Who can afford a new truck anymore?

[MossRoad]

Crude vehicle compared to a new suburban. Don't slice your hand off opening the hood. HS

I passed the hood opening 101 class a long time ago.

 

[MossRoad]

Great vehicle compared to a new suburban. Don't slice your checkbook paying for a new one. TS

Amen! :thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

My wife... I just got back from the Ohio/Indiana border about half an hour ago where she and my daughter were stranded in a broken Ford. I towed them home with a car dolly behind the Suburban.

A few years back I was on the SF Bay Bridge leaving SF and heading for home in Oakland... traffic slowed and there was a stalled car in the right lane.

I was driving a completely stock 1930 Model A pickup that I had restored and the car that was stalled happened to be a Hot Rod with lots of chrome and I recognized the driver from car events... I went around like everyone else then pulled right in front of him and got out to see if I could help... he said he thought it was a fuel problem...

Anyway, I said too bad I don't have a tow rope because I could at least get him off the bridge... just so happened he had a tow strap and that is what we did...

I have never gotten so many thumbs up and smiles as I did that day pulling a big engine street rod with my little 40hp Model A with narrow tires.

After we got off the bridge he said he should have made the tow rope shorter... and I'm thinking if anything it should have been longer just to be safe...

He wanted it shorter so it would look like he was giving me a push instead of me giving him a tow!

Every once in awhile someone still makes a comment about it in good fun... hey, next time it might be me that needs a tow!!!

 

[MossRoad]

Nice! :thumbsup:

 

[Turbys_1700]

Just got back from a 1200 mile round trip taking a young adult from college to grad school in the '93 suburban.... averaged 13mpg towing 5x8 loaded trailer and loaded interior of suburban at about 63mph first half of trip. Return trip was 18mpg at 75mph speeds. Truck ran fine. Had to use 3rd gear to maintain hills in eastern OH and western PA, but it held speed just fine.

I think I'll just keep repairing it. :thumbsup:

Nothing wrong with those mileage numbers at all MossRoad. Last month I pulled a 16' HD trailer loaded with a 1100# brush hog. 160 miles unloaded and 160 miles back loaded. Was probably in the 1800# range unloaded and 2900# range loaded. Averaged 11 mpg running 65 to 70. Last week I pulled a 14' box trailer hard and averaged 8.5 mpg. That box trailer is like pulling a sail boat. This is a 6.0 Chevy Silverado 2007 HD 2500. I bought my used truck last year for salvage with 92K miles. No repair issues and she runs great. Just gotta stay close to a gas pump.

 

[houstonscott]

I passed the hood opening 101 class a long time ago.

Yeah, gloves. HS

 

[3930dave]

A few years back I was on the SF Bay Bridge leaving SF and heading for home in Oakland... traffic slowed and there was a stalled car in the right lane.

I was driving a completely stock 1930 Model A pickup that I had restored and the car that was stalled happened to be a Hot Rod with lots of chrome and I recognized the driver from car events... I went around like everyone else then pulled right in front of him and got out to see if I could help... he said he thought it was a fuel problem...

Anyway, I said too bad I don't have a tow rope because I could at least get him off the bridge... just so happened he had a tow strap and that is what we did...

I have never gotten so many thumbs up and smiles as I did that day pulling a big engine street rod with my little 40hp Model A with narrow tires.

After we got off the bridge he said he should have made the tow rope shorter... and I'm thinking if anything it should have been longer just to be safe...

He wanted it shorter so it would look like he was giving me a push instead of me giving him a tow!

Every once in awhile someone still makes a comment about it in good fun... hey, next time it might be me that needs a tow!!!

Nicely done !

I still think trucks are about getting work done, but do get that other people assign different personal values to a truck today...... even if I had the disposable cash lying around, what image I project at the country club or shopping mall is not a priority for me, so even after a lottery win, I would not have a knee-jerk reaction to buying a new vehicle. I'd be more inclined to go shopping for ARB lockers, Gear Vendors splitters and other fun parts..... we all have our own lists.....

Things have drifted enough (socially) that if Henry Ford had been around to hear your story UR, he would have been puzzled.... "What are you going on about ? Just get on with the next thing that needs doing !" :thumbsup:

Your A has been around long enough that it has been ascending the other side of the bathtub price curve for a while.... nice to have a vehicle that is appreciating. Moss and Turby touch on another $ aspect that I find less than compelling..... going from a well maintained $2k truck to a $40k+ truck often doesn't do much for fuel mileage..... sometimes it is worse..... so if your priority for a truck is moving "stuff" with it, I find the argument for new a bit weak in this respect.

As has already been posted, there are various personal and business rationalizations for buying new..... I do understand most of those......

Paraphrasing from The Big Chill..... "Rationalizing is more important than sex.......... Ever go a week w/o a good rationalization ?"

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

Nicely done !

Things have drifted enough (socially) that if Henry Ford had been around to hear your story UR, he would have been puzzled.... "What are you going on about ? Just get on with the next thing that needs doing !" :thumbsup:

Your A has been around long enough that it has been ascending the other side of the bathtub price curve for a while.... nice to have a vehicle that is appreciating. Moss and Turby touch on another $ aspect that I find less than compelling..... going from a well maintained $2k truck to a $40k+ truck often doesn't do much for fuel mileage..... sometimes it is worse..... so if your priority for a truck is moving "stuff" with it, I find the argument for new a bit weak in this respect.

I've posted before... here is my old Ford 1/4 ton Ford Pickup on Treasure Island with San Francisco in the background...

You're right... at my experience has been keeping a vehicle long enough and value trends up...

PS... speaking of older trucks... I was having a check engine light come on my 96 F150 and all it turned out to be was a cracked vacuum house... a split in the middle of the 2' long hose... the previous owner had spent hundreds of dollars replacing parts... brake booster, mass airflow sensor, O2 Sensor... etc.

Solving a problem is still one of my greatest satisfactions... and for no out of pocket costs that much sweeter.

 

[3930dave]

Ahhh 'cmon, you blew big bucks on that hose..... must have been all of $1.00 ! :laughing:

Sweet truck.

If you can stick a magnet to the dashboard, you have my attention .

Rgds, D.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, gloves. HS

No. Intelligence. Actually, I don't know anyone that has trouble opening the hood on a Chevy. You pull the handle under the dash, the hood pops open a couple inches, you look under there for the latch, lift it with your finger and open the hood. :confused3: