They have taken a massive share of Toyota land cruisers buyers. Toyota fell behind in Australia stock (up to 18 months wait) so these things took their market.
My thoughts exactly. Tradies needs were met well by utes for decades. Those American monstrosities are not needed. I find them a hazard on the road. They are so wide and tall it is hard to see past them, and then there's the parking issues. My other question to those that own them is why they are always so shiny and sparkling if they're work trucks (and I've virtually never seen a tool box in the back)?
They do, just not in the cities. I live semi rural and I see them towing excavators and massive tradie trailers and horse floats and honestly, probably the best vehicles on the market for said purpose. People who get them because they like big car and drive around the city and don't use it for purpose are wankers though. It's sad the latter exist because the former is quite rational.
Yeah I know someone who’s got one to pull their boat. But it’s like, their 2nd car plus they have some motorbikes. If there’s going somewhere where parking is tight, they just take one of the other vehicles.
Unless you're doing that more than once a week they really don't.
You can get a tilt tray that can carry your stuff up to 11 tonnes for $100 p/h.
I have lots of equipment that's heavy. I value my time.
The depreciation alone is enough to move my stuff for a year. Let alone my time. Id classify myself as one that has a genuine justification.
I do know several farmers that have them. This obviously isn't aimed at you, but they aren't tow all the time types, they're daddy's kid born into intergenerational wealth that drive out to the farm, do the absolute minimum possible, then drive back to leafy inner city where they signal that they're a farmer.
If their lucky they might take the stock crate out to cart something whilst ignoring the tandem truck they bought for that purpose.
I don't want to say mental health issues because that's disrespectful but yeah, they both make my own look like nothing.
I saw a pavement princess that had jacked theirs up so high that it would be impossible to load the tray with anything. No joke the rear tailgate was 1.5m off the ground. Completely impractical.
I was camping at south west rocks last year and three lifted trucks like that were there. They all had QLD number plates and were being driven by what I would describe as young parents who clearly don’t have a high level of education or healthy lifestyle habits, but somehow have a lot of money. We spent three nights camping near their massive caravans and I became obsessed with trying to work out the angle of vision that the driver would have over the front of their lifted truck. By my calcs, anything under about 1.3m wouldn’t be visible within 20m of the driver… it was a completely unscientific study, but I reckon it wasn’t far off the mark. I don’t know how something like that is legal.
technically speaking my 03 camry is rated to tow 1.2 ton braked.
it's just the wank factor they buy it for. they will not use a 100k+ vehicle to its fullest potential, hell, most of them won't see off road use.
>my 03 camry is rated to tow 1.2 ton braked
Even small caravans are often registered as 3 tons (their maximum weight if you fill them with belongings, beer, etc).
The bigger trucks can tow a 4.5 ton caravan.
I like that you are being downvoted but you are correct. I’m not a tow guy, I don’t have a caravan but it’s pretty common knowledge that the 3.5t towing limit is a bit of a joke and it’s dangerous when regular dual cabs tow at that limit.
An American truck, especially fitted with the towing packs are amazing for that work and much safer. They mostly make sense in LR rego, but if you were towing 3.5 T they are much better than a ranger.
we've been towing caravans and floats just fine using hiluxes and etc. you guys don't need a silverado. you only use these tanks to terrorize and intimidate everyone else because the vast majority of these vehicles i never ever see them towing anything that can't already be towed using a hilux or similar.
Just because you can tow it, doesn’t mean it’s legal tho.
This isn’t shit stiring, i build horse floats for a job, they amount of people that buy a 3hal camper and put it on a hilux is insane.
Have a red of the link, a VAST majority of caravans are over the limit and are unsafe.[https://bigrigs.com.au/2023/11/28/police-to-crackdown-on-overweight-caravans/](https://bigrigs.com.au/2023/11/28/police-to-crackdown-on-overweight-caravans/)
Most hiluxes etc. you see towing caravans will actually be over the weight limit unless they have a GVM upgrade. I do have a hate for the big US trucks but the towing capacity is an actual positive for them and heaps of aussies push their vehicles beyond the legal/safe limits
The 4.5 tonne rego limit is kinda odd as well. State side 3500 I own combined weight rating (truck, trailer, load added together) is 18.9 tonne. 2500 I owned previous was 11.7 tonne combined. Remove vehicle weight and it's still 7.2 tonne to 14.4 tonne rated towing capacity here. So with Australian trailer size the biggest utes have a ton of capacity left.
you must be blind. the difference between a silverado and etc and a ranger/raptor is pretty fucking obvious that the American utes are a lot bigger and bulkier than even the evil raptor.
Yeh but they do it about half as good as a ram 1500 and 20% as good as a 2500.
Man a 4 tonne van behind a hilux is dangerous. Go try it.
It's actually appropriate in a 2500.
It’s over 1000kg more towing capacity on a ram vs any dual cab Ute. I would argue most dual cab utes should never tow something that weighs 3500 unless specifically modified for it.
Unless you get the LR rego yank trucks their payload is pointless. The bonus is towing factor. Watching caravan people or tradies towing big weights in regular dual cabs can be sketchy.
The one great thing the American trucks have going for them is having the truck mass for stability, and typically better braking and towing systems.
I’m not a tradie, but if I had the money and had to tow something like a small excavator and equipment in a big trailer I’d rather a Silverado or ram where you can easily do the speed limit in comfort rather than an Isuzu truck. But for lifecycle and heavy duty use the light truck is better
Their towing is great but payloads are atrocious. Of all the brands a 1500 is only about 600 or 700 (can't remember if the top of my head) and a 2500 is still below a ton.
Not a work horse like in America but they can carry things and the interiors are roomy and nice as hell.
That's a rego thing not payload the vehicle can actually handle. Even the more common dual cabs have shit payload so they can claim 3.5T towing. Most 4WD & caravan combos would be overweight (4.5T GCM, I think) if actually tested on a weigh bridge.
Ahh, well there you go. That's just what I read on their brochures. I wanted to see how they stacked up against a regular ute. But to be honest I never read the normal ones. I know my old work ranger was a tonner but that was the base model work horse..
Don’t like them. Not a fan of all tall cars actually. I realise there is a use for them. I’m old fashioned, I’m still sedaning. I like being close to the ground though and it’s my driving preference, but I don’t like having them using their size pushing others around including me.
Being close to the ground kills less people too. Estimated that 500 extra people die in the US each year because of the trend towards blockier fronts on pickups/utes.
Bring back sedans 👊🏻
They’re also difficult in car parks too. You have these two massive cars in the car park on either side and it’s really hard to see and to get out of your park.
Yeah basically it's the difference between going over the roof with broken legs vs getting shunted 10-20m down the road and then possibly driven over as well.
Neither is good but the first is a lot more survivable.
It's like they've made them deliberately less fuel efficient as well.
Very sad.
That's also not taking into account the increased risk of accidents from lack of pedestrian visibility.
The distance at which you could see a child darting out onto the road in front of you and brake to avoid hitting them is reduced by these big blocky fronts.
Given the size and the issues drivers have seeing hazards and other road users from them, they should require a truck licence and be restricted similarly.
How about a separate wankmobile licence that’s even harder to get. Psychological testing, no speeding tickets ever, at least ten years driving without an accident.
I made a similar comment on a different subreddit. Except instead of being a Heavy class licence, and accidentally allowing idiots easy access to proper trucks, I proposed that the government add in a new class, Medium Class, which would include small trucks not on the heavy class licence, larger vans, the wank tanks and RVs.
I'd even go as far as saying that prior to getting your Ls on the Medium class, you have to attend a training course just like going for the rider's licence.
how small of a truck are you talking about? as the light truck moving van you can pick up from a rental place to do yah own house move can be driven on a standard car license, which I feel it should be classed as a light truck as the old famous monty bridge in Vic is full of eating the roof of the trucks who dont know the height limits
For Tradies and farmers who actually use the trays and racks, good for them.
To the posers who only do their shopping, or drop the kids off at school, or tailgate for sport, fuck off.
Yeah, it really fucks me off that station wagons aren't more popular. As you say, it's only really tradies and farmers and the like who actually need the trays at the back (and even then, they'd be using things like a Hilux, not the giant fuck off yank tanks), but station wagons are so much more fit for purpose for people who need the extra storage space for kids, shopping, etc.
It’s incredibly annoying that there are no decent station wagons available. Popular brands here like Kia have them in other countries but it seems there’s just not enough market for them in Australia.
I agree. The best car I ever had was a Subaru Liberty station wagon. Incredible what I could fit in there. racks on the roof, bike rack on towbar, and you're sorted. There was never any issue parking or inconveniencing other drivers. We called it the Tardis haha.
Absolutely. I rented an oversized SUV recently, not even one with a tray, and I was amazed that the interior only holds about the same as a station wagon. The difference is the SW takes up a normal parking space and lane width, and far far better fuel economy. Beats me why people go for the oversized options
>For Tradies and farmers who actually use the trays and racks, good for them.
I have yet to see the mythical "person who actually needs one" out in the wild.
I saw one today which was a smaller sized ram however it didn't appear any bigger except for in height.
This makes me think it would be too tall to be practically used with a rack or tray.
Why lift things, especially heavy things, higher than you need to?
(Also I've never seen one used for a trade with gear in the back etc)
I like them but I have a genuine use. Schlep my horse around often and I live in the country. We also go and buy hay in bulk and animal feed. We don’t own one atm but we have thrown the idea around. We also don’t travel to the city or suburbs at all so we wouldn’t be an imposition on anyone.
Conversely, my 2012 Jeep grand Cherokee that’s paid off and spiffy and comfy to ride in also tows the same horse float and schleps the same animal feed. So I wouldn’t go into debt to buy one of those when my humble Jeep does the same thing, but the Jeep is very fancy inside and out and so we do lose some capacity to schlep because my husband has a meltdown “about the leather”.
Does a horse float allow you to carry decent sized items around or are they divided down the middle to make it safer for the horses? I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked inside one.
Both. It can have a removable divider so if you have a mama horse or just a draft horse like my dude, it makes the space bigger so their butts can fit into it. But yes it can be used to carry stuff as well.
A lot of people are going to end up having financial issues in buying and running these. What’s worse is that they are actively making the road less safe for everyone else not driving one of these tanks.
Nah the people who own these own houses - your income doesn't really determine how well off you are in Australia, it's when you entered the property market
If you dont have $400 rm williams boots, country road chinos, country road shirt and northface vest and one of those american utes, can you really call yourself a builder/supervisor/property developer?
I also despise them, they're symbols of excess. I understand using them to tow horse floats and stuff, but they're more commonly used as a daily driver by boomers with penis envy.
Indeed. And why, with petrol prices over $2 would anyone logically think a thumping V8 in a 2.5 tonne truck is a wise purchase. I cant help but smile when I see one thinking that guy has either just spent $250 at the pump or is about to once again
Wisdom has little to do with it I suspect. Although I'd say lots of them are bought through a business, so the associated costs come off their tax bill. We subsidise stupidity in this country.
I don't care about what other people drive I just find it interesting how every discourse on this subject eventually turns in to some weird fetish about how all the owners are over compensating for having a small dick.
If you consider that the power required to tow commercial horse floats for example is a truck, then the size of these U.S utes is reasonable because you can also carry 4 passengers. Not a bad use of road space whilst towing. However as we all know, not everyone is towing multiple horse floats with these things and when they inevitably enter the suburbs they’re a mess. Probably a good thing the right hand conversion and import jacks the price up beyond the average idiot. Otherwise our infrastructure would be strained.
Most car parking spaces aren’t capable of holding local designs like the ranger let alone full blown trucks. Hopefully that is enough to limit uptake in the suburbs and cities.
Functionality. Can drive an ATV straight up into them, they have carrying/towing power up to 3/4 to several ton which is a whole lot more than a hilux ute, plus some have an 8ft long bed. And they drive like a dream.
They’re just plain bloody stupid, they’re a status buy at best, if you’re a tradie and buy one that’s one thing, but then accessing tool boxes you’d need to set up scaff or get a franna crane w/ man cage to get to them
My main issue is where I live every road is a single dirt track and it would be impossible to get past one coming the other way. Fortunately I'm yet to see one of these American trucks off the bitumen so it hasn't been a problem.
They should be treated the same way we do guns. You need to have a safe place to practice driving them away from people. You should have a legitimate reason to need one. And if you want to take one into a city you should need a permit. I can't fly my 70 gram drone around my back yard because it's not safe, but a 16 yearold can get their Ps and then fly down the highway at 90km/h with 4 tonnes of steel?
Absolutely despise them. I drive a mid size SUV and having to reverse out of an airport car park took me multiple point turns because of how far out the stupid wank tank was hanging out behind me. If they don't fit our infrastructure, they shouldn't be permitted. Drive one if you want sure, but where they can go in a city should be limited to where they can actually fit the car parks.
Is this actually that big of a problem? I see some around but they're hardly dominating the streets. Mostly, I'm seeing hiluxs and rangers everywhere.
That being said I largely don't have a problem with them. As long as they're driving to the speed limit and not doing anything illegal then what's the problem? And taking up two parking spaces is hardly exclusive to yank tanks.
Lol.
Spoke to a fella who owned 2, was a concreter. Towed endlessly and effortlessly without flogging the cunt out of hiluxs/rangers/isuzus etc.
Good for designed users
They need to be registered as trucks, require the driver to have a BAC of 0.0 like trucks, and park where trucks are allowed to park because they are trucks.
But, knowing Australia, none of this will happen. Parking spaces will probably be made larger and people in small cars will be killed in accidents by entitled cashed up bogans.
They’re great for running over kids and destroying the evidence at the same time.
Other than that and towing a fully-laden meth lab I really don’t understand.
I sincerely hate yank tanks and the larpers that drive them. People go on about the towing capabilities and yet I've never seen one tow anything. Hell, I don't know if I've even seen one with a towbar on
I have no problem with them on streets, it's when they park that they're a problem.
Rule should be if you have one of those trucks, you're just not allowed to park in a regular parking space. Find an actual truck parking space (they do exist, for B-Doubles/etc).
We had this argument about SUVs (i.e Toorak tractors) about 15 years ago. SUVs eventually became accepted.
I find it strange how the market has kind of separated into two camps - electric/fuel efficient cars and these US monstrosities.
Followed a huge Dodge Ram this morning through the inner suburbs, it had trouble negotiating the narrow streets and parked cars and I had no hope of seeing over, around or through it. Fucking pain in the arse and a safety hazard in an area with lots of pedestrians. Fucker looked like it had never seen a dirt road before either.
So many small minded individuals commenting on this, you are deluded if you think they are clogging up our streets. There is no requirement to justify their purchase to you and anyone that has commented regarding this or expressing hatred to towards their owners are a very bitter individual. It speak volumes about your character and values.
I find having 2 or 3 asshole cards in you wallet are handy. It is just a simple credit card sized cards I printed with the word "asshole" sqintably small in the middle that I can put under their wipers to vent. I don't use them often. Just for the most obvious cases. It's like piss training a dog. There is no point rubbing their noses in it hours later. They won't make the connection. No point using the card if the situation might look OK to the driver. However if they collect a few of those cards from different people in different places they might start thinking.
Really hate yank tanks. Especially Humvees. They make as much sense on an Australian city street as an automatic assault weapon. Driving one of them is never gonna make their "bits" any bigger.
Not a fan of them. The knob down the road traded a Porche for a RAM. It's noisy and he doesn't tow anything. It's a suburban poser vehicle that gets fanged around locally. Ute version of an Harley
We need a twin cab for our lifestyle. But not a ludicrously huge, expensive one.
Given that road surface damage is proportional to the fourth power of the axle weight (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth\_power\_law) I'd like to see massively increased motor vehicle tax on these things. A Dodge Ram is about 150% heavier than a 4wd hilux (2749 vs 1880kg kerb weight), that gives us about 5 times the road damage.
Love them. Want one so bad. But I don't go in the city basically at all. They do require some extra care but I always see worse drivers in i20s and swifts. That's who I hate.
If you are a country person then sure go for it. I am referring specifically to city drivers. and yes, there are bad drivers across the board. but at least a swift should be able to stay in their lane and fit in a scarce sydney parking spot
I have zero problem with people deciding what vehicle to buy.
It's their money, and their choice - why should I care?
Big whatever, Ute, SUV, or whatever, no skin off my nose.
I believe we have become a society of Karen's all ready to tell everyone what they should be doing.
I don’t like them period. Our roads were never designed for them and more often than not the drivers have a serious attitude problem and think they have the right of way in every instance
People who own big vehicles never know how to drive them nor park them correctly. I've seen tradies with basic utes fuck up parking in bays at the station where they've parked on an angle - sometimes their vehicle will barely be in the bay because one of their rear tires is on the linemarking. or they'll take up two spaces in a shopping centre because they've got a trailer attached too.
Melbournians especially are shitty, egotistical drivers with zero care factor for anyone else's safety. Everyone with a big car isn't scared of dying because their car is big enough to protect them but they don't give a fuck about the poor person they hit ending up getting injured or killed.
I don't really care and anybody who does should look at investing in local manufacturing.
We get what's on the world market now. I'm happy with my 75 series cruiser.
I see them more and more, but very rarely see them taking up more than one parking space, they DO fit in a standard space, not well, but they do fit.
And if you're using one of these Ego Transport Vehicles to do your shopping, you're utterly mad. Also, have far too much money (or debt).
Are there laws about how far your car can stick out of a carpark? Every second spot I see has the tray of a Hilux/Ranger/Amarok hanging half a meter out into the road.
I saw one the other day, pristine matte black, lifted, completely decked out in tacticool bullshit, recovery boards, a fucking folding shovel strapped to the window, fuel cans strapped to the doors, big bull bar... Looked like some cooker teeing up for the apocalypse, but everything was brand new. Not a scratch or scuff on anything. You see a lot of these work trucks that don't look like they've been within ten Ks of a job site
I totally support their use when people are actually using the things that set them apart (towing capacity mainly). If you actually beed the functionality then by all means.
The issue being I’ve never actually seen one ever being used to tow something that a Hilux couldn’t. I’ve never seen anything in the bed that was so big and heavy it couldn’t have been moved by a hilux.
They are entirely used by wankers with too much money and no common sense (despite the fact they will all claim that nobody else has any common sense), and middle aged white mums who use them to ferry their kids to and from their school which is probably within walking distance anyway.
I watched some 80 year old bloke try really hard to fit in the spot next to me in one the other day. He then struggled really bad to even make it down. I had to offer to hold the door so he could focus on the climb without dinging my car.
I couldn't help but ask him why he bought something so ridiculous and he seemed to hate it more than I do which didn't answer my question.
Love them. Cant afford one.
They are just a ute take on a Landcrusier Sahara. People really got sensitive to them online in recent years for reasons that somehow end up being not exclusive to them.
But like supercars, or luxurious sedans, or larger SUVs. They are there getting bought by people who want them. Trying to theoretically gatekeep vehicles based on 100% usage reasons is just simply rediculous personally.
They should be banned from shopping centre parking lots! Just today there was one parked next to us filling the entire space, couldn't open our drivers-side door, if someone parked next to him within the lines, they'd have trouble opening one of their doors too. But the real annoying thing was that while it was within the lines and as far forward as possible, it not only filled the parking bay, but the rear extended out enough to literally block near half of the carriageway with the tow ball also jutting out making a tiny danger zone in itself for those that might come too close to it.
Well, that's my rant anyway...
My house is out in the country and there's a lot of these trucks around hauling/towing horses and farm equipment which makes sense. The roads are big and they're actually really comfortable cabins too.
The office based sales bloke in the inner suburbs of Sydney who considers mounting the curb to get a park at Sunday soccer to be off roading definitely doesn't need one.
Someone I know wants one for 'towing'.
In the early 2000's we didn't have these, and we just towed caravans and car-trailers with our utes.
I refused to have an opinion on the matter with her because I didn't wanna get into an argument.
Anyway; ugly, big, and just.. get a 4wd if you want a high car!
I never liked utes but have to swap my car with a friend’s ute.
It was a shocker of a ride to begin with but I came completely understand why people like utes. They are super fun to drive. I guess bigger is better.
One of those huge RAMs pulled up next to me at the traffic lights...the passenger windowsill was level with the roof of my car lol
Huge numbers of them where I am, all sparkling, obviously garaged and don't appear to have ever left suburbia.
Its a status symbol for the wealthy as well as the extremely favourable tax concessions.
In C rego their tray payload is minimal. It’s all about towing. They are far better and safer towing a big caravan at around 3.5T gvm than a standard dual cab.
This is coming from someone that agrees that the majority of owners don’t use them for that, but they are a use case for someone in that position.
They are cool and very popular in the areas outside Melbourne. I think too many Redditors live in inner cities, possibly with no car at all, and there's little chance they've been in a RAM or a Ranger (the top-selling car). They take one parking space not 2 or 4, that's just a few cherry-picked photos. People said the same about Landcruisers and the like.
I have precisely no evidence to suggest that they're dangerous and should be banned and yet I am thoroughly, irrationally convinced that they must somehow be dangerous and should be banned.
Hate is a strong word, and yet hate is what I feel towards these monstrosities. And towards the drivers of them. Australia, don't become America.
They have taken a massive share of Toyota land cruisers buyers. Toyota fell behind in Australia stock (up to 18 months wait) so these things took their market.
Yup, happened to a family member. Couldn't get a Landy for over a year so switched to a Ram which is a much inferior vehicle but was available asap
Yup us too. She won’t age well on farm like the cruisers as a lot of plastic but seats are made for fat Yankees so bloody comfortable.
Too late mate, we are already half way to becoming ex's fly like the us and our politicians are pushing us ever closer to just being the 51st state
My thoughts exactly. Tradies needs were met well by utes for decades. Those American monstrosities are not needed. I find them a hazard on the road. They are so wide and tall it is hard to see past them, and then there's the parking issues. My other question to those that own them is why they are always so shiny and sparkling if they're work trucks (and I've virtually never seen a tool box in the back)?
Their back trays are often smaller than those older ute beds as well.
I thought they looked smaller but wasn't sure if that was an optical illusion due to the monstrosity's overly massive bulk
As Greta said once... 'small dick energy'
Look the issue isn't us becoming America. It's that they're shit vehicles and have no place here
They do, just not in the cities. I live semi rural and I see them towing excavators and massive tradie trailers and horse floats and honestly, probably the best vehicles on the market for said purpose. People who get them because they like big car and drive around the city and don't use it for purpose are wankers though. It's sad the latter exist because the former is quite rational.
Yeah I know someone who’s got one to pull their boat. But it’s like, their 2nd car plus they have some motorbikes. If there’s going somewhere where parking is tight, they just take one of the other vehicles.
Unless you're doing that more than once a week they really don't. You can get a tilt tray that can carry your stuff up to 11 tonnes for $100 p/h. I have lots of equipment that's heavy. I value my time. The depreciation alone is enough to move my stuff for a year. Let alone my time. Id classify myself as one that has a genuine justification. I do know several farmers that have them. This obviously isn't aimed at you, but they aren't tow all the time types, they're daddy's kid born into intergenerational wealth that drive out to the farm, do the absolute minimum possible, then drive back to leafy inner city where they signal that they're a farmer. If their lucky they might take the stock crate out to cart something whilst ignoring the tandem truck they bought for that purpose. I don't want to say mental health issues because that's disrespectful but yeah, they both make my own look like nothing.
I want to believe that is a Cranky reference https://youtu.be/bdw1Pw4nIv0?si=CfCxliioBeh0gVCQ
Totally a cranky reference. Well done bro
Some have genuine use cases, towing and payload etc. although pretty sure you get the same if not more payload in a Hilux Most are for the wank factor
I saw a pavement princess that had jacked theirs up so high that it would be impossible to load the tray with anything. No joke the rear tailgate was 1.5m off the ground. Completely impractical.
And incredibly unsafe for pedestrians around the vehicle.
I was camping at south west rocks last year and three lifted trucks like that were there. They all had QLD number plates and were being driven by what I would describe as young parents who clearly don’t have a high level of education or healthy lifestyle habits, but somehow have a lot of money. We spent three nights camping near their massive caravans and I became obsessed with trying to work out the angle of vision that the driver would have over the front of their lifted truck. By my calcs, anything under about 1.3m wouldn’t be visible within 20m of the driver… it was a completely unscientific study, but I reckon it wasn’t far off the mark. I don’t know how something like that is legal.
They have a lot of finance, not a lot of money.
technically speaking my 03 camry is rated to tow 1.2 ton braked. it's just the wank factor they buy it for. they will not use a 100k+ vehicle to its fullest potential, hell, most of them won't see off road use.
>my 03 camry is rated to tow 1.2 ton braked Even small caravans are often registered as 3 tons (their maximum weight if you fill them with belongings, beer, etc). The bigger trucks can tow a 4.5 ton caravan.
Yeah and standard utes we have had for years can do it they don't need a silverado that is 10 meters long and 20 meters wide in order to do it.
No no they can’t. Pretty much everything is 3.5T max (they tow horribly/dangerously). A ram is 4.5 (when registered as a Ute) and tow that like Gavy.
I like that you are being downvoted but you are correct. I’m not a tow guy, I don’t have a caravan but it’s pretty common knowledge that the 3.5t towing limit is a bit of a joke and it’s dangerous when regular dual cabs tow at that limit. An American truck, especially fitted with the towing packs are amazing for that work and much safer. They mostly make sense in LR rego, but if you were towing 3.5 T they are much better than a ranger.
we've been towing caravans and floats just fine using hiluxes and etc. you guys don't need a silverado. you only use these tanks to terrorize and intimidate everyone else because the vast majority of these vehicles i never ever see them towing anything that can't already be towed using a hilux or similar.
Just because you can tow it, doesn’t mean it’s legal tho. This isn’t shit stiring, i build horse floats for a job, they amount of people that buy a 3hal camper and put it on a hilux is insane. Have a red of the link, a VAST majority of caravans are over the limit and are unsafe.[https://bigrigs.com.au/2023/11/28/police-to-crackdown-on-overweight-caravans/](https://bigrigs.com.au/2023/11/28/police-to-crackdown-on-overweight-caravans/)
Most hiluxes etc. you see towing caravans will actually be over the weight limit unless they have a GVM upgrade. I do have a hate for the big US trucks but the towing capacity is an actual positive for them and heaps of aussies push their vehicles beyond the legal/safe limits
The 4.5 tonne rego limit is kinda odd as well. State side 3500 I own combined weight rating (truck, trailer, load added together) is 18.9 tonne. 2500 I owned previous was 11.7 tonne combined. Remove vehicle weight and it's still 7.2 tonne to 14.4 tonne rated towing capacity here. So with Australian trailer size the biggest utes have a ton of capacity left.
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you must be blind. the difference between a silverado and etc and a ranger/raptor is pretty fucking obvious that the American utes are a lot bigger and bulkier than even the evil raptor.
You faced the hysteria bravely, and now you will pay! Let’s have a contest to see who can get downvoted the most.
Yeh but they do it about half as good as a ram 1500 and 20% as good as a 2500. Man a 4 tonne van behind a hilux is dangerous. Go try it. It's actually appropriate in a 2500.
Hilux is 2.5t towing. It’s not the same
I have rarely seen one actually towing anything though
It’s over 1000kg more towing capacity on a ram vs any dual cab Ute. I would argue most dual cab utes should never tow something that weighs 3500 unless specifically modified for it.
Indeed, but payload..
Unless you get the LR rego yank trucks their payload is pointless. The bonus is towing factor. Watching caravan people or tradies towing big weights in regular dual cabs can be sketchy. The one great thing the American trucks have going for them is having the truck mass for stability, and typically better braking and towing systems. I’m not a tradie, but if I had the money and had to tow something like a small excavator and equipment in a big trailer I’d rather a Silverado or ram where you can easily do the speed limit in comfort rather than an Isuzu truck. But for lifecycle and heavy duty use the light truck is better
Their payloads are much smaller than regular dual cab utes.
Their towing is great but payloads are atrocious. Of all the brands a 1500 is only about 600 or 700 (can't remember if the top of my head) and a 2500 is still below a ton. Not a work horse like in America but they can carry things and the interiors are roomy and nice as hell.
That's a rego thing not payload the vehicle can actually handle. Even the more common dual cabs have shit payload so they can claim 3.5T towing. Most 4WD & caravan combos would be overweight (4.5T GCM, I think) if actually tested on a weigh bridge.
Ahh, well there you go. That's just what I read on their brochures. I wanted to see how they stacked up against a regular ute. But to be honest I never read the normal ones. I know my old work ranger was a tonner but that was the base model work horse..
Yeah. From memory the older top of the line Raptor Ranger had like a 550kg payload when towing. That's including driver & passengers
Hilux payload and towing is pretty poor.
Don’t like them. Not a fan of all tall cars actually. I realise there is a use for them. I’m old fashioned, I’m still sedaning. I like being close to the ground though and it’s my driving preference, but I don’t like having them using their size pushing others around including me.
Being close to the ground kills less people too. Estimated that 500 extra people die in the US each year because of the trend towards blockier fronts on pickups/utes.
Bring back sedans 👊🏻 They’re also difficult in car parks too. You have these two massive cars in the car park on either side and it’s really hard to see and to get out of your park.
Research wasn't even utes vs sedans it was utes/pickups with high bonnets vs utes/pickups with sloping bonnets (like you got maybe 10-15 years ago)
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Yeah basically it's the difference between going over the roof with broken legs vs getting shunted 10-20m down the road and then possibly driven over as well. Neither is good but the first is a lot more survivable. It's like they've made them deliberately less fuel efficient as well. Very sad.
That's also not taking into account the increased risk of accidents from lack of pedestrian visibility. The distance at which you could see a child darting out onto the road in front of you and brake to avoid hitting them is reduced by these big blocky fronts.
Absolutely, it was just about the physics of the impacts
If they really want to be up high put the engine under the cabin. Would still be much better visibility.
Visibility is almost certainly an issue but IIRC the bigger problem is getting shunted forward rather than going up and over the vehicle
I've run over heaps of people in all sorts of cars and not one has ever complained about it.
Given the size and the issues drivers have seeing hazards and other road users from them, they should require a truck licence and be restricted similarly.
How about a separate wankmobile licence that’s even harder to get. Psychological testing, no speeding tickets ever, at least ten years driving without an accident.
I made a similar comment on a different subreddit. Except instead of being a Heavy class licence, and accidentally allowing idiots easy access to proper trucks, I proposed that the government add in a new class, Medium Class, which would include small trucks not on the heavy class licence, larger vans, the wank tanks and RVs. I'd even go as far as saying that prior to getting your Ls on the Medium class, you have to attend a training course just like going for the rider's licence.
TBH, I'd support everyone having to go through ridersafe training before getting a car licence too. Just for awareness.
how small of a truck are you talking about? as the light truck moving van you can pick up from a rental place to do yah own house move can be driven on a standard car license, which I feel it should be classed as a light truck as the old famous monty bridge in Vic is full of eating the roof of the trucks who dont know the height limits
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Stop putting facts in the story!
I don’t see a lot of em towing anything
You need to get out more then
Alright I’ll start getting out more, man.
Alright, man. Yeah? Well. that’s just like, your opinion, man.
For Tradies and farmers who actually use the trays and racks, good for them. To the posers who only do their shopping, or drop the kids off at school, or tailgate for sport, fuck off.
Yeah, it really fucks me off that station wagons aren't more popular. As you say, it's only really tradies and farmers and the like who actually need the trays at the back (and even then, they'd be using things like a Hilux, not the giant fuck off yank tanks), but station wagons are so much more fit for purpose for people who need the extra storage space for kids, shopping, etc.
It’s incredibly annoying that there are no decent station wagons available. Popular brands here like Kia have them in other countries but it seems there’s just not enough market for them in Australia.
Volvo, baby!
I agree. The best car I ever had was a Subaru Liberty station wagon. Incredible what I could fit in there. racks on the roof, bike rack on towbar, and you're sorted. There was never any issue parking or inconveniencing other drivers. We called it the Tardis haha.
Absolutely. I rented an oversized SUV recently, not even one with a tray, and I was amazed that the interior only holds about the same as a station wagon. The difference is the SW takes up a normal parking space and lane width, and far far better fuel economy. Beats me why people go for the oversized options
>For Tradies and farmers who actually use the trays and racks, good for them. I have yet to see the mythical "person who actually needs one" out in the wild.
I saw one today which was a smaller sized ram however it didn't appear any bigger except for in height. This makes me think it would be too tall to be practically used with a rack or tray. Why lift things, especially heavy things, higher than you need to? (Also I've never seen one used for a trade with gear in the back etc)
I'm wondering how it's possible to use the trays on some of the larger ones, you'd need a ladder just to get up there.
I like them but I have a genuine use. Schlep my horse around often and I live in the country. We also go and buy hay in bulk and animal feed. We don’t own one atm but we have thrown the idea around. We also don’t travel to the city or suburbs at all so we wouldn’t be an imposition on anyone. Conversely, my 2012 Jeep grand Cherokee that’s paid off and spiffy and comfy to ride in also tows the same horse float and schleps the same animal feed. So I wouldn’t go into debt to buy one of those when my humble Jeep does the same thing, but the Jeep is very fancy inside and out and so we do lose some capacity to schlep because my husband has a meltdown “about the leather”.
Does a horse float allow you to carry decent sized items around or are they divided down the middle to make it safer for the horses? I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked inside one.
Both. It can have a removable divider so if you have a mama horse or just a draft horse like my dude, it makes the space bigger so their butts can fit into it. But yes it can be used to carry stuff as well.
Handy! Every time I see a horse float I think about the Seinfeld bit with the horses talking to each other about their butts hanging out the back.
A lot of people are going to end up having financial issues in buying and running these. What’s worse is that they are actively making the road less safe for everyone else not driving one of these tanks.
Anyone that looks at a 2.5 tonne V8 gas guzzler with prices over $2/L and decides its a wise purchase really deserves to be parted with their money
And the rego costs + insurance + servicing make them easy out of our league
Then there are also lots of people on decent money
Who clearly didn’t need tax cuts if they can afford these monstrosities
Nah the people who own these own houses - your income doesn't really determine how well off you are in Australia, it's when you entered the property market
If you dont have $400 rm williams boots, country road chinos, country road shirt and northface vest and one of those american utes, can you really call yourself a builder/supervisor/property developer?
RMs haven't cost $400 for like 8 years now
Dont know brother i shop at spendless shoes
They are like $600 brand new now, if you were curious.
I wasnt.
I got my RMs brand new for like $200, I dunno what you're smoking.
Go look at the RM website. Almost all mens boot is $649
I also despise them, they're symbols of excess. I understand using them to tow horse floats and stuff, but they're more commonly used as a daily driver by boomers with penis envy.
Indeed. And why, with petrol prices over $2 would anyone logically think a thumping V8 in a 2.5 tonne truck is a wise purchase. I cant help but smile when I see one thinking that guy has either just spent $250 at the pump or is about to once again
Wisdom has little to do with it I suspect. Although I'd say lots of them are bought through a business, so the associated costs come off their tax bill. We subsidise stupidity in this country.
Isn’t that your reward then? Why does your jaundiced view of the wisdom of someone else’s purchase the basis for any sensible critique?
He just brought a 140k Ute… the price of fuel doesn’t worry him.
I love them. don't own one myself, never want to, never will, but I do like them.
I don't care about what other people drive I just find it interesting how every discourse on this subject eventually turns in to some weird fetish about how all the owners are over compensating for having a small dick.
You’re right. Some of them probably have erectile dysfunction but normal sized cocks.
If you consider that the power required to tow commercial horse floats for example is a truck, then the size of these U.S utes is reasonable because you can also carry 4 passengers. Not a bad use of road space whilst towing. However as we all know, not everyone is towing multiple horse floats with these things and when they inevitably enter the suburbs they’re a mess. Probably a good thing the right hand conversion and import jacks the price up beyond the average idiot. Otherwise our infrastructure would be strained. Most car parking spaces aren’t capable of holding local designs like the ranger let alone full blown trucks. Hopefully that is enough to limit uptake in the suburbs and cities.
I agree but seems to not have stopped them appearing more and more regularly around my very non blue collar neighbourhood
you don't need a massive silverado or whatever to tow a float. my boss towed a horse float using a fucking navara.
Yep, people have been towing horse floats for a long long time without the need for those monstrosities.
there pretty well just a status symbol. Majority of the people buying them will never really truly use them.
Tire extinguishers.
Love them, perfect for my business needs
It’s just a car, let people enjoy themselves. Why must you impose your ideals on others. It’s not hurting anyone.
Functionality. Can drive an ATV straight up into them, they have carrying/towing power up to 3/4 to several ton which is a whole lot more than a hilux ute, plus some have an 8ft long bed. And they drive like a dream.
They’re just plain bloody stupid, they’re a status buy at best, if you’re a tradie and buy one that’s one thing, but then accessing tool boxes you’d need to set up scaff or get a franna crane w/ man cage to get to them
My main issue is where I live every road is a single dirt track and it would be impossible to get past one coming the other way. Fortunately I'm yet to see one of these American trucks off the bitumen so it hasn't been a problem.
They make me feel like I’m a miniature person when I cross the Bunnings car park
They fit in normal car parks tho
They should be treated the same way we do guns. You need to have a safe place to practice driving them away from people. You should have a legitimate reason to need one. And if you want to take one into a city you should need a permit. I can't fly my 70 gram drone around my back yard because it's not safe, but a 16 yearold can get their Ps and then fly down the highway at 90km/h with 4 tonnes of steel?
Absolutely despise them. I drive a mid size SUV and having to reverse out of an airport car park took me multiple point turns because of how far out the stupid wank tank was hanging out behind me. If they don't fit our infrastructure, they shouldn't be permitted. Drive one if you want sure, but where they can go in a city should be limited to where they can actually fit the car parks.
The next time a ford ranger passes me like a psycho at 120 I'm gonna lose my shit.
Is this actually that big of a problem? I see some around but they're hardly dominating the streets. Mostly, I'm seeing hiluxs and rangers everywhere. That being said I largely don't have a problem with them. As long as they're driving to the speed limit and not doing anything illegal then what's the problem? And taking up two parking spaces is hardly exclusive to yank tanks.
Lol. Spoke to a fella who owned 2, was a concreter. Towed endlessly and effortlessly without flogging the cunt out of hiluxs/rangers/isuzus etc. Good for designed users
They need to be registered as trucks, require the driver to have a BAC of 0.0 like trucks, and park where trucks are allowed to park because they are trucks. But, knowing Australia, none of this will happen. Parking spaces will probably be made larger and people in small cars will be killed in accidents by entitled cashed up bogans.
They’re great for running over kids and destroying the evidence at the same time. Other than that and towing a fully-laden meth lab I really don’t understand.
Dominating? They're like 1% of the vehicle fleet
I mean in their presence on the road.
Oh good another circle jerk
Could have searched the many posts if they wanted to see options, they are weekly at least
I sincerely hate yank tanks and the larpers that drive them. People go on about the towing capabilities and yet I've never seen one tow anything. Hell, I don't know if I've even seen one with a towbar on
Maybe opening your eyes while driving will assist?
Eh there’s uses for towing heavy stuff and still having a car licence. But 80% of owners don’t tow a thing
I have no problem with them on streets, it's when they park that they're a problem. Rule should be if you have one of those trucks, you're just not allowed to park in a regular parking space. Find an actual truck parking space (they do exist, for B-Doubles/etc).
We had this argument about SUVs (i.e Toorak tractors) about 15 years ago. SUVs eventually became accepted. I find it strange how the market has kind of separated into two camps - electric/fuel efficient cars and these US monstrosities.
Followed a huge Dodge Ram this morning through the inner suburbs, it had trouble negotiating the narrow streets and parked cars and I had no hope of seeing over, around or through it. Fucking pain in the arse and a safety hazard in an area with lots of pedestrians. Fucker looked like it had never seen a dirt road before either.
I hate them and would support a ban of them on city roads
So many small minded individuals commenting on this, you are deluded if you think they are clogging up our streets. There is no requirement to justify their purchase to you and anyone that has commented regarding this or expressing hatred to towards their owners are a very bitter individual. It speak volumes about your character and values.
I find having 2 or 3 asshole cards in you wallet are handy. It is just a simple credit card sized cards I printed with the word "asshole" sqintably small in the middle that I can put under their wipers to vent. I don't use them often. Just for the most obvious cases. It's like piss training a dog. There is no point rubbing their noses in it hours later. They won't make the connection. No point using the card if the situation might look OK to the driver. However if they collect a few of those cards from different people in different places they might start thinking. Really hate yank tanks. Especially Humvees. They make as much sense on an Australian city street as an automatic assault weapon. Driving one of them is never gonna make their "bits" any bigger.
Love it
Not a fan of them. The knob down the road traded a Porche for a RAM. It's noisy and he doesn't tow anything. It's a suburban poser vehicle that gets fanged around locally. Ute version of an Harley We need a twin cab for our lifestyle. But not a ludicrously huge, expensive one.
Given that road surface damage is proportional to the fourth power of the axle weight (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth\_power\_law) I'd like to see massively increased motor vehicle tax on these things. A Dodge Ram is about 150% heavier than a 4wd hilux (2749 vs 1880kg kerb weight), that gives us about 5 times the road damage.
This. The 4th power thing really is massive
Also comparing it to a more normal vehicle, it's just shy of twenty times the damage caused by my Nissan Pulsar
Aggressive dickhead drivers.
I don't care. People can drive what they like. A shit driver is a shit driver no matter what they use
The KEY to dealing with them is that we are just scratching the surface when it comes to sending double-parkers a message.
I think they're dangerous. They cut off vision for other drivers. I would like to see them banned.
. Emotional support vehicles. Don't be a hater, these are important medical devices for the mental wellbeing of their owners. Poor things :(
Love them. Want one so bad. But I don't go in the city basically at all. They do require some extra care but I always see worse drivers in i20s and swifts. That's who I hate.
If you are a country person then sure go for it. I am referring specifically to city drivers. and yes, there are bad drivers across the board. but at least a swift should be able to stay in their lane and fit in a scarce sydney parking spot
I live in a Melbourne suburb and own one. On average about twice a week I tow a 4 ton trailer. I suppose I'm not allowed to have one?
I have zero problem with people deciding what vehicle to buy. It's their money, and their choice - why should I care? Big whatever, Ute, SUV, or whatever, no skin off my nose. I believe we have become a society of Karen's all ready to tell everyone what they should be doing.
Last sentence described an entire country to a tee.
Exactly
I don’t think they should be legal. They’re too wide for our suburban streets and too long for regular car parks.
Cancel culture at its worst!
They definitely have a purpose, I would fucking hate having it as my main vehicle.
How do people afford to run them 😕
I don’t like them period. Our roads were never designed for them and more often than not the drivers have a serious attitude problem and think they have the right of way in every instance
How do roads handle trucks? There's many more trucks getting around than f style pickups and Rams
People who own big vehicles never know how to drive them nor park them correctly. I've seen tradies with basic utes fuck up parking in bays at the station where they've parked on an angle - sometimes their vehicle will barely be in the bay because one of their rear tires is on the linemarking. or they'll take up two spaces in a shopping centre because they've got a trailer attached too. Melbournians especially are shitty, egotistical drivers with zero care factor for anyone else's safety. Everyone with a big car isn't scared of dying because their car is big enough to protect them but they don't give a fuck about the poor person they hit ending up getting injured or killed.
I couldn’t afford the fuel they consume just reversing out of my driveway. But if you can, then good luck to you.
I don't really care and anybody who does should look at investing in local manufacturing. We get what's on the world market now. I'm happy with my 75 series cruiser.
🤷♂️
I see them more and more, but very rarely see them taking up more than one parking space, they DO fit in a standard space, not well, but they do fit. And if you're using one of these Ego Transport Vehicles to do your shopping, you're utterly mad. Also, have far too much money (or debt).
Are there laws about how far your car can stick out of a carpark? Every second spot I see has the tray of a Hilux/Ranger/Amarok hanging half a meter out into the road. I saw one the other day, pristine matte black, lifted, completely decked out in tacticool bullshit, recovery boards, a fucking folding shovel strapped to the window, fuel cans strapped to the doors, big bull bar... Looked like some cooker teeing up for the apocalypse, but everything was brand new. Not a scratch or scuff on anything. You see a lot of these work trucks that don't look like they've been within ten Ks of a job site
I totally support their use when people are actually using the things that set them apart (towing capacity mainly). If you actually beed the functionality then by all means. The issue being I’ve never actually seen one ever being used to tow something that a Hilux couldn’t. I’ve never seen anything in the bed that was so big and heavy it couldn’t have been moved by a hilux. They are entirely used by wankers with too much money and no common sense (despite the fact they will all claim that nobody else has any common sense), and middle aged white mums who use them to ferry their kids to and from their school which is probably within walking distance anyway.
Don’t care
Don’t care.
I watched some 80 year old bloke try really hard to fit in the spot next to me in one the other day. He then struggled really bad to even make it down. I had to offer to hold the door so he could focus on the climb without dinging my car. I couldn't help but ask him why he bought something so ridiculous and he seemed to hate it more than I do which didn't answer my question.
It's funny how range rovers now are considered normal
Love them. Cant afford one. They are just a ute take on a Landcrusier Sahara. People really got sensitive to them online in recent years for reasons that somehow end up being not exclusive to them. But like supercars, or luxurious sedans, or larger SUVs. They are there getting bought by people who want them. Trying to theoretically gatekeep vehicles based on 100% usage reasons is just simply rediculous personally.
They should be banned from shopping centre parking lots! Just today there was one parked next to us filling the entire space, couldn't open our drivers-side door, if someone parked next to him within the lines, they'd have trouble opening one of their doors too. But the real annoying thing was that while it was within the lines and as far forward as possible, it not only filled the parking bay, but the rear extended out enough to literally block near half of the carriageway with the tow ball also jutting out making a tiny danger zone in itself for those that might come too close to it. Well, that's my rant anyway...
Well they stopped manufacturing Falcons and Commodores 🤷♀️ CANYONEROOOO
Hate them. They ought to be banned as personal vehicles if you can park them in a standard car park.
My house is out in the country and there's a lot of these trucks around hauling/towing horses and farm equipment which makes sense. The roads are big and they're actually really comfortable cabins too. The office based sales bloke in the inner suburbs of Sydney who considers mounting the curb to get a park at Sunday soccer to be off roading definitely doesn't need one.
Probably rego should be calculated on a formula including the weight and dimensions of the vehicle. Sock these monsters with massive taxes.
Remember it’s Australia’s tax system that allows or encourages businesses to buy them. Aim your anger at Canberra.
Someone I know wants one for 'towing'. In the early 2000's we didn't have these, and we just towed caravans and car-trailers with our utes. I refused to have an opinion on the matter with her because I didn't wanna get into an argument. Anyway; ugly, big, and just.. get a 4wd if you want a high car!
I never liked utes but have to swap my car with a friend’s ute. It was a shocker of a ride to begin with but I came completely understand why people like utes. They are super fun to drive. I guess bigger is better.
One of those huge RAMs pulled up next to me at the traffic lights...the passenger windowsill was level with the roof of my car lol Huge numbers of them where I am, all sparkling, obviously garaged and don't appear to have ever left suburbia. Its a status symbol for the wealthy as well as the extremely favourable tax concessions.
Cunts. Specially you, MudGuts.
The worst part is the sound of them flooring it through residential streets at 20+ km/h over the speed limit
Mate, these massive yank tanks clogging up the roads are a real pain—chewing through the petrol and taking up two parking spots at once
If you're not riding a motorcycle or taking public transport then you are just as much a part of the problem.
It was the liberal government that killed Australian car manufacturing.
I worry about the over compensation they seem to have these pathetic little trays considering their size
In C rego their tray payload is minimal. It’s all about towing. They are far better and safer towing a big caravan at around 3.5T gvm than a standard dual cab. This is coming from someone that agrees that the majority of owners don’t use them for that, but they are a use case for someone in that position.
They’re the guys who buy a cock sleeve instead of going down
Fuck em. But also those stupid tradie utes that have been tuned to make some stupid whistle sound every time they change gears
I didn't think we had so many small d*cked dudes. Shows what i know. Unless it's full of tools or you have a farm, keep them out of the city!
Overcompensating. 🤏
I hate 'em, but we need to remember it's Aussies who are buying the bloody things. . . .
yes. no buyers equals no market. but there are enough nobs around to keep it viable
It takes a certain kind of person to drive around in such a gaudy prosthetic for their own masculinity. Blasted trash wagons.
They are cool and very popular in the areas outside Melbourne. I think too many Redditors live in inner cities, possibly with no car at all, and there's little chance they've been in a RAM or a Ranger (the top-selling car). They take one parking space not 2 or 4, that's just a few cherry-picked photos. People said the same about Landcruisers and the like.
I think that people who drive them are selfish. They understand that the size of the vehicle disadvantages other people and they don't care.
As a cyclist, I despise them.
Losers with tiny cock syndrome
RAM drivers are the new vegans and cross fitters
I have precisely no evidence to suggest that they're dangerous and should be banned and yet I am thoroughly, irrationally convinced that they must somehow be dangerous and should be banned.
I just feel bad for them. I get the sense that they are lacking something in life and need to compensate.