Trucks in Seattle

Penguin VII · September 20, 2016

Hey all. I'm looking at relocating to Seattle in the very near future. Mainly because of work but also because my girlfriends family lives in the area and she would love to be closer after years in the military and being away.

I'm currently here visiting for work and have noticed that the parking garages in Seattle are laughably small. I don't plan on living in the city, looking at the shoreline area if anyone is familiar, but I'll still end up down in the city a fair amount.

Has anyone dealt with this? I haven't seen near as many trucks, lifted or otherwise, as I'm used to seeing in New England and it's making me think that all parking here is like that.

Not super concerned at the moment but a bit shocked. I've been out here a few times but never noticed before. Anyone that lives in or near Seattle I'd be curious to see if you have experienced that or if I'm just seeing a certain subset here.

bassJAM · September 20, 2016

Seattle is a pretty liberal city. So I'm sure a lot of the city is designed around small commuter cars and green technology because that's what people own.

Seems you're not the only one with this question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/3uipu6/truck_owners_of_seattle_how_inconvenient_is/

Penguin VII · September 21, 2016

If you get a F_______ bicycle you will fit in with the liberals. I hope you like it I HATED IT.

Woah! Intense. haha

I'm not planning on moving into the city, but I'll have to split my time between Kirkland and Seattle downtown. I personally hate the city so I'm looking at being somewhere in the burbs or outside.

Looks like parking downtown is gonna be hard though.

MikeNH · September 21, 2016

Post deleted. Those comments aren't gonna fly.

Penguin VII · September 22, 2016

Post deleted. Those comments aren't gonna fly.

I saw this and was a bit confused thinking you were talking to me. I was like "I don't like the city, I don't get whats so wrong about that". haha.

Anyone know of any reputable shops in the Seattle/Tacoma area? Looking at getting my truck lifted after I move and the lift install is the only thing I'm not going to do myself. (I'll have a shop install gears too if I go that route, still undecided)

Colossus · September 22, 2016

Get one of those Prius Repellent stickers too, that should piss off the tree huggers

mlowe6417 · September 24, 2016

I have a 14 CC standard bed, parking in Seattle can be a pain. I've been in the PNW since 2007 although I live 90 miles north of Seattle, but I do go there but stay north of lynwood usually much easier to deal with. I don't know many off-road shops except for one little home town shop called better off road. He does good work I do know that. FWIW stay out of downtown and your fine.

06pirate · September 24, 2016

Don't lift your truck too much, or it will be too tall to fit into the few parking garages that still have spaces or turn radii wide enough. If you are new to Seattle, take a small car and go exploring parking garages and you'll find some that simply will not accomodate a full-size truck. Low ceilings and sharp turns, narrow spaces, and a ton of spaces labeled "COMPACT" because they are too short also.

Since I moved from my old house on the Olympic Peninsula to my fiance's house in Bothell, which is northeast of Seattle, I have the same troubles. Small spaces, narrow roads, sharp street corners with sidewalks and power poles that are too close to the road for my truck to run around. I have to swing wide and go into the opposing lane a lot of times to clear the power poles at the corners.

Local muincipalities want us to get out of our big vehicles and drive tiny little spam cans. But yet they also don't want us using motorcycles, either. More cars crammed into more and smaller spaces means more parking revenue, more people crammed into smaller apartments, etc. Many of the new multi-family buildings in the Seattle area have more units than parking spaces, because they want people out of their cars entirely and using the city-owned/operated mass transit. Saves development costs and more revenue for the city, meaning higher pay for the city planners and government people who make these decisions, etc.

Driving lanes are also getting narrower, saving the city costs of asphalt and concrete, etc. It is all about money.

As others have said, stay out of downtown Seattle as much as possible.