this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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Kei trucks can put the sides of the bed down, leaving a completely flat cargo surface. Depending on the model, the bed is 4-6ft long and 3.5-4.5ft wide with the sides up.
Part of the point is that a kei truck can do a good chunk of small utility trips without being gigantic or bad on gas.
They actually don't have very good fuel economy, around 20 mpg.
No way. I could see 20 in heavy city use and loaded, but 30 to 40 mpg is fairly standard.
I had a friend with one, he had mud tires on it and drove up a lot of hills. It was also really old, the newer ones probably get better gas mileage.
I can put my tools in the back of my truck cabin. And have the entire bed ready for materials.
I’d also never want to go over 40 mph or get on a suburban freeway in a Kei truck. You will die instantly in an accident otherwise. Their are zero safety features. And they’re not comfortable for any trip with any distance.
Kei truck is for people who work for the metropolitan city and never leave, or a university, or a golf course. Not a private contractor.
Trucks aren't for private contractors, vans are. They have several times as much cargo space in the back for the same footprint, thanks to the invention of WALLS you can lean stuff on. They're much lower to the ground so you don't gotta put a ramp down to load/unload stuff. It doesn't rain on your shit. There's a plethora of reasons why every tradesman and their mom has a van here in Europe.
The only reason American tradesmen buy trucks is machismo marketing, insane tax loopholes, and 1% of them actually needing the offroading capabilities (no, driving around a job site doesn't count as "offroading", a Sprinter will do that just fine). I will die on this hill. Trucks are absolutely awful vehicles in almost every way, which is why everywhere outside NA they're a small niche for offroaders and extremely insecure suburbanites.
Contractor here; vans are commonly used for trades that do lots of service work, and trucks for the ones who tend to do new installs/bigger jobs. You'll see entire fleets of trucks and vans at the same plumbing company for example and see the divide. I'm so often putting gross or unwieldy things in the bed that a van doesn't make sense, and there are plenty of other reasons a van might not be better. I've only ever seen locksmiths in vans for e.g., and never have seen a concrete finisher use anything other than a truck for a different example. It's a tool at the end of the day and such a weird stance to ignore that certain jobs could be better suited to one over the other.
All of that aside, the "vans" I'm used to seeing that contractors use are essentially big enclosed trucks anyways so not sure why you're calling one worse. Maybe it's a regional thing in naming? My truck is smaller than most work vans I see around, so you're saying I should be using the bigger vehicle that's less suited to the tasks I need it for?
I'm talking about these bad boys:
They've also got smaller sizes (down to regular cars with a square trunk like the Kangoo which a locksmith might use).
Ain't no way you can put even remotely as much in a pickup truck as you can in a Sprinter (or equivalent, there are a lot of companies in that game). By putting the bed much lower and having vertical walls as high as will legally fit in a standard tunnel, space is simply maximized in a way that a high bed with short walls cannot compete with, geometrically speaking. I've filled one of these bad boys with enough insulation for a whole house, and didn't even have to bother with straps. If you've got gross shit to put down, that's fine as well, the bed is built for it... Just hose it down at the end of the day lol, it's no different than a pickup truck.
These vans are so spacious that they're frequently converted into minibuses, it's absolutely wild. Throw in a mattress, bedframe, wardrobe, couple of TVs, washing machine, dryer, and you've still got several m³ on top to stuff with boxes and bags and shit. Literally the only downside is that they won't go up an 45° mud slope, which is why pickup trucks do exist in Europe, mostly in mountainous areas and occasionally on logging trails that get really muddy.
Ugh, you do you, but I'll stick with the truck. Having my tools (and myself!) in a separate and locked compartment from the box where all the gross and messy stuff goes is such a quality of life thing, and I don't need to hose it down every day because that's what it's for. I've helped a friend remove a bloated dead deer out if their back yard and can't imagine not throwing up if I had that in the back of a van....
I can grab stuff from and toss stuff into the box without opening or unlocking a single thing (full hands, big gloves, super dirty, etc), and can reach over the side from either side no problem. Plus a tailgate is such a handy workbench when grinding/cutting/drilling or doing anything messy really.
Sounds like that's too big of a vehicle for my tastes. I prefer something a bit smaller for fuel economy and visibility/maneuverability reasons.
Vans are great. Trucks are great. Different tools with different strengths. There isn't a one-size-fits-all for vehicles, so what works great for some might not for others.
Do you... think the back area of the van is connected to the cabin? It is not, the cabin is entirely closed off from what's behind.
Also like I said they've got vans in all sizes. Point is for the same footprint they store so, so, so much more than a truck.
Full size trucks aren't bad on gas anymore. The F-150 comes with a 2.7 litre turbocharged V6 base now, or you can upgrade to the 3.5L twin turbo V6 or 3.5L hybrid V6. Check your local dealers page, you won't find many 1/2 ton trucks with V8s anymore. They also have aluminum bodies and a 4-door weighs about the same as a regular cab shortbed truck did 20 years ago. Is the truck in the pic significantly more useful than the Kei truck? Not really unless you need to tow with it, or need the cabin space or seating.
I'm seeing like 16-20mpg on a site that compiles user reports of mileage for both the V6 and V8. Pretty sure that's what my 99 Ranger got so idk if I'd say "they aren't bad on gas anymore"
The 2.7 Ecoboost, which is by far the most common on sale right now, gets 20-26mpg, the 3.5L Ecoboost gets 18/24, and the 3.5L hybrid gets 25 combined. The V8 gets 17-25mpg, but most dealers aren't ordering many of those - check your local dealer's site and you'll see most new ones are the 2.7 and the 3.5L hybrid Powerboost.
That's pretty close to the Kei truck pictured, which gets in the neighborhood of 30mpg.
Dang where did you get all that info? Just asking cuz it's dead wrong. All of it
The 2.7 Ecoboost, which is by far the most common on sale right now, gets 20-26mpg, the 3.5L Ecoboost gets 18/24, and the 3.5L hybrid gets 25 combined.
You could've Googled instead of just assuming I'm a liar, but actual facts seem to get downvoted to oblivion here if they don't fit the narrative.
The funniest part is that you actually think that 25mpg "isn't bad on gas" lol
It's not for a fullsize truck. In fact, that's the average fuel economy for all vehicles sold in the US in 2022, while cars alone averaged around 31mpg. And considering the Kei trucks only do around 30mpg while having considerably less cargo volume, I'd say it's not a bad trade off if you need it for specific reasons that a smaller truck won't do, like towing or hauling larger/heavier items. Does everyone need a big ass truck or SUV? Hell no. But the numbers aren't as bad as they're made out to be - at least not for Ford. GM and Stellantis have some work to do.