chevy S10 we used to see all over the place in the 90s without a big penalty that would make it too expensive.
Trucks, cars, all of it. I praise Mazda for keeping the Miata/MX-5 small when almost nobody else has.
- if only they didn't give it headlights that blind people
  nearly drove into one last night because it was coming up a small hill in front of me in my neighbourhood (on a curve) and I drifted left as I slowed down to ensure I didn't hit the pedestrians to my right. couldn't see a fucking thing because of its 'lowbeams'
Or this one.

I really don't understand the appeal of cars of that size...

Same bed size, probably same payload capacity, and you can actually grab something out of the bed on the old truck without needing a stepladder. Really the only thing that the new truck does better is towing, simply due to added engine power and bigger breaks.

That new truck is a F250 which can handle a lot more weight in the bed than the small truck. It wasn't much smaller of a truck 40 years ago.
- I don't know what the old one was, but let's say it was something like the Ford Courier from the 1970s. That pickup could take a load of 1,400 lb (635 kg). I don't know how often someone would need to load more than 600 kg into their truck, and that's with the curb weight of 2500 lbs or about 1100 kg. A modern F-250 has a curb weight that's more than double the Courier at about 6300 lbs or 2850 kg. It can carry 5000 lbs, (2270 kg) but again, how often is that needed?
  I can understand buying a big truck if you're towing heavy things, but for loading up the bed with stuff, I wonder how often someone would get to 600 kg and say "I have lots of space remaining, but dang it, I've reached the weight limit!"
Every time this gets posted I can't help but think what would happen if you loaded up the little guy with comparable weights. I get it, full sized pickups aren't for everyone but come on, they aren't even close in payload capacity unless you're hauling packing peanuts. Check it out.
Just the beds here. Not getting into the motor, transmission, suspension, etc.
A modern Toyota Tacoma long bed. Bed Length: 73.5 inches Width at Tailgate: 53 inches Depth: 20.2 inches Max Towing Capacity: 6500lbs
GMC 2500 HD Denali (my pickup) Bed Length: 82.5 inches Width at Tailgate: 71.4 inches Depth: 22.4 inches Max Towing Capacity: 15,000 lbs
With a full sized pickup you can stack a pallet of lumber flat. Lumber is 8ft standard length. Whole sheets of plywood and drywall are 4ft x 8ft. A 12' roll of carpet sits on a roof rack without overhanging the front or back. There is just no comparing the two, they are made for completely different purposes.
My point is the full sized pickups have a place. I used to install carpet and hard floors. Now I tow an RV and need the higher clearance for the locations I visit. For little miss molly home maker or office job joe, full sized pickups are a ridiculous choice but don't judge if you don't know. Camping in remote locations isn't only for the affluent. Not everyone can afford a commuter vehicle in addition to their fun vehicle. They have to make a choice and drive what they own.
- They are bloated for no reason is my problem with them. I have an older chevy 3/4 ton for hauling our camper, boat, and the shit for renovating our fixer upper. The capability of a modern 3/4 ton is like 50% more at most, yet it's like 3 feet taller for no reason. I can still haul 3k+ lbs and tow 12k, but I can still see over the hood with very little issue.
  A modern half ton is bigger than my 2001 3/4 ton truck. The bloat is real.
- The bigger truck can move the weight, sure, but that aluminum bed isn't going to survive very long. The old design is easier to load and will last longer. And, yes, has more room for the bulkier stuff.

I don’t want to disrupt the circle jerk but those are two different models so this is not an apples to apples comparison. This is like comparing someone’s Subaru Outback to a Cadillac Escalade. Those are both SUVs but the Escalade is much bigger than the Outback. I’m not saying that trucks haven’t become giant monstrosities in recent history but this is a misleading post. If you compare a Ford Ranger or Tacoma from 20 years ago, it has gotten larger but it’s still a modest sized pickup truck in 2025.

I am a contractor and drive a pick up for work, it’s big and dumb.

Them bumpers don't line up and the wheel well of the "modern" one is taller than the hood and bed.

There's also double the seating in the one at the rear. The beds looks about the same size, but if the cabs had the same seating the primary difference would be the height.
But then it wouldn't be as reaction inducing.
inb4 fuck cars and such

More seating isn't an excuse - it's just a symptom of the problem.
Trucks were supposed to be practical work vehicles, but they've just become glorified masculine SUVs.
- 40 years ago it was common to put 5-6 people into the cab of the smaller truck. It wasn't comfortable for anyone but it was done. Worse however it was not safe for anyone (not enough seat belts) and so people died. Often those people were kids who should be in car seats, but instead were sitting on laps. If the weather wasn't too bad they would put some of those people in the bed of the truck (which could fit 15) instead of the cab.
- I'm saying if both vehicles bad the same number of seats, the length would be about the same.
  That doesn't mean the height is justified, but it would be much more helpful to compare vehicles with the same utility from back then and today.

I don't think I'd call that progress.

I think in this context it's talking about "industry progress" which just means "whatever path the industry has taken"
It's evolving, but backwards

Ahh it is so refreshing to know that Reddit’s hate boner for pickup trucks has spilled over into Lemmy.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Damaging the health and safety of the people around you to stroke your own ego is pretty much always a dick move.
- So you say this to everyone who owns a vehicle?

Bigger roads bigger trucks

This means you could probably call the Slate the retro pug of trucks.

Are the truck beds the same size?

I guess. But what's important is what they both will contain during their lifetime: nothing, or a few grocery bags.