10 Best Vehicles for Hauling a Christmas Tree

christmas tree on car

Picking out the Christmas tree is one of the most pleasant rituals of the season. You venture out, often as a family, to a local Christmas tree lot or perhaps even to a Christmas tree farm to choose the tannenbaum that will grace your home this season. Often the excursion is accompanied by hot chocolate and the rich smell of pine needles crushed under your boots. The only complicating factor is getting the Christmas tree home. Many of today’s vehicles aren’t particularly well suited to bringing home something as bulky and awkward as a tree, but there is one vehicle type that is especially appropriate for the task: a truck. Rather than requiring you to hoist the tree to the roof of your vehicle and secure it with twine, this vehicle type accepts a tree with special aplomb.

Read on for our list of the 10 best vehicles to haul the Christmas tree.

2019 GMC Canyon

Among the many traits the GMC Canyon midsize pickup shares with its Chevrolet Colorado sibling is a size and bed height that makes it especially good for hauling home Christmas trees. While many full-size pickup trucks offer the maneuverability of a locomotive, the midsize Canyon pickup feels familiar to most drivers who previously owned cars or midsize SUvs. For those who live in frigid climates where traction on snow and ice is a major Christmastime consideration, notable among the Canyon’s trim levels are the All Terrain and Denali versions. The four-wheel-drive All Terrain package includes Z71 suspension, automatic locking rear differential and transfer case skid plate, enough to help haul you tree out of the ground at the roots. Inside, most Canyons are well-dressed with attractive trim and a number of sedan-like amenities.

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2019 Nissan Frontier

The Nissan brand stuck with midsize trucks when others, like Ford and Chevrolet, were opting out of this prime Christmas tree hauling segment. Though not the most modern design, the Frontier’s solid stance holds its own when it comes to reliability. The 2019 Frontier is offered with a choice of two engines — 152-horsepower 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder and 261-horsepower 4.0-liter V-6. Either will provide enough motive force to tote serious Christmas trees. Both extended cab and crew cab models offer a bed that includes a factory-applied spray-on bedliner and the versatile Utili-track Channel System of tie-downs that make securing your tree and accompanying yule logs that much easier. In addition to the cleats, Nissan offers a range of accessories for the channel system, including bed dividers, sliding cargo trays and modular storage units to keep all your Yuletide goodies secure.

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2019 Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline midsize pickup is back, and it is an excellent choice for Christmas tree transport. One big difference between the Ridgeline and other pickups in the segment is the use of unibody construction instead of separate body-on-frame. Another important distinction is the use of all-independent suspension. The combination of independent suspension and a unibody chassis results in a more comfortable, car-like ride on your way over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. Power for timber transport comes from a 280-horsepower 3.5-liter direct-injected single overhead cam V-6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The Honda Ridgeline is a four-door pickup that can accommodate five passengers, so most families can take the whole crew tree-shopping.

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2019 Chevrolet Colorado

After an absence during which General Motors abandoned the midsize truck market, the Chevrolet Colorado has re-established itself as a prime choice to tote the Christmas pine. Various bed and cab sizes enable Colorado buyers to pick out a truck to match their special tree-hauling and present-trucking needs. If you are venturing off-road to cut your very own Christmas tree somewhere in the wilderness, the Colorado ZR2 off-roader, which has captured a number of awards, has the all-terrain abilities to get the job done. If you seek economy in your tree-toter, a Colorado equipped with the 186-horsepower 2.8-liter in-line four cylinder turbodiesel delivers the mpg you seek. Garageable and easy to maneuver, the Chevrolet Colorado has capabilities that rival full-size pickups of a generation ago.

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2019 Nissan Titan

Attention Christmas tree transporters: Nissan offers a full range of half-ton pickups in a wide variety of shapes and styles that can get the job done. Offered in regular cab, extended cab and crew cab body styles, Titan is available in both rear-drive and four-wheel-drive trim. The crew cab has a 5.5-foot bed; the extended cab has a 6.5-foot bed, and the regular cab has an 8-foot bed, so they will easily accommodate many Christmas trees simply by placing them in the bed. For you belt-and-suspenders Christmas tree buyers who want to tie your tree in the bed, Nissan’s Utili-track bed channel system has four aluminum-alloy cleats that can be moved and locked along the bed walls plus floor and header tracks that give plenty of tie-down possibilities. Titan is powered by a 390-horsepower 5.6-liter V-8 engine mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission.

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2019 Toyota Tundra

Toyota recently shortened its Tundra full-sized pickup truck lineup by deleting all regular cab versions, but this still leaves plenty of good choices for hauling home the Christmas tree. The Toyota Tundra offers two engine choices, a 4.6-liter 310-horsepower V-8 and a 5.7-liter 381-horsepower V-8, both naturally aspirated and powerful enough to handle pretty every Christmas tree transportation issue. For those seeking luxury in their quest for the perfect Christmas tree, the Limited grade offers leather-trimmed seats, 10-way power driver’s seat and dual-zone climate control. The Tundra is arguably the safest vehicle to haul home the Christmas tree with Toyota Safety Sense-P, an impressive array of electronic safety aids that includes the pre-collision system that detects pedestrians in danger, lane departure alert and radar-assisted “smart” cruise control.

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2019 Ford F-150

The Ford F-150 offers a variety of trim levels, cab sizes and bed lengths, as befits the bestselling truck in America. The F-150 is offered in seven separate series, each with a personality of its own, and each provides its unique way to move your tree. The current F-150 lineup delivers the power necessary to move the pine, while the accompanying fuel economy is praiseworthy. Thanks go to the various EcoBoost engines. The truck also gets stellar marks for reliability, serviceability and owner enthusiasm. As a conveyance of the whole family to the Christmas tree lot or to the winter cabin in the mountains, Ford offers comfortable, quiet, easy-to-live-with trucks. The trio of King Ranch, Platinum and Limited trim levels take pickup truck comfort and convenience to a new level.

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2019 GMC Sierra 1500

If you’re seeking a stylish, contemporary pickup for your Christmas tree hauling duty the GMC Sierra full-size truck could be your family’s answer. GMC has taken its products in a upscale direction. The top-of-the-line Denali version of the Sierra is essentially a separate model that delivers style in the suburbs or on the open range. Looking for bling on the Christmas tree thing, the Sierra Denali has a chrome grille, 20-inch wheels and six-inch chrome steps. An exclusive eight-inch customizable driver display highlights the upscale interior. Just so you don’t careen off the road on the way to the in-laws, the Enhanced Driver Alert Package includes forward collision alert, safety alert driver seat, automatic high-beam control, lane-keep assist, front and rear park assist and low-speed forward automatic braking.

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2019 Chevrolet Silverado

In the all-new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pickup the cargo bed has received an incredible amount of attention, and that’s good news for you Christmas tree haulers. When you add up all the permutations of trim level, bed length, cab configuration and powertrains, then add the various packages, it is likely Chevy has a truck that will fulfill your needs and titillate your desires. As you leave the warm comforts of home to fetch your tree, the Silverado will bathe you in an interior design that is closely related to its much-praised Tahoe and Suburban full-size sport-utility vehicles. Of course, should you seek four-wheel drive to bull your way through the snow, the Silverado will punch your ticket. Cylinder deactivation technology means you will transfer your tree with a minimum of fuel costs.

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2019 Ram 1500

For those seeking a comfortable, quiet ride as they travel to Candy Cane Lane, the new Ram 1500 is the one to eyeball. The Ram 1500 engineering team has worked very hard to create a truck with very car-like ride and handling characteristics, so even though you’re picking up your tree the easy way, you’ll still feel like you’re riding in a car. With the optional auto-leveling air suspension, even if your Christmas tree choice is a sequoia you’ll probably be okay. The Ram 1500’s sedan-like ride is matched by its luxurious interior design that includes the easy-to-understand Uconnect 8.4 infotainment interface. The 2019 RAM 1500 can do heavy hauling, but it will treat you to a sumptuous experience, especially when you use your truck for something as festive as picking up a Christmas tree.

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