this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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This is the line that gives away why they're unquestionably better if you actually need to use it for work.
These jackasses with a tray 1.5m off the ground clearly aren't regularly needing to get to their oversized toolbox at the back of the tray, because clambering in and out of that thing is an enormous pain in the ass.
This gets brought up so much because it clearly differentiates the people doing work from the people playing dress up.
It does no such thing.
Are you aware of what a fifth wheel is? If you don't, you really shouldn't be commenting about what's better for work or not.
I felt it was obvious I was talking about tradesmen and workers doing work, with all the talk about toolboxes and having to walk into the tray (and given that what most truck owners like to pretend to be). For use as a work vehicle, doing work tasks for tradesmen, a van is far more practical.
Are you implying that construction workers who move around a lot need a gigantic camper when they move between jobs? Because I realize that yanks do tend to do that, though I'd argue that this is more a reflection of yankee culture than applicability for actual work.
There are plenty of reasons a worker would choose a van. There are plenty of reason a worker would choose a truck.
Consider this setup:
Everything is made to be easily accessible. The rack can hold ladders and conduit that are as long as the vehicle (or even a bit longer). Other setups will have side access toolboxes.
Fifth wheels are not just for campers. They haul Bobcats. They haul livestock. They haul large sheds or even small houses. They haul several pallets of bricks.
For that matter, try getting pallet into a van as opposed to a truck bed. If it's even possible to fit it in a van, you have to be a lot more careful while doing it.
That truck pictured would be better served with a van. Ladders and conduit on the roof, tools in the back. This is standard setup in the UK, UAE and Australia at least, I imagine for everywhere outside of North America.
Ah ok, I've only ever heard fifth wheeler be used to describe a camper. Hauling large trailers is something a pickup truck is better at than a van, but if that's the type of work you do surely the obvious 5T flatbed is the better option, no? I appreciate that you'll probably counter that the versatility for someone who only needs to do that occasionally and that is valid, but I hope you'll appreciate that we're now talking about a very small niche of of tradesmen in response to a comment I originally made making a generalization.
The guy who made it explicitly rejected a van for his purposes. Maybe we should let him decide how to do his job?
How many niches does it take when, all together, they're no longer niche cases?
Your argument is the extreme minority who make this decision differently than everyone, exclusively limited to countries that have heavy government incentives to do so, being free to make an impractical choice somehow is rational because they are free to make a decision. Surely you can appreciate why I can't accept that as an argument for why that demonstrates it's a suitable vehicle for that purpose.
Most people would argue a majority. Even if we relax it to something more common like, at least a quarter of tradesmen in more than 2 developed countries, this example wouldn't qualify as more than niche. I mean, the actual hard to swallow fact is tradesmen almost definitely wouldn't prefer pickup trucks without the extreme tax advantages in the US/CAN biasing towards them, as is evidenced by countries where the government handouts aren't so generous.
Doesn't seem too easy to access anything but the first row of boxes. Where would you even store these orange boxes that are currently on the hand truck? On top of the rack? Seems like fun lifting them 5 feet if they contain any heavy tools. With a Van you have access from the sides built in, and because of the lower floor you could even add a ramp to push your hand truck into the car without having to lift anything at all.
Btw. it's possible to fit two pallets into a small van. Heck, you can even fit a pallet into a cargo bike.
If you must transport a pallet of bricks you do it on an actual truck with a bloody crane on it. This is just kiddy shit. I can't take you seriously if you drive a pallet of bricks around with that thing. Wtf. That's just inefficient work.
Bricks are not the only things that go on pallets. This was an electrician's truck, after all.