HOWZAT??? Define "TRUCK"? You gotta be kidding...
 

OKAY - ALL RIGHT! WHAT IS A TRUCK!


YOU TELL ME :-X06


(please make sticky)

I see trouble here. Before the fur starts flying, here's my first "truck" and my latest "truck". Both Fords, both fun to drive both trucks by my definition.
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...5/scan0016.jpg

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...per_05/066.jpg

Yeah - but I mean (consider me a brain wiped electro-shocked patient with no clues...)



WHAT MAKES THEM TRUCKS?


Good question, when it gets STARED at that way, isn't it?

DEFINE TRUCK


How come that is different in some way?




no - you won't get off that easily


For example:
WHY IS AN EXCURSION NOT A STATION WAGON?



What is the fundamental difference that seperates a "MOTORCAR" from a "TRUCK"?



*I bet this gets real interesting. I bet the answer is from the early 1900's

Well, I think of trucks as something that can be used as a commercial vehicle. How about panel trucks? Early '30's sedan deliveries are technically trucks by that definition. While Excursions can tow well, I don't see many hauling stuff inside. So with that, I guess it needs to have a cargo area to be a real truck. Either that or a gun rack, LOL!

thirties saloons had gun racks - but that was mostly in chicago 8D

Besides - hunting deer with a Thompson would be unsporting...

At some point, the "AUTO-MOBILE" took two different directions.
One was CAR
We have the word "CAR" from the shortening of the word "CARRIAGE".
MOTOR CARRIAGES were an adaptation of the early engines to HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES back in the day...


~ The other was TRUCK!
(?)

DEFINE "TRUCK"

Why is that the word we have for a vehicle like these? Where did the word come from?

*RAILROAD cars also have "TRUCKS". That's what the wheel and axle assemblies are called at each end of the cars. They pre-date motor cars, but is that the end of the tale?

Truck= Peterbilt 379 extended hood, Cat power, big sleeper and all the goodies and just enough chrome and shiny aluminum. Don't want to spend all my time polishing.

Then let it sit in the driveway so I can look at it and remind myself why I don't want drive truck anymore.

Here ya are, according to Mr. Webster.

truck
noun
Definition of TRUCK
1
: a small wheel; specifically : a small strong wheel for a gun carriage
2
: a small wooden cap at the top of a flagstaff or masthead usually having holes for reeving flag or signal halyards
3
: a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles: as a : a strong horse-drawn or automotive vehicle (as a pickup) for hauling b : a small barrow consisting of a rectangular frame having at one end a pair of handles and at the other end a pair of small heavy wheels and a projecting edge to slide under a load —called also hand truck c : a small heavy rectangular frame supported on four wheels for moving heavy objects d : a small flat-topped car pushed or pulled by hand e : a shelved stand mounted on casters f : an automotive vehicle with a short chassis equipped with a swivel for attaching a trailer and used especially for the highway hauling of freight; also : a truck with attached trailer
4
a British : an open railroad freight car b : a swiveling carriage consisting of a frame with one or more pairs of wheels and springs to carry and guide one end (as of a railroad car) in turning sharp curves

Maybe you should specify as in a pickup-truck?

If you read some of the many, many argumentative-style posts on "real" trucks, in this whole site (for example: PSD vs V10) you'll see lots of guys only seem to consider their type of truck the only real truck. Real trucks burn diesel, real trucks don't have short beds, real trucks get muddy, and so it goes. Bullstuff. I've owned various makes and models and drivetrain configurations of trucks since '78 and they've all been "real trucks". For example, anyone not consider the lowly Chevy S10 a real truck? I used to own on and I can tell you firsthand that thing went places no diesel truck could ever go, all without drama or breakage, or even being maintained for that matter. I used to own a dropped GMC extra cab with a V6 and it spent most of it's life under a car cover, waxed and in the garage. But during the time I owned it, at various times it hauled my bike, drums of racing gas, plywood, sheetrock, firewood, towed our trailer and hauled my dogs to the beach. It also hauled my son home from the hospital when he was born. How about my Suburban? Is it not a truck? With the rear seat removed (it unclips easily) it has near the capacity of a shortbed pickup. I've used it to haul furniture, parts for my car projects, muddy dogs and stuff from the local builder's supply that darn sure won't fit in any car I know of. Yes, I know some guys haul stuff in their cars that I wouldn't but all the stuff I ever hauled in my Suburban didn't damage it, can't say that for my boss's Ford Focus when he hauled driveshafts in it for his side business. Trucks are like fancy art, I may not know the definition, but I know it when I see it.

Is this a truck?
Google Image Result for http://www.engineersupply.com/images/Safco-office-furniture-engineering-blueprint-storage/ES801-Safco-Continuous-Handle-Heavy-Duty-Hand-Truck-4092-md.jpg

That's a truck. A hand truck.

This is a truck also. A railroad car (or engine) truck.

File:Railroad truck,FM55-20.Fig8-8.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don't forget the truk on top of the flagpole. It contains (in the army {BTW, the garrison flag is ALWAYS located at BLDG 1 on ALL army posts}), 1 each 45 cal or 9mm round (whatever the CSM is carrying), 1 each razor blade and 1 each match (strike anywhere).
All kinds of trucks out there

According to the DMV, an Excursion IS a station wagon.

Excluding hand trucks, flagpole devices, etc. let us talk just about motor vehicles.

We had two Dodge vans back in the sixties, a Sportsman with a back seat and windows all around, registered as a station wagon and an A100 with no windows or seats aft of the front row, registered commercial. A Ford example would be Club Wagon vs Econoline.

I cant find the pertinent code section right now, but the term "Pickup Truck" is mentioned several times under the term "Commercial Vehicle", related to weight fees, as is the mention of "Station Wagon".

Not relevant. Californistan's motor vehicle laws are stupid commie crap and not relevant anywhere else. A 1/2 ton pickup is not a commercial truck. Most states don't even consider a 1-ton pickup a commercial truck.

my DMV considers my trucks all "light trucks" and only one of them has a bed ;)

DMV rules blow. I hate the shell on my F250, but it magically transforms it from "pickup" to "passenger car" and since it saves me about $200 in license fees, it stays. Why? I've still gotten about 3800 lbs of firewood in it with the shell, so whatever they think about it limiting the load capacity couldn't be more wrong.

How did you get away with that? Is the cap "permanently attached?". Did it have to be inspected by someone to verify?

Once one realizes that half the code is not about safety, but money, it all becomes clear.

The strangest thing is the unladen, not gross weight is taxed for trucks under 10K GVWR. That is the difference. Your state might call that commercial, where even a Falcon Ranchero is commerical here. The extra fee is only $8 if under 3K unladen, but it gets expensive for heavier rigs.

The term "1/2 Ton" is irrelevant. Tell me what about a 2011 F-150 is half a ton? They have porked out to the extent that some configurations push 7000lb unladen. The GVWR of a 1990 F-150 was only 5600lb. Even that had a 3/4 ton payload.

Nope. Car plates are a different number/letter sequence than commercail plates and therefore easily spotted by cops. If you have a shell on your pickup, you can apply for car plates and save money. All you have to do is fill out and sign an affidavit at the DMV and PRESTO! You're saving money. BTW, get caught driving a pickup without a shell and with car plates and the fine is big.

So what happens when your load won't fit with the cap on? Do you have to get a special permit?

Truck schmuck! The term has been watered down to the point of ridicule. All the SUV out there being considered a truck for the sole purpose so as not to be counted in a manufacturers CAFE rating. (corporate average fuel economy) Consider Porsche, sells more Cayannes (an SUV)than sport cars so I guess that makes them a truck manufacturer.

My Ranger is a truck. My wife's Expedition is an SUV.

I probably could make do with an El Camino though, my wife would be okay with a minivan or a station wagon.

My definition of a truck has nothing to do with cab size, or box size, 2 or 4 wheel drive, 6 ply or 10 ply tires, gas vs diesel, etc. There's a cab, there's a box. But here's the kicker, a Honda Ridgeline isn't a truck. When you see a truck, you know it's a truck. If you have to ask, it probably isn't a truck.

and my ranger is a truck not an suv! a class 8 truck is a tractor. all the others are cars or suv's! or cross overs what ever that means not a truck....

Is an El Camino a truck? Is an early 1960's F-100 without a separate cab and box a truck?

The Subaru BRAT was not a truck by definition only because there were two jump seats welded in the bed when it left the factory. The new Ford Transit Connect is also shipped with a back seat, which is removed after it clears Customs. Why in both cases? Chicken tax, a 25% import duty on imported trucks that was originally supposed to punish Germany for tariffs on US chicken meat in the 1950's. VW pickups were very expensive due to the tax.

Truck:

#1 - Rear wheel drive, or 4 wheel drive
#2 - Body on frame construction, no unibody
#3 - #1 & 2 rule out the honda ridgeline
#4 - Something you can work the piss out of, and still drive daily
#5 - A tow hitch
#6 - A bed bigger than 5 feet
#7 - Its all personal preferences, I could go on and on to say you gotta get a real truck dirty, you gotta haul and tow stuff, yadda yadda yadda, real trucks have manual transmission, all that. Everyones got a few basic rules about what it should be, but you sure know a real truck when you see one.

You either get a trailer or transfer back over to commercial plates and pay the difference. Once you have car plates, you can't remove the cap.

No. Maybe call it a station wagon with the roof cut off. But for my particular needs, I could make do with one.

In some internet pictures I've seen Aussie Falcon Utes similar to an El Camino, but in other pictures, I've seen Falcon Utes in cab/chassis configuration.
[quote-jimandmandy;10489727]Is an early 1960's F-100 without a separate cab and box a truck?[/QUOTE]
Yes.

Again, back to what I said earlier, when it comes to trucks, you know it when you see it.

howdy all,
theres a guy in australia that has one and its a cool looking rig really. and he has a mad max dup car thats pretty cool. but i forget who he is. its been about a year since i talked with him. we may have to go to the international chapters to see.

Truck: or big station wagon like the '65 Impala we had.

#1 - Rear wheel drive, or 4 wheel drive - check, RWD
#2 - Body on frame construction, no unibody - check
#3 - #1 & 2 rule out the honda ridgeline - but not the Chevy
#4 - Something you can work the piss out of, and still drive daily - check
#5 - A tow hitch - check
#6 - A bed bigger than 5 feet -check, 4x8 with the seats folded flat
#7 - Its all personal preferences, I could go on and on to say you gotta get a real truck dirty, you gotta haul and tow stuff, yadda yadda yadda, real trucks have manual transmission, all that...

That sounds like the Supreme Court definition of pornography.