Things are pretty fantastic when you use them for that they’re made to do… Try safely carrying 20 4’x8’ sheets of sheetrock in a small car… Or try carrying two bags of groceries in a sedan’s trunk without anything holding them in place…
A van will have more cargo volume for the same wheelbase, be easier to load, and have the cargo be covered from the elements. Those are made for carrying stuff. Pick-ups are made only to show that the owner is compensating for something.
Pickups let you load stuff as high as you want to and the open sides can make things much simpler. Try loading a couple of loads of dirt in a van.
For home use I have seen most people buy dirt in bags. A sedan or even a compact would handle carrying those. The open sides can be a benefit for sure, but I don’t know about putting cargo ‘as high as you want to,’ given that wind is a thing. And vans are pretty tall anyway!
I understand that they can have some utility on a farm or something, but the average person is not regularly transporting a ‘couple loads of dirt’ in suburbia.
Why have them so high up off the ground though? Unless they’re made for loading docks
The one in the picture isn’t stock, the owner made it impractical unless he pulls trailers with a goose neck on the regular.
