Pickup Philosophy Question

[Soundguy]

The only time my pickups get washed is when the local high school cheer leaders are having a car wash.:laughing:

i will admit to washing my 450 about 6-7 times a year.. if the 350 is parked near it.. it may accidentally get washed too.. otherwise.. the 350 only gets washed when it rains..

 

[Bird]

yep.. for every user it will be a different cost.

I'm into preventative maint as well..

however onthat list, for sure all the oil/filter/bearing packing would have been in house.

the brake work, in house ont he 350 if rotors ok.. at shop if not ok.. on 450.. i tend to let the shop do the brakes as the darn 19.5" rims and tires weight a ton.. and dealing with 2 at a time on the rear is less fun.

power windows.. shop for sure.. i hate taking the door panels off..

Yep, until I moved back to town 10 years ago, I'd have done all that myself. The only thing the dealer did that I wouldn't have done myself was servicing the transmission. Can't say I like taking door panels off myself, but I knew what was wrong with the power window because I had the same thing happen on a Chrysler station wagon several years ago and I fixed it myself. And I also replaced the power window motor for a neighbor once on his Oldsmobile.

 

[Soundguy]

ugh.. some of them motors are a pain. the ones in my gmc yukon are some type of cable contraption. wifes window stuck down.. i had to pull the door panel and wedge a block of 2x4 in there to get the window up after all the cables were damaged...

 

[MossRoad]

I have a bad window motor on the 93 suburban. Don't want to tear into it yet. I can stil get the window closed if I pull the window past the point where the motor goes GRRRRRRRR. :laughing:

 

[PapaPerk]

You can tell if it's a necessity or a lifestyle:

• shine vs. dirt
• smooth body vs. dents
• neat vs. cluttered
• sparkly clean windows vs. doggie nose-prints on the windows
• well-groomed driver vs. scruffy-looking driver
• nice carpet vs. worn-out floor mats
• same color on all exterior parts vs. mismatched panels, doors, etc.
• bumper stickers ?
• beverage stains ?
• tools tossed in the cab ?
• dings in windshield, fog lamps, taillights
• amount of dirt, dust, grass, etc. that blows out of bed when driving
• actual, well-used gun - or tools - in rifle rack
• too new to be antique, but not by much (truck, not driver) (OK, both)
• size of ball on hitch

By the way - I may have the ultimate mismatched body parts (on one of my trucks, not me): Ford Ranger seats and Ford Ranger tailgate on a Mazda ... or as my better half calls it, a hybrid.

I could go on, but I'll bet other readers have better clues than I do.

Good maintenance shouldn't be confused with lack of use (ie, babied).

 

[Soundguy]

Good maintenance shouldn't be confused with lack of use (ie, babied).

i've seen babied machiens that never get used SUFFER worse than light to medium use -well- maintained machines. tractors ar ethe same way.

I have machiens I mow with weekly that are near60 ys old. neighbor across has one not even 20ys old they is parked 99% of the time. every time he needs it tires are flat.. battery is dead, and something on it like relays stick and whatnot.

seals on pto and axles leak for a few hours.. but then dry up after use... then it gets parked again. untill the next time he needs it, and has to take 2-3 hours of work on it to revive it. I've had to go set lanscape trees for him off a delivery truck when his 'new' tractor would not start, using an old beater 1955 ford 850 that smokes and rattles but starts EVERY time he bemoans the fact that his new machine is a pos.. I tell him it's a fine machine.. he just needs to use it a lil bit. One summer I went over to help him get it gong as he wanted me to MOW for him ( yeah right.. he's got a tractor and wants me to mow for him! ).. i went over and got his tractor runnign for him.. aired tires.. charged bat.. changed oil, and fitlers.

oil filter had date on it from purchase oil was low and looked like tar..

 

[Bird]

i've seen babied machiens that never get used SUFFER worse than light to medium use -well- maintained machines. tractors ar ethe same way.

Yep, like the old story of the car for sale that was only driven to church by a little old lady.:laughing: We don't put a lot of miles on our vehicles, but we do drive them frequently and long enough at a time to get up to normal temperature. I usually drive the speed limit, but as I taught my wife to do when getting onto freeways, we accelerate briskly to get up to the speed limit.

 

[aczlan]

Yep, like the old story of the car for sale that was only driven to church by a little old lady.:laughing:

Dad had a '84 Volvo 760 Diesel sedan who's first owner was a doctor who drove it 2 miles to the office and back. The next guy bought it, opened it up on the highway and lost compression (killed rings). Running back and forth on short trips killed it. Cars need to be warmed up and let breath once in a while.

Aaron Z

 

[santagary]

I have 4 trucks and am looking for another old chevy or ford to restore and piddle with this winter. Our road car is an old Lincoln Town Car which gets 27+ mpg. Three Kubotas, two atvs and two snowmobiles finish the list.

 

[genusCastor]

I just did a bit of reading on this. Certainly not comprehensive.

It depends on whose numbers you read.

QFT

I've seen this topic debated on numerous forums, a consensus is never reached, and folks end up believing what they want to believe...and have numbers to back their beliefs.

FTR, my daily driver is a Dodge 1-ton dually with a 9' flatbed.

- djb