death of regular cab pickups

[deezler]

Man..., just passed a late 90's powerstroke short cab, 8' bed, pulling a dump trailer this morning. Doing real work after 25+ years, body still looked perfect. Wanted to grab a pic for everyone but it was raining and fairly dark out. I just love seeing this vintage badge on the side of a clean old truck though.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

My work truck

 

[sunandsand]

Just cobble together your homes energy supply with a bunch of Craigs List stuff. What could go wrong?

Where's your sense of adventure? ;-)

Actually, I've found some very good stuff on C/L from time to time. One of my (too many) hobbies is restoring mid-century-modern teak furniture. People need to move and can't (or won't) take it with them, or it is slightly damaged and easily fixable. I'm able to furnish our home with some seriously nice, once quite expensive pieces for next to nothing. If you saw some of them and I told you how little I paid, you'd call me a liar to my face.

I also repair and upgrade Dynaco brand stereo equipment (70's vintage tube stuff) but lately the prices on those have inflated greatly - they think they have gold, so I pass on most of it now.

Also snagged a $600 Mercedes-specific diagnostics computer (extended OBD-II, uses all 37 pins of the 37 pin connector - tells me EVERYTHING about the car) Paid a fat $50 - didn't fit his model but works on mine. Saved me a $1,000+ A/C repair bill when it pinpointed a bad control module which I replaced with a used one off eBay for $12 instead of $450 for a new one. Heck, the car is "used" so why should I replace a non-wear item with something new at full retail? (Yes, it gets new tires and other consumables ;-)

As to solar cells to power my home, that's a goal I'd like to achieve. The electrons don't care if they come from brand new solar cells or from last year's model. The home is already built, it is very well insulated, has double pane windows, high efficiency appliances, etc., etc., etc., and our power bills don't exceed $100 a month even in the summer. (I used to be a slumlord, I paid attention, so I know lots of ways NOT to design houses.)

First step is to augment power to the hangar/workshop with solar. There's a vent fan which runs every day from April through November to keep the inside temperature within reason. That's a prime candidate for solar, it runs on hot sunny days, and is on a thermo switch so if it isn't hot in the hanger, the fan doesn't run.

Remember, if it doesn't work, I can always go back. But I do want to try, and buying used solar cells from C/L limits my risk. If I buy a brand new system and it is not appropriate, I'm out a lot of money. If I cobble something together and it doesn't work, it just goes back onto Craigslist. (Proof of concept.) If it does work, I can then decide if it works well enough to keep it OR well enough to make it worthwhile in paying for a new system.

One thing I have found is that installers always seem to raise the prices of their new systems (gotta be new to qualify for the rebates) to exactly match the state and federal rebates available. The rebates go away, and the price immediately goes down to match the lost rebate amount. This stuff isn't rocket science, and in fact it is surprisingly simple. I prefer to duck the whole financial mess by doing it myself. Our local building inspector will (hopefully) keep me from burning the house down but steel and concrete don't burn very well anyway.

What could go wrong? Lots of things, but at least if I do this myself, I know how to fix it or retreat from it.

With best regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Hexa Fox]

Not wanting to be the proverbial fly in the ointment, but how do folks like me - that live way out in the boonies - make the 450-500 mile round trip to major hospitals in an electric truck? The other really big question is where do I charge the silly thing that doesn't take several hours - it's already a long enough day going & coming back?

The future was and still should be hydrogen and biodiesel. It is a scientific fact that politicians created the "need for electric". It is just like everything else, as long as Americans do not see the pollution that it takes to manufacture electric vehicles and the people overseas mining the rare Earth minerals in flip flops they are okay with it. It is funny how fast 'some' politicians went after diesel in general when knowledge started to spread to the general public that biodiesel engines could cleanly burn all kinds alternative fuels. Plus do not let anyone tell you hydrogen does not work. It is just it was too far and costly to put research into. The reason batteries were easier is because we already had a lot of research and access to minerals. So it was just adapted for motor vehicles.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Just bought a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 5-speed with 78k miles for $7k with the 4.7 v-8

 

[OzarkChris]

Too bad they aren't considered street legal. That would be a great hunting rig to take in places which only allow street legal vehicles.

Street legal? Who cares about that? I live in a state that has an ag exemption. I honestly thought that most states had/have that exemption. Tractors go pretty much wherever & whenever they want to go. 'Round here so do ZT's - yes that does mean zero turn mowers, 4 wheelers, SXSs, etc. Sheriff's office doesn't care unless you A) break down - they come out to help you get going again, B) get into an accident with injuries. We do have some signs on the hwys that say no 4 wheelers or side by sides, but they are usually put up because somebody complained about the noise - they are very rarely enforced.

I see large (read, really huge) ag tractors with huge implements and other very large farm equipment going up/down Interstate 55 20-30 miles west of Memphis. There are signs on the interstate stating to watch out for farm equipment.

These types of things are "normal" 'round here. Most people that live 'round here wouldn't blink or do a double take if they saw a garden tractor type mower, a ZT, Tractor or combine puttering up the road.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Where's your sense of adventure? ;-)

Actually, I've found some very good stuff on C/L from time to time. One of my (too many) hobbies is restoring mid-century-modern teak furniture. People need to move and can't (or won't) take it with them, or it is slightly damaged and easily fixable. I'm able to furnish our home with some seriously nice, once quite expensive pieces for next to nothing. If you saw some of them and I told you how little I paid, you'd call me a liar to my face.

I also repair and upgrade Dynaco brand stereo equipment (70's vintage tube stuff) but lately the prices on those have inflated greatly - they think they have gold, so I pass on most of it now.

Also snagged a $600 Mercedes-specific diagnostics computer (extended OBD-II, uses all 37 pins of the 37 pin connector - tells me EVERYTHING about the car) Paid a fat $50 - didn't fit his model but works on mine. Saved me a $1,000+ A/C repair bill when it pinpointed a bad control module which I replaced with a used one off eBay for $12 instead of $450 for a new one. Heck, the car is "used" so why should I replace a non-wear item with something new at full retail? (Yes, it gets new tires and other consumables ;-)

As to solar cells to power my home, that's a goal I'd like to achieve. The electrons don't care if they come from brand new solar cells or from last year's model. The home is already built, it is very well insulated, has double pane windows, high efficiency appliances, etc., etc., etc., and our power bills don't exceed $100 a month even in the summer. (I used to be a slumlord, I paid attention, so I know lots of ways NOT to design houses.)

First step is to augment power to the hangar/workshop with solar. There's a vent fan which runs every day from April through November to keep the inside temperature within reason. That's a prime candidate for solar, it runs on hot sunny days, and is on a thermo switch so if it isn't hot in the hanger, the fan doesn't run.

Remember, if it doesn't work, I can always go back. But I do want to try, and buying used solar cells from C/L limits my risk. If I buy a brand new system and it is not appropriate, I'm out a lot of money. If I cobble something together and it doesn't work, it just goes back onto Craigslist. (Proof of concept.) If it does work, I can then decide if it works well enough to keep it OR well enough to make it worthwhile in paying for a new system.

One thing I have found is that installers always seem to raise the prices of their new systems (gotta be new to qualify for the rebates) to exactly match the state and federal rebates available. The rebates go away, and the price immediately goes down to match the lost rebate amount. This stuff isn't rocket science, and in fact it is surprisingly simple. I prefer to duck the whole financial mess by doing it myself. Our local building inspector will (hopefully) keep me from burning the house down but steel and concrete don't burn very well anyway.

What could go wrong? Lots of things, but at least if I do this myself, I know how to fix it or retreat from it.

With best regards,

Mike/Florida

I also repair vintage electronics stuff. Mostly solid state receivers I have a large love of Sansui gear and turntables but my greatest addiction is Tektronix equipment. I have found tons of Tek gear on Craigslist and 99% of it needed a total overhaul. I would love to set up solar power, but its not something I want to mess with on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. I would like panels, inverters and batteries with a substantial warranty also guaranteed to handle hail strikes and covered by my homeowners insurance. I bought my Powerstroke diesel from a Craigslist advertisment got a great deal but it also needed $10K worth of work. I have a lot of stuff going on in my life and messing with a solar set up is not something I'm willing to devote anymore time to than I do to the power feed to me by my electric co-op.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Street legal? Who cares about that? I live in a state that has an ag exemption. I honestly thought that most states had/have that exemption. Tractors go pretty much wherever & whenever they want to go. 'Round here so do ZT's - yes that does mean zero turn mowers, 4 wheelers, SXSs, etc. Sheriff's office doesn't care unless you A) break down - they come out to help you get going again, B) get into an accident with injuries. We do have some signs on the hwys that say no 4 wheelers or side by sides, but they are usually put up because somebody complained about the noise - they are very rarely enforced.

I see large (read, really huge) ag tractors with huge implements and other very large farm equipment going up/down Interstate 55 20-30 miles west of Memphis. There are signs on the interstate stating to watch out for farm equipment.

These types of things are "normal" 'round here. Most people that live 'round here wouldn't blink or do a double take if they saw a garden tractor type mower, a ZT, Tractor or combine puttering up the road.

Is this somehow different from other parts of the country? I live in a area that is looking more and more like Northern Virginia everyday. There is a very wealthy neighborhood next to mine with community mail lockboxes and a lot of that community elects to drive their lawn tractors down to it and get their mail lol. I see ATV's, tractors, mowers, and all kinds of other stuff on my roads daily. I am also in the boonies with a lot of farmland. Farm equipment that easily exceeds the value of my property passes me on roadways on a regular basis.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Is this somehow different from other parts of the country? I live in a area that is looking more and more like Northern Virginia everyday. There is a very wealthy neighborhood next to mine with community mail lockboxes and a lot of that community elects to drive their lawn tractors down to it and get their mail lol. I see ATV's, tractors, mowers, and all kinds of other stuff on my roads daily. I am also in the boonies with a lot of farmland. Farm equipment that easily exceeds the value of my property passes me on roadways on a regular basis.

Are the Ozarks different than other parts of the country... Yes

 

[chabat124]

I am not a farmer, but have owned a truck for 29 years. The first one I bought was a single cab. Next thing you know, me and the missus had two kids within two years. Next truck was a used 2000 Silverado 5.3 v8 with the three doors, not a full-sized back seat. Still driving that truck. I don't wish for a single cab, as occasionally I do have people in the back seat. I'm going to hold onto this paid-off Silverado as long as I can. It's been good to me. I put about 3,000 miles a year on it. Our other cars are a 08 Civic EX-L sedan which is used most often. We walk to work (Office next door to our house. The wife and I are self-employed and work in the office together) We live in a small town of <500 people. I have a project car, a 1986 Porsche 944 that I like to drive and do my own wrenching on.

My son does work with a skid steer, self-employed. He had a single cab flatbed 04 Ram 3500 dually (pre DEF) that is his main haul vehicle and a 1999 4 door F350 (single wheel) as backup and daily driver.

Been married 28 years, two sons are 23 and 25, both married, and we have three ankle biter chihuahuas that also come to work with us most days.

Can't see myself buying a brand new truck at today's prices. I will always buy used. Unless a Nigerian prince I know nothing about sends me $20 million, but I ain't holdin' my breath for that.