I love pickup trucks.\u00a0 They have personality, attitude and are a hell of a lot more loyal than a horse!\u00a0 Most vehicles convey the personality of their owner; pickups also have their own individual nature.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never met one that I didn\u2019t like.\u00a0 Trucks I thought I didn\u2019t like, were actually a reflection of my regard for their owner.<\/p>\n
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You learn a lot about a guy, or gal, when you look at their pickup; beginning with the fact that they actually drive one.\u00a0 Some people baby their trucks and lavish them with gifts.\u00a0 Others neglect them, never clean them or change the oil, beat them up; and are rewarded with loyalty they do not deserve.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019m not much for bumper stickers but one of my favorites says \u201cSilly Boys, trucks are for girls.\u201d\u00a0 When I met my wife, she had an old rusted-out International Harvester that she took away from her dad.\u00a0 We sold it for almost nothing when we moved from California to Tennessee.\u00a0 She still pines for \u201cOld Red.\u201d<\/p>\n
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I learned to drive at age 9, on my Dad\u2019s 1954 Willys Pickup.\u00a0 It was a 4 cylinder, 4WD with a three speed stick-shift.\u00a0 It was worn out when he bought it circa1961 and was not reliable.\u00a0 It never left us stranded but we limped in on baling wire more than once.\u00a0 If duct tape had been around then we probably would have kept it running a couple of years longer.\u00a0 I have missed it every day since Dad got rid of it.<\/p>\n
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My first pickup was a 1952 International Harvester long bed.\u00a0 It had a flat six and a four speed transmission.\u00a0 I bought it in 1976 from my childhood neighbor, George Kirov; he was too old to drive and it had not been driven for a long time.\u00a0 He probably bought it surplus from the Forest Service in the mid \u201950\u2019s.\u00a0 It was brush-painted Forest Service Green.\u00a0 I put in a new 6 volt battery and away it went.\u00a0 Had to replace all the belts, hoses and tires before I took it out of town.\u00a0 It was a great truck.\u00a0 Top speed was about 50 and the windows were so sand pitted that you could barely see when the sun was wrong.\u00a0 The brakes were good, as long as you had a ton or less of cargo, usually firewood.\u00a0 The engine and transmission were bullet-proof.\u00a0 In a moment of weakness, I gave it to my brother David.\u00a0 He PROVED it was bullet-proof and I never forgave him for it. \u00a0That’s another story for another day.<\/p>\n
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Some people accessorize and pamper their trucks like rich men pamper their daughters.\u00a0 Others never change the oil and drive them into the ground.\u00a0 I guess I am somewhere in the mid-range.\u00a0 My sons would say that I am a bit obsessive with maintenance.\u00a0 Tires are my biggest concern; then general cleanliness.\u00a0 My truck doesn\u2019t have to be spotless but it needs to be reasonably clean.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t waste baskets or storage units.<\/p>\n
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I had a new tire, on a new vehicle, blow out at a very in-opportune time.\u00a0 Left front tire was a 2 ply nylon rated at 4ply.\u00a0 Had about 400 miles on the tire when it blew.\u00a0 I spun through the median and three lanes of heavy traffic without hitting anything or rolling.\u00a0 Pucker factor 9.\u00a0 I have driven steel belted radials, preferably Michelin, since.\u00a0 I replace them about 5000 miles before they are technically worn out.\u00a0 No re-caps.\u00a0 Haven\u2019t had a tire problem, other than road hazards, since.<\/p>\n
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No single truck-bed configuration is optimal.\u00a0 Ladder racks, caps, campers, headache racks, tonneau covers or stock; they all have their advantages and limitations as to what you can do. I would lean to a \u201cswiss army\u201d configuration if I could.\u00a0 However, I have to consider how it looks to the neighbors and my wife.<\/p>\n
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Outfitting is critical.\u00a0 A basic set of tools, a good jack, tow chain, tire chains, shovel and ice scraper are the minimum.\u00a0 I generally add another 800 lbs. of supplemental gear as dictated by my destination.\u00a0 I rarely need the stuff, but when shit happens… I\u2019m ready.\u00a0 When I really get serious, I add a chain saw and a torch to the kit; along with three days food and water.<\/p>\n
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The simple pleasures of life are the sweetest.\u00a0 One of my favorite things is to load up the truck on an early morning with the dog, grand-dog, and my wife; we go to McDonalds for coffee and sausage biscuits.<\/p>\n
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I love pickup trucks.\u00a0 They have personality, attitude and are a hell of a lot more loyal than a horse!\u00a0 Most vehicles convey the personality of their owner; pickups also have their own individual nature.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never met one that I didn\u2019t like.\u00a0 Trucks I thought I didn\u2019t like, were actually a reflection of my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98,"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions\/98"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tagesuppe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}