A new old truck

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

In 1992, I bought my first and to date only new vehicle, a little Mazda pick-up truck. It was technically a three-seater, as there were three seatbelts across the lone bench seat, but unless the rider in the middle was Yoda, it was really a two-seater, which was fine, as there were only two of us, my soon-to-be wife and I, so it suited us just fine.

I drove my new truck it until it was on its last legs, making it an old truck. And since that time, I have almost exclusively driven old trucks. And with the exception of that little Mazda, they have been old trucks when I got them.

Part of it has been that I’ve never really had much of commute, part of it is that my wife has always had the newer and more family-friendly vehicle, and part of it is that I simply refuse to pay what they want for a newer truck (even a newer old truck).

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From page A4

I replaced the Mazda with a red Ford Ranger with the jumpseats in the back — the kind that fold down and face each other. That was fun for the boys when they were little, but eventually, they got big (and we added a third kid) so I got a bigger, older truck, a mammoth V-8 Ford F-150 crew cab that had about 200,000 miles on it. I really liked that old truck.

It eventually wore out and my that time, the boys were driving so I downsized to a little white Chevy. I’d probably still be driving it, but sadly, it was stolen — right out of my yard on Thanksgiving night 2020. Yes, I had left the keys in it, but still… I hate a thief.

Anyway, I’m now on my newest old truck, a big F-150 like my old one, only a little older. In fact, she turns 21 this year. Maybe I should buy her a drink?

For a truck that old, it doesn’t have too many miles on it — only 142,000 — about the same as my wife’s SUV and it’s 12 years newer.

The engine and transmission are both in pretty good shape, but just about everything else shakes, rattles, squeaks and moans, so I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last, and I’m done spending money on it, so it might be time to get a new old truck.

I’d keep it a little longer, but the other day, the radio went out. No big deal… except that’s what I use to drown out all the other noises.