Yeah what a weird comment from GP. The refrain that no one needs a full-size truck, that they're mall crawlers or compensation for undersized you-know-what is common on this site but I've never seen it taken to the level that "trades workers largely don't drive full sized trucks, actually".
Most trades workers don't need full-sized pickup trucks. They do need an 8 foot bed. An amazing number of full-sized pickups come with 6.5 foot beds by default, and cost extra for the 8 foot. They won't put 2 tons of gravel in there; they will put plywood sheets and lumber and power tools; boxes of nails and air compressors; the toolbox that they always want, the toolbox for this job, and the toolbox with backup tools that you lend to the guy who 'forgot' stuff. (Not the guy who 'loses' stuff.) None of that needs the big V8.
If you've got a 4 seat cab, you'll be asked to take a couple people out to the other site, but if you've got a 2 seater, maybe you don't get asked.
Four wheel drive and big wheels mean bad fuel economy. If you need them, there's something wrong because the mud is supposed to go on your boots, not your wheels. Your pickup is not an earthmover or a wrecker. One exception: if you've got a really big truck, you might get wintertime snow-plow jobs. They really aren't fun.
I think most trades would be better served by a van rather than a pickup truck. Ingress and egress is much easier. It is also easier to load and drive due to lower center of gravity. Expensive tools are out of the elements and generally safer (and so less risk of tools and material making their way onto the highway). Plus, better drag coefficient and so better efficiency. Finally, a roof rack allows for those items you mentioned like sheetrock and plywood, ladders and pipes.
The biggest problem I see is most of these men have an ego that would never allow them to buy and drive a van.
All but one of the contractors I’ve had working on my house over the last few years used vans: holds more and your stuff doesn’t get rained on or stolen.
The one exception was the HVAC guy who had an old 90s-size pickup, which he liked due to the better mileage. He needed to fit bulky stuff, not massively heavy things.
The independent plumber I use when something goes wrong with the pipes drives a GMC Savana van. He's really good; close to retirement age and very methodical and thorough and his prices are reasonable. The electrician I use also drives some sort of van. I've had a few other contractors out for different projects around the house and I'm starting to notice a correlation: the ones in the giant lifted pickup trucks are unreliable and overpriced; the ones who drive vans are the best.
My electrical contractor relative just bought a Metris over a Maverick because of storage space and interior shelving. This is extremely common. People who work outdoors usually prefer pickups because they have larger equipment and materials, and more varied terrain
Yup, my dad worked as an electrician with an ISP for some years, and he had a van. Think it was a Ford Transit that was fitted with drawers and cabinets for tools and parts. It was literally a workshop on wheels. All the tools and parts you could imaginable need.
Something like a Ram ProMaster van is rated for 6-7000 lbs towing capacity, which may not sound like much compared to pickups that primarily compete on the basis of that particular specification, but it's still definitely enough to be useful.
There are three specs that matter. (4wd matters in the hills, since it is surprisingly easy to get stuck on pavement/gravel when going uphill under load, but that is orthogonal).
The three things are bed capacity, max bed weight load, and towing capacity.
Weight in bed can matter, but once you’re above a few thousand pounds, you need to consider getting a dump trailer. Max carrying load matters more for conversions (e.g. to ambulances, adding toolboxes, etc). Towing matters for moving lots of weight.
In the cheap 150/1500 ICE class, Ford wins these days on bed capacity (3000lbs), due to having aluminum frames. Ram wins at towing capacity (10,000lbs).
As much as I like dunking the cybertruck for its impractical bed and Musk’s shenanigans, it can tow 14,000lbs, making it best in class for quarter ton trucks (assuming you count it in the same class as the ford F150 lightning).
So, I’d like one for driving to and from our local rockery, except that using it for that will beat it to hell, and a used truck + nice EV sedan will cost less, be more fun to drive, and win on total CO2 emissions. The sedan uses much less electricity than the cybertruck, and would be driven many more miles than the truck. I’d only put a few tanks of diesel into the truck per year.
Eventually, the grid will be more decarbonized, and batteries won’t be scarce. At that point, the cybertruck would probably be a better choice for me.
Source: We bought a 1500 truck that is slightly too small for our use cases.
Most full-sized trucks come with beds smaller than 6.5ft, that doesn't change the fact that most trades people drive full-sized trucks.
Four wheel drive is more necessary in specific climates (before the snow tire scolds come in, I run snow tires in the winter) and because an unloaded truck has a light rear end. Many trucks with 4wd can switch between 4wd and RWD. My truck has RWD, 4A (4 auto, aka AWD-ish), 4 high and 4 low as an option. I drive mostly in RWD unless I need power to all wheels for traction in snow and ice or when I am accelerating quickly off an incline (think uphill a dirt road onto blacktop where you have a blind corner) and then I drive in in 4A. I have needed 4 high and 4 low a handful of times. I have a "big v8" and get 21-22 MPG on the highway in RWD and and 18 or so around town. I drive heavy all-terain tires or my MPG would be better.
I've lived up North in Canada and very much liked the F150, even if it was not exactly quality material it did the job and never got stuck no matter how bad the weather got. We built a house with it and it did double duty as farm truck. I don't think there was another vehicle even close in price to that one that would have done the same job. I'd have been just as happy with a smaller engine though, a V6 would have been plenty. Except that one time when I pulled a full size semi out of ditch (that did require some extra weight in the bed). They are pretty versatile workhorses and for that area they're a good match. The only people that should drive them around cities are contractors and landscapers, guys in suits driving big pickups have other issues.
If you're running a profitable business, a few extra hundred dollars a month won't make much of a dent in your profits. OTOH, a larger, more comfortable vehicle is important when it's basically your "office."
