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

[Runner]

My 18 year old nephew's parents had to practically use a cattle prod to get him to obtain a driver license (at 17). He drives the family "third car" which is an old Ford Escape, but as long as it gets him from A to B, he couldn't care less about motor vehicles.

 

[ultrarunner]

Met several no driver license in their 20’s that use apps…

Almost without exception 16th birthday meant driver test at DMV… back in the day.

 

[rontaki]

If I buy an EV, I'd also get a Dodge Charger to plug it into.

 

[QRTRHRS]

A friend was born the same day and year as I was. His parents farm had an access road over a mile long. He got his permit and took (and passed) his test on our birthday.

I think that it was like four or so months later that I took my first test which I failed because my grandfather's 56 Olds stalled three times else I was perfect. My older brother took me the following week. We got about a mile away from grandpop's house, pulled over and set the idle up to where it should have been.

I passed! Before we got home, we set the idle back down. When we got to grandpop's, he came out to see if I had passed. When he heard the car idling, he said hum, went and got a screwdriver and set it down to where it was gasping, lol!

 

[deserteagle71]

Excursion 1999 to 2005

Neighbor bought a new 7.3 diesel and said must trouble free tow vehicle he has ever owned and he towed for a living…

Had several more powerful tow vehicles since but only the 7.3 had zero issues…

Yup. Got a good friend and riding partner who bought an F250 new with the 7.3, so he's been driving it over 20 years now. He's in his 50s and says he'll have that truck till he dies. Trouble free towing machine.

 

[paulsharvey]

My son, who's 19 now, got his DL as soon as possible. If I remember right, he drug his feet getting his permit until 15.5, so he had to have that 365 days to take driving test. Funny thing, I took him on day 365, and they lady told us, "It has to be 366; lets see if computer flags it." computer did not flag it, and he got it first try.

He had been driving things with motors for a good while; from my old Kubota L285, his 100 CC mini bike, and our Honda SxS.

My middle kid, just turned 14 a two months ago, and she seems to have a general lack of caring about driving. We told her, your Getting a permit at 15, and a DL at 16; not a choice.

Youngest is 11 now; and she's been driving cars for atleast 2 years now, at her friend's house, they had an old PT Crusier they would drive around the yard. She's also drive the SxS some, and even my Ram on some dirt roads, but with adult supervision.

 

[paulsharvey]

Ive got an older sister, think 48-49 years old or so now; that doesn't like driving. Yes, she does, and she has since young. She got in a pretty bad wreck at 16-17, and I think she didnt drive again till like 22. She will still on occasion takes an Amtrak rather than drive 6-8 hours... Im pretty sure she still rides a bike to work most days.

 

[jjeff]

Yup. Got a good friend and riding partner who bought an F250 new with the 7.3, so he's been driving it over 20 years now. He's in his 50s and says he'll have that truck till he dies. Trouble free towing machine.

View attachment 4235804

Most basic Cheapest I've ever bought yet most functional truck I've ever owned despite its underpowered but seemingly bulletproof 350. Extremely used and beat GMC 3500 "Dumper do" cuz it would "do" whatever I needed it to at the time.

 

[Hay Dude]

Most basic Cheapest I've ever bought yet most functional truck I've ever owned despite its underpowered but seemingly bulletproof 350. Extremely used and beat GMC 3500 "Dumper do" cuz it would "do" whatever I needed it to at the time.

That era of chevy trucks were underpowered even unloaded. So were the Fords & Dodges.
They were like 210HP V-8’s.

I remember when Ford was boasting their Mustang V-8 was 230HP. lol

 

[jjeff]

But a consistent 12 mpg loaded or unloaded even with a trailer or without. I guess hammer down thru the rusted out floor boards maxing it out at 60-65 helped

 

[jjeff]

That era of chevy trucks were underpowered even unloaded. So were the Fords & Dodges.
They were like 210HP V-8’s.

I remember when Ford was boasting their Mustang V-8 was 230HP. lol

It ran, drove, stopped, and dumped pretty reliably though, always started every spring after 5-6 months of being buried in the snow for over 5 years I owned it, . At times I still wish I had that simple handy truck but without the slithering wildlife that made a home in it.

 

[CliffordK]

In the mid 90's Dad discovered that he could order a pickup factory direct through the local credit union to be delivered to a local dealership. So, he could go down the list of options and choose everything he did or did not want to pay for.

He wanted a Chevy 3/4 ton, I think, but for a few reasons got it GMC branded, I think.

He chose no radio (or a basic AM radio) because he wanted to put in an aftermarket radio. And chose no cigarette lighter. Who needed one anyway? And, of course, no premium dealership spitshine package.

He did add in the tow package. And I think 4x4. I think Chevy went IFS on those models, not available in other brands of the era.

I think the bare bones pickup came out to something like $15K or so which wasn't bad for a 3/4 ton.

Of course when he got it, he discovered that Chevy had gone to a square radio not the basic rectangular radio. And it turns out that there are a million accessories that would have used that cigarette lighter that he didn't want to buy.

That may have been the pickup they were towing a horse trailer down through Nevada when it ate up the rear end. No good explanation why. Fortunately covered under warranty.

That was the beginning of a transition from Chevys to Rams. It could have been the last regular cab pickup.

 

[CliffordK]

That era of chevy trucks were underpowered even unloaded. So were the Fords & Dodges.
They were like 210HP V-8’s.

I remember when Ford was boasting their Mustang V-8 was 230HP. lol

I find the changes in HP most interesting.

I just picked up a '62 Chevy and '62 GMC.

The Chevy has a 235 straight 6, I think. 135 HP . The GMC has a 283 V8 with 160 HP (rated at 10 to 15 mpg)

Our 76 Chevy had a 292 straight 6. Dad wanted the 6 rather than a V8. Big 6 cyl. About 120 HP.

I don't know if the specs are right???

Anyway, my 2013 RAM 1500 has a tiny 3.6L V6 (about 220 ci). About 305 HP. That would be better than many early V8 engines. And with the 8 speed automatic transmission it does very well, except holding back the trailer going down hill. Empty I regularly get between 20 MPG and 25 MPG. Towing... somewhere around 13 MPG to 16 MPG.

 

[paulsharvey]

If you could order Anything; what would you put on the build sheet? I would divide this a couple ways; my primary, personal truck; wife's vehicle; work truck; and a spare vehicle like a farm truck or similar.

For my own personal truck;
Power Train: Im happy with my 5.7L hemi and 8 speed auto. If I could order anything, i would have it without cylinder deactivation though. It is 4wd, push botton, and I would order it that way. Im happy with the power, torque, efficiency.

Interior: i like my split bench, fold up rear seats in a crew cab; I would Not buy it without AC. I like the cloth seats, it's not the same as 80s/90s cloth. I would not order the power rear sliding window. Its got a ton of storage inside, center console, under center front seat. glove box, cup holders, door pockets, the open, top "glove box", under rear seat storage, and i like that

Technology: Im happy with my back up camera, crusie control; wish it came with factory trailer break controller. It comes with 120V AC plug in cab that i thought I would use more, but rarely use it. It does have parking sensors, which are whatever. They kinda work, but sometimes they don't start beeping until you already stopped, and they would have let you run into something if you trusted them 100%

Bed/Exterior: Its got a standard 6'4" bed which im happy with. I would likely order the "Ram Box" compartments in the bed side, just for small stuff, like jumper cables, ratchet straps, small tools that you want to have. but dont often use

Cosmetics: mine is white with virtually no badging which is fine. Plain white paint is actually fine, and thats how I would order it. The plastic clad wheels, 20"... I dont really like the plastic clad wheels. I would prefer a fairly basic alloy wheel, and I dont care about 20s vs 18s vs 16s. I like the old alloy Chevy 2500HD wheels, they polished up nice.

 

[paulsharvey]

Wife's car; she uses the phone connect stuff, and back up camera stuff Way more than me. She wants something not Low to the ground (Charger is a problem on our road), but she doesn't want to climb way up either. Small to medium sized is good, cause she doesn't like parking something as long as mine. Auto AWD/4WD is probably best for her, as she isnt tbe type to think, stop, put it in 4wd, and then remember to take it out of 4wd.

 

[paulsharvey]

Work vehicle; phone connect is nice if it works well, but if it doesn't work well, its better to not even use it. Storage for small stuff, within reach is major plus. It really should have 120V in cab, instead of sketchy HF power inverters bouncing around. The vinyl seats... practical, but I would much prefer a cloth,

Doesn't need much power, but does need automatic, crusie, 4wd, AC, heat, integrated or well installed strobes, and atleast extended cab. Efficiency isnt so important, as im not buying the gas, but it does need a good range. It also doesn't need a long bed, but atleast long enough to put a couple dirty shovels, ect.

 

[paulsharvey]

On a spare vehicle, farm, and short minor trips to town; i would be OK with an extended cab, more compact truck, 4wd, power steering, as much in cab storage ad possible, AC, maybe heat (not 100% needed), no radio, no crusie, no rear camera. Needs AC, 4wd, maybe 150hp/200 ft/lbs torque; efficiency really doesn't matter much. I would want a trailer hitch, but im more concerned with bed Payload; and likely would prefer the Aussie Ute type, flat-bed, with fold up/down sides. Steel wheels are fine. Id still prefer cloth over vinyl, but i would live with vinyl. I would probably want a good 120v power supply, and maybe even a 240v power supply in the bed, maybe a clutch and belt drive air compressor? Still ordering it as an automatic transmission, and still need it to get upto 60 mph atleast.

 

[WinterDeere]

If you could order Anything; what would you put on the build sheet? I would divide this a couple ways; my primary, personal truck; wife's vehicle; work truck; and a spare vehicle like a farm truck or similar.

I only keep one truck at a time, it's my personal "bad weather" vehicle and sole towing vehicle, but my trailers are all 7k# or less. My build sheet would be simple:

140" WB 3/4 ton chassis
Quad cab with 6.5 ft. bed
6.4L Hemi
4x4
Manual 6-speed
4.11 rear gear
Sprayed bed liner
Towing package with integrated brakes
Heated seats
Remote start
Backup camera
Bluetooth stereo
Color: don't care
Interior: don't care, but pref. cloth seats with rubber floor
NAV: don't care

Those upper bed rail toolboxes Ram put into the Outdoorsman package would be nice, but I don't think they offer them in 3/4 ton.

 

[Eagle1]

On a spare vehicle, farm, and short minor trips to town; i would be OK with an extended cab, more compact truck, 4wd, power steering, as much in cab storage ad possible, AC, maybe heat (not 100% needed), no radio, no crusie, no rear camera. Needs AC, 4wd, maybe 150hp/200 ft/lbs torque; efficiency really doesn't matter much. I would want a trailer hitch, but im more concerned with bed Payload; and likely would prefer the Aussie Ute type, flat-bed, with fold up/down sides. Steel wheels are fine. Id still prefer cloth over vinyl, but i would live with vinyl. I would probably want a good 120v power supply, and maybe even a 240v power supply in the bed, maybe a clutch and belt drive air compressor? Still ordering it as an automatic transmission, and still need it to get upto 60 mph atleast.

Now heat vs AC, I want heat more than AC... When it's -10 it sucks to drive a truck with no heat more than no AC at 100. Of course in FL I'm in shorts 99% of the year, NO way to survive there with out AC

 

[Jstpssng]

maybe heat (not 100% needed

I can't imagine what that's like, but am sure that I wouldn't like it where you are. I like cold a lot more than I like heat.
Different strokes, as they say.