"ZacMS" (zacms)
04/21/2015 at 19:16 • Filed to: None
6
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"ZacMS" (zacms)
04/21/2015 at 19:16 • Filed to: None | 6
| 11 |
I love watching the horse power and towing capacity arms race between the big 3 as much as the next pickup truck driver. Let’s face it though, how often do you push your truck to it’s limits? I use my truck for truck stuff on a daily basis, but most of the time I’m not hauling 3000lbs of lumber, I’m hauling 500-1000lbs. My current truck is a couple of generations behind and nothing on the market in the current generation has me running to the dealership.
So I’ve collected a few ideas that I’m offering to the auto makers for free, just because I’d love to see them implemented in a next generation truck. If someone implemented one or more of these features in a next generation truck they’d definitely have, mine and my wallets, attention.
1. Integrated lumber racks
Everyone who works in the trades has a BackRack on their pickup. I frequently have to haul materials that are between 12 and 20 feet long. Even with a tailgate down it can sometimes be awkward to transport materials that long. So people buy backtracks and mount lumber and other long materials resting on the tailgate and on a steel frame just behind the cab. It works, but it doesn’t look great and BackRacks aren’t cheap either.
I’d love to see a rack that integrated into the frame of the cab. Slap a rubberized traction pad and some tie down mounting points on the roof and you’ve just created the ultimate integrated lumber rack. The Ford Atlas concept truck had something close to this, but surprise, surprise it got cut from the final production vehicle.
2. Weight rated tail gate
This dovetails nicely with my last point. I’m constantly seeing trucks with collapsed tailgates because someone rested just a little too much weight on them. Tailgates in modern trucks are pretty tough and certainly capable of handling many hundreds of pounds. The exact number though? No one seems to know. I’d love to have a tailgate rated to 1000lbs so I can stop worrying when I stack heavy materials on mine.
We’ve seen, lights, ladders, keyless locks and cameras crammed into tailgates over the past decade. How about a rigid steel frame and a weight rating sticker?
3. Payload monitor
On a semi regular basis I stretch my truck to its payload capacity, and I often find myself worrying that I’ve loaded in too much weight. Swelling payloads capacities are great, but in reality when you’re on the jobsite or at the lumber yard, you’ve got no idea how much weight you’ve put into your truck. A sensor that let you know when you were approaching the payload capacity would be extremely useful in these situations.
Even better would be an accurate scale that let you know exactly how much weight was in your box. That might be a bit pie in the sky, but I purchase materials by weight pretty frequently and I’m left taking my suppliers word for it when I say I want 600lbs of crushed rock and they load it into my truck off of their scale. A feature like this would help me protect the suspension and frame of my truck and protect me from getting ripped off by unscrupulous suppliers.
4. A garbage can
This is so simple, I can’t believe it isn’t already in every car. I like to keep my truck clean, but even I’m guilty of letting receipts and straw wrappers accumulate in cupholders. I’ve got a center console bin that’s a mile wide and a mile deep, it’d be perfect for a small trash can. With all the interior space in modern trucks you think we could afford to give a cubic foot over to a trash can. Heck, automakers could even make money by selling us disposable bin liners.
Jayhawk Jake
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 19:27 |
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Hmm.
BRB designing and marketing a drop in truck trash can
beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 19:32 |
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I agree on all points except the integrated lumber rack in the roof.. it’s a lot of engineering for what is probably a relatively low percentage of buyers who would buy the ute just for that.
Having mounting points for a factory bolt on rack would be good though. Dealers love expensive options too.
E. Julius
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 19:42 |
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But if I don’t get continuously more rugged I will literally die. I need the extra torques and towing capacities.
ly2v8-Brian
> Jayhawk Jake
04/21/2015 at 19:49 |
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According to the occasional asshole that would be my truck bed.
TheHondaBro
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 19:55 |
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Let’s face it though, how often do you push your truck to it’s limits?
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ZacMS
> Jayhawk Jake
04/21/2015 at 22:07 |
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I’d buy it.
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ZacMS
> beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
04/21/2015 at 22:09 |
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Perhaps, the cabs got to be fairly tough already for roll over standards, but I get what you’re saying. I’d say ~10% of trucks in my area are sporting backracks. Not all of them, but a significant minority.
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ZacMS
> TheHondaBro
04/21/2015 at 22:09 |
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Errr day
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beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 22:20 |
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Yeah, enough for a bolt on factory option, but no so much for an integrated traction pad.
That said, they’re probably not interested knowing that they’d be fighting a highly competitive aftermarket.
SALfan
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 23:20 |
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I could live with most of your accessories, with a couple of changes.
Decent looking rack would be good. Something easily removable definitely a plus. Groove in the top of the cab for cargo? Not for me.
Weight rated tailgate - good idea, didn’t occur to me.
Load monitor - okay, if cheap and dependable.
Garbage can - no thanks.
Here are my ideas, using my 1990 Isuzu as a starting point; it was good but not perfect. More power, not too much so mileage is good. Auto trans. More cab length front to back (belly is bigger now). NO CONSOLE! Honest 1000 pounds payload capacity. Configure the option packages so buyers could get the items they really want without having to buy a lot of useless crap. Rubber floor mats. Simple and cheap to fix. Use proven engines, trans and other components to save development costs and avoid problems.
Sure wish some car company would build a truck like this. It would meet most people’s truck and commuter needs, and if priced right would sell.
shop-teacher
> ZacMS
04/21/2015 at 23:23 |
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I like these ideas, and I want to add one more. A styling cue that I miss, is the tailgate with the recess integrated into it.
