1/2 ton pick-up as daily driver - parking?

[The Critic]

I live in the suburb of a major city. I have attached a picture of my truck when parked in an average-size parking spot - it sticks out. Parking the truck in a parking garage is out of the question (it simply sticks out too far).

Is this a common issue for those of you who daily-drive your pickup?

 

[Nick1994]

Parking lot lines never extend out far enough, unless you're in a Fiat 500.

 

[tbm5690]

It's really not the length of the spots that matter, more the space in between the two sides of the row for backing out and maneuvering if other trucks are parked across the way. The OP being in CA I would imagine far fewer pickups and hence lots not made for them. Here you stand out if your DD is not a full-size crew cab or body on frame full-size SUV, so generally the parking lots accommodate.

 

[JC1]

I've seen pickups in parking garages in downtown Toronto. Usually those trucks need to get into the lot when it's not close to full in order to get a reasonable parking space. Usually at the end of a row to they can use the extra space to get in and out. Not fun for a daily commuter.

 

[CKN]

I have a crew cab Silverado. What you are showing is normal. Around here distracted driving is rampant and on the Facebook Community pages periodically a picture gets posted by a truck owner such as yours where somebody backs in to their tailgate and "neglects" to leave their information. To minimize this happening to me I park out in the "lower 40" and pull forward in to the space in the next row. When you park as shown someone will always (in a small car) park in to that space behind you.

 

[Skippy722]

I don’t quite fit into the spots of my local Menards/Lowe’s, in this pic if I pull forward so the rear bumper is just barely past the line the front end is in the aisle… which I find ridiculous. But the spots at Meijer are long enough to comfortably fit a crew cab short bed Ram 1500. I park towards the back and always pull through to minimize issues.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I'd park with the tailgate backed up to a grassy median, if that's available in your lot. If the nose pokes out a little, big deal, unless it's a marked fire lane, which it shouldn't be at the back of the lot.

 

[MNgopher]

I daily drive a F150 Supercrew with the 5.5 foot box. Used to work in downtown Minneapolis, and while I used the bus most days, I did park downtown 30+ days a year, and I attend sports events (well did before last year) and parked all the time in ramps. I had my list of favorite ramps to park in, and knew the spaces I liked the best.

As noted above, it wasn't the space itself that was usally an issue -it was the width of the drive aisle and other cars behind me - such that I didn't park in a spot that had a suburban where I needed to back towards it.

Locally, typical parking spaces are required to be 20 feet deep or have wider drive aisles. There is no free lunch.

In the spot you are parked in, the expectation is the back of the truck is inside the space - not the front within the lines as you've parked. You'll find a lot of places cheat of the painting of lines - paint costs money...

 

[JeffKeryk]

Looks good to me...

 

[BrianF]

I cruise a megacab. I also have mud flaps that stick out as they are attached to the receiver hitch. I try to park far away from anywhere for the room but if the place only has small spots, I try to extend into two. If not, don't care, I stick out.

 

[RDMgr]

It's really not the length of the spots that matter, more the space in between the two sides of the row for backing out and maneuvering if other trucks are parked across the way. The OP being in CA I would imagine far fewer pickups and hence lots not made for them. Here you stand out if your DD is not a full-size crew cab or body on frame full-size SUV, so generally the parking lots accommodate.

I have an old Silverado 1500HD crew cab; tough to park in any situation except my driveway!

 

[Malo83]

I always park on the far last spot, people are too lazy to walk that far.

 

[Duffyjr]

I get a a chuckle out of those farmers trying to park at wally with their four door 8' beds, but it don't take to much to make me shake my head now a days.

 

[CKN]

I don’t quite fit into the spots of my local Menards/Lowe’s, in this pic if I pull forward so the rear bumper is just barely past the line the front end is in the aisle… which I find ridiculous. But the spots at Meijer are long enough to comfortably fit a crew cab short bed Ram 1500. I park towards the back and always pull through to minimize issues.View attachment 50508

Yes-that's the way I park!

 

[supton]

I park in the back 40 as a rule, as I need the exercise. I pull through too.

my coworker says it is easier to back in. I could see that.

I put on some of those convex mirrors so that I could see behind me and the rear wheels. It helps quite a bit.

 

[Zee09]

I cruise a megacab. I also have mud flaps that stick out as they are attached to the receiver hitch. I try to park far away from anywhere for the room but if the place only has small spots, I try to extend into two. If not, don't care, I stick out.

Me too

 

[CheezWhiz]

crew 2500hd std bed ... total PITA!

 

[Dinoburner]

The 95 in my sig has a lousy turning radius so we take the Equinox grub gettin. Otherwise it`s so comfortable it gets used frequently.

 

[IndyIan]

I guess its a strike against a pickup as a family vehicle in an urban setting. I've seen a few Moms try to park near the mall entrance, go back and forth a few times trying to wedge into a car sized spot, give up then park farther away. Even if they got in, they'd still have to have room for a big door to swing wide open to stand on the running boards to fight with the car seat... Parallel parking downtown is a tougher too, you might not mind but its not every wife who likes a "parking challenge". The next level is a diesel truck and they have to wait for the pump!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

At least your concerned. I hate waiting for a suburban soccer mom 15 point turn into the front row at Walmart in a long bed quad cab to get 1 thing. Some vehicles aren’t meant to be a daily driver in a busy area and if you do, park where there is space for you to move.