Just can't get a good basic truck, like the old days!

[sunandsand]

Lets take the politics and partisanship out of electric vehicles a moment . . .

I'm adding a 5 or 6 kw solar array to the south side of my hangar later this year. It will make FPL unhappy (my heart just bleeds for them, up to now it has been my wallet that has been doing the bleeding for them) but it will make me happy.

It will be a "homebrew" system, I'm not paying some here-today-gone-tomorrow company $30,000 to do it. I'll buy a dozen 400 watt panels, a 6KW inverter and a disconnect, install it and wire it myself. This stuff is hardly rocket science. I'll probably have under $5,000 in it. It will be a grid-tie system (no battery) because, um, solar cells don't work real well at night. Solar during the day, FPL at night - and I don't use a lot of power when I'm asleep.

That will run my house and give me excess capacity to charge a car.

Tesla is desperately trying to get rid of pre-owned model 3s, leasing them for zero down and $200 a month. If I got one of those, my transportation costs would be the lease payment - and that's pretty much it. (Plus insurance, which I'd have for any car.)

If I could buy an equivalent vehicle to the 3, except a pickup truck, I'd be on it in a millisecond. Zero fuel costs, minimal maintenance costs, this is simply an appliance to move "stuff" from A to B, and I'd have no emotional attachment to it whatsoever.

I really don't care what makes it run, gasoline, diesel, electrons, pixie dust, the job is to move "stuff" from A to B.

Electric cars are nearly price competitive with IC cars now, in a few years they will be cheaper. Operating costs are already significantly lower, and there is less maintenance. Range is increasing, 300 miles isn't unusual.

So - I want an electric pickup truck, single cab, half or three-quarter ton, 300 miles range, under $35,000. (And one of the neat extras is an on-board inverter so I can have 110 volt power to run tools right off the vehicle!)

I know it can be done - Jim Farley, President of Ford, says unless Ford can effectively compete with the Chinese electric car makers, Ford will be out of business - and if anyone is an expert in the car business, he is.

Old Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times."

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida (Where the sun DO shine - a lot!)

 

[3930dave]

I happen to Like Carrots (and, electric tech, for certain applications)......

Many people however, when repeatedly Beaten With a Stick, lose their Taste for Carrots.....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Lets take the politics and partisanship out of electric vehicles a moment . . .

I'm adding a 5 or 6 kw solar array to the south side of my hangar later this year. It will make FPL unhappy (my heart just bleeds for them, up to now it has been my wallet that has been doing the bleeding for them) but it will make me happy.

It will be a "homebrew" system, I'm not paying some here-today-gone-tomorrow company $30,000 to do it. I'll buy a dozen 400 watt panels, a 6KW inverter and a disconnect, install it and wire it myself. This stuff is hardly rocket science. I'll probably have under $5,000 in it. It will be a grid-tie system (no battery) because, um, solar cells don't work real well at night. Solar during the day, FPL at night - and I don't use a lot of power when I'm asleep.

That will run my house and give me excess capacity to charge a car.

Tesla is desperately trying to get rid of pre-owned model 3s, leasing them for zero down and $200 a month. If I got one of those, my transportation costs would be the lease payment - and that's pretty much it. (Plus insurance, which I'd have for any car.)

If I could buy an equivalent vehicle to the 3, except a pickup truck, I'd be on it in a millisecond. Zero fuel costs, minimal maintenance costs, this is simply an appliance to move "stuff" from A to B, and I'd have no emotional attachment to it whatsoever.

I really don't care what makes it run, gasoline, diesel, electrons, pixie dust, the job is to move "stuff" from A to B.

Electric cars are nearly price competitive with IC cars now, in a few years they will be cheaper. Operating costs are already significantly lower, and there is less maintenance. Range is increasing, 300 miles isn't unusual.

So - I want an electric pickup truck, single cab, half or three-quarter ton, 300 miles range, under $35,000. (And one of the neat extras is an on-board inverter so I can have 110 volt power to run tools right off the vehicle!)

I know it can be done - Jim Farley, President of Ford, says unless Ford can effectively compete with the Chinese electric car makers, Ford will be out of business - and if anyone is an expert in the car business, he is.

Old Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times."

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida (Where the sun DO shine - a lot!)

If I had your sunshine (or AZ....), I'd be using a lot of solar , including domestic hot water.

Rgds, D.

 

[RB5]

Lets take the politics and partisanship out of electric vehicles a moment . . .

I'm adding a 5 or 6 kw solar array to the south side of my hangar later this year. It will make FPL unhappy (my heart just bleeds for them, up to now it has been my wallet that has been doing the bleeding for them) but it will make me happy.

It will be a "homebrew" system, I'm not paying some here-today-gone-tomorrow company $30,000 to do it. I'll buy a dozen 400 watt panels, a 6KW inverter and a disconnect, install it and wire it myself. This stuff is hardly rocket science. I'll probably have under $5,000 in it. It will be a grid-tie system (no battery) because, um, solar cells don't work real well at night. Solar during the day, FPL at night - and I don't use a lot of power when I'm asleep.

That will run my house and give me excess capacity to charge a car.

Tesla is desperately trying to get rid of pre-owned model 3s, leasing them for zero down and $200 a month. If I got one of those, my transportation costs would be the lease payment - and that's pretty much it. (Plus insurance, which I'd have for any car.)

If I could buy an equivalent vehicle to the 3, except a pickup truck, I'd be on it in a millisecond. Zero fuel costs, minimal maintenance costs, this is simply an appliance to move "stuff" from A to B, and I'd have no emotional attachment to it whatsoever.

I really don't care what makes it run, gasoline, diesel, electrons, pixie dust, the job is to move "stuff" from A to B.

Electric cars are nearly price competitive with IC cars now, in a few years they will be cheaper. Operating costs are already significantly lower, and there is less maintenance. Range is increasing, 300 miles isn't unusual.

So - I want an electric pickup truck, single cab, half or three-quarter ton, 300 miles range, under $35,000. (And one of the neat extras is an on-board inverter so I can have 110 volt power to run tools right off the vehicle!)

I know it can be done - Jim Farley, President of Ford, says unless Ford can effectively compete with the Chinese electric car makers, Ford will be out of business - and if anyone is an expert in the car business, he is.

Old Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times."

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida (Where the sun DO shine - a lot!)

My biggest complaint with the current electric vehicles is a lot of them brag about zero to 60 times. Until they make a truck that uses less power and has a longer range a lot of us will not even look at one. I don't need to go 0 to 60 in 4 seconds. In Texas we do a lot of driving. Our state was built out during the growth of the automobile. We have sprawl. Driving more than 50 miles each way to go somewhere is pretty common, especially for those of us living in the country outside of major metro areas. I would be so nervous if I had a 300 mile range that I would likely rarely drive my electric if i had one. Add a trailer and that drops even more. The current electric trucks are not even a consideration. Let them make one that only goes 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds but has a 600 mile range that only drops to 400 miles with a load.

 

[RB5]

If I had your sunshine (or AZ....), I'd be using a lot of solar , including domestic hot water.

Rgds, D.

We use solar here in Texas without even having to install it. My water line runs 2000' from the road to the house across a field. From May or June on when it gets hot it is harder and harder to take a cool shower. If you are not careful and forget the ground is so warm you can get a really hot bath. It's like soaking in a hot tub.

 

[3930dave]

My biggest complaint with the current electric vehicles is a lot of them brag about zero to 60 times. Until they make a truck that uses less power and has a longer range a lot of us will not even look at one. I don't need to go 0 to 60 in 4 seconds. In Texas we do a lot of driving. Our state was built out during the growth of the automobile. We have sprawl. Driving more than 50 miles each way to go somewhere is pretty common, especially for those of us living in the country outside of major metro areas. I would be so nervous if I had a 300 mile range that I would likely rarely drive my electric if i had one. Add a trailer and that drops even more. The current electric trucks are not even a consideration. Let them make one that only goes 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds but has a 600 mile range that only drops to 400 miles with a load.

Many Canadians have those ^ same points of pain, as well as what feels like 8+ months of Winter to deal with some years.

The only thing that has caught my eye electric light truck wise is the Ramcharger, because it's an Inline Hybrid. Way outside my price/pain point though.....

Rgds, D.

 

[RB5]

Many Canadians have those ^ same points of pain, as well as what feels like 8+ months of Winter to deal with some years.

The only thing that has caught my eye electric light truck wise is the Ramcharger, because it's an Inline Hybrid. Way outside my price/pain point though.....

Rgds, D.

Diesel electric hybrid might be the way to go.

 

[3930dave]

We use solar here in Texas without even having to install it. My water line runs 2000' from the road to the house across a field. From May or June on when it gets hot it is harder and harder to take a cool shower. If you are not careful and forget the ground is so warm you can get a really hot bath. It's like soaking in a hot tub.

Apologies for the drift OP....

I've seen successful residential installs for direct heating of pool water, with flat (think corrugated cardboard cross section) black panels, done back in the 70's ! In the American south, you have tremendous solar to work with.

I don't know what kwh rates are typical in TX, but domestic hot water is often a big energy consumer. Even with a risk of frost/freeze, a roof drain-back panel system is low-cost, and frost-proof. (No heat-exchanger; the system is designed so that when the sun drops, circulating pump shuts-off, and most/all the water in the rooftop components drains-back to interior house storage).

Drift- off

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Diesel electric hybrid might be the way to go.

My People !

Exactly how some military prototypes were designed (scout vehicles).

Rgds, D.

 

[JRTJH]

I drove a rental car on vacation that had start stop tech in it. I hated it. I had to remember to turn it off every time I got in the car. I asked the Ford dealer if start stop and cyllander deactivation could be disabled and did not get an answer. I also was told years ago that I could not turn off the seat belt alarms in my 2013 F150. Those are pretty annoying when driving across my land and getting in and out of the truck to do things. I looked and found the disable instructions in the manual. All that proves is the sale person has no clue.
I saw it mentioned in a forum that you could put it in tow haul mode to disable those features. There goes the mpgs though.
The biggest problem I see currently is government regulations are forcing many people into vehicles they don't want that are overloaded with gadgets that are not saving as much money as they cost to buy and repair.

There are a couple of American companies that do make devices to put the start/stop system in ONE position, your choice of "always off" or "always on". Wherever you put it, it stays there until you change it. Mine is a 4Dtech harness, just plugs into one of the plugs behind the glove box. For me, it sure beats wearing out the starter and discharging the battery at every stoplight. Their website is: SYNC® Upgrades & Accessories And, no, I'm not associated with the company other than a satisfied customer.

 

[RobertN]

There are a couple of American companies that do make devices to put the start/stop system in ONE position, your choice of "always off" or "always on". Wherever you put it, it stays there until you change it. Mine is a 4Dtech harness, just plugs into one of the plugs behind the glove box. For me, it sure beats wearing out the starter and discharging the battery at every stoplight. Their website is: SYNC® Upgrades & Accessories And, no, I'm not associated with the company other than a satisfied customer.

We found a similar thing for my wife's Subaru. Works great; no more start/stop...!

 

[ultrarunner]

Would use of such a device fall into the tampering with vehicle operating system to the detriment of emissions prohibition?

 

[paulsharvey]

When you take inflation into account; on another similar thread, I did a Chevy "built it" matching my 2005 Chevy 2500HD, and come out at like $54,000; which figuring inflation, is cheaper than $35k in 2005. So, yes, you can absolutely get a fairly basic truck, that is capable. You Can Not get one for the same $ for $ as 20 years ago; but often coarse you can't. You also can't get dollar menu fast food or $2/gal gas, or a $75,000 house... Same time, your likely making 2x the pay as 20 years ago

 

[Hay Dude]

I rescued this 72 Chevy K20 pickup from a junkyard and restored it to running condition. I plowed snow for 10 years and hauled building materials for the new house I built. It had 40K miles on it when I picked it up and I ran it for 130K more before selling it to a friend. It was still in good running condition then, and he used it for several more years.

View attachment 3971154

Fast forward to 2025 and I just had a safety recall completed on my 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 with less than 20K miles. There is a possible flaw in the crankshaft journals that could cause the engine to throw a rod. It checked out ok but I'm on pins and needles listening for any odd sound the engine makes.

You're absolutely right. They certainly don't make them like they used to.

Thats a tough way to live. Nobody needs that kind of “pins & needles” stress.

 

[not2old]

My current PU is a 2020 F350. I could NOT get the dealer to come up with a plain old basic rig. All they would present were PUs full of gadgetry and electric everything to run the price up. All I wanted was a F250, the smaller V8 w/10 speed, cruise and tow package. So I went to Ford's site. Learned the F250 can not be configured with the 6.2 / 10 speed but is available in the F350 / 10 speed (?!?). So I finished the configurator, printed it out and went to the dealer and said order it. They were displeased with me. I picked it up 8 weeks later. The F350 wasn't that much more $ than the F250 for the stronger frame, heavier axles and springs. Rides better than the wife's F250. Both our PUs have manual locks and crank windows. Basic AM/FM. Both PUs have been as reliable as the sun up.

F250's are rare here in B.C. They have a 10% provincial tax while F350's are considered a work truck and taxed at 7%

 

[olenjohn]

Short answer. NO. Many of the costs are due to government regulations. Manufactures can not cost effectively produce a basic truck and stay competitive. They tried in the past and it failed.

 

[Paystar]

I first heard about that ^ problem, from the local IH truck salesman, who was driving his company F150 all over Ontario, with no wipers, Kanadian Winter.

Went to email a buddy of mine about that (lives 2 hours away fr. me) that night, did a quick search, and found there were not one, but two NTSB recalls for that wiper issue.

Not slamming on Ford (we all know the extent of this industry problem), I drive one, but when a company drops the ball on a safety item multiple times, on their top $ maker..... we are well into looney-tunes territory.

Just starting into this thread, but I expect I'm preaching@Choir...... this trainwreck/truckwreck is why some people are pouring the money into rebuilding older and old platforms, including commercial heavy. Even if you have near-unlimited funds to play with, the latest bling does you no good if it's down most of the time....

It's almost like there is a War on the Automobile.....

Rgds, D.

Well I'm happy to report my dealer didn't screw me this time! But I went in armed, LOL I had my extended warranty papers with everything about the wiper system covered highlighted in yellow and I told them right up front "I can fix it in 15 minutes and full linkage kit is available at Canadian Tire for $105.00"
So There was no charge! LOL
It was the recall issue. A couple of the joints were seized. So the linkage was replaced. Problem is, since there is no solution or updated parts from Ford, it will likely fail again by the time my warranty runs out. Might be one of those seasonal maintenance thing I have to do now....pop the plastic cover off the cowl and spray the parts with penetrating oil.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Thats a tough way to live. Nobody needs that kind of “pins & needles” stress.

I'd trade the vehicle in a minute but there are 600,000 L87 engines involved with the recall and the trade in value took a big hit. Dealer recommends waiting it out.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I bought a new IH 1210 (1110, 1210, 1310 series) in 1972 for $4200 if I recall correctly. 304 V8, 4spd, 4x4, no air. Only issue was that it had helper spring packs that under no load were maybe an inch below the hangers. Hitting a bump empty was rough on the back. I had 4200 lbs of concrete blocks on it one day. That squashed out the 7.50-16 tires on split rims a bit but barely made a dent in the spring's arcs. Rode good though, lol!

My needs changed and I swapped in the truck for a Scout with a 345 engine with some kind of half baked emission system that relegated it to 8mpg. Then the first gas crisis hit...

I am reminded of one issue that I had with the Scout. On occasion, I would go to gas it up and it would only take a few drops of gas then the belch air. It might have taken a half an hour to gas it up. I had it at the dealer one day whom had their own gas pumps. It took gas normally. Regardless, they went over it, blowing air through the various emission lines, etc. Pulled it back to the pumps, it would not take gas? It was not to long after that, I dumped the Scout.

 

[Oaktree]

There are a couple of American companies that do make devices to put the start/stop system in ONE position, your choice of "always off" or "always on". Wherever you put it, it stays there until you change it.

My 2019 Acadia had that S/S "feature", no way to turn it off. Found a gadget online that plugs into one of the battery cables permanently disabling it. From what I understand, it tricks the car into thinking the battery is low. Little over $100, money well spent.

Would use of such a device fall into the tampering with vehicle operating system to the detriment of emissions prohibition?

I dunno. Probably not something you'd want to do if it's still under warranty, mine was bought used and is out of warranty. State is discontinuing vehicle safety & emissions inspections as of Jan '26, so no need to worry there. Does your state check for stuff like this? Ours just plugs into the OBD port and checks for any fail codes.