Author: John

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Can’t Leave Well-Enough Alone…

On By JohnIn amusing, vehiclesLeave a comment

I’m one of those people who give nicknames to vehicles.

I had an old 1983 sedan that we named Christine because of all manner of strangeness with the engine.

My motorcycle is named “The Wee Star“.

My last Chevy truck — a 4×4 with no muffler and a big 350ci V8 — Beast.

The Pathfinder, because it actually pulled all of the things that I’ve asked it to: “The Little Pathfinder That Could”. Though it’s short name is Twuck.

Daisy asked yesterday if we should name the new truck.

“I suppose.”

“What should we name it?”

I thought for a moment, “UPGRAYEDD!”

—

Edit:


“Spelled thusly. With two D’s, for a double-dose of his pimping.”

For those that don’t quite grok the reference, please see the movie, Idiocracy.

Tow Vehicles… Again…

On By JohnIn travel, vehiclesLeave a comment

We test-fit the kids’ carseats into a 2000-model Ford Supercab and there simply isn’t enough room to get the feet in.

That’s a No-Go.

Then we test drove the 2004 crew-cab. We really liked the amenities, but…

  • the oil pressure circuit is bad. Fixable, but could take some time to pin down exactly what’s failed. Could just be a minor electrical issue. $ to $$
  • the muffler had been removed — potentially problematic for our current Emissions-Required area. And, while I do like the sound of a turbocharged diesel with no muffler, the rest of the household would like to keep their hearing. That’ll cost $$
  • engine was missing periodically; two fuel injectors were failing. I can replace injectors, for a cost: $$
  • on the test drive, shifts were soft and sluggish and the engine power seemed to have taken its own early retirement. $$$

No-Go.

So, we browsed the lot a bit more and Daisy asked about a 2002 Chevy 2500HD crew cab.

Only 106K miles, but had evidence of a 5th wheel hitch in it. Guess I should be flexible on my “requirements“.

Let’s recap:

  1. Miles < 250,000: Yes
  2. Fifth wheel use: Yes, but…
  3. Towing axles: Suitable

In this case, the mileage and the surprisingly good overall condition, and that it has an Allison transmission means that its previous life as a 5er isn’t quite as significant.

A test drive showed almost everything worked reasonably well, but I didn’t get a chance to get it on a highway. Still, we did a little haggling over the price and… we’ll have a new-to-us truck in a day or two if she passes Colorado’s emissions test.

More on Trucks

On By JohnIn travel, vehiclesLeave a comment

Got a couple of leads on a few tow vehicles that will get the job done for us.

Currently, it’s a toss-up between a 2000 Ford V10 gasser, with only 70K miles and a known history pulling a 5ver of acceptable size.

…but it’s a supercab.

Or a 2004 Ford 6.0L diesel with a D1 axle, twice as many miles, and no evidence of fifth-wheel pulling.

…but it’s a bit more than I’d prefer spending.

Decisions, decisions.