[vostok]

I'm an urbanite with no need for a car.

I don't currently have one, but I want to buy an efficient pickup truck or unibody pickup truck when I do buy one.

In the rare occasions that I do want a car, a truck is really helpful. I don't really see another solution other than cheap and convenient pickup truck rentals.

[JohnFen]

> I don't really see another solution other than cheap and convenient pickup truck rentals.

In my city, you can rent a truck for the day for about $50 (including a decent amount of miles). I know because I do this regularly. I'd be surprised if such an option isn't available in your city as well.

[vostok]

Do you baby tips for finding cheap ones?

The cheap rentals in my city are at the airport and that makes it a pain to use them. They're not really cheap if I ascribe a sufficiently high value to my time. The ones close to me often have limited inventory and don't have a pickup truck right now.

Even at the airport, it looks like a pickup truck is $200 for the weekend. And honestly going to the airport is enough of a pain that I'm less likely to do things that require a truck as a result.

If I owned a pickup truck and kept it in a garage by my place then I would be far more likely to make last minute decisions to go camping or yard sale shopping or whatever.

[RijilV]

Sure, U-Haul. It's $19.95/day and $1.39/mile. Last time I rented one the automated "don't have to talk to anyone" app I couldn't figure out, but it took less than 120 seconds to navigate the in person exchange to get the key.

You don't need a pickup truck to go camping (they're actually not terribly useful for that) or yard sale shopping. Like seriously it's https://van.life not truck life.

[vostok]

The truck is nice for avoiding setting up camp in the rain because it's easier to hose out, but you kind of need your own truck with a cover and such.

That's a good call on vans though. A cargo van might be a good idea for legitimate well maintained campgrounds.

[beej71]

I have a Chevy Express we use for camping. And we take that thing all kinds of illegitimate places. :)

[JohnFen]

I use U-Haul. Pickup trucks are pretty popular, and they have some at every location around here. Many locations are cool with you leaving your car there for the day, too.

In my area, renting any vehicle at the airport is more expensive than the same vehicle at other locations.

[llampx]

> If I owned a pickup truck and kept it in a garage by my place then I would be far more likely to make last minute decisions to go camping or yard sale shopping or whatever.

You and every other SUV driver share this dream. We all know that last minute outdoorsy fantasy is not gonna happen. And are you buying the entire yard at the yard sale?

[throw0101b]

> In the rare occasions that I do want a car, a truck is really helpful. I don't really see another solution other than cheap and convenient pickup truck rentals.

As someone on HN, I would think you would be familiar with the saying "optimize for the common case". If most of the time you simply need personal transport, paying for the gas to operate a truck the occasional use seems sub-optimal.

I say this as someone who owns a VW Golf and who borrows or rents larger vehicles once or twice a year.

[vostok]

For personal transport, I'm biking or taking public transportation or taking a taxi.

A car is a luxury good for someone in my situation and a pickup truck is the common case for that luxury good.

[blunderchief]

Consider the humble minivan. Seriously. I’m also in your shoes. I bike or walk most places I need to go, but I use the minivan when I need to get large things. The rear seats fold into the floor and the middle seats come out if I need the extra space. It’s about as long as a decent truck bed with those seats out, my cargo is covered (not to mention there’s more vertical space and I don’t need to tie anything down), and it gets great gas mileage by comparison. I don’t really give a shit if the interior gets messed up, and I’m sitting lower to the ground with great visibility.

They’re also easier to parallel park, as the wheels sit at the corners of the vehicle (the swing of a truck bed makes this trickier), and minivans these days have much more power than they used to. That’s to say nothing of the roof rack, which adds even more cargo opportunity. SUVs are a common alternative, but despite their size, they’re nowhere near as spacious as you hope. You might not be able to haul certain large appliances, but otherwise, minivans have all the benefits of a truck and then some, with few drawbacks.

I’ve owned two minivans and three trucks, and I’d go minivan any day.

(Edited because I forgot some things)

[thiht]

For occasional use why not just buy a small car and rent (or buy) a trailer? Seems more versatile to me and probably an order of magnitude less expensive.

[mikrotikker]

As someone who has had both, the truck is A LOT more convenient and versatile. Especially in cases where 4wd is an advantage such as collecting trash or firewood from a beach. Hauling a ton of sand off the beach using a trailer behind my heavy SUV was harder than doing the same with a ute.