How to Find the Pickup “Truck Ranch” that Best Fits Your Lifestyle

Pickup Truck Ranch is like people. Pickup trucks come in many sizes and offer different abilities. The biggest difference between them and other vehicles is the fact that you have more control over your truck than people you meet every day. Jokes aside: The demand for these versatile vehicles is steadily growing for the better part a decade. Pickup-truck sales have just exceeded passenger cars for their first month.

Although the current economic uncertainty is partly to blame, new incentives and trends before the COVID-19 pandemic suggest Truck Ranch sales will not slow down anytime soon. We’ve put together this guide to assist shoppers in making an informed decision about buying a new pickup truck. If you’d like to jump right to Car and Drivers top picks, then check out our Top Pickup Trucks 2019-2020. We won’t be discussing commercial trucks (a.k.a. Chassis cabs) and technical specifications.

You can Haul it on a Budget Truck Ranch 

Anyone looking for a pickup truck should be aware that they are generally more expensive than the average SUV or passenger car. The lowest full-size GMC Sierra 1500 starts at $31,195. This price is only for the base rear-wheel-drive Spirit Cars model with the most basic features. This guide will help you understand the pricing structure for pickup trucks. Except for the Ford F-150 Raptor, most pickups are bare-bones versions that are primarily geared towards tradespeople and commercial fleets. A fully loaded Ford Super Duty F-450 Limited can cost close to $100,000. This is quite a range.

Although the base models may not be ideal for those with a limited budget, it is important to understand the price range of pickup trucks before beginning your search. A Truck Ranch sticker price can be significantly inflated by simply choosing popular options like all-wheel drive or a crew-cab body type. The base Sierra costs $40,795, while the most expensive Sierra comes with these two options. That’s almost 31% more than the base model. Although the price difference isn’t always so dramatic, you should still expect to pay more for a truck rather than an SUV or car.

Which Size is Right for You?

Anyone can recognize a pickup truck ranch, right? An obvious sign is the open cargo bed at their rear ends. It can be difficult for the uninitiated to identify the two sizes (mid-size or full-size) as well as the separate classifications (light duty and heavy-duty). There are many compromises that come with these different versions, some of which may not be immediately apparent unless you’re familiar with their unique characteristics.