diesel pickups

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="green">
Doesn't that mean you'll have to have a CDL to operate, and hit all the scales and weigh stations? </font>


We run a fleet of trucks, for commercial operations, any vehicle with a GVW (or combined GVW) that exceeds 25,999 is required to be operated by a driver with a CDL. Again that is for commercial use. For non-commercial applications, I believe the laws are different.

At one time, there was also an exemption for company owners who used trucks for their personal use off duty, I don't know if that still exists. But it allowed me to take a big truck home on the weekend despite the fact that I don't have a CDL. Now I just use a smaller truck when I need one (we have a dozen that are rated at 25,995 GVW).

 

[cowboydoc]

Do any of you guys know how to edit a PDF file? I was going to post this from the dealer but it's in PDF and I can't edit out my personal information. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Dargo]

If you have the full version of Adobe, it includes "distiller", which you can use to edit .pdf files. The "free" version doesn't allow you to do that.

 

[tomnky]

I think maybe, You can copy the document by selecting all, copy and then past it into wordpad, making it a text document, then edit out what You want.

It's worth a try .
I have done this with text portions of .pdf files. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[johnday]

Richard; No luck yet? I'd try to walk you thru it, but I don't know how either. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Where's Gatorboy when you need him? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Tom_H]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I used to have..an 81 VW Pickup!...never got the 55 mpg...)</font>

In Sept. 1980 bought a used '80 VW diesel Rabbit pickup with 12k mi. for $7500. On hwy. sometimes got 53 mpg. & 635 mi. range on 12 gal. fuel tank. Always warmed her up 10 min. before driving but went through 4 blown head gaskets and 2 cracked blocks. Gaskets and heads always cracked or blew at exact same spot: where head bolt goes into block on corner of engine on front right as you look into engine compartment. The engine was a converted gas engine. The block was cast iron and the head aluminum. The two metals expanded and contracted at different rates. VW tried replacing the head bolts with a special alloy, but it did little good. A possible reason for my pu having so many problems here was that it would experience as cold as -15 deg. in the winter in the mountains, and as hot as 118 deg. in the Mojave desert in summer.

Crossed the Mojave once on asphalt Interstate with 8 y.o. Michelins which still had good tread, but were so old the heat made bubbles on sidewalls & blew out all 4 at one time in middle of nowhere. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Had a little shell on the back with rear glass out. Put a slightly elevated deck in back with storage underneath. The wife and I spent many nights camping in very cramped quarters in that shell.

When I got married in '82, wife & I went to Disney World in it. While crossing from Fl back into GA at midnight one night, we passed the inspection station. The sign said for trucks to stop, but didn't say vans or pickups. Turns out full sized vans weren't required to stop, but all pickups were. Now this thing was like a Ford Ranchero: it had a 1 piece body; the pu bed was not separate from the cab. The back of this thing was so tiny that it seemed not much larger than the inside of a refrigerator. Anyway, the law came zooming up behind us, lights blazing in the middle of the night so they could search our "truck" for drugs being smuggled in from the Caribbean via Fla. Strongest thing they could find was Bayer. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The poor truck got rear ended about 4 times. Water leaked through the radio antenna mount hole several times and gave the electrical system irreparable problems. Finally sold her to salvage yard in '94 with 166k mi. for $150. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Jagmandave]

Mine lasted over 300k miles, with out having any engine teardowns! I lived in sunny San Diego, so the weather was easy on it. But, it also spent quite a bit of time down south over the border, running on Pemex or whatever I could find, and it was plenty hot in the desert. One time in San Felipe, the only place I could find open on a Sunday to fuel up was the local commercial fisherman's dock. Had to drive down the rickety dock, and had to use a funnel, as the hose was about twice the size of the filler opening. Used it several times as a support vehicle for long over the road bicycle races (Tecate - Ensenda, Mexicali-San Felipe etc). I also had a small shell on the back, really helped when you needed to get out of the sun, but weighed about 300lbs, so it slowed me down a bit in the mountains!
It had one odd quirk, it would only start if you parked with the nose downhill, didn't have to be steep, just ever so slightly downhill would do. If you didn't, it would not start by cranking - period. Sometimes I could get it to start by rolling down a long enough hill and popping the clutch...........if it was nose down, it would start on the first crank every time, never did figure out what was wrong with it (neither did the guy I sold it to, who was a VW diesel mechanic, he just resigned himself to parking it downhill too!)
It was a fun little truck, but I replaced it with a gas engined version, it got over 30 mpg and had WAY more power! I drove the second one for close to 300k without a teardown too! They were great trucks, perfectly suited for what I used 'em for............