I ran our 2007 Chevrolet Silverado's tank down about as far as I would ever care to. A bit farther than my wife's threshhold, it turns out. She exclaimed loudly and more than once that, "I won't be helping you push." Oh ye of little faith. I've been frustrated by gas gauges that cried wolf many, many times before, so I wasn't worried. Besides, I have AAA.
I wrung about 353 miles from the beast in mixed driving - the most on one tank so far, according to our logbook. It took 24.3 gallons to fill 'er up, so I had plenty to spare - at least a gallon and a half.
The Silverado stayed empty in more than one way this weekend. I had an eight foot load to haul and this truck has the 5.5-foot short bed. Plus, it was raining felines and canines. I had no choice but to use something else.
The 8-foot long, 42-inch wide slab of recycled wood product was too long for the Silverado's 5.5-foot bed. And I couldn't bear to see a relic survive 45 years of daily pounding only to get ruined by a bit of heavy rain. So I resorted to the trusty family Odyssey which kept our Earth Day recyclable nice and dry. But what is it?
This chunk of well-used bowling alley, bowling ball dents and all, is about to become a countertop for our new kitchen island.
What's the moral of the story? While I like our Silverado quite a bit, I personally wouldn't own this or any other truck with a bed any shorter than 6.5-feet. 8-foot cargo like our ex-lane would have fit within the perimiter of a lowered tailgate. Rain is another matter entirely.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 13,607 miles
jerrywimer says:
05:22 AM, 04/24/07
The 2004 I traded for my Avalanche had a 6 1/2' box, and I bought a Fold-A-Cover bedcover for it. For jobs such as this the tailgate either went down, or the rear cover was left open and the cargo leaned on it. In rainy weather we had to use plastic tarp to cover the load. So it's not undoable, and if you're the average 1/2-ton Harry Homeowner, you don't use the bed for 8' loads all that often (and even less often when the weather presents a problem). Of course, you could've tested the 07 Avalanche as the long-termer, and it would've worked every bit as well as the minivan for this. Fold down the rear seats, fold down the midgate, leave window and bed panels in place, open the tailgate, slide the cargo in, close the tailgate, and away you go!
Sorry, I never miss the chance to evangelize Chevy's answer to the ultimate flexible vehicle, especially when it comes to comparisons with other crew cab pickups and vans. :-)
boxermike says:
06:32 AM, 04/24/07
Awesome idea, Dan! Just be sure to wash off all the ball-oil before putting your food on it.
SubyTrojan says:
09:23 AM, 04/24/07
boxermike, the Edmunds clan might be interested in the idea of sliding their plates and cups along the tabletop as if they were Sam Malone from Cheers!
Slightly OT: That's a nice username you have! Do you own a Porsche or Scooby?
automaton says:
09:23 AM, 04/24/07
Cool idea (recycling the alley, that is). I find it pretty funny that the minivan is a more capable hauler for large (relatively light) loads than the full size truck.
actualsize says:
09:38 AM, 04/24/07
With trucks, its all about the bed. For me, 5.5 feet doesn't seem worth the bother. But then I've only bought and owned trucks when I really needed one - like when I frequently hauled dirt-bikes or towed a large trailer. I don't do those things at present, so I don't own a truck right now.
And yeah, the minivan has proven to be way more flexible than I ever thought. And it's certainly more useful than people give it credit for. If only folks could get over the stigma. I really hate to see Ford and GM abandoning the segment. They should have competitve product in every segment, but I don't think they EVER took this one seriously.
stingray454 says:
11:19 AM, 04/24/07
That's why I like my Suburban. Haul 8 people and their luggage? No problem. Haul 4x8 sheets of plywood and sheetrock inside flat on the floor with the full size spare in place? No problem. The only thing I can't do is haul really tall cargo because of the roof. So far, I haven't had a need to, so I don't miss that capability of a pickup.
boxermike says:
02:29 PM, 04/24/07
@SubyTrojan: I'm a Subaru driver!
bbechtel16 says:
11:09 AM, 04/25/07
"I really hate to see Ford and GM abandoning the segment. They should have competitve product in every segment, but I don't think they EVER took this one seriously."
One word, Safari. I may be biased, as my parents have had one for a while, but he's my piece on possibly the most ignored vehicle ever.
Sure its not powerful, efficient, or reliable. But I think those are the only cons. It offers a large portion of that Suburban flexibly with less of the bulk, gas card pain, and a much lower buy-in. You can haul 8 people, 6 very comfortably, and with the 2nd and 3rd row seats removed it's like a capped truck. Much like a mini-van sure, but the difference is, do to it's body-on-frame construction and large displacement V6, you can actually tow with it as well. Oh yeah, it's available in AWD as well.
But apparently the lack of power, efficiency, and reliability did it in at the end; you can't buy a new one anymore. I guess it would be accurate to say they didn't that this one seriously either. It never had a major, ground-up redesign, and used basically the same engine, from 1985 to 2005! RIP Astro/Safari, you deserved better.