OT The Ranger

If I tie the rear hatch down, yes. BTDT

Heck, I can fit bigger wood in my Ody than in my trailer. (5 X 8 enclosed)

For 16' boards, I've done this.

More like $4,000, buy-in difference. You can spend silly money on not much more than paint for any truck.

How much bling you can pile on a truck is rather meaningless.

I was considering a 32' ladder but couldn't figure out how to get it home. SWMBO pitched a fit, though, and we're hiring someone to do that work. I think I'm going to be limited to 20' from now on. ...And she isn't happy about that. Something about a fractured pelvis, bypass surgery, a pacemaker, and blood thinners. Narrow minded people!

An F 150 Platnium edition 55K, my ranger 40K. I do not know about your math but I know what I researched as to prices.

As are you thoughts

The Ranger only comes four door with a short bed. A blinged out Ranger to my way of thinking makes a poor substitute for an Escalade EXT that can be had used for the same money and is outfitted like, well, a Cadillac. And that unlike the Ranger will actually hold a sheet of plywood flat with the tailgate closed.

Honda calls their Ranger equivalent a "lifestyle truck". If I get a truck I want a truck to haul stuff, not to show the onlookers that I have a "truck lifestyle". If I want to impress the onlookers with my vehicle I'll go for a Tesla or a Corvette, not a cheap undersized truck.

Well I am glad you can tell me how to spend my money, I bought what I wanted, it is paid for no loan. My house is paid for, if I wanted a Tesla or a vette I could buy that with out a loan. So your opinion is yours and I do not care as to what you thoughts are as to what I should have done.

My trailer rig would have got the ladder home for you.

If your SWMBO was home, I would have used slip knots so I could drop it and speed away.

Since you brought it up, don't All trucks made today have a Lot more bling than they had 40 years ago? 40 years ago, you could get a truck for less than a car, right? Excuse me if I'm misusing the term bling here, I expect you know what I mean (suspension, etc.).

I remember when the passenger side visor was an option, there was no back bumper, chrome bumpers and grille were an option, standard mirror was a 3 1/2 inch round mirror clamped to the top front corner of the driver's door, a spare tire was optional. as was a second horn, the door panels were cardboard, as was the headliner. No such thing as power steering or brakes unless the truck was over 1 ton, where a hydrevac brake system was generally standard, and the dang thing RODE like a TRUCK, HANDLED like a TRUCK, and SOUNDED like a truck. When vans first came out the passenger seat was an option too.

In fairness, the mirrors and bumpers are Federally mandated now, and chrome bumpers are still an option.

As for "getting a truck for less than a car", that always depended on the truck and the car. It was hard to find a truck for less than a Beetle but for less than a full size sedan, sure.

And today, looking at Ford's web site and comparing base prices, the Ranger is right in the middle of the pack while the F-150 is in the same ballpark as what passes for a full sized sedan.

I remember my Dad's F100, where the ability to turn the heat _off_ was an option. As it came the heat was on _all_ _the_ _time_. In _Florida_. And turning it off involved opening the hood and turning a valve underneath the hood, once the valve was installed. While I'm fine with thrift, personally I think that that went just a tiny bit overboard.

Many of the fully loaded trucks never carry anything in the bed heavier than the owner's alter ego.

Short-bed four door trucks seem to be the new luxury sedans. Put a locking cover over the bed and you've even got a trunk.

An now we have heard from the truck expert.

Consider the source.

Escalade EXT = POS, there is a reason they are soooooo cheap to buy used.

Tesla = Can't go all day cross country with out several hours of rest at a "Spa"

How observant, and will out last more cheaply built cars.

Put a

As is "EVERY" other truck, regardless of doors or size.

Unless you want those features. My next truck, my 4th, will have most every option.

You can still get a loaded truck for less than a car. Cars in general can be had with a higher price tag. I'm not sure what an S-Class Mercedes would cost but the new 2019 Ram 1500 interior and ride has been compared to that by several sources.

FWIW trucks today pretty much come standard with AT, AC, PS, PB's, not the case a few decades ago.