I Feel As Though This Is A "Safe Space"

[P_K]

I’ve been a minivan owner since the mid ‘80s. In Manhattan a minivan is no problem to park in a garage.
And a pickup’s open bed is not a safe place to store anything when parked on the street.

I wouldn't leave anything in a street-parked minivan either tbh.

 

[Malinois Dad]

25 year old daily driver. Went with the Excursion over a pickup due to the enclosed “bed” and easy access through the rear side doors. Easily tows my trailer which I have loaded to 11,000 lb GVW.

The way I have it set up the 7.3 PSD with 420,000 miles on it averages 18.6 MPG.

Tom

I don't recall, we're the 7.3 Excursions turbocharged? I have an '18 F250 with the 6.7 turbo diesel. Its my daily driver and I've never seen more than 16mpg.

 

[tjbnwi]

I don't recall, we're the 7.3 Excursions turbocharged? I have an '18 F250 with the 6.7 turbo diesel. Its my daily driver and I've never seen more than 16mpg.

Yes, the 7.3 is turbocharged. My turbocharger is not stock, neither are the injectors and ECM.

The 2000 diesels do not have the emission controls your 2018 has. No DEF, no catalytic converter, no O2 sensors, no EGR. Much easier to tune, the 7.3 came very de-tuned.

Tom

 

[cpw]

My issue with pickup trucks are two fold: First, they are open to the weather, and rain and snow can upset my shopping schedule. And second, in the suburban area I live in, there are many roads labeled “parkways” or “highways” and they don’t permit pickup truck travel. On Long Island, where I was from, highways and parkways far outnumber expressways, interstates and thruways which do allow pickup truck travel.

You can make pickup trucks legal for highway use by adding a cap to the cargo area, adding seats and seatbelts and registering the vehicle as a passenger car and not as a commercial vehicle. Even when you comply with all that, you can expect to be stopped frequently by traffic enforcement to check.

So, not a really good choice for me. (Plus, try finding a pickup truck with an 8’ bed nowadays.)

A pickup truck less than 6,000 curb weight can be registered as a passenger vehicle without any modifications. This basically means you can get an F150 but not an F250 (or equivalent 1500/2500). I might prefer a 250 to get the higher payload, but wouldn't want to put a cap on it; since that defeats the point of a pickup for me - and using the parkways in Westchester is essential.

 

[Vondawg]

Absolutely true ^^^^^^

 

[Packard]

A pickup truck less than 6,000 curb weight can be registered as a passenger vehicle without any modifications. This basically means you can get an F150 but not an F250 (or equivalent 1500/2500). I might prefer a 250 to get the higher payload, but wouldn't want to put a cap on it; since that defeats the point of a pickup for me - and using the parkways in Westchester is essential.

That was not the case in 1993 when I bought my Ford Lightning (F150 SVT sport). I needed to have a cap on the cargo bed. I fudged the seat belt issue by tossing in the special seat belt bracket and belt assembly. That was all that was required to register the truck as a passenger vehicle (vs. commercial vehicle). As long as I had passenger plates on the truck, I was good to go on the parkways and highways.

I had a Ford Econoline (van) years ago, and I registered it as a passenger vehicle, but got stopped because I did not have any side cargo area windows. I got a warning; not a ticket. I installed a small window on each side to remedy that.

So my last experience was back in 1995 and no tickets. But I could drive the 30 miles to work each day on the Meadowbrook Parkway and I would likely see one pickup on the parkway in a week and never (probably) more than one on any given day (Service vehicles and county vehicles, excluded). They were just not welcomed on the parkways.

But that was before you saw more SUVs than cars on the road. The police perception, or laws may have changed as a result.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

That was not the case in 1993 when I bought my Ford Lightning (F150 SVT sport). I needed to have a cap on the cargo bed. I fudged the seat belt issue by tossing in the special seat belt bracket and belt assembly. That was all that was required to register the truck as a passenger vehicle (vs. commercial vehicle). As long as I had passenger plates on the truck, I was good to go on the parkways and highways.

I had a Ford Econoline (van) years ago, and I registered it as a passenger vehicle, but got stopped because I did not have any side cargo area windows. I got a warning; not a ticket. I installed a small window on each side to remedy that.

So my last experience was back in 1995 and no tickets. But I could drive the 30 miles to work each day on the Meadowbrook Parkway and I would likely see one pickup on the parkway in a week and never (probably) more than one on any given day (Service vehicles and county vehicles, excluded). They were just not welcomed on the parkways.

But that was before you saw more SUVs than cars on the road. The police perception, or laws may have changed as a result.

It's completely insane that the way it was registered, rather than the vehicle itself, determined its legality. Though it is typical of the government to miss the forest, because the trees were in the way.
Funny that windows determine passenger viability, rather than seats?
From '07 to '14, I drove an HHR Panel. It had neither windows, nor seats, behind the driver's seat. It was always registered as a passenger car though, because it was based on the Cobalt platform (very much a car)
I've never seen anywhere that pickup trucks were specifically excluded, just weight restrictions for old bridges.
Most of my life has been driving a pickup truck

 

[Packard]

It's completely insane that the way it was registered, rather than the vehicle itself, determined its legality. Though it is typical of the government to miss the forest, because the trees were in the way.
Funny that windows determine passenger viability, rather than seats?
From '07 to '14, I drove an HHR Panel. It had neither windows, nor seats, behind the driver's seat. It was always registered as a passenger car though, because it was based on the Cobalt platform (very much a car)
I've never seen anywhere that pickup trucks were specifically excluded, just weight restrictions for old bridges.
Most of my life has been driving a pickup truck

On Long Island, the parkway system, was designed by Robert Moses in the early 1920s, when Long Island was a vacation Mecca for the rich in NY City. He deliberately designed the highways to be hostile to buses. His intention was the highways were for cars only (reported as an effort to keep lower income individuals riding in buses out of that Mecca. Robert Moses has been historically held in high esteem on Long Island.)

To accomplish that end, he made entrance and exit ramps with tight radii, and his coup de grace was the low overpasses that allowed cross roads to pass over the highways.

Ignoring that caveat could have disastrous consequences.

[Note: They are referring to the overpass as a “Bridge”. I always heard “overpass” possibly to distinguish them from full-access bridges.]



Off the top of my head, the affected roads:

Northern State Parkway (East/West)
Southern State Parkway (East/West)
Meadowbrook Parkway (North/South)
Wantaugh State Parkway (North/South)
Sagticos Parkway (North/South)

None of these roads were ever updated to allow bus travel. As a result, bus service to Jones Beach (and other beaches) requires that the bus travel on traffic signal controlled roads until Merrick Road ramp on either Meadowbrook or Wantagh State Parkways.

I lived on Long Island for 51 years and the entire roadway system favors cars. There are a few exceptions: Long Island Expressway (East/West); Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (North/South). There are also heavily travelled, traffic signal controlled multi-lane roads both East/West and North/South.

There might be others, but I cannot think of them now. I have not been back to Long Island for 27 years.