It’s good to remind ourselves once in a while that big pickups are not strictly a recent phenomena. Yes, the numbers are much higher than they used to be, but then so are the incomes of a whole lot of Americans, and the resultant abilities to fulfill their automotive desires.
Back in 1964, one of our neighbors in Iowa City bought a new Dodge Crew Cab for just this purpose, to haul a camper around the country for the whole summer. It did seem huge at the time. And they still do, just not as much so.