What happened to the real pickup trucks with regular cabs?

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Originally Posted by spasm3
ls1mike, how long is the bed on your new truck? I am curious if the long bed crew cab pickups make it harder to back into camping spaces.


8 foot bed 4 full doors like my old truck. 22 feet long. I have never had an issue. Check out Dash Point state Park or Sequim State Park in Washington state. I get all 22 feet of truck and 35 feet of trailer in those no issue.
 
Originally Posted by E365
I routinely chuckle at pickup drivers hauling stuff on the weekends, in the rain and snow, with their sofas and drywall getting wet ...‚

My gear stays watertight and locked up. 4x8 sheets fit perfectly.


Like lots of folks here you are making the assumption that they only use the truck for that. You are not hauling my 32 foot trailer, dirt, stones, or 3200 lbs of flooring with your setup.
While that works great for you, it is useless for me.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Those 4-door pickups are mostly mall crawlers and with the 4 foot beds, only good for weekend Home Depot mulch runs. My last truck was a longbed that could actually haul stuff in one trip.





I'm guessing you are referring to like a sport trac or ridgeline with a 4 foot ish bed? I agree a vehicle with a box that size is next to worthless other then mulch runs etc, or groceries.

but I've never seen a half ton with anything less then a 5.5 foot bed.

My brother has a 2016 F150 Supercrew with the 5.5 foot bed and it does everything he needs it to do, including pulling his 28 ft 10k GVW camper. If he needs more room to haul thats what his 4x8 trailer is for or he borrows my 20 foot deckover trailer for long lumber etc. it also doubles as a family vehicle besides the Edge that they have, and when its not towing it actually gets better mileage then the Edge


I have a pickup myself that i generally only use for towing, because with my explorer SUV the majority of what i haul can be done with my 5x8 trailer with a ramp which is much easier to load/unload then a pickup.


indeed now days a lot of people think they need a pickup in case they need to haul something here and there when they could just get a compact pick, crossover or suv that is capable of pulling a trailer that would do the job just fine.



I know people at my work place that drive their pickup there every day which is simply just unjustifiable
 
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My buddy had to order a new FORD F-150 Standard Cab/Short Box(~ 6ft? or 6.5ft?). No dealer carries them. So he ordered it exactly the way he wanted it to his specific liking. No more/no less! Took about 2+ months to build & deliver. He got a heck of a deal on it and a great price on his trade-in.
 
Originally Posted by Traction
I have never had a pickup truck that didn't have a regular cab with either a 8 foot box, or even a 6 1/2 foot bed. I have had many over the years, and now I can't find any. A crew cab truck with a 5 1/2 foot bed is pretty useless in my opinion as a truck for hauling stuff. Not much better than the Tahoe cop truck I currently have. I like it, but I can't haul much, and am ready to go back to a real pickup.


Those have been relegated to work trucks mostly.
With king and crew cabs taking over you can double duty the truck as a family/passenger rig much better.

You're totally right about hauling - but the tradeoff is no interior.

Lets say you have 2-3 people across the front in regular cab in the winter and you need to go on a hour long trip - where you gonna put your coats? you pretty much have to sit on them.
 
Originally Posted by E365
I routinely chuckle at pickup drivers hauling stuff on the weekends, in the rain and snow, with their sofas and drywall getting wet ...‚

My gear stays watertight and locked up. 4x8 sheets fit perfectly.

[Linked Image]



Trailers are great sometimes.

Trucks can tow trailers too -

For every rainy trip out here there are about 100 dry ones where not having to deal with a trailer, and the much lower speeds it imposes in places like california make it a real pia to deal with instead of just chucking whatever in the bed.
 
Originally Posted by E365
I routinely chuckle at pickup drivers hauling stuff on the weekends, in the rain and snow, with their sofas and drywall getting wet ...‚

My gear stays watertight and locked up. 4x8 sheets fit perfectly.

[Linked Image]


Where do the 4x12 sheets of drywall go?
 
Originally Posted by Traction
I have never had a pickup truck that didn't have a regular cab with either a 8 foot box, or even a 6 1/2 foot bed. I have had many over the years, and now I can't find any. A crew cab truck with a 5 1/2 foot bed is pretty useless in my opinion as a truck for hauling stuff. Not much better than the Tahoe cop truck I currently have. I like it, but I can't haul much, and am ready to go back to a real pickup.

Because there are fewer "working" trucks and people who don't mind getting their hands dirty and more family trucks that are all show. If it can't transport a sheet of plywood without it sticking out, it's not worth me having.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by Traction
I have never had a pickup truck that didn't have a regular cab with either a 8 foot box, or even a 6 1/2 foot bed. I have had many over the years, and now I can't find any. A crew cab truck with a 5 1/2 foot bed is pretty useless in my opinion as a truck for hauling stuff. Not much better than the Tahoe cop truck I currently have. I like it, but I can't haul much, and am ready to go back to a real pickup.

Because there are fewer "working" trucks and people who don't mind getting their hands dirty and more family trucks that are all show. If it can't transport a sheet of plywood without it sticking out, it's not worth me having.
My 5 1/2' box handles full sheets of plywood just fine. Along with 8' lumber, bags of concrete, totes of sand, cases of tile, firewood, grills, mountain bikes, 5s of paint, gun safes, toolboxes, etc. 12'+ lumber would be tricky. 8' boxes can't handle 16' lumber, full sticks of trim, and 20' pipe. It's easy to see why long boxes have fell by the wayside when you look at it objectively. If you haul real building materials you're going to need something other than just an 8' bed.
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
My buddy had to order a new FORD F-150 Standard Cab/Short Box(~ 6ft? or 6.5ft?). No dealer carries them. So he ordered it exactly the way he wanted it to his specific liking. No more/no less! Took about 2+ months to build & deliver. He got a heck of a deal on it and a great price on his trade-in.


When I was looking for a 2018 regular cab 4WD … the Houston market (huge PU inventories) had a number of F150's with the new V6 and open differential. They had 1 ecoboost with a locking rear and way over priced.
It took a long time for the F150's to sell … and they went cheap towards the end.

From GM? One GMC … but a WT series yet plastered with chrome. Dodge dealer had a hot rod RC truck.
I had to drive 135 miles to get my regular cab SWB Z71. IIRC, 2018 was the last year for that, it's all long bed now.
 
Yep … yesterday I hauled a bed and some firewood … had to back into a tight spot to unload ~ no choices.
Two things I was glad not to have: 1) trailer 2) long PU
 
Originally Posted by hatt
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
They wanted to start building $50,000 dollar trucks.


That's not even it, though. $50k doesn't buy you much when it comes to a new truck. I just spent 15 minutes quickly configuring base trim, regular cab, 8' box 1500 trucks from the Big 3. All 4x4, all with the V8 engine option. I added what I thought were the most basic options (power windows and locks, carpet, cloth seats, and maybe an appearance package). I spec'd the Ram with the larger, touch screen audio option (as the Silverado has it standard), it was unavailable in the Ford. On all 3, I added a locking or LS differential. Here's what I came up with:

2020 Ford F-150 XL: $40,350 MSRP

2020 Chevrolet Silverado WT: $38,995 MSRP

2019 Ram 1500 Classic (the new ram is N/A with a regular cab, in any trim): $37,735

And there's your issue. You used to be able to load a regular cab truck to the gills, and lots of guys wanted that. Now, everyone is replacing SUV's with $80k pickups. It's a fad. Since these trucks are being used as family haulers more and more, they need more seats.

The teeny tiny market for regular cab trucks just isn't worth the effort for the companies that build them.

Just for reference, I built the same 3 trucks but basically maxed them out. Not 100%, but maybe 95%. All were crew-cab long box trucks. Here's what I got:

2020 Ford F-150 Platinum - $66,220

2020 Chevrolet SIlverado High Country - $69,240

And the value leader of the group, with what is arguably the nicest interior and the nicest looks:

2020 Ram 1500 Limited: $67,855. With current incentives, $10k off that. A little good haggling, maybe $13k off. Money is cheap right now, people in the market would rather have the big boy truck.
Adjusted for inflation, what did a comparable truck cost 30 years ago? Today's lower level truck is more decked out that the top trim level trucks back in the day. Never mind much more powerful and capable. Price out an 80s K30 Silverado with a 454. That's more comparable to today's 1/2 ton lower end pickup.


I had a 1997 Ford F-150 Flareside 4X4 in regular cab. Cloth seats, automatic 4X4, AC (was pretty standard at that time) fog lights, class iv towing with the 4.6L V8 for $26K. In 1997 there were three engine choices: 4.2L V6, 4.6L V8 and 5.4L V8. Priced out at Ford.com for 2020 Ford F-150 with that same trim level and features (with the mid-line engine: 2.7L V6) is $40,275.

This is not my truck, but mine looked exactly like it in black:

[Linked Image from 4-photos5.motorcar.com]
 
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Originally Posted by spasm3
Now, i think there could be a market for a small single cab truck. Trucks in all segments have gotten bigger. I believe a small truck like the old mazda b2000 would be a hit with first home buyers as their second vehicle. Small enough to fit in the drive yet you can get a bags of mulch in the back.


Agreed, however, I think the truck manufacturers have convinced the families that they don't need a small 4 cylinder truck for weekend trips to Home Depot. They're selling the 4-door, V8, leather-lined pickups so much they are not making cars anymore.
 
Not to mention there has not been enough price or MPG difference in smaller PU's

It's gotten better … many sales later
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Originally Posted by Char Baby
My buddy had to order a new FORD F-150 Standard Cab/Short Box(~ 6ft? or 6.5ft?). No dealer carries them. So he ordered it exactly the way he wanted it to his specific liking. No more/no less! Took about 2+ months to build & deliver. He got a heck of a deal on it and a great price on his trade-in.


When I was looking for a 2018 regular cab 4WD … the Houston market (huge PU inventories) had a number of F150's with the new V6 and open differential. They had 1 ecoboost with a locking rear and way over priced.
It took a long time for the F150's to sell … and they went cheap towards the end.

From GM? One GMC … but a WT series yet plastered with chrome. Dodge dealer had a hot rod RC truck.
I had to drive 135 miles to get my regular cab SWB Z71. IIRC, 2018 was the last year for that, it's all long bed now.


While he was ordering this Std Cab F-150 4WD, he ordered/specified the 5.0 Coyote engine w/10 spd auto & 3.55 final drive along with towing pkd & plow pkg only because it was a value from the factory. He may tow a small trailer now & again but, will not plow Also got the OE spray-in bed liner along with several other features/options. But NO leather or moonroof. It's just the way he wants it...no more/no less.
 
Indeed … When I have messed around with "build your own" … the plow package comes with lots of good things for the money … and when looking, I was shocked to find nearly 50 4WD PU's without a locking rear.

It was too late for me to build … but I got a year end deal and then they stopped producing my model
 
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Times change, people change. I had a guy telling me all about his new pickup and I asked him if it was equipped like mine? My 2005 extended cab has 4X4, Z71, AC, windows and locks, posi rear, etc. I thought fairly well equipped. He said "Oh no, its not nearly as plain as your truck".
 
Originally Posted by 2002 Maxima SE
Originally Posted by hatt
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
They wanted to start building $50,000 dollar trucks.


That's not even it, though. $50k doesn't buy you much when it comes to a new truck. I just spent 15 minutes quickly configuring base trim, regular cab, 8' box 1500 trucks from the Big 3. All 4x4, all with the V8 engine option. I added what I thought were the most basic options (power windows and locks, carpet, cloth seats, and maybe an appearance package). I spec'd the Ram with the larger, touch screen audio option (as the Silverado has it standard), it was unavailable in the Ford. On all 3, I added a locking or LS differential. Here's what I came up with:

2020 Ford F-150 XL: $40,350 MSRP

2020 Chevrolet Silverado WT: $38,995 MSRP

2019 Ram 1500 Classic (the new ram is N/A with a regular cab, in any trim): $37,735

And there's your issue. You used to be able to load a regular cab truck to the gills, and lots of guys wanted that. Now, everyone is replacing SUV's with $80k pickups. It's a fad. Since these trucks are being used as family haulers more and more, they need more seats.

The teeny tiny market for regular cab trucks just isn't worth the effort for the companies that build them.

Just for reference, I built the same 3 trucks but basically maxed them out. Not 100%, but maybe 95%. All were crew-cab long box trucks. Here's what I got:

2020 Ford F-150 Platinum - $66,220

2020 Chevrolet SIlverado High Country - $69,240

And the value leader of the group, with what is arguably the nicest interior and the nicest looks:

2020 Ram 1500 Limited: $67,855. With current incentives, $10k off that. A little good haggling, maybe $13k off. Money is cheap right now, people in the market would rather have the big boy truck.
Adjusted for inflation, what did a comparable truck cost 30 years ago? Today's lower level truck is more decked out that the top trim level trucks back in the day. Never mind much more powerful and capable. Price out an 80s K30 Silverado with a 454. That's more comparable to today's 1/2 ton lower end pickup.


I had a 1997 Ford F-150 Flareside 4X4 in regular cab. Cloth seats, automatic 4X4, AC (was pretty standard at that time) fog lights, class iv towing with the 4.6L V8 for $26K. In 1997 there were three engine choices: 4.2L V6, 4.6L V8 and 5.4L V8. Priced out at Ford.com for 2020 Ford F-150 with that same trim level and features (with the mid-line engine: 2.7L V6) is $40,275.

This is not my truck, but mine looked exactly like it in black:

[Linked Image from 4-photos5.motorcar.com]


$26000 in 1997 is almost $42000 today. And no one pays sticker for F150s.
 
Well...this has been going on for a long time. In 1979, I went shopping for a dirt bike hauler. I was 23, didn't have much money, and just wanted a base model pickup. Went all over the city, and every lot was covered with pretty upscale trucks. Back then, that meant v8, auto, air, ps/pb, deluxe trim and interior. I told the salesman what I wanted and he burst out laughing. "Oh, you mean you want a farmer truck. You're going to have to go to a dealer out in the sticks to find one of those. Nobody in the city wants to drive something like that. " So, I found a dealer located in "the sticks", drove out and he had exactly what I wanted, six of them to be exact, all in a row!
 
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