Pickup trucks, as their very name suggests, are meant for picking up and moving things. The items are placed typically at the back of these trucks which are open. To know about the best types of pickup trucks, you should first assess your needs. When you are not planning on carrying big loads or pulling heavy trailers, you can choose to buy either a midsize or lighter-duty pickup truck.

Knowing features of the best types of pickup trucks that are available is important. This is because you will find these come in a variety of combinations, like compact or full-size, four-wheel drive or two-wheel drive, short bed or long bed, auto transmission or standard transmission, and 4-door or 2-door. Here are the various types of pickup trucks and their best models.

Full-size Pickup Trucks
These pickup trucks are for people who are looking for a lot of space at the back of the vehicle. These are strong workhorses and they have a lot of ground clearance compared to compact-sized ones. Many full-sized pickups offer four-wheel or all-wheel drive; so, you can basically go anywhere using these pickups. No surprises then why these models are more high-priced than others. Besides, depending on the payload they can accommodate, full-sized pickup trucks can be subdivided into many categories. So, you have half-ton trucks like the Ford F-150 or Chevrolet Silverado, three-quarter ton trucks, and one-ton trucks like Chevy Silverado 3500HD, Ram 3500, and Ford F-350.

Mid-size Pickup Trucks
These are the best bet when you want a lot of power and heavy hauling capacity in a single vehicle. They cannot be substitutes for the full-size pickup truck models but they are just right for everyday use. The best models are the Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma, and Ford Ranger.

Hybrid Trucks
These are one of the best types of pickup trucks in terms of fuel efficiency. This is probably why more and more pickup truck owners are opting for hybrid models. However, you will not find too many hybrid truck models and the prices are far from reasonable.

Heavy-duty Pickup Trucks
These are better suited to work like workhorses and the more recent models have introduced many advanced features, like higher capacity and even offer many modern day comforts. For instance, you will come across models offering leather upholstery, mobile wi-fi capability, and customized looks. The heavy-duty variety has exceptionally high capacities to the tune of 17,000 pounds. RAM’s 3500 series focuses more on towing capacity than the earlier models.

Compact/coupe/mini Pickup Trucks
While they may be popularly called mini trucks, they are in no way of a small size. They are almost the size of mid-sized pickup trucks. Popular models include the Ford Ranger, Chevy S-10, and Toyota RAV4.

Electric Pickup Trucks
These are not too many in number as the battery costs are very steep and you need to spend a fortune to enjoy the high towing capacities; a popular model in this category include the Rivian R1T.

Luxury Pickup Trucks
These trucks have luxury features like the high-end cars with elegant cabins, high-end upholstery, opulent wooden accents, and state-of-the-art connectivity features.