That feeling in the air, the electricity, the pervasive, almost erotic tension — you feel that, don’t you? Of course you do. You’re a human, pulsating with endorphins and piping-hot lymph and ideas and lusts and there’s no way you can’t feel what’s going on, which is Truck of the Year-picking season. Our pals over at Motorized Trends have made their pick for 2023 – a year that has, according to my sources, yet to occur – and they picked the Ford F-150 Lightning. Sure, that’s a fine choice and all; it’s an important EV truck that we’re fond of, too. But I guess we just wanted to pick something that, you know really matters. That’s why I’m proud to announce that the 2022 Autopian Truck of the Year is the Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot line of trucks.
Yes, exactly, that Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot. The trucks that make up the very backbone of the shadow trucking industry that runs in parallel to the big, road-going prima donna trucks that hog all the attention. While those F-150s and Silverados are out there, showily hauling three bags of soft, well-packaged peat moss across paved roads smooth as pudding skin before retiring for the night in a heated garage, thousands of people are backing Taylor-Dunns up to loading docks and roll-up doors and piling them full of sharp, filthy whatevers that need to be hauled across a campus or warehouse or through the dark, labyrinthine corridors of a convention center or prison or refinery or research lab or any of the thousands of other places that swarms of diamond-plate-skinned Taylor-Dunns roam and work.
Taylor-Dunn makes a huge variety of little work trucks and tow vehicles and people-movers and haulers and draggers and stockchasers, but we picked the Bigfoot line for a few reasons: the appealing design characteristics, the flexibility of use, the variety of body styles, impressive technical specs, and, perhaps most importantly, it’s the only one of these that any of the Autopian staff has actually driven, so that’s a big factor.
Oh, before I get to the Bigfoot line, I have to show you this glorious beast:
The Taylor-Dunn MX-600. It’s a mobile toolbox, complete with a work surface and a vice! Imagine being able to roll up to your friend’s place to help them work on their car in one of these babies! So good.
Okay, back to our Autopian 2022 Truck of the Year, the Bigfoot line.
Taylor-Dunn calls these “burden carriers” and I think that’s a wonderful name, because it describes exactly what these workhorses are for: to carry your burdens, whether they be physical, emotional, logistical, spiritual, whatever. That time you only saw one set of tire tracks? That’s when the Taylor-Dunn was carrying you.
These are trucks distilled down to their absolute core: all killer, no filler, all go, no show. They exist to accomplish tasks, to make other, bigger things happen, and ask as little as possible. They’re electromechanical martyrs, giving and giving and giving, then giving some more.
Like the F-150 Lightning, these are green vehicles, modern EVs, with optional lithium-ion batteries, just like the Big Showy Boys. But, as you can see, they’re clearly not in the same class as something like an F-150. It’d be hilarious to even compare these little worker bees to a big, strong, steel-wool-on-the-chest truck like an F-150, right? What a silly idea! Let’s do it, with a couple of gleefully cherry-picked but still very important examples:
Do you like to, you know, put things in your truck? Arguably the whole raison d’etre of a truck in the first place? Well, it just so happens that you can put 765 more pounds in a little Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot XL than you can in a brand-new Ford F-150 Lightning. That’s like two and a half baby elephants.
Well, what about towing? Certainly that big-ass F-150 won’t be embarrassed by this funny little drivable slab of metal, yeah?
Ha ha ha, nope! That Taylor-Dunn can tow every single thing that F-150 can, plus an extra Miata on top of it all. Can it go as far on a charge or as fast or as comfortably? Who gives a shit? Have you ever heard a truck buyer be concerned about range or speed or comfort? Me neither! Never comes up, so no point in even thinking about it, even for a second.
If you’re, say, titled royalty, you can order a Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot with a more enclosed body, like a van or pickup truck or with ladder racks or whatever, you know, sparks joy.
No matter how they’re outfitted, they either keep that friendly but determined Taylor-Dunn face with the diamond-plate body panels or that new, streamlined, lavishly curved windshield look. Truly, a Taylor-Dunn’s look fits in everywhere from the corridors underneath the Metropolitan Museum of Art to your local sewage treatment plant, and everywhere in between, like a Chili’s.
Let’s hear from the Autopian who has actual wheel time in one of these amazing beasts, our own Matt “Flapjacks” Hardigree:
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is run primarily on the Circuit de la Sarthe which, by length, is made up mostly of public roads. A smaller portion of the track is the permanent Bugatti Circuit race course. A weird thing you realize when you go to Le Mans for the first time is that they only use a little bit of the Bugatti Circuit for the Circuit de la Sarthe and the rest is just a way to connect people to parking lots.
I know this because I made a documentary at Le Mans this summer that almost no one will ever see and I got to use one of those parking lot for the two weeks I was filming. Did I, in fact, drive over the curbs and try to apex the turns in between the entrance to the parking area and my parking spot in a Citroen Jumpy? I sure as hell did. Multiple times. It was great.
My whole experience at Le Mans was quite wonderful and the team we were filming was fantastic. They were one of a handful of American teams and, rather than use rented scooters or fancy golf carts to move items around short distances, they instead shipped a Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot to France. I would often sit on the Taylor-Dunn and notice Europeans from other teams looking lustfully at the rectangular simplicity and strength of the TD.
Even better, the team we were with noticed we had to move a bunch of large items out to our parking spot and offered to let us use the Taylor-Dunn. Did I, also, borrow the TD and drive it over the curbs of the legendary Bugatti Circuit even though it would have been much easier to just drive to the gate and carry the gear over the wall? Absolutely.
It was a dream. Power delivery? Smooth as the fragrant vanilla ice cream the French mom the crew was staying with made us for dessert. Handling? It was basically the TGV. The model I had was also the superleggera version with no windscreen so as I wound my way around the track I could feel the wind in my hair. It was like being in a Godard film (and, actually, Jean-Paul Belmonodo drives an Oldsmobile 88).
Would I have preferred an Aston Martin? Maybe. Maybe not.
Hard to argue with that, right?
Once again, I’m proud to give a warm and genuine Autopian mazel tov to our 2022 Truck of the Year, the Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot line. Like the mighty Sasqatches they’re named for, the Bigfeet are an elusive yet powerful force, tirelessly working just out of sight, perhaps usually unseen, but never unfelt.
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Friendly-but-determined face is best face. It’s the main thing I want in a utility truck, if I’m honest.
What a pointless article. Top speed of 18 mph and made for flat ground. You are comparing apples to oranges. Do you really think the Lightning would be restricted to the same tow rating and payload if it had the same limitations?
I daresay I found the article insightful, whimsical, and apposite!
If enough of us become members, can David drive a Bigfoot to Moab and off-road it?
Nice to see an actual blue collar truck get the nod and not a $90,000 cowboy Cadillac that’s only used for blue collar cosplay!
All I think of with these is Austin Powers trying to turn around in a hallway.
“That Taylor-Dunn can tow every single thing that F-150 can, plus an extra Miata on top of it all. Can it go as far on a charge or as fast or as comfortably? Who gives a shit? Have you ever heard a truck buyer be concerned about range or speed or comfort? Me neither! Never comes up, so no point in even thinking about it, even for a second.”
I’ve read a lot of good things on this site over the past 8 months. This paragraph may be the best.
One of my previous jobs had a bunch of older Taylor-Dunn industrial trucks of various designs. All from the late ’80s and mid ’90s. When I first started, I was the second engineer. There was too much work for one engineer, so early on, there wasn’t quite enough for two engineers. So we had a course around the factory and we’d set hot laps. Or we’d have competitions who could ride them on three wheels the longest. The things all had Ford 9-inch rear ends in them that were cut super narrow. Built like Fort Knox. Fun.
But the burning question: Is the Taylor Dunn Swift?
BOOOOO!! Take your upvote and GTFO.
I’d love to see the steering linkage setup.
And I really want an MX-600! In blue as shown please.
Yes, but they have improved the turning radius beyond the model Austin Powers used?
Excellent pick. Taylor Dunn is a great eBay search, I f you want to see what a used one looks like. Or if you need a cheap one. And who doesn’t?
Do they make an aircraft tug version ?
“Taylor-Dunn calls these “burden carriers” and I think that’s a wonderful name, because it describes exactly what these workhorses are for: to carry your burdens, whether they be physical, emotional, logistical, spiritual, whatever. That time you only saw one set of tire tracks? That’s when the Taylor-Dunn was carrying you.”
That’s Gold Jerry! GOLD!!
Way back when, during senior year of high school, I decided to take photo as an elective. One of the perks was being able to leave class to go take photos. As long as you had your camera you were good, and no one questioned you.
Now, being in southern California, my high school was one of those spread out ones with a big quad and long distances to traverse. Also, being in southern California, the temps can hit 100+ degrees. It was nice to be able to be outside during class, but those high temps made me want to try and limit my exposure while trying to go somewhere interesting to take photos on campus.
My solution was to commandeer one of the many Taylor Dunns that could be found scattered around the school by the custodial department. I’d mosey on up, unplug it, rip ass to wherever I wanted to take photos, then return the thing and plug it back in. And somehow I never got caught. Maybe it’s because it was stealthy quiet? Maybe the staff just truly didn’t give a shit because they were overworked and overpaid? I dunno. But I have nothing but love for those lil Taylor Dunn guys and agree 100% with the Autopian staff on this well-deserved award.
overworked and underpaid* dammit I hate not being able to fix my brainless typos.
Tradesmen at the very plant that build the Lightning (and every other Ford facility) use these to get around. A great truck indeed.
So, just what kind of vice does the MX-600 have – gambling, drugs, prostitution? Oh, I hope it’s prostitution!
There’s no real discreet way to pick up a prostitute in a Taylor Dunn. It’s pretty much all out there in the open.
It’s okay but it’s no Kalamazoo Speed Truck. If nothing else, it lacks the name Kalamazoo Speed Truck.
And Speed too.
I’m a stagehand, we use those vehicles all the time, the electricians and bosses seem to have the three wheel carts. We haul stuff all over with the flatbeds.
I am likewise a stagehand and have driven these all over the aforementioned convention centers, of which we have dozens. These trucks are awesome, and if you want to you can get them registered for road use as LSV “neighborhood” vehicles in some states!
Not so great at three point turns in confined spaces though.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IGiQOCX9UbM&t=33s&pp=2AEhkAIB
Didn’t even have to click to know what scene you posted!
Came here for this. My day is now complete.
I have nothing to say on this because I just wrote ~1000 words on that civic with the brake problems.
Now that article is gone and I’ve run out of words.
WTF.
It’s up there!
That MX 600 is really speaking to me. I’d pry slap a tiny little engine hoist on there in case a predator engine needs hoisted.
Last year, I briefly worked in the sustainability department of a Disney+ show. As I carried recycling and compost bins around the studios on my back, hour after hour, day after day, all I can remember is absolutely dripping with jealousy and seething with rage at the petit bourgeois carted around in the opulence of a Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot.
I would have given my left nut for the privilege of having my garbage cans carried around by such a machine, and they had the nerve to wheel those grandiose machines around at breakneck pace completely unladen.
Alas, we must all remember our place. The Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot reminds us of where we belong.
I want the white one with the ladder racks: it’s like a Kei car truck on strong steroids
As somebody who maintains these they are not as fine a vehicle as you may think they are…
Motrec and Cushman make better platforms.
We’re open to a head-to-head comparo
Here’s the plan, DT on the West Coast gets one, Torch on the East Coast gets the other, and it’s a duel to the death, er, race to the middle. Winner gets a PB Blaster martini.
Martinis are a terrible driver’s drink. The glasses make it easy to spill. Why not a Start Ya Bastard gimlet served in a crystal tumbler?
Now we need a grudge match article written about the major Burden Carrier models, in the style of the old school ‘Camaro / Mustang / Challenger’ pony car comparos from the days of yore – down to the instrumented performance tests! That would be awesome Autopian content, right there…
Please make this happen .
You know – this comparo does need to happen for the sake of journalistic integrity – one can’t help but be suspicious when a major advertiser for the site* wins an award like this. My alarm whistle went screaming right off. Especially when I got to this :
“Can it go as far on a charge or as fast or as comfortably? Who gives a shit? Have you ever heard a truck buyer be concerned about range or speed or comfort? Me neither! Never comes up, so no point in even thinking about it, even for a second.”
“Aha!”, I thought. But then I looked at the byline to see that Jason wrote this article….and remembered: Changli. Damn – he actually believes this! Maybe his opinion wasn’t influenced by the Bigfoot full of cash he found in his driveway. But, wait! He has a Senior Editor (sic) here and surely nobody could ever accept that David believes that too….could they?
Double Damn.
* Sure, you don’t see their advertisements, but you know about subliminal advertising don’t you? Excuse me, I need a coke really badly right now – gotta run out and buy some.
This is the hard-hitting journalism we NEED.
There’s always 2023.
The Cushman Titan XD has lower payload and towing capacity, and no Li-ion option. The Motrec has angry eyebrows. Mark me down as a Taylor Dunn man all the way!
lol, those are also affected by supply chains right now….but at a hefty 18 mph they really make office workers and installers alike jump right out of your way while delivering parts.
If you’re in a factory, your ears get very tuned to the subtle whirrrr sound they make.