Show us your truck!

[UKRay]

I am a confirmed truckaholic... but living in the UK makes this difficult. Our extremely narrow road system means I don't get to see too many glorious American or Australian vehicles and most British pickups just don't make the grade somehow.

I'd love to see what you guys drive. It doesn't have to be a truck, just bring 'em on.

Not just the outside either - I have been enjoying the recent steering wheel cover posts as I get to see inside left hand drive vehicles (some for for the first time). I suppose it is a kind of weird voyeurism... Indulge me! LOL!

Don't forget to show those amazing US registration plates - do you really get to choose what goes on them?

Does anyone signwrite their truck to advertise their leather business? I'd definitely like to see that as well!

Ray

[JRLeather2]

Here ya go, my 1929 Model A Roadster Pick Up, in the bed of my 1995 F-150

[TrooperChuck]

This is my 1965 Ford F350 flatbed truck. (Actually, it belongs to my dad, but it lives at my house.) We use it for hauling hay and firewood. It's got a straight 6-cylinder engine, manual choke, and 4-speed manual transmission. The thing I like most about it, is that it's got an engine that just won't quit. It hasn't been started since November, but today I got in, pulled out the choke, turned the key, and she fired right up! The thing I like least about it is that it is only two-wheel drive, so I don't use it much in the winter.

As you can see from the photos, it's a plain bare-bones truck, but I love it.

[TrooperChuck]

This is my other truck... A 1979 Dodge Power Wagon. Sorry it's so dirty, but it's break-up time here in the Pacific Northwest, and everything is turning to mud! The dashboard was starting to get damaged from too much sunlight, so my wife asked me to make some leather covers for it. I've never done anything like that before, and you can see my leather carving skills are rudimentary at best, but my wife likes it, so I'm happy.

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[wildrose]

I'm laughing about the comment on the engine never dying. We once had an International pick up truck, our first at the farm in NJ where I grew up. The thing was HORRIBLY ugly, my mom needed cushions to see over the steering wheel (she's 5'2") and it was a fight to get it started, but man could that thing run once you got it going.

As to custom tags/plates, that varies state-to-state. NJ and PA were very expensive to have them. Here in VA, it's so cheap that we are known to have more custom tags than any other state. I don't yet have them on my daily driver, but I have them on my 1966 Mustang: "HAM 66" (my initials and the car's year...I was getting sick of folks saying "is that a 64 and a half?" like they were know it alls! It didn't help, they still ask) States also vary on how many letters/numbers you can fit on a plate, and sometimes it depends on the plate. My Mustang has Antique plates, they're orange, with black lettering I believe, and that being plain you can fit 7 letters/numbers on it I think. VA has a variety of specialty plates - i.e. for horse enthusiasts and lighthouse lovers, etc etc, and it can be tough to choose!

[JRLeather2]

Here is my brothers '88 Dodge D100, "slighty: modified.....

[celticleather]

Here is my brothers '88 Dodge D100, "slighty: modified.....

Hey - if you could get the back wheels off the ground as well, it'd be a hovercraft!

[DJ1935]

This is our old girl. A 1956 International AR110. My husband found it under a tree and restored it about forty odd years ago. Since then he's done about 300,00 miles and another two restorations, including putting in a Perkins diesel. It was the first diesel ute in our part of NZ, everyone said he was mad! The truck was used every day for work, fixing John Deere tractors in the field, but since the boss has slowed down a bit old "Thunderguts" has an easier life. It has an on board compressor for air tools (works the air horn under the bonnet too!) and home-made hydraulic lifting arm on the tray. If this truck could talk, she'd tell you some stories!

Cheers

DJ

[Johanna]

I drive a Dodge Durango most of the time (especially in my Sarah Palin disguise!) and it's a good truck. It likes the highway, but it takes the dirt roads just as easily, and the stereo is pretty good. It's got the Hemi engine, so the hills of to Pittsburgh and West Va. are fun.

But my favorite truck is "Big Red", Wade's one-ton Ford dually. That's our work truck, and I'd drive it more if it didn't use so much gas. It gets 10MPH with or without a load or tow, and it's a pain to park, but it drives sweet, and you can see all around you, unlike the Dodge with it's SUV blind spots.

Wade drives our 15 year old Honda Civic most days, and we have a 4WD Chevy S10 also. (That's the one we lend out to his oldest son.) In the barn is my 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse, and Wade is lovingly restoring it. I have a quarter million miles on it, but I parked it when the kids were small because the back seat is so small the carseats rubbed on each other. When he is finished, I will be zooming around in my little white car, and the poor Dodge is going to be just a taxi. I explained to the kids that it will be a cold day before they get to ride in it, let alone drive it! (None of the kids can drive a stick anyway!)

I've always wondered what it would be like to suddenly have to switch to driving on the left side of the road from the passenger side of the car? Someday maybe UKRay will invite me to his house, and maybe I'll have anough guts to try to drive!

Johanna

[UKRay]

You guys have no idea how lucky you are to have access to vehicles like these and live in a place where you can use them - or maybe you do!

I love the idea of your antique plates Holly...

DJ1935 - That fantastic truck really ought to be mine. The only problem would be driving through my town, Ludlow, where some of the roads are so narrow I'd jam it between the buildings. They were only designed for a horse and cart! I even have trouble with a Ford Mondeo Estate.

Jeffzilla - outrageous pictures!

TrooperChuck - you are definitely spoiled for choice. I particularly like the flatbed but the leather dashboard adds a certain touch of style to the Dodge.

Johanna - you and Wade are welcome to visit anytime. Just tell me when you are arriving and I'll pick you up at the airport! ...You won't get to ride in a nice truck though, sorry.

Even though I'm well used to driving left hand drive cars all over Europe, my own first experience of riding as a passenger in a left hand drive car was in the US (in a San Francisco Taxi). It was terrifying. I kept stamping on an invisible brake pedal at every junction... The guy was a crazy man and those steep roads are unreal.

The UK is a tad slower, but I think you'd find it just as much of a culture shock as I did.

[cdthayer]

Don't forget to show those amazing US registration plates - do you really get to choose what goes on them?

Does anyone signwrite their truck to advertise their leather business? I'd definitely like to see that as well!

Ray

Hi Ray, Yes, we get to pick what goes on them...to an extent. Here in Oklahoma, you have to select 3 different personalizations, rate them 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice, and send in your money. Then the state selects one of the three, or denies your request and keeps some of the money for messing with you. I can't remember if they keep it all or just part of it. I got my tag, so I've never went through that part. We get to pick the color of the tag also, so I picked the closest color that they had to my truck color. I chose "79 F250" because people always wanted to know what year it was. I've owned it since 1981, and it only has 68,000 miles on it today. It's still got the original brake shoes and clutch in it too! We've always had "her vehicle" that has usually been a newer (more comfortable) one, plus we ride our motorcycles more than we drive our trucks, so Ol' Blue has had an easy life. Her current truck is a 2003 F-150 Ford Supercab with an 8-foot bed and topper (small camper shell).

Another thing that is unusual (for the states), is that Oklahoma only has one tag (or "license plate"), and it always goes on the rear of the vehicle. No front-end tag, so many people put a personalized tag (non-state issued) on the front. Usually it's their favorite sports team or their first name. My wife and I have plates with our website address on them, but we just bought a new "www" address for our current business, and we haven't gotten new tags yet. That's all of the advertising that we have for our business on our vehicles right now. We've been thinking about magnetic signs, but haven't gotten any yet. Vinyl letters in the rear window of our topper may be another choice to consider. Many businesses around here advertise their business on their rear windows.

A final note: With a personalized tag in Oklahoma, you still have to register your "original" tag each year, and keep it in the vehicle at all times in case an officer wants to see it. So, if you have a personalized state tag, you also have a "regular" state tag, and you pay for both of them. And there are no tags on personal trailers, no matter how big. Only trailers registered "commercial" have tags. They used to require that you put your Social Security number on the rear of personal trailers, but I think they dropped that because of ID Theft a while back. Same with our Driver's License. They used your SS# for your license number for a long time, but quit that a couple of years ago too....

CD in Oklahoma

www.thayerrags.com

[Go2Tex]

This is my other truck... A 1979 Dodge Power Wagon. Sorry it's so dirty, but it's break-up time here in the Pacific Northwest, and everything is turning to mud! The dashboard was starting to get damaged from too much sunlight, so my wife asked me to make some leather covers for it. I've never done anything like that before, and you can see my leather carving skills are rudimentary at best, but my wife likes it, so I'm happy.

Why did I expect to see a shotgun rack in there?......

[TrooperChuck]

Brent:

There's a reason I didn't take a picture BEHIND the seat!

Ray:

Thanks for starting this topic. It's been fun to see other people's rides.

Johanna:

PLEASE tell us all those kids aren't yours! They look like they're gonna go some place fun!

Edited March 2, 2009 by TrooperChuck

[Windy]

Ray,

This is my 75 Ford F-100 with the best motor Ford ever made

the 300 straight six or inline as some say. It has extra springs

donated from an old Chevy so I can haul more weight which one

sometimes needs in the brick laying business.The glove box and

the door handle covers are leather and I decorated them with

our company logo , the skull and cross bones.The rear lights

are also our company logo which I also made. As a matter of

fact I spent four years in my spare time rebuilding the motor and

the body work on this truck. When I brought it home from the

job site it had holes in the floor boards I could crawl through.

In place of the rear bumper I built a roll pan from the roof of

an old Nissan. I never did the inside of the bed since it was

built for work.Oh yea the license plate bolts have cast resin

skulls that light up that I made while I was making the shift

knob which is also cast resin and it lights up as well.I do not

have photos of them for reasons I do not know.

WINDY

[McJeep]

As the nickname implies:

Presently

Oh, and just so beauty doesn't get her nose bent outta shape ;0)

Ray,

This is my 75 Ford F-100

Cool accents - you've given me some idears ;0)

Edited March 2, 2009 by McJeep

[Kevin]

This is not my truck, but the truck I learned to drive in, notice the equine containment system, optional bright equipment and PTO powered winch. The wheels are 16" split rims; tires, retreads. This is only a half ton truck, but since it has 4wd it came with a 3/4ton suspension and of course has added helper leaves for when you have a real load. Three shift levers, two of which have nice red bicycle hand grips (they really were original equip.) and it has so many universal joints the dealer wouldn't believe they were stock when some needed to be replaced.

This is my first pic post, I hope it works.

Kevin

[Go2Tex]

Yeah well............ check this out

[Johanna]

Brent, I'd know your truck anywhere! God bless Texas, and God bless America!

~J

[Kevin]

Since that only took an hour or so, I'm gonna give 'er another go. This is another beaut I learned to drive that summer. Some of you may recognize it as a haystacking outfit. It has a Cadillac engine, two transmisions, drive wheels in front, steering in back. It has two different heads, one for loose hay and one for 16 bales at a time. I was a 16 y.o. suburban kid and had never worked a day in my life. After stacking my uncle's loose hay for 2 weeks and getting used to that, we went to the neighbors and stacked baled hay, generally 1,000 bales a day, my scrawny 125 lb ass on the stack and my uncle running the machine. Every once in a while he would give me a break and let me run the machine. Oh, did I say the brakes were activated by cable? Which esentially means NO brakes. "Just put it in reverse and slip the clutch when you come up to the stack." Did I say I hadn't driven at all before that summer? No problem, slip the clutch, work the hydraulics, don't mess your Levis cause you got 16 bales of hay swaying back and forth 20 feet up in the air. I got yelled at a lot that summer, but I made the princely sum of $150.00 dollars for six weeks work. I promptly blew that on a reel to reel tape recorder that was a floor demo. That son of a b never did work right even after taking it back to be worked on twice. I guess I learned something that summer.

Sorry, I have to talk to customers all week and on weekends I sometimes don't speak to a soul, so I do ramble. Kevin

[Dually]

Howdy Ray...and all, Here is my ranch truck, and daily driver in the summer. Stood in the rain this am for the pics. lol Its mostly stock and fun to drive. No rifle though, guess I gotta work on that.[at

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[Bree]

Oh hell... here's my baby...

...loaded with woodworking machines.

[TrooperChuck]

Bree, it looks like you executed a "search and acquire" combat mission at the Grizzly store! I love going to those kind of places. Good looking truck, too.

[Jdavies]

This was my dream truck. Which was sold recently, but hope someday to get another like it. 03 3/4 ton diesel.

[Shorts]

Got my new ride a few weeks ago. Most I've done to it so far is nerf bars (gotta get in!) but it will be getting the treatment as time and funds allow. It will be sporting leather and will advertise when the time is right. Until then, upgrades will be my own until marketed.

I love this truck!

Edited March 3, 2009 by Shorts

[Dags3777]

The orange ute was my pride and joy as a daily, until one car was more economical. The orange is a HJ Holden (GM) ute and the blue is a 2004 Holden (GM) Commodore wagon. As you can tell I am a Holden fanatic, no Fords in my house.

Rather walk than drive a Ford. Darryl