Pickup Trucks | Page 29 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Pickup Trucks

Amazing how different tires affect the ride quality. I put some Cooper Road and Trail tires on partially for more rugged looks, partially for better snow and rain performance. With the oem tires the truck had a floaty feel and now it rides firm and planted.
With the stock tires in the back on the way back home I still had room to pick up a dozen hydrangeas and a Japanese Maple in the back. I do love having a truck again.
 

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GreyGhost said:
Meanwhile they allow "light truck" exemptions to bypass a ton of safety and emissions requirements.
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Not anymore. The under 4500kg trucks (half tons) are basically passenger cars now, which is why even the cheap ones aren't cheap anymore. The four door trucks have to pass the same intrusion test as a passenger car, and a pick up will SHINE in a frontal crash test (there's a lot of stuff up front... it's a truck)
The KEI cars and trucks won't pass crash tests, there's no crumple zone. You get hit in the front in a KEI truck your legs are crushed
 
I was having this discussion recently when looking at Mavericks.

An option would be to keep the GTI, and just buy an old Ranger or small truck and use it when needed.

Of course at that stage…I may as well just rent from HD or somewhere else on an as needed basis.

Right now the GTI has 120kg of mortar in the back…and you can really feel the weight.

I couldn’t fit more bricks into the back so will have to make another trip as wife needed her Ody yesterday.
 
bitzz said:
AND gas mileage
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Indeed. The ones I chose aren’t LT and although they look the part they aren’t meant for hard off-road so they’re still as light as the oem ones so mileage is unaffected (currently 21mpg in mixed spirited driving).
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
Indeed. The ones I chose aren’t LT and although they look the part they aren’t meant for hard off-road so they’re still as light as the oem ones so mileage is unaffected (currently 21mpg in mixed spirited driving).
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Our 22 Chevy 1/2 ton rolls on Firestone 10ply M/T LT work tires. Can't beat the traction and puncture resistance, loud AF.

No difference in MPG from the OE Goodyear Wranglers. The average fuel consumption is 14.0l/100KM mixed driving (unless we're towing).
 
This may be a very stupid question, so pardon my ignorance...

But how does one deal with the 'bounce' in the tail bed of a truck (small-mid size)? For instance I bought more thin bricks and noticed that even in the GTI/Odyssey there are some that can crack with just simply driving.

Pickups seem to be more prone to this type of vibration in the back end.

Is there something to put in the bed that can cushion the vibration? Or throw it in the cab if needed?
 
mimico_polak said:
This may be a very stupid question, so pardon my ignorance...

But how does one deal with the 'bounce' in the tail bed of a truck (small-mid size)? For instance I bought more thin bricks and noticed that even in the GTI/Odyssey there are some that can crack with just simply driving.

Pickups seem to be more prone to this type of vibration in the back end.

Is there something to put in the bed that can cushion the vibration? Or throw it in the cab if needed?
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Short answer is no. Slightly longer answer is suspension/tires and proper loading are the key. Stiff suspension and no weight equals crappy ride. Soft suspension and lots of weight equals crappy ride. My buddy puts helper springs in his trucks that don't touch when empty but add stiffness as you add weight. The fancier version of that is helper airbags that allow you to tune spring stiffness based on weight. I don't know of an aftermarket system that actively controls damping though. Spring stiffness is the best you can hope for.

As for brick veneer cracking, did you break up the skid? You want to keep them in as large a bundle as possible so they move as a unit and support each other. Also make sure the floor is flat without high points that make pressure points or fulcrums to break over. A sheet of plywood on the floor can solve many of those issues (I am thinking the van may have hooks or seat anchors or . . . that cause you issues).
 
mimico_polak said:
This may be a very stupid question, so pardon my ignorance...

But how does one deal with the 'bounce' in the tail bed of a truck (small-mid size)? For instance I bought more thin bricks and noticed that even in the GTI/Odyssey there are some that can crack with just simply driving.

Pickups seem to be more prone to this type of vibration in the back end.

Is there something to put in the bed that can cushion the vibration? Or throw it in the cab if needed?
Click to expand...
Easiest way to stop that is to strap it down in the bed so it doesn't bounce to begin with. No move = no crack.

Alternately, I had an OEM thick rubber mat when I had a Tacoma that helped protect stuff in the bed. Its biggest benefit was limiting the slide, so hard and heavy loads didn't need to be tied down as often to stop it sliding around and slamming back and forth on accel and braking. The (significant) tradeoff was loading heavy things was a lot harder, as they had to be lifted in rather than slid in. The composite bed of the Tacoma (and Santa Cruz and Ridgeline) tends to be super slippery.

With a crew cab, anything super fragile that's not too big can also be loaded into the back seat, which helps reduce the bounce. I have a dog cover on the back bench that's pretty that is made of a heavy canvas material, does a good job protecting the leather, and is way cheaper than fitted seat covers. It only takes a few minutes to put in or take out, so if I need to take non-grubby humans, it pops in the bed without issue. One thing I miss about the F-150 is both the absolutely massive size of the back seat, as well as the ability to fold up the seats nearly flush to open a sizeable space to tuck all sorts of stuff in with a nearly flat floor.
 
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