Brag about, or dog, your truck!

[hardtailjohn]

My ol' 94 Dodge 3500 4x4 is at 334,000 miles and hasn't ever had anything done to the engine, other than maintenance, changing the fuel plate and pump at about 220,000 and retiming.  I can still get a good, solid 21mpg empty and 14, pulling a trailer with a bunch of big horses or hay. It has no electronics to control the engine and to me, that's a HUGE plus!!!  We also put a Bradfordbilt flatbed on it, and that's by far, the handiest thing ever!  I'll most likely be buried in the thing!  I just finally changed the control arms on the front suspension yesterday and I do have to say, that was a good thing!  I never was a Dodge fan, but I wanted that 12 valve engine and P- pump, so that's the direction we went and we've never regretted it even once.  I'm getting ready to throw 3000# of machinery on it on Monday and run from the West coast to home, and have no reservations about that at all!
John












JH

[barbender]

Little dogs are the worst for locking doors, in my experience

[Resonator]

Cats can step on the button and lock the doors too...

There's a line in a song that says the dog has a license, which is more than can be said of the owner...

[Greenie]

Back in '93 I bought an F250 4WD with a non-turboed 7.3 International diesel new for $25,000 - which was a lot of money back then. Two rebuilt transmissions (E4OD) and 280, 000 miles later it still looks news - thanks to a MAACO body shop that replaced rusted body parts back when body shops did such work 20 years ago.
The truck sits now at an upholstery shop waiting for LMC original bench seat work. The owner of that shop I've used for years warned me that he can't find anyone that wants to work anymore so he's working alone and I'll have to be patient....
On edit.... I've lost my patience trying to post a photo of the truck....

[aigheadish]

I've got a hesitantcy for Dodge. I've always loved Mopar everything, and I see a ton of Rams on the road and I like them but all the Dodge products I've had in my life have been BS, between rust and shoddy craftsmanship. 

I'm not real worried about a big long truck. I don't go downtown and I don't mind parking in the boonies to go where I go. Plus we've got the wife's car if we go somewhere like that. 

The way I feel, but don't have solid evidence to back it up is- Ford is OK but spend money to get something nice, Chevy and GMC is plastic-y (GMC less so but more $), Ram is a crapshoot, Toyota is probably OK but again $. 

Ideally I get a truck that I don't need a trailer for, otherwise I may as well have a Honda passport or pilot, though I'd imagine I'll still get a trailer of sorts.

Really, I just want a nice truck that I can toss stuff into and use. 

[beenthere]

............
On edit.... I've lost my patience trying to post a photo of the truck....

Go to the Forum page and scroll down where there is a thread devoted to posting photo's on this Forum. Hope that helps, as we like pics.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=100194.0

[GRANITEstateMP]

I have a 2006 2500 Chevy 4x4. With no rust. The last of the 5-speed standard; 120,000 miles
2005 3500 GMC 4x4 and the last of the 5-speeds, no rust.
85,000 miles.

Peter,

If you ever feel the need to part with your 3500HD 5spd let me know.  It would still live in NH and you could even have visitation rights!!!

[GRANITEstateMP]

My current truck HBD2 (Hill Billy Deluxe 2.0) is a 2015 GMC 3500HD


It is a 6.0gas, auto and 4x4. I found it used, at a dealer, in 2018 and it still had a tickle of warranty left on it.  I was looking for a 3500hd dump, but my budget wasn't!  I wanted 4x4 (lever pull NO BUTTONS), regular cab, heated mirrors, fog lights, low miles, and within my budget!  This truck had it all except fog lights and dual batterys (has both of them now!) 

It had an 8ft bed to start, I let my brother borrow the truck and a dump trailer when he had to demo his girlfriends (now wifes) deck. I got a call from a serious brother with a crying girlfriend and mother in law in the background.  It seems as though the mother in law was parked in so she hoped in the truck, pulled forward, then got her car moved, jumped back in the truck and promptly jacknifed my trailer into my quarter panel!  Heck, I weren't even mad!  Insurance gave me a big enough check to buy the bed and have it installed (its alum with metal rails and a hidden gooseneck hitch). Toolboxs on each side, drivers has a custom chain box vs a reg sized toolbox to accommodate the fuel filler.

I like the truck but could go for even less tech.  I do LOVE the backup camera for hooking up tralers!

Its almost always working if I'm using it.  I have a beater car for commuting. Truck pulls dump trailers, makes picking up pallets of material a snap, and in winter goes into snofighter mode

[barbender]

I have an 03 Dodge that makes your mother in law's error look pretty mild. The box on that had a dump trailer jack knifed into it hard enough thay it was kind of on top of it, plus a skid steer sitting on top. That was not a good day. I don't screw up too often but when I do I go all in!🤦🤦 Anyways, I already had a flat bed for it, now I just need the time to get it all put together.

[Peter Drouin]

I got the two trucks new. Love the 5-speed. I just took care of them over the years. They will last a lifetime.  
But, I do have a 2-stall garage with a lift and all the tools to keep them going.

[Resonator]

My pickup/trailer situation happened one time years back when I was hauling the snow blower on the trailer, and had to plow out a parking lot. I thought I could plow a couple passes, and then drop the trailer to finish the lot. About the 3rd pass I looked at the left mirror backing up, and the trailer went to the right...
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Like the flatbed Granitestatemp!
If I don't buy another Ram, my next choice will be a GMC like that. I see ones for sale that are ex- fleet vehicles, from southern states or out west (no rust). 

[gspren]

After over 40 years of constant truck ownership I now get by with a sturdy SUV and 2 trailers, a 5x10 open and a 6x12 enclosed both with drop down rear ramps.

[Corley5]

Just leased my 5th truck since 2008. It's a 25 Ram Tradesman 4x4 with the 3.0 twin turbo inline six. I thought the 5.7 Hemis were fast. This thing is really fast. It replaces the 23 Tacoma. No complaints about it. I was ready to go back to a big truck. I've leased for 24 months with 30,000 miles but that leaves me short on miles. The Toyota was 24 months, 36,000 miles. It came out pretty close. It's still in the yard. It needs to go back by 7/20. There's 130 miles left on the lease. The new Ram is 27 months with 40,500 miles. Leases don't work for everyone but they do for me. I don't want to own one of these technological marvels. They're too expensive to fix when out of warranty. I've still got the 08 F550 4x4 with the V10. It's hauled lots firewood. There's a load on it now that I  need to deliver. Maybe today?


 href="https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=359951"></a>

[barbender]

That F550 is sharp!

I have a small utility trailer, maybe a 4x6 bed on it. It is just big enough to get my ATV on (with the tires rubbing both sides) and then small enough to pull around the woods, behind the ATV. But, I used to pull it behind a Suburban fairly often. One time I hooked it up for something. In the morning, I jumped in the Suburban and headed off to work. Stopped at the local C-store to get a coffee. Jumped in the rig, started backing up, and Crash! Bang! What the heck, who'd I back into?! Oh, just my trailer that I forgot I had on😂

[GRANITEstateMP]

Corley5,

Do you like red trucks or is that just happenstance???  I'm on my second white truck in a row. I almost had a red dump inbetween, but the salesman and his manager didn't feel like honoring the window sticker...

[aigheadish]

Granite and Corley, those are nice looking trucks. 

I like the hidden gooseneck. 

You guys are definitely making me consider Rams as well. 

[Corley5]

The 18, 20, 22 Rams were dark blue. Few knew I had a new truck. This one was on the lot and fit my bill well enough. 

[Tom K]

I try to buy a 2-4 year old truck and keep it for 10 years, or until the rust starts to get bad.

The old truck, '07, 8.1L & 6 speed Allison


And it's replacement '22, 6.6 gas w/ 6 speed


Both have B&W turn over gooseneck hitches.

My daily driver is actually an Acadia the same color as my truck, which is just by chance.

I know the OP said he didn't want a trailer, but in your shoes I would get a 1/2 ton with a 6 1/2' bed and a trailer. What type of trailer is a whole different topic.

[aigheadish]

Man, the more I look the more almost impossible it seems to get an 8' bed anyway. My instinct is that I may end up getting a shorter bed but then make a few bed jigs so I can still easily move stuff of length while I shop for a trailer. I just don't want to have to hook up a trailer each time I head to the hardware store just in case... Not that that happens frequently, but something like we'd like to redo our master bathroom, It'd be real nice to head to the store and grab a few sheets of concrete board now and then.

[NE Woodburner]

I have a full crew cab. Although my kids are grown and live many states away I find that we have passengers often enough that a regular or even extended cab is not that convenient for us. Plus, I can fold up the seats and my dog gets a lot of room on her dog bed . Works well for us, but makes an 8' bed difficult. My solution is a bed extender that fits in my 2" receiver hitch. It is adjustable and works for sheet goods or long lumber. I really don't miss the longer bed with this setup and I can't imagine trying to maneuver a full crew cab with 8' bed in some parking areas.

[Tom K]

Concrete tile backer is 3'x5' sheets, so they fit fine in a short bed. 4'x8' sheets of plywood are fine in a full size with a 6 1/2' bed, you just cant shut the tail gate. Even 10-12' sheets of drywall are doable with a couple 2x's under them for support. I regularly haul 14-16' lumber in my 8' bed, but the tool box does help a lot. If I remember right you can go 8' out the back & still be "legal", you just need to keep the front secured down.

I'm not sure what you mean by "bed jigs", but if your worried about long items just install a weekender ladder rack. Drop the uprights in when you need them and take them out when you don't.

[Resonator]

Anything past 4' overhang at the back has to have a flag on it. X2 on the hitch receiver mounted extension, easy to install and remove as needed.
---------------- 
One of my ideas I want to get a used motorboat trailer and modify it, for hauling small quantities of long material. They can be found pretty cheap and have a long enough frame to haul long pieces, just have to add bunks.

[aigheadish]

Thanks guys, you are certainly giving me stuff to think about. 

For bed jigs I'm thinking just frames that I could stick over the wheel bumps (maybe for setting a pallet on, I don't know the distance between the bumps)  or to raise up over the top of the cab to lean things without messing up the top of the truck.

[aigheadish]

I'm starting to lean towards GMC Denali's, for kind of dumb reasons... I really like an opening back window and sunroof, and heated and ventilated seats (though I can do aftermarket), and heated steering wheel. I don't think I've ever seen one beat up, so maybe I can be a first. I've been in my sporty little Civic since 2017 and I've been in a Denali, which is pretty nice and it'll be my daily driver more than my work truck.

All that being said- I bought my first new car, a 1996 Honda Civic, after being really fixated on Jeep Wranglers, because there was a neat purple line around the speedometer. 

I can deal with a bed extender and/or trailer if I need to. 

I've done some preliminary investigations of my car's trade in value and it's higher than I expected, which is nice. We'll see how it all goes!

Keep on bragging on your trucks!

[Larry]

Bed extender

The day I bought my truck I bought the bed extender. Has a weight capacity of 350 pounds and extends the bed 4'. Its fast to install and remove. Only $60. I've used it four times and really like it. The hooks are handy to strap things down. Few days ago I had my 12' kayak and a friends 14' kayak on. Round trip of 160 miles and no problem.

At the same time I bought the bed rack but have not assembled it yet or tried it out. Lot more dollars, and I expect since its high it will be harder to load. Need it when I'm pulling the RV to pack the yaks.

The first bed extender I ever saw was a home made job that Arky built. He had a full size bed but needed it when he hauled insanely long boards someplace. Stuff longer than his mill would even saw.