| > Under the same conditions, a Subaru Crosstrek has the same 3,500lb tow rating. While not being all that much smaller than a Tacoma, aside from length. And the tradeoff for that shorter length is that you lose out on a bed. > I pay the guy $50 to use his dump truck to dump 10 or 15 yards on my property And if you don't need 10 or 15 yards of gravel? > Sometimes in the trunk, but sometimes in a small hitch mount cargo carrier. So in other words: either stinking up your interior or reliant on an extra piece of equipment. If only your vehicle had a built-in exterior storage compartment. > There's a lot of space but the trunk opening's just not that tall. One of the perks of a pickup is that the "trunk" is infinitely tall. I don't have to cut boards or disassemble furniture or what have you. I don't need a trailer, either. I just need ratchet straps. > I'm really not sure why this is a benefit A trailer is an extra burden that's best avoided if possible. It complicates maneuvering, it's an extra set of lights and (possibly) brakes to maintain, it imposes different chain control requirements when driving in ice/snow (very relevant where I live), some places impose different speed limits when towing, etc. You also need someplace to park it when you're not using it, which ain't always possible - that, or you need to rent one, which means extra costs, and extra time/fuel to go to U-Haul or whatever to pick it up and drop it off. Meanwhile, I just put stuff in the bed and call it a day. > Again I find in my life it's pretty rare that I suddenly and unexpectedly need to haul large pieces of furniture. Cool. Meanwhile, for me it's a monthly occurrence at minimum. If it ain't for me, it's for a friend or family member. > This was the newer study that was sourced from, though I mixed some numbers up: https://www.justintyndall.com/tyndall_pedestrian.pdf An interesting conclusion of that study, to your point, is its claim that replacing all "light trucks" (pickups, SUVs, minivans) with "cars" would reduce yearly pedestrian fatalities by almost 500. And yet, that'd be less than 7% of the approx. 7,500 yearly pedestrian deaths - which suggests to me that blaming big(ger) vehicles for any significant uptick in pedestrian fatalities is a red herring. > an increased likelihood of being hit in the first place due to worse visibility My Tacoma has significantly better visibility than any comparably-new sedan I've driven. > an increased risk of death in a collision while driving because physics That's the opposite of correct: https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight |