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this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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One of those big trucks but they are immaculate, clean, scuff free. So not used for they are meant for: working.
Now they are just taking up space and being dangerous to the public just to try and help prop up someone's ego.
We have a few of those here in the Netherlands and it's so ridiculous it's almost sad. These big American trucks really aren't fit for Dutch roads. They're too large for the roads, they don't fit in any parking lot, and they look ridiculous next to any normal car. I could sort of understand that a farmer would have them, but even then it can't be that useful because it must be a hassle any time the truck needs to pass through a city or village.
Yeah I should have said: I'm from the Netherlands as well. And my gripes are only valid here I think. The roads here are NOT made for these monster sized units. Parking one of them means you are half way parked on the curb, meaning pedestrians and wheel chairs can no longer pass.
I've seen cases where these "parked units" block the flow of traffic and even trams!! #useless
"Parking lot princesses"
City trucks
I call those brodozers, and I hate those drivers. I've damned near gotten hit by them so many times cuz they can't see shit over their hood
Do you judge people driving clean, scuff free vans as well or only truck drivers?
I use my truck for work but other than having a roof rack you probably wouldn't be able to tell it's a work truck from the outside. When it gets dirty, I wash it, and when it gets dents or scratches I fix them. I don't want it to look like a beater.
A 4x4 truck with its big wheels and high ground clearance are features that allow the truck to move off-road. These features have the unfortunate side effect of making them dangerous to other road users, and very uneconomical / environmentally unfriendly. They also take up a lot of space.
Work vans and most cars are capable of driving on a building site or track.
Hood height, engine size, and the physical exterior dimensions of many vans are similar to those of pickup trucks. When used for work, it often just comes down to personal preference. One key difference is towing capacity - most vans are limited to around 750 kg, whereas trucks typically offer much more. Mine can tow up to 3000 kg.
Edit: Also, rear visibility in a van is much worse due to the enclosed cargo area. With a truck, you pretty much have 360-degree visibility.
Here's a great video by Fort Nine that explains how and why the shape and size of these trucks are a threat to everyone outside the vehicle.
This applies to vans just as well though. This Ford Transit is little over a meter longer than a Toyota Hilux so these pictures are roughly to scale.
Yeah that’s bullshit. Vans that can do the max of 3500kg are common as fuck. You probably looked at the wrong spec. 750kg is the max for a trailer without brakes, regardless of type of car. There are usually two numbers on the spec sheet, one for max towing weight for unbraked trailers and one for braked trailers.
True, my bad. Many of the most commonly used vans here can tow 2500kg as long as the trailer has brakes. Anything more than that is rare though. Even many of the other mid-size pickups can't tow 3000kg.
Yeah Sorry, I should have said I'm not American. I'm Dutch. I've been to the USA and these things "fit" better in a car-centric society. At least there is room.
But even there I still question it's usefulness, you cannot see right in front of you. You'd miss wheelchairs, children, etc. And van's can usually carry more the the flatbed of a truck.
I'm not American either - I'm from Finland. I’ve been to the Netherlands, and I can’t quite imagine owning a truck there either.
However, your criticism was about clean, scuff-free trucks broadly. If you had said that you judge people for owning a truck when they have no practical need for one, I wouldn’t have any issue with that. But that’s not what you said.
I don’t own one of those gigantic American trucks, but a mid-size one - think Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara, or Isuzu D-Max. The external dimensions and hood height on those are comparable to similarly sized work vans. So when someone needs a vehicle capable of hauling cargo, it’s basically a choice between a truck and a van - and there’s not much difference between the two in terms of pedestrian safety.
I’d even argue a truck might be safer, because you generally have better all-around visibility. Vans tend to have very limited rear visibility due to the enclosed cargo area. You could argue that a van is more convenient for hauling certain types of cargo, but that’s a separate discussion about practicality - not safety.