Got to have a Truck

Driving down the road I often see a small car with a whole lot of lumber either tied to the roof or hanging out the window. It makes me feel sorry for these poor truck deprived people. As a average guy I have never had the money to have the nice 4 x 4 that I would like but, my dad and my father in-law both had old trucks when I was first married. Also my mini van could hold 8 foot lengths of lumber if you put them between the seats. Between borrowing a truck and the mini van I didn't have to hang lumber out the window of my little car.

The first truck of my own came when a family members neighbor was selling a 12 year old truck for $1500. It was a 1984 GMC S15, two wheel drive 4 speed manual trans. It was a long bed which enhanced the nerdyness factor. My wife couldn't stand to even ride in it. It did have that great dusty vinyl smell that reminded me of my VW. It was really fun to drive on a snowy day. One morning I was dropping my son off at the elementary school and got stuck. I could see that my only option would be to back down the student drop off lane. The problem was that there was a never ending stream of cars dropping kids off. I finally just turned the truck off and waited. After about 30 minutes the traffic cleared and I was able to back down and get out. The real problem with the truck was the starter motor. No shop was able to get the right one, so we had to use one that would fit but had to be shimmed. This would result in the bolts to the starter breaking off in the block about once a year. Once the repair bill to pass inspection was more than the value of the "blue beast" we parted ways.

After a year without a truck (but still able to borrow my dads) it was time. We started looking again. I found a Chevy S10 with a long bed at a used car lot and brought it home for my wife to take a look at. She said that this was even more nerdy than the "blue beast" and vetoed it. We deiced to look at new trucks. We stopped at a Toyota dealer and browsed a line of lovely trucks. There were several 4 door 4 x 4s and some extended cab 4 x 4s. Then on the end of the row was a silver two door two wheel drive. The sticker price was almost exactly half of the 4 door 4 x 4 that I really wanted. In fact, it was only a little bit more than the nerdy used Chevy. We made the deal and drove it home. I loved my old blue truck, but this one is even better. I have real air conditioning and a CD player. It doesn't smell and my wife will even ride in it. What more could I ask for? Someday I may have that 4 door 4 x 4 but, today I still drive by the guy with lumber hanging out the window and feel a mixture of empathy for him and pride that I have my truck.