What do you drive for a truck?

[Oaktree]

California always had a great car culture but many of my old car friends have left… can’t buy the paint they want or chrome and the taxes and annual fees are very high…

I'm about as far from California as you can get (both geographically and culturally) and still be in the continental U.S., but what car culture we had seems to be fading as well. Go to a car show, and it's mostly boomers with maybe some older Gen X'ers, and most of the cars shown are mid-70s or older. I think a big part of it is that you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of 70s/80s cars that didn't suck, and there just wasn't much for younger people to get excited about. Putting a fart can muffler and undercarriage neon lights on your Civic or Suburu doesn't quite cut it.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Not technically a truck, since there's no cargo area, but this one is fun to drive.

 

[kozal01]

Not technically a truck, since there's no cargo area, but this one is fun to drive.View attachment 862427

Yeah, they get the job done.

 

[Hay Dude]

I tried for years to figure out a way to own one of those for hay hauling. Came close to buying a few times, but I always hit the same “wall”.

1. Can’t find long wheelbase for 24’ flatbed. They are pretty rare.
2. GVWR & GCWR seem impossible to get a handle on.
3. Parts/repairs seem harder than typical commercial trucks I own. Not many repair shops have interest in working on them.

One guy in my area made a pretty nice 16’ dump on one and it suits him well.

Other than that, I’d love to own one.

 

[oldballs]

Right now my ride just got a new alternator & battery.....................but .........now the R headlight and r turn signal don't work?????? Well, back to the guys that are suppose to

know what they are doing??? It's a 1999 F-250 and quite faithful.

BTW, I had the previlege of driving the 6x6 in the Army......"Twas fun .....in peace time.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I tried for years to figure out a way to own one of those for hay hauling. Came close to buying a few times, but I always hit the same “wall”.

1. Can’t find long wheelbase for 24’ flatbed. They are pretty rare.
2. GVWR & GCWR seem impossible to get a handle on.

1. Lengthening or shortening a frame like that is easy.
2. My Unimogs weigh 16,000 lbs. And the GVWR is also 16,000 lbs. Coincidentally, so is the towing capacity.

As Alfred E. Neuman would say, why worry?

 

[Hay Dude]

1. Lengthening or shortening a frame like that is easy.

Really? I just did outer frame rails on my International and it not easy.

2. My Unimogs weigh 16,000 lbs. And the GVWR is also 16,000 lbs. Coincidentally, so is the towing capacity.

As Alfred E. Neuman would say, why worry?

I only worry because the Commiewealth of Pennsylvania worries a LOT.
You get pulled over by a storm trooper, I mean state trooper, you better have the right papers and have a proper truck.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Really? I just did outer frame rails on my International and it not easy.

Okay, everything is relative.

I'd much rather lengthen a frame like that than chopping or sectioning a car.

 

[Hay Dude]

Thing I don’t like about lengthening is it also means sliding the tandems back, extending air lines, electric lines and prop shaft. Also not crazy about splicing the frame that way.

Best to find a long wheelbase unit, but they are not easy to find.

Then there’s the wacky GVWR specs and kind of low power rating.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Then there’s the wacky GVWR specs and kind of low power rating.

Those ratings can be an interesting subject.

But realistically, most any law enforcement would go by what the axles and tires are rated at, not what the official GVWR is.

Heck, I haven't looked into it, but my so-called 5-ton supposedly weighs about 40,000. I did put a bracket for a SWM triangle on it, though. Because it isn't registered and sure isn't fast.