![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
New Wheels
Sep. 5th, 2014 10:10 pmSorry that I haven't posted in such a long time. Life has been very busy. But, I do enjoy LJ, and value my friends here, so I am going to attempt to post more regularly, and will try to post every day, with photos, for the next week.
For a couple of years I have been saying that I need a new pickup truck. The issue came to a head 2 weeks ago when my Mercury Mariner started acting funny. I took it to the mechanic, who said that it needs major transmission work. This meant the car would be out of commission for at least a week, probably longer, so I decided to shop around for a truck.
I really needed a truck anyway. For years I have been coming back from the lumber yard with boards stacked on the dashboard, running through the car and out the back window, the only way to get long lumber in the car. The men at the lumber yard would laugh at me as I pulled out with 16' boards balanced in the back window of the Mariner. There was absolutely NO WAY to put full 4' x 8' sheets of plywood or drywall in the car, which meant that I had to rely on Dave whenever I needed plywood or drywall. That worked OK, more or less, But Dave's old Ford pickup was being held together with duct tape, chain and rope. His tailgate actually fell off on the highway a week ago, and the work that his exhaust system needs will cost more than the truck is worth.
I took Mark with me and we stopped at a small used-car lot which had a half-dozen newer model pick-ups on display. The one that most suited my needs was a 2005 Dodge Ram. I test drove it, liked the way it handled and its powerful engine and bought it after doing my best to bargain down the price. It is 3 years older than the Mariner, with 20,000 more miles on it, but it suits my needs far better than the Mariner.
My new wheels: club cab (4 door), 4 wheel drive, powerful "hemi" engine, vinyl bed liner etc. A macho truck, if ever there was one!
I still have the Mariner which has been sitting forlornly in my driveway, waiting for transmission work. Once I have the work done, I will sell it. It was a good vehicle to have for the 11 trips I made back and forth to Virginia a few years ago, but it was what my father bought for his own needs, and was never really suited to mine.
For a couple of years I have been saying that I need a new pickup truck. The issue came to a head 2 weeks ago when my Mercury Mariner started acting funny. I took it to the mechanic, who said that it needs major transmission work. This meant the car would be out of commission for at least a week, probably longer, so I decided to shop around for a truck.
I really needed a truck anyway. For years I have been coming back from the lumber yard with boards stacked on the dashboard, running through the car and out the back window, the only way to get long lumber in the car. The men at the lumber yard would laugh at me as I pulled out with 16' boards balanced in the back window of the Mariner. There was absolutely NO WAY to put full 4' x 8' sheets of plywood or drywall in the car, which meant that I had to rely on Dave whenever I needed plywood or drywall. That worked OK, more or less, But Dave's old Ford pickup was being held together with duct tape, chain and rope. His tailgate actually fell off on the highway a week ago, and the work that his exhaust system needs will cost more than the truck is worth.
I took Mark with me and we stopped at a small used-car lot which had a half-dozen newer model pick-ups on display. The one that most suited my needs was a 2005 Dodge Ram. I test drove it, liked the way it handled and its powerful engine and bought it after doing my best to bargain down the price. It is 3 years older than the Mariner, with 20,000 more miles on it, but it suits my needs far better than the Mariner.
My new wheels: club cab (4 door), 4 wheel drive, powerful "hemi" engine, vinyl bed liner etc. A macho truck, if ever there was one!
I still have the Mariner which has been sitting forlornly in my driveway, waiting for transmission work. Once I have the work done, I will sell it. It was a good vehicle to have for the 11 trips I made back and forth to Virginia a few years ago, but it was what my father bought for his own needs, and was never really suited to mine.
