WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well 2 months ago I sold my 99 Honda Accord and bought a 2023 model year "coupe". I was paranoid the whole time that I had to go to the dealership until the warranty period for oil changes.... they made it very clear that should a problem arise in the engine oiling system and there was no traceability for oil changes that the claim would be denied. I have a problem relinquishing control when it comes to servicing MY vehicles.... After much thought today I traded in that for a new 4WD SUV for my wife so all the school drop offs are problem free on rainy days ..... I did well on the trade-in, in fact came ahead surprisingly..... and this works because I know for the next 5 years I don't need to perform maintenance under duress. If any problem arises all I have to say is "go to the dealer"

As far as I am concerned, I am down to Big Blue 2WD and my Bronco depending on the weather for the foreseeable future.... I would drive my Bronco all the time but it draws too much attention (theft concerns) and Hagerty doesn't like to insure daily drivers... so I am looking for something with a 460 ZF5 w/AC as a daily driver since Ronnie is taking Blue Streak that we bought a couple days ago..

It's cute that you're so supportive of your wife and her family!

Shame my truck never had AC, I could load it with parts and drive it down to Austin, visit my FIL, then leave it with you in Dallas on the way back.

I'll send you these gaskets, since you now have two Eddy's and I have none... 👍

 

[essmaker]

Erik,

I'm going to suggest that you're far better off lining up the fenders after the doors are installed.

The doors need proper gap top and rear of the cab opening. (This is fixed and can never move)

Then the fender can be adjusted to the front of the door, and the hood to the cowl (which also doesn't move -much-)

Then with the hood centered, the fenders can shim up-down and in-out when the gap at the back of the hood is correct.

Caveat:

I'm definitely NOT a body man, but I do have time to observe between tows for the shop, and understand why A before B before C....

This is in no way a criticism, I just hate to think you do all this work and pinch the door-fender the first time you get the doors hung. 💡

You know, that is good advice and I think you're on the mark. Thanks.

I'm going to pause where they are now.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Erik,

I'm going to suggest that you're far better off lining up the fenders after the doors are installed.

The doors need proper gap top and rear of the cab opening. (This is fixed and can never move)

Then the fender can be adjusted to the front of the door, and the hood to the cowl (which also doesn't move -much-)

Then with the hood centered, the fenders can shim up-down and in-out when the gap at the back of the hood is correct.

Caveat:

I'm definitely NOT a body man, but I do have time to observe between tows for the shop, and understand why A before B before C....

This is in no way a criticism, I just hate to think you do all this work and pinch the door-fender the first time you get the doors hung. 💡

You know, that is good advice and I think you're on the mark. Thanks.

I'm going to pause where they are now.

You've done a great job so far!

Another small point is to make sure the fenders are flush, or proud of the doors to start.

If they sit too low (deep) the front lip of the door comes forward as it opens, and it will bind, taking the paint off both edges.

DAMHIKT

[Nothing Special]

.... But, this is the most "together" this truck has been in a couple years. Glad to see if going back together rather than constantly taking more of it apart....

I'm looking forward to when I can say that! But that's still a ways off for me.

Erik,

I'm going to suggest that you're far better off lining up the fenders after the doors are installed....

You probably even will want to take the fenders back off to mount the doors. The hinge bolts are really hard to get at with the fenders in place. Possible, but it makes it a lot harder to do the smaller shifts needed to align the doors.

[viven44]

It's cute that you're so supportive of your wife and her family!

Shame my truck never had AC, I could load it with parts and drive it down to Austin, visit my FIL, then leave it with you in Dallas on the way back.

I'll send you these gaskets, since you now have two Eddy's and I have none... 👍

Jim, I appreciate it!

Are you kidding about leaving the legendary ArdWrknTrk? It would be a honor for whoever owns it next 🙇🏻‍♂️

[ArdWrknTrk]

Jim, I appreciate it!

Are you kidding about leaving the legendary ArdWrknTrk? It would be a honor for whoever owns it next 🙇🏻‍♂️

I certainly can't take it with me!

Wherever it ends up I hope it is doing the jobs it always has, or it gets parted out to revitalize others like it.

Almost every time I tow a "junk" car to the shredder I see it's value ripped into fist sized chunks. 🥲

[Nothing Special]

.... I would drive my Bronco all the time but ... Hagerty doesn't like to insure daily drivers....

That's why I just have Pluto on my normal auto policy. He's a daily driver so I insure him like one.

But then again I don't have full coverage on him either. That would likely get pretty expensive on a normal auto policy. Classic car insurance is cheaper there, so I get why people insure classics with places like Hagerty instead of using their normal auot insurance.

But Hagerty is cheaper for classic cars BECAUSE they insure classic cars. Classic cars typically aren't driven much so they are much less likely to be damaged. With lower risk comes lower insurance payouts, therefore lower premiums. If you drive a classic like it was a new car the risks and payouts go up so the premiums need to too.

As far as not having full coverage, long ago my dad let me in on a little secret: insurance companies are for-profit corporations! And they're actually pretty good at the "for profit" part. On almost all of the policies they write they get more money in than they have to pay out. And they get so much more on those policies that it covers their losses on the others. So you are almost certain to come out money ahead if you don't insure things.

The limit on this is that there are things you can't afford to take the risk on. Homeowner's insurance, auto liability insurance and health insurance are three things that most people couldn't cover in the (relatively) unlikely event that they had to pay out of pocket. Depending on your situation there may be more.

But if Pluto was totaled it wouldn't break me financially. I might not choose to replace him, but I could afford to lose him. So I don't have full coverage on him.

Another example of this. When my brother graduated from college my folks gave him a brand new '87 Mustang GT convertible. With no bank loan he had the option of not putting full coverage insurance on it. He calculated that with the premiums they wanted for a 21 year old single male in a Mustsang GT, that if he could make it 2 years without totaling it he'd be financially ahead by not insuring it. So even on a brand new car he just had liability coverage.

[viven44]

I certainly can't take it with me!

Wherever it ends up I hope it is doing the jobs it always has, or it gets parted out to revitalize others like it.

Almost every time I tow a "junk" car to the shredder I see it's value ripped into fist sized chunks. 🥲

Well that day is hopefully far away and you still can get many more out out of the ArkWrknTrk...

[viven44]

.... I would drive my Bronco all the time but ... Hagerty doesn't like to insure daily drivers....

That's why I just have Pluto on my normal auto policy. He's a daily driver so I insure him like one.

But then again I don't have full coverage on him either. That would likely get pretty expensive on a normal auto policy. Classic car insurance is cheaper there, so I get why people insure classics with places like Hagerty instead of using their normal auot insurance.

But Hagerty is cheaper for classic cars BECAUSE they insure classic cars. Classic cars typically aren't driven much so they are much less likely to be damaged. With lower risk comes lower insurance payouts, therefore lower premiums. If you drive a classic like it was a new car the risks and payouts go up so the premiums need to too.

As far as not having full coverage, long ago my dad let me in on a little secret: insurance companies are for-profit corporations! And they're actually pretty good at the "for profit" part. On almost all of the policies they write they get more money in than they have to pay out. And they get so much more on those policies that it covers their losses on the others. So you are almost certain to come out money ahead if you don't insure things.

The limit on this is that there are things you can't afford to take the risk on. Homeowner's insurance, auto liability insurance and health insurance are three things that most people couldn't cover in the (relatively) unlikely event that they had to pay out of pocket. Depending on your situation there may be more.

But if Pluto was totaled it wouldn't break me financially. I might not choose to replace him, but I could afford to lose him. So I don't have full coverage on him.

Another example of this. When my brother graduated from college my folks gave him a brand new '87 Mustang GT convertible. With no bank loan he had the option of not putting full coverage insurance on it. He calculated that with the premiums they wanted for a 21 year old single male in a Mustsang GT, that if he could make it 2 years without totaling it he'd be financially ahead by not insuring it. So even on a brand new car he just had liability coverage.

With us coming down to 1 daily driver for 2 household members, I'm afraid Hagerty is going to increase my premiums.....

I also have both my trucks insured with Hagerty for what I'm into them (stated value policy)... of course not putting a $ figure into all the hours that went into fixing them and making them the daily driver they are, so definitely under-insured.

I think I'm talking myself into moving my Bronco into my regular insurance policy.... but if I park it outside IT WILL BE stolen.. I just know it. The people around me seem to be classic Bronco, Blazer, and Landcruiser fanatics.... my previous 84 Bronco.. it was almost stolen the day after I sold it to a colleague... it was a Gated apartment complex !

[Danny G]

That's the way it is in the Delaware/Pennsylvania are where we lived. NOTHING runs north/south or east/west, and frequently you'll get on a road that says "North XWZ" and you'll actually be going south as you get on. But if you stay on it long enough you'll eventually get north of where you are.

If you know the roads it is easy to get around, but you have to know the roads. And relying on GPS to get me there doesn't help me learn the roads.

Maybe I'm a lucky millennial lol. I was taught how roads run based on the number and where they are located. IE Odd numbers run N/S and evens run E/W. Given a cross reference you can place yourself anywhere in the US like a grid reference. I40 and I 95 for example would put me half way up the east coast. Where I8 and I5 would put me in the South West.

I got to be the transition generation from Atlas, to map quest, to gps. I also have a really good sense of direction and only need to go someplace once and I am typically good, or as long as I know where it is generally from my position I can find my way there.

Maybe I'm just autistic 😂 but it's like I have a mental map overlay.

I taught my daughter to have an Atlas at all times simply because GPS can fail, and will fail in certain areas of the country. It's as important to have in the car as road flares and first aid kits.