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When I see a Sanford and Son looking truck, it looks so tiny compared to the massive size monster trucks that I see now. Did they just not have the technological ability back then or did they just not care about size?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The 50s pickup trucks didn't have the engines to pull the weight of today's trucks, and no one thought of them as being a family car with full back seat. Back then a pickup truck was meant to haul light loads.
You don't even have to go that far back to see the difference. My 91 Extended Cab F250 parked next to my co-worker's much newer F250 looks tinier as well. Both are 8 ft bed trucks, but there's just something in the stance that makes mine look small.
The 50s pickup trucks didn't have the engines to pull the weight of today's trucks, and no one thought of them as being a family car with full back seat. Back then a pickup truck was meant to haul light loads.
Well....this is the 10'/20's. I'd say they could hold their own in today's world. They'd just do it sloooooooooooower.
If I'm reading that right ^^^^ it says "32 1/2 ton load".
The older pickups were very capable. Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Studebaker, International Harvester, and Diamond T all made 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups and most were also offered in 4 wheel drive. Even most of the 1 ton versions had single tires at the rear. Duallies were not popular making them look less beefy and less capable. They weren't riding on 20'' rims and sat lower to the ground. Another reason why they looked smaller was because most were 2 door and did not have an extended cab. International Harvester was one of the first to offer 4 doors but they were not as popular as today. Remember they were work trucks and nothing more they were not used as family cars. The beds were the standard 8 feet but were narrower due to the flare sided wheel wells.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big George
The trucks they used as trucks were big. But they didn't try to use pickup trucks as trucks.
That's a nice restoration. My dad had a fleet of 26 'stub-nose' Dodges very similar. I sure wish I had one of those today.
Basically the trucks were similar stance to cars, but there was a better selection of light duty working trucks.
The Powerplants were smaller and medium duty trucks were lighter. Trucks of today are considerably SAFER to be on the road (BRAKES). I lost track of the number of times I lost brakes in the mtns (and cities) growing up as a truckdriver of vintage trucks. But it was a considerable accomplishment to actually get home SAFE and without breaking down.
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