Standing in my mechanic’s office in August of 2006, I laid down the sad story of Fred’s demise, my brother’s misfortune, and my need for a replacement. In his usual way he nodded and started walking out to the lot where he pointed me to a truck that he’d picked up about a year ago from a customer and wouldn’t mind getting rid of it. My Dad chuckled a bit as I walked up starry eyed to the tan and brown 1992 Ford F-150 XLT; it was already pretty clear that I would drive it home despite my insistence on a test drive. While it was a short bed and lacked the 300 six or a manual, from my cursory inspection it was pretty darn good.
“It’s almost like it’s too good for you..” my Dad chuckled as we pulled out on to the test drive and I remarked about the cruise control, automatic transmission, and carpeted interior. In a way it almost was! Where Fred had been honest to the point of being slightly rough around the edges, this F-150 was almost plush. It was quiet, easy to drive, and thanks to a recently rebuilt 302, accelerated without any hassle at all. Not a bit of haggling took place as a check for $2,500 was exchanged for a title and bill of sale. I obviously had to have it.
You know what they say about sequels… but this one defied the odds. Where old Fred was rough around the edges, Dad was right – it was really good. I never thought the XLT interior could be much better than the Custom but I was wrong – it was night and day! Where Fred’s seat was comfortable if a bit stiff, the sequel was like a big comfortable couch – one of the most comfortable I’ve had. Where the big 300 six was torquey, the 302 had been rebuilt recently and improved, making it somewhat of a hot rod. It seemed to like to be kicked in the butt, but at the same time was quiet and comfortable rolling down the highway – almost like a refined, cushy truck.
One spot the sequel was far inferior from the original was in economy. Or rather, the best way to describe this one was a lack thereof. With the AC running driving in town it would get around 10mpg, and never much more than 11 or 12 in the city. On the highway the story wasn’t much better – 15 to 16 was the name of the game, quickly running both tanks dry if you even thought of using the go pedal. For me it didn’t really matter, with the bike as my primary transportation the F-150 was basically recreational – and the next owner would be surprised that I only put 8,000 miles on it in the four years I owned it.
Yet that didn’t stop me from adventure. I started toying with the idea of cycling again over the summer, and one night I threw my bike in the back and went out on some crushed limestone. I was hooked – while not totally relevant to here, of course, I pretty much immediately became addicted to cycling. Storm spotting, fox hunting, hiking, cycling, hauling a boat or just driving to see my girlfriend were no problem at all for it. I started biking to work and then on to my girlfriend’s house after work, which not only benefited my health but also my pocketbook.
Adding to the yin-yang effect, the sequel was as much of a loyal companion as Fred – and more so. While the 302 didn’t score any points for fuel economy, I really enjoyed how easy it was to drive in the country. No thoughts of downshifting when climbing long gravel stretches or timing shifts when hustling, you just pointed and shot. It took me on many a spotter callouts, transmitter hunts, and other adventures. On it’s first hunt, a good friend commented that he knew where I’d turned around by some tire tracks left in the gravel – it was pretty easy to swap directions on gravel by using the right foot with the 302!
A delightfully pink new bike for my daughter..
While I owned it for a short period of time, it transported me to some of my most important events in life. I spoiled it in the last installment, but another thing that happened along with getting married was getting a family. My wife had two kids from a previous relationship and when we got serious I knew it was a package deal – another one of my best decisions ever. Several weeks after purchasing it, my F-150 took my then girlfriend, now wife, and her daughter to her first day of Kindergarten. It helped move us into our first house together, and brought home the kids’ first bikes followed shortly after by transporting me and the kids with our bikes to the trail for our first ride together.
Of course, pretty quickly I realized that buying a regular cab pickup shortly after getting serious with a woman who had two kids might have been a bit of an oversight in my otherwise flawless execution of automotive choices. While it did fine when I needed to pick both kids up from school, if all of us wanted to go somewhere it would require multiple vehicles or just taking my wife’s vehicle. As long as we kept our family size it would work great – I was still riding my bike to work every day, and being only about 4 miles from home it was pretty easy for me to zip home and grab the truck to pick up kids if need be.
Remember those best laid plans? Late in the summer of 2007 we had a new plan – we decided it was time to expand the family and planned for a third child. Of course in the fall after the excitement of the pending new arrival wore off we realized a big oversight – the truck wouldn’t work to transport three kids around. Oops! It went up for sale hopefully in favor of something different, but didn’t get many bites – and then again life intervened. Through a stroke of some odd circumstances I got a lead on a job that turned out to be the best career move I’ve ever made – and am still with. Luck, fate, and work intervened – when we purchased a bigger vehicle the F-150 was given a new lease on life thanks to me taking over my wife’s old car.
A guy who rides his bike to work definitely needs two cars, right? Sure – why not! For three years I kept a car parked at work, rode my bike to and from, and had my pickup at home. It was perfect! When it would snow the car would get swapped for the F-150, and of course I’d still bike in the snow – the truck would take the bike back for the swap. I kept off and on trying to sell it, with not a lot of luck due to rising gas prices and my honesty to potential sellers. I wasn’t the guy who told them “oh yeah, 20mpg is no problem” – nope, I laid it to them honest shattering many a dream.
Speaking of snow, I bucked conventional wisdom that I’d learned while owning Fred and trusted a tire store salesman in the winter of 2007/2008. While they had decent tread, the generic A/T tires on the new truck were dry rotting and way out of balance – they definitely needed replaced. I was set on some BFGoodrich All Terrains but the salesman talked me out of them in favor of Uniroyal Tiger Paw GTSes. Not only would they ride better and be quieter, he told me, but they’d blow me away in snow. With two wheel drive in Nebraska the latter is definitely a concern – so I was on the fence, having been bit by “all purpose” tires once on Fred, but I trusted the guy. Man was I ever glad I did! Not only were they about 40% cheaper than the BFG’s, everything else he said was absolutely true. Nice, quiet, smooth riding with better acceleration and they were downright amazing in the snow.
So I had a pickup for weekend duties and fun – which was pretty awesome. Coincidences happened again in 2008 with another car being acquired, so another car and the F-150 were put up for sale. Sure enough the car sold right away, but I kept the F-150. Nobody was interested with gas prices where they were and I didn’t want to take a complete hit on a great truck with new tires on it. It still got worked, above transporting part of the winter load of firewood home for my Dad in the fall of 2008, something my eldest son thoroughly enjoyed.
Of course my Dad’s F-150 held just a little bit more firewood than mine, and I’ll be honest – I had grown to appreciate that generation of F150 much more as his aged. My wish list for Fred basically expanded with this truck – give me 4×4, a limited slip diff, and more cab room for all the kids and I’d be happy. While at first I was wary of the short bed, I came to appreciate it as it made driving through parking lots and in town much easier all while not seemingly sacrificing much space. Perfection was close.. but in the interim I was enjoying my weekend warrior.
On the weekends it would also transport bikes to the shop, me to Menards, or just whatever I had in store. It was fun just having a truck for fun – one that was paid off, rough around the edges, and that the kids loved riding in. I didn’t care about gas as I filled it up maybe once every two months, and changed the oil twice a year. Even sitting frozen in the cold of January 2010 for a week, one of the harshest winters we’ve had in a long time, it fired right up when it was asked to.
Negative 15 in the shade, or so they said
Oil, fuel, tires, and a new set of plugs were all I did to it in four years of ownership – literally. Yet in May of 2010 circumstances changed and I was about to pick up a new vehicle that I thought would be nirvana. For the fourth time since I bought it, I put it up for sale – ready to take a low ball offer as I needed either it or the obligatory work car gone to make space for the new vehicle. A couple hagglers showed up, but then a really nice guy came to look at it. He told me that he was looking for a truck to get his mowing business off the ground, and really liked mine. Despite a haggler calling me with offers, and people standing right there I gave the mower dude the first shot – and sold it to him for full price. With just over 200,000 miles on it – it was going back to work.
Honestly, even though the replacement was far superior in many ways, I was, and still am at times, sad to see it go. Yet just last year I saw it pulling a trailer full of mowers down the highway, still hard at work even after all those miles. That definitely made me happy and I’m guessing if the truck could talk it would admit happiness too.
So with the truck gone, its replacement was what I thought would be perfection. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait through two installments of the work cars to get there, though. Cars I thought would be terribly boring, but in their blandness I still found tons of character.
Sounds like about the perfect utility vehicle–not needed for every day use, but there when you need it, reliable, paid for, and with a few comforts to boot. I can envision myself searching for a truck like this once I’m a homeowner.
Maybe it’s still in service with the lawn guy, even!
I’m pretty sure he still has it, or that’s what I tell myself! I’d hate to see it at the junkyard because it was in really, really, really good shape. Minimal rust (for Nebraska), ran great, and the interior was in excellent shape. Plus that bed was a great mix of small and handy.
It was sad to see Fred go, but his replacement was Fred’s equal and then some, and he’s still on the job for a happy new owner. I’ve always liked the big old Ford pickups, and if the opportunity came along I’d snap one up.
Looking forward to your next instalment.
I really liked this one, and many times wish I would have kept it even to this day. It was just a perfect mix of honest truck and fun truck – plus what I sold it for, I really didn’t need – I more needed the driveway space. Oh well!
It’s first replacement was pretty good, but you’ll have to wait two weeks through semi-boring commuter cars for that..
My ’95 XL 4×4 essentially had the same cab as yours, and I,too, found it to be quite comfortable – much moreso than the ’99 Super Duty 4×4 that replaced it. Mileage (with the EFI 300) was a consistent 11-12, loaded or not.
Interesting that you mention that for mileage, I never had mileage issues (or complaints) with my 300 six, but this one was a heck of a thirsty truck. I went back through some of my notes on it, and there were a couple weeks before we got our house and I was commuting across town in the winter where I was getting < 10mpg. Yeesh! That said, it was definitely one of the msot comfortable trucks I've had. Maybe even the most, but my current one is pretty fantastic.
I’ve looked for a clean early/mid 90s F 150 like your truck for about a year. 2 things have held me back: fuel economy and would 2WD get me back and forth from Florida to Pennsylvania if it snowed.
As gas continues to get cheaper that takes care of 1 concern and now that I know at least 1 tire company makes a decent “snow use” tire, that takes care of concern number 2.
While I prefer the older F 150s, these look so good…even today, and they “seem” better built than the newer F 150s.
I completely agree on styling. While I’m a bit smitten with the following generation (’97-04), I still think the ’92-96 was the pinnacle of styling for them. I’d love to get another one, I have my eyes half-peeled for a ’92-’96 Lightning. Someday..
As far as snow, I got through a LOT with this one, even moreso than my previous ’92 with AT tires. It wasn’t perfect, but there was one freak storm I got caught in out in the county that I thought I’d be sleeping in my truck, but it pulled right through.
I have the approximate equivalent to your truck – a 2003 Chevy regular cab, short-box pickup with the 4.8 liter V8. Nice truck, doesn’t get a lot of miles put on it, but is always there when I need it for dump runs, loading and unloading my wife’s craft show booth, and as my wheels on those rare occasions when we’re both headed out someplace.
I have a good friend with what sounds like exactly the same Chevy as yours, he ordered exactly what he wanted brand new and has kept it for a couple hundred thousand miles without any plans of getting rid of it.
Sometimes I get some gruff about my vehicular choices, but hey, I figure keeping an old pickup out of the salvage yard while riding my bike to average my commute fuel economy out works. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.. but I do know one thing for a fact – I’ll always have a pickup truck.
Like you I married a woman with kids, six of them. The youngest was 21 and if you think being a parent stops then you may change your mind later. At the time I had a similar appearing Ford with tool boxes. They are pretty good at earning a living.
What’s best about these is that they’ll break in annoying ways – but critical failures seem to be pretty avoidable unlike some of the latter models with the spitting spark plugs and cam phasers.
I also have no delusions of parenthood ending anytime soon… 🙂
Surley Long Haul Trucker, with bar end shifters. Somebody’s serious about riding distance.
I love that bike, I’ve had it since about a week after my youngest son was born – so almost 7 years now. I use it for everything – commuting, fun rides, group rides, and gravel centuries. I’m sure there are better precision tools for those jobs, but man.. it’s just a comfortable good overall bike. I could go on for hours about it, but I probably have 30-40,000 miles on it so I think that pretty much summarizes it.
Another good COAL, Mr. Dinger! So I’m not the only one who frequents this website and rides a bike to/from work? Interesting. And I must agree with Syke here– I’ve got a Surly Long Haul Trucker myself. I have seven bikes in my stable, but the Surly is the one I ride 95% of the time for my daily commute. If it snows, I switch to a mountain bike with studded tires, but that doesn’t happen too often here in Seattle…
Sounds like your truck didn’t want to leave. But at least it went to a good home. I’m enjoying this series, though I’m not exactly a truck guy, I can relate to loving a cushy ride with V8 power. That’s why I got my Town Car.
Oh, and Save Big Money At Menards! 🙂
These are wonderful pickups. My grandfather is 90 and is still occasionally driving the ’92 F150 he purchased new. It only has around 70,000 miles and other than always sitting outside has had an easier than average life. The 302 is a very good engine for these; my experiences with the 300 aren’t as positive as yours.
I am going to guess your current pickup is either a newer crew cab or an older 3/4 ton. Right now, anything else just doesn’t seem to fit.
I had one of these. Ideal set up – 300 six and five speed (Mazda made) manual.
I bought it new. It was a ’93. At the particular time I needed a new vehicle quickly and cheap. The SWB F-150 was one of two advertised in the Chicago Tribune Sunday cars section at a Ford dealer in Elgin for $9,999. It was a total bottom of the line stripper but attractive in Oxford white with red vinyl interior. No radio. No rear bumper. Of course no air. Blackwalls and dog dishes. Perfect. On the lot there was a black one and the white one and I went with white.
Wish they still made very basic work trucks like this. I lived in a Volvo/Audi neighborhood and I felt just great driving such a vehicle there. It looked even better with the tailgate removed.
It served well for my purposes and I liked it enough to buy another SWB, RWD F-150 four years later.
Elgin. My first post Navy job was to head up security at a mall there. Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee. Rented a small apartment in Elgin. Haven’t heard the name in a long time unless someone was talking about a watch.
The ’92 is a nice “pickup” standard cab, short bed, 2 wheel drive. Way better than the stended cabs and crew cabs of today, but still two new for me. I’m sure it has fuel injection, which is controlled by a computer, and if I’m going to buy an older vehicle, it would be pre computer. Too many very expensive things to go wrong.
Not a fan of the “new” Fords at all. Back when I was growing up, a Ford pickup looked like, well, a Ford pickup. It seems they didn’t change very much from the mid ’60s all the way up to when the completely new bodystyle came out. And they dropped the Twin I Beam front suspension, something I always like about Ford trucks. Much tougher than the control arm front suspension of Dodge and Chevy, and no caster or camber to deal with.
Fellow cyclist here as well – a well-used and maintained Norco Bush Pilot. With a desk job, I need the exercise, and I get half an hour back and forth to work every day, plus errands and the odd pleasure ride. I bike all year round – taking the streetcar on rainy or snowy days.