What kind of rigs do you drive?

[muley]

Anybody care to share their setup? I drive a 1999 Ford F250 extended cab deisel, and a Ford 1990 F250 gas. 6X12 US Cargo for my work.

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[Ron]

All right,laugh all you want,but I drive a '99 Toyota Tacoma.Great truck though;120,000 miles on it and all I've done to it is a battery,2 headlight bulbs,a U-joint and a whole lotta tires.Ashtray bulb's burned out,damnit! :) She's like new otherwise.Also,with the added leaf springs and adjustable Air-Lift air bags,I can easily carry a ton in the back,which I do almost every week.

You're still laughing at me,aren't you John? :D

Where's that picture I had of it...her?Her name is Mona.:)

[muley]

Okay Ron, perhaps you didn't understand what "rig" means. That's Montana lingo meaning truck. ;)

[JJC]

2001, E250 with the rack set up

Jim

[cx]

Hey Ron, wanna trade for my 98 Tacoma 4x4 with a broken leaf spring and a cracked exhaust manifold? :(



Not yet 60K miles on it, though. :)


Where'd you get the air bags? I'm gonna add a leaf to each side in the rear but I'd like to have something extra for the heavy loads. Yours only work on Canadian trucks? :D

[Shaughnn]

I too drive a '98 Tacoma. Bought it when I was doing a lot of work in downtown San Francisco and parking was a huge hassle. I was also driving all over the place and the better gas mileage helped a lot. Now that I'm at my present shop and I'm gearing up to work my own jobs, instead of being someone else's mechanic, I'll need a bigger truck. I've got family connections with Ford, as my grandpa worked in their Detroit factory for 45 years as a brickie, so I qualify for a rediculous discount program. But even with the incredible deal, I'm gonna wait until after I'm sure the economy isn't just swimming circles in a crap pool. When I do, it'll be the F250 XLT. I love my little Toyota but I'm done with small trucks. :)
Shaughnn
PS: My first Toyota truck covered over 350,000 miles with minimal maintainance and crappy gas. This one's at 120,000 miles with no significant downtime. They'll always be good trucks in my book.

[John Bridge]

I guess we have to go through this about once a year just to see who got a new truck.

I didn't. ;)

[Steven Hauser]

No new trucks here either.

Steven

[Davy]

02 Dodge/ Cummins, 6 speed. 86k miles. Haven't done anything except change oil and filters. Still original tires, I rotate alot. Easy on fuel, last tank 21.4 mpg. Better be, I'm driving 130 miles a day and have been for 2 years.

I know several guys that have Toyotas, they're good trucks.;)

[davem]

What's an oil change go for on that Davy, about $350 or so? :D

[RandyL]

I drive the ever so popular '88 Ford 150. A total pig on gas......crazy high mileage.......nervous driving it sometime........Don't want to end up being one or those "found on road dead" Fords. :( :D

[jvcstone]

Ford man for years. Currently a 2000 F-450 Diesel automatic (knee doesn't do well with a clutch anymore in traffic) flatbed. Rated for a live load of 3500 lbs, but have been known to put over 10k on it for a short (50mile) run.
JVC

[Davy]

Dave M, not sure what it would cost, I change my own. It takes 11 qts of oil, I buy 3- 1 gallon jugs for under 7.00 each and the oil filter is about 8 dollars, not too bad. I change my oil every 5,000 miles and fuel filter every 10,000. Fuel filter is about 10 bucks. I think the Ford powerstroke is more expensive to service, more oil and a bigger filter.

[Ron]

Here's a picture of Mona loaded with sand and cement.

[Ron]

And another one...about 2000 lbs in there.

I added a leaf on each side and installed adjustable air bags by Air-Lift Co.Have to let most of the air out if the truck is empty though otherwise it's impossible to keep on the road.

[Davy]

Nice set-up Ron, the weak link is the tires, easy to overload them. ;)

[cx]

It's OK that you're not gonna tell me about the air bags, Ron, ain't gonna hurt my feelings or nothin'. :(

I don't wanna know where you got that cool side-loading shell for the back, neither. :D

[John Bridge]

Mona, as in moan when you try to get it moving?

;)

[e3]

2003-F150- 4x4
After driving chev. since I have been old enough to drive(did have one toyota) I find my self in a ford???so far so good.

[John K]

Ok I had to chime in.:) 2004 Isuzu NQR Diesel. 16' box with
weatherguard custom shelving, pull out ramp and chicago style fold out steps.:drool2:

Rolling workshop.:)

[Stoneguy]

2004 GMC 4X4 Crew Cab 2500 HD 8.1/Allison
Passes just about anything but the gas station;)

[John Bridge]

CX,

They're making me feel bad. Tell us how old your piece of truck is. That'll improve my disposition. :D

[flatfloor]

John's fleet. For those new to the forum. :D

[John Bridge]

Jim, I thought we traded that one in. You sly devil, you've had it fixed up. ;)

[Ron]

Hi CX

Oh,I wasn't ignoring the question.:) Had to find the website addresses.

The air springs are from Air Lift Co. www.airliftcompany.com

I installed them 3 days after I got the truck new.Without them and the extra leaf on each side,the truck was useless...would bottom out with 5 bags of thinset at the back. :rolleyes: .Great accessory.I didn't get the compressor and regulators with it.I just fitted the valves on each side behind the taillights inside the box.I keep an airpig in the back to adjust the pressure.

I like going to the local stone yard to pick up sand with it.Often there are a bunch of landscapers there loading up their trucks.Then there's me loading 25 bags of sand (about 80 lbs each) and 4 bags of Portland.They'll start grinning and pointing after the first 10 bags,then they come over and comment on how my truck can't take that kinda weight.They are quite amazed at how it handles the load. :D Most I ever had in there was a 2800 lbs crate of limestone tiles.That was a bit scary...was worried about the tires.Usually I don't haul tile in it,it gets delivered by the tile store.

The cap I had custom made by A.R.E. truck caps from Ohio.I'm very happy with it.It's been on there since the truck was new too.
www.4are.com click on dcu series

My next vehicle will probably be one of them Sprinter vans made by Mercedes.Freightliner has their name on them in the US.In Canada they have the Dodge symbol on them.I'll keep my truck for another 5 years or so,then I'll look at those vans.They have a 5 cyl Diesel in them ,which I like,and a manual transmission,which I also like.I don't like driving with auto transmissions.

[Davy]

Jim, John, that's the truck I'm driving now, the flat tires are handy, no need for a parking rock.:D

[opiethetileman]

Gee when I get back home to Florida I will post a pic of my truck. I have a 1986 Gruman 16 foot bread truck. A 35o sm block and a 4 on the floor. Has a full welded cage thru it and a trap door made under neath in case I lock my self out. Has a shower on the outside to rinse off when done working. A tv in her. Has about 100 buckets in it at all times. Carries 4 wet saws and about 40 grand in other tools as well. Has a pull down shade on the side so I dont work in the sun. Even has room for the dog in there. Has Bullet proof glass in the front and rear doors. She runs about 8 to 10 miles a gallon but can hold her weight. Some people say its like home depot in there one of everything. I also have a 10 foot pull behind enclosed trailer for her as well.


Then I have three other trucks as well a 98 f150 , 2004 f250 4x4 diesel, and last but not least my orginal truck I started my bussines with a 94 chevy s10

[RandyL]

Man, Dan.......I really gotta see this thing..:D

[Davy]

Opie, you gotta have a big crew hired to use 100 buckets and 4 wet saws. I'd like to see it too. :)

[Ron]

What I'd really like to have one day is a 1960's Dodge A-100 work van with a Slant Six in the doghouse and 3 spd .Those are cool. :D

[cx]

Cheer up, JB, my newest truck is a 1998, newest vehicle I've ever owned. But my favorite is still my 49 Ford - 'cept it ain't run for a few years. :(

Thanks for the info, Ron, I'll have a look at those links. I gotta do something for the back of the wimpy thing I got.


I've also got a Wells Cargo 8x16 foot trailer that I couldn't live without. Problem is, when it needs to move I gotta borry a real truck to hook it to. With just a regular job-site load, it weighs way more than two of my little truck. If I pewt any scaffold and ladders and wheelbarrows and stuff in there, it's prolly more like three Tacomas. :D

But I don't never have more than about a dozen buckets and never more than one wet saw - on accounta I ain't never owned more than one wet saw until about a month ago. :p


Trailer ain't got no sunshade, neither. :(

Got a microwave, though. :)

[Shaughnn]

Had a '56 F-100 in high school that was totaled by hooligans and have wanted another ever since. Man, that was a heavy truck with a nose like a prize-fighter and a bed like a bath tub. V-8 under the hood and enough room left over for a couple of dancing goats too. Was working on the master cylinder once and the hood closed on me so I has to crawl out of the underside of the truck; and I'm a BIG boy! :D Damn, but that was a big engine compartment!
Shaughnn

[jjwq8]

Ron,

That Sprinter is well named.

Depending on the model you get and I'm guessing not the oil burner, they certainly go some.

I had one pass me on the highway and I was shading 110 mph on the flat.

[opiethetileman]

Well dont have a big crew only 13 guys thats not that big. Only a few of them do real tile jobs the rest you can let loose in tract homes. Im trying to build my company larger and larger and larger. WE do alot of total remodels as well. Turn key deals. Thats whay I have such a big truck cause I hate to go to Home Repot 8 times a day. My motto is stock in the truck buy two of each. And once a month it gets restocked with supplies and cleaned out. You can get a bread truck for about 1500 to 2200 bucks. I have found its ther best truck for tiling.

[flatfloor]

CX, you ninny that's not a microwave, it's a toaster oven. :shake: :D

[jjwq8]

You mean you don't simply wrap your sandwich in foil and place it on the exhaust manifold? :eek:..........jeeez but you guys are profligate polluters :D

[BTM]

Seems like I'm in the same league as ya' all. 94 GMC 3/4 T with 205,000 miles! Still runs like a champ. No rust either

On another note....We all ought to go out and buy a New truck before the TAX credit runs out. You can 179 depreciate $25,000 off of the purchase price in the first year! Good excuse? or not?

[Rd Tile]

CX, don't ever sell that 49, sorry I sold mine years ago, 2 years restoring it, put a 350 chevy in it, don't tell anyone.:)

[John Bridge]

Oh man, I'm not a Ford man, but that's one hell of a truck. ;)

[Rd Tile]

Thanks, I still cry every time time I take out those photo's, but with baby on the way and money needed for new kitchen and needed room in garage 12 years ago, something had to go, I needed the wife to stay, know what I mean.:)

[cx]

Awww, you're gonna make me cry, Rd. :(

My poor ol' truck hasn't seen a highway for many, many years. It just sits quietly in the New Mexican desert next to my beloved ol' 63 Corvair convertible.

It still has it's flathead V-8 (with inevitable cracks in the block), but it has a Mercury crank, Edlebrock aluminum intake with twice carburators, aluminum heads, dual exhausts, 12 volt alternator and electrical system, air conditioning, cruise control, heated outside mirrors, an overhead radio/electrnics console, dual gas tanks with electric pumps, and too much other "cool" stuff to even remember. And miles. Do it got miles! Prolly 300K or so. Lord it was a good ol' truck for lotsa years. I git misty-eyed just thinkin' about it. :D

Has a big ol' "modern" Ford engine (409?) sittin' in the bed, but that's as close as I ever got to a conversion. :)

[Mike2]

My rig has twin EFI 454's, 350 HP each and it floats - 45 GPH burn rate at 41 knots. [Don't do that more than once or twice a year with marine fuel hovering right around $2.09]
;)

[cx]

Whata weird lookin' truck. Slow, too. And only one mile per gallon? :eek:

Looks like a big PITA to git your tools in and out and an even bigger PITA to haul any sheets of plywood or bags of cee-ment. I don't think that's much of a work truck, Mike. :(

[Mike2]

Mista X, I manage to git all the tools I need for my line of wurk right there in my rig. Got my crab traps, my shrimp traps, and a case of Puss & Boots for bait. Got my electric downriggers, my gaff hooks and my boom box playing Bill Monroe and Waylon. What more do a guy need in the way of tools?

Yure right, it don't go fast like a truck and it might thirsty too. But I don't have'ta buy tires, git no tickets for running lights, plus I got this big 'ol hole in the water I can thro all my money into. :D

Wells Cargo trailer, that a might fine trailer mista X. But you gotta refrain yourself from pewting all that crap in it like plywood, nail-guns, cee-ment, buckets, ladders, scaffolding wheel barrows, etc. etc. Fly rods, creels, nets, wadders, sun-blocker, canoes, paddles, etc, etc, them's the kinda tools that Wells Cargo was meant to carry. ;)

[jjwq8]

So why is it flyin a flag of the Taliban? Yall heard Osama's on the move. Check for stowaways regularly please:D

[Mike2]

No Taliban flag :nya: on my rig Q8.

That's the Canadian flag I always fly proudly out'ta respect, high on the starboard side when cruising the waters of beautiful British Columbia. What a magnificant place that be - one of the truly 10 Wonders of North America in my opinion. :nod:

[BTM]

I saw this one the other day:eek:

I dunno if it qualifies as a rig.....but with the bungie cords holding it all down & doin 75 mph, I assume he is a 'wannabe' contractor

[jvcstone]

Reminds me of a fellow who borrowed one of my wheelbarrows. Tied the handles to the bumper of his VW bug and towed it like a one wheel trailer. Had to remind him that the wheel bearings weren't made for 60 miles per hour.:D :D JVC

[Steven Hauser]

You had to remind him??:eek: :eek: That musta been some good sh_t he ws smokin:D :D :D

[flatfloor]

I'll bet he wasn't made for 60 mph. ;)

[jvcstone]

Yea, That was back in those "good old days" and I'm sure he was. :D Probably out of the same garden mine was from.:shades: ;) :shades: JVC

[Shaughnn]

Are those scaffolding frames and ladders in the back seat of that Saab? I guess the "dot com refugees" need to find work somewhere? Reminds me of the time a drove past a shiney Porche convertable with a roto-tiller all crashed through the windshield and sitting on the hood. It seems the fellah stopped too quick and "it shifted". I would have liked to have known how laughing guys at the rental yard didn't clue him in that he was doin' it all wrong?
Shaughnn

[tileguytodd]

Well, no new truck for me either john.( I knew we had done this before)The 91 3/4 ton chev 4x4's only got 215,000 on her 350 so i spose i'll start looking in a few years;)
And while a bread truck sounds like a dandy piece of equipment for certain,in this neck of the woods without 4 wheel drive your outa business till june starting in november :D

[Mike2]

That truck so dang long Todd, looks to me like you gotta slow down ever once in a while just to let the back bumper catch up with ya. :D

4-wheel drive, Nov. thru June huh? Yikes. Just have three seasons, skipping Spring all together I take it.

We face our two seasons a little differently out here; pontoons, Oct. thru June.

[Derek & Jacqui]

Still driving the 99 Chevy Express2500, bought Nov 99 120 000 miles on the clock, fill it up two may be three times a week trying to get more work closer to home, but to well known to far away

[Rd Tile]

99 Silverado.:) Only have a picture of the bumper.:)

[jjwq8]

Anyone care to fess up?

[tileguytodd]

That one belongs to the missus Jeremy .She traded in her AMC Pacer and some S&H Green stamps ;)

[goneriding]

I luv my truck :) 1986 F250 4x4 extended cab. Beeeutiful. I bought it from my plumber, he paid $8000 for it, spent $10,000 putting in a new engine, transmission, a thousand dollar stainless steel exhaust, all new belts, hoses and pumps, new tires and wheels, steel canopy, etc etc etc. Then he sold it to me for $5000. I luv my plumber too :)

[cx]

That plumber is almost as good a bidness man as CX hisownself. :shades:




Buy high, sell low, try ta make it up in volume. :D

[Mike2]

Here’s a picher of my other rig. Beeeutiful. I also bought it from a plumber. He paid $8 for it, spent $10 taking out the engine, transmission, exhaust, belts, hoses, pumps, etc etc etc. Then he sold it to me for $5. I luv plumbers too.

[goneriding]

Hay, I especially like the little bay motor up front! How many miles per bale do you get with that rig? :D

[jjwq8]

OK
So the philistine has arisen once again, but......

"Great Gas Milage" and a picture of a horse, and driver turning his face away suggests that this is an unfinished question rather than a statement. The balance of the question being:

How often does your horse break wind along main street?

Sorry :D

[Mike2]

Nothin finer and more dependable than an 'ol hayburner for transportation. And you're right Q8, they do 'snap' a lot. I just keep heading downwind taking days sumtimes to git back home. :D

[KChurch1]

We currently have the 2000 Ford E-250 and a '95 Voyager... getting ready to replace the Voyager.... I'm looking at the 2004 F-150 Crew Cab.... Jim's begging me for the 2004 MINI Cooper S.... gotta admit, the MINI was a blast to drive.... handles like it's on rails, but it's not as practical as the F-150.....
We also get around in our 15' sportspal canoe every chance we get...

[jjwq8]

If you go for the Mini, don't get suckered into the Cooper S cliche. You are paying a bunch more cash for a tiny vehicle that performs only marginally better than the standard versions. Also you are now paying the extra for the BMW cache.

I grew up around minis (the real ones) and cute as the current crop may be etc etc, trust me, they are no fun whatsoever when you blast down a country lane and round a corner, like you are on rails and find a tractor towing a trailer of huge beets has just pulled out of the field to your left and three of said beets, each twice the size of your head have bounced off the trailer and are arcing sweetly toward your windshield.

Get something taller! :D

[MHI]

Here's mind loaded with 4000 lbs of sandmix

[John Bridge]

We had another thread a couple years ago on the Mini. I owned a Morris Mini-Minor 850 when I was in Europe, model 1961. It was a wonderful little car. The new ones are nothing like it. They are more like the full-size Minor. :)

[flatfloor]

I think that donkey is owned by Jeremy's company, CBC-Ltd "Can't Believe it Construction " :D

[Shaughnn]

My wife's grandfather just passed away a couple of months back. A quiet unassuming man with a wealth of talents he never made much of a fuss over. Built every house his family lived in, survived Omaha Beach, rancher, and gambler but one of his most prolific loves was restoring old cars. He would take driving trips across country and buy cars as they went, then send a flat-bed to go collect them all when the load got large enough. The weekend after he died, my wife's grandmother took his ashes to a huge auto parts swap meet, along with a trailer of parts he'd been planning to barter there, and she let all of his many old friends say good-bye.
Here's a picture of one of his favorites. It's a '41 Lincoln and we're trying to find an urn or decanter of the same model to hold his remains. I don't know what the plans are for the car but both my father-in-law and my brother-in-law are mechanics, so I think it's going to stay in the family; probably BIL.
Anyway, I thought that it was a pretty neat specimen so I thought I'd share it. If anyone knows where to find a representative vessel please get in touch.
Shaughnn

[Trask]

"A quiet unassuming man with a wealth of talents he never made much of a fuss over."
:goodpost: That's a very good photo Shaughnn...Your description coupled with the photo reads so much like a fine crafted story it just grabbed me :clap1:

[Shaughnn]

Thank you Trask,
He was a very neat man, with a wicked sense of humor up to the day he died. Some might even have called him "naughty", but he'd just smile and wink. I believe that Sara's grandmother still has the vintage fire truck in the back yard, and a warehouse of parts and partials to release back into the "wild", so to speak. It's going to take them all a little while to say goodbye, but his Lincoln is a fine enough testament to his talents and tastes.
Shaughnn

[Tiletim]

Shaughnn, here is a VERY nice vessel.
under 10,000 original miles !
'41 Zephyr (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1941-Lincoln-Zephyr-Rare-Pre-War-V12-Sedan-Collectable_W0QQitemZ130275123061QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Truck s?hash=item130275123061&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318)

[Shaughnn]

Tim,
Thanks, but they've already got one of those. My wife's grandmother is hoping to find something to use as an urn. He really loved his cars.
Shaughnn

[Tiletim]

Sorry, I mis-understood ya, I thought you were looking for a car to put his remains in. Your looking for a '41 zephyr looking urn ?

[Shaughnn]

Yup, she's hoping to find something to use as an urn that looks like the Zephyr. Ezra Brooks had a whiskey decanter of a '41 Zephyr, but it was a convertible and it didn't look too good. There is a local bronze foundry, here in Tacoma, that I may call to get a quote if we can't find something suitable?
Shaughnn

[Tiletim]

I think my father has a very old die cast model of a '41 Zephyr from his child hood - made in the early fifties - way too small for what you need though.

I grew up around cars - lots of old ones. I will ask my Dad for some ideas tomorrow.

[Brad Denny]

Hello Shaughnn,
Have you thought of using a traditional urn and mounting an original car part to it in some form or fashion? This is expensive, but you may be able to find something similar...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1940-Ford-Lincoln-Zephyr-Hood-Ornament-V12-1939-1941_W0QQitemZ140288821977QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item14028882197 7&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A543%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
I saw an original dash clock for sale as well. I started looking for old v12's from which a cylinder could be utilized, but they are probably too small, not to mention rare.

[Shaughnn]

Great idea, Brad. I'll suggest it to her over the weekend. She'll know better than anyone what might be the best memento to link in this fashion.
Shaughnn