Everybody has their kindred automotive spirit. Of the various cars and pickups I have owned over the years, long ago I concluded this quad-toned Dodge pickup must have been mine. Everything about it was just so right.
Yet another thought occurs…if this lovable, quad-toned Dodge truly was my kindred automotive spirit, what does that say about me?
There is a lot to unpack with that somewhat rhetorical question.
Well, perhaps I should start by saying this old Dodge was first covered ten years ago. The specifics of it all can be found there. This Dodge truly was the best $400 I have ever spent. But, as with most things, there is often a touch more to the story, especially having had a decade to ruminate on it.
This Dodge came into my life when I was 34 years old. By that point, Spring 2007, Marie and I had been married for nearly nine years and we had a five year-old child. We had just moved across the state from St. Joseph to Hannibal in late 2006 and life seemed to have regained a degree of normalcy after my abdominal surgery earlier that spring.
But first let’s take a quick diversion to discuss Hannibal, similar to what we’ve done with Cape Girardeau and St. Joseph.
A statue of Tom and Huck at the base of Cardiff Hill, peering over the downtown river front. From wikipedia
Located 100 miles northwest of St. Louis and 100 miles west of Springfield, Illinois, Hannibal has a population of only 17,312 according to the 2020 Census. The largest town on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River for many miles, Hannibal is a destination for tourists from around the planet and is still best known for being the hometown of, and setting for, native Mark Twain and his novel Tom Sawyer.
However, Hannibal’s aura and influence extends beyond the obvious.
In addition to Twain, Hannibal has an abundance of other notable natives including Margaret Brown, better known as The Unsinkable Molly Brown who survived the Titanic’s little mishap. William Lear, he of the Lear Jet and development of the 8-Track, was born in Hannibal. George Poage, the first African-American to win an Olympic medal, was born in Hannibal and earned his two bronze metals at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis.
A highly historic yet easily forgotten event also happened in Hannibal with a Hannibal native. Marie Ruoff Byrum was the first woman to vote in a candidate election in the United States after ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. Byrum cast her vote four days after the amendment was ratified. Another Hannibal lady voted exactly one minute later.
Local cement production provided material for the construction of both the Panama Canal and the Empire State Building. Hannibal is truly a remarkable town whose diminutive size is quickly forgotten when considering its legacy.
I had been hoping to find myself an old pickup for a while. When the optimism faded is when Marie found the ad in the newspaper. The City of Vandalia had a 1987 Dodge Ram 250 flatbed for sale. After inspecting it, I agreed to buy it if they would fix a leaking rubber fuel line. We didn’t even haggle on the price.
The 360 cubic inch (5.9 liter) V8 nestled under the hood was simply icing on the cake. The day after being purchased I found a bed and rear bumper for $125 all in; a coworker and I removed the flatbed, installed the regular bed, and it looked so much better. Plus I recouped $40 when scrapping the old flatbed. That Dodge was rather an eyesore with that miserable looking flatbed as it was rusted and the wood floor was rotting.
By this point, my newfound pride was not about having scored a cheap, reliable old pickup. Rather, it was what the acquisition of this pickup represented – Marie and I were now fully self-sufficient.
Granted, Marie and I had been independent and mostly self-sufficient for a rather long time, but everyone has instances in which they simply need to haul something. Our frequency is perhaps heavier than normal and hauling anything of any size with either of our sedans was simply not realistic. We have not lived near family in over twenty years so the luxury of borrowing a pickup from them or getting assistance from them is not a reality for us.
Looking back at my time at CC, there is no denying my sporadically being an apologist for pickup ownership, perhaps even stoking the flames a time or ten. The reason for being an apologist is, after much introspection, how this self-propelled tool uniquely represents an independent, self-reliant mindset (at least to me) and I’ve (likely ineffectively) tried to make that point. It’s rather doubtful I am alone in this mindset but sometimes we just don’t articulate thoughts as well as we can at other times.
Currently, we live on two acres that is half covered with all manner of insidious and invasive vegetation with the other half having abundant trees. It seems cutting brush has been a hobby of mine for nearly seven years now as I am constantly picking up fallen branches, trimming trees, or trying to eradicate the invasive stuff. Burning is frowned upon due to being within the city limits so brush needs to be hauled off. Marie would not appreciate my throwing all manner of brush into the back of our effervescent Ford Econoline van.
My plans for this summer also included some landscaping in the front yard which necessitates dirt, brick, and decorative rock. Buying in bulk is the more advantageous route to go given the needed quantities, so loading my material will involve a loader or skid-steer. While some prefer using a van to haul their whatever, one of the great unsolved mysteries of modern life is how to dump material out of a loader bucket into a van.
I’m a do-it-myself type of guy; one always has to have the right tool for the job. For my use case a pickup is the way to go. Plus, the $400 I spent for this old Dodge was cheaper and infinitely more versatile than a new utility trailer.
This Dodge was the perfect tool for all the various tasks facing me when we lived in Hannibal. Replacing the carpet in three bedrooms and a hallway with laminate? Yep; I hauled the laminate home and then hauled all that nasty old carpet and crumbling pad off for disposal.
That brings up a story, especially since there was just mention of burning things…
After all the carpet and pad was pulled up (the pad was so deteriorated and crumbly in my daughter’s bedroom it took a scoop shovel to remove it), a coworker and I hauled the mess out to a desolate camping area on the banks of the Mississippi River. This campsite was closer than the landfill and disposal cost me nothing since we burned it. That carpet was likely thirty years old, as that was the age of the house at the time, and it made a terrific sized pile.
We stacked it up in an area that had a mild depression in ground level.
Figuring our fire might need a little help getting started, I dumped kerosene on the pile before lighting a match. A second match was unnecessary as kerosene makes a wonderful starter for a carpet fire. However, I have always wondered if the kerosene was really needed given how well that carpet and pad took off burning. The flames shot high and the black smoke was rolling.
Just as the flames had gathered their mojo, a gust of wind hit and flames shot horizontally. Thankfully, they shot toward the river and all we had to do was squash some of the peripheral flareups of flame. The flames also (thankfully) avoided the trees on that dry, cold January day.
Some experiences you only want to have once. However, this endeavor did offer a few learning opportunities, such as…
- Always pay attention to forecasts for wind speed. We didn’t.
- Carpet is like the dirt from digging a hole; it seems to grow in volume once dislodged.
- Carpet padding gets even nastier than does the carpet. Don’t position yourself to inhale its noxiousness.
- Always have kerosene on hand. It’s like insurance; if you have some, you’ll never need it.
- I may be permanently out of the running for any environmental awards after disclosing this sordid tale.
Having that Dodge also gave me the ability to immediately address urgent items, such as a large safety concern Marie discovered. Our house in Hannibal had several brick pillars on the back patio which she had discovered were not well secured to the concrete. This was on a Thursday. Two days later, on Saturday, a citywide cleanup was being held with people at the disposal site to help unload whatever trash you wanted to purge from your life.
Some cathartic swinging of a remarkably ergonomic sledgehammer let me rid myself of these columns. Marie and I had been rather concerned about these unstable columns falling on our daughter or one of her friends. After about twenty minutes the pickup bed was full and half the columns were hauled off.
Upon returning to dispose of the other half of my bricks, the people at the dump site all quickly found something else to do when I pulled back in. As colorful as that Dodge was, there was no confusing it with any other old Dodge.
This wonderful old Dodge was a 3/4 ton, a classification which is a throwback to days long ago, with a gross vehicle weight of around 8,000 pounds. In other words, I didn’t have to prematurely worry about overloading it. Even if I had (and that first load of bricks had it squatting a fair amount), it wasn’t like it was hurting anything. That Dodge was accustomed to such things.
In the automotive pantheon, this wonderful old Dodge basked in its rarified and rightful status among the bold and the beautiful. Truly, it was bold in its abilities and beautiful in its unparalleled utility.
To answer my rhetorical question from the opening of this piece is difficult. This Dodge was like me in being honest and highly unpretentious. We are also minimally concerned about what people think – besides, what you are thinking is not my business. Further, the various setbacks we have been dealt in life may affect our physical appearance, but we are resilient and keep going.
Even better was this old Dodge was profoundly comfortable, sat just right, and it was like an old dog in effectively yet nonverbally telling you of any ailments.
One of the true mysteries in life is why Dodge didn’t sell more pickups than they did during the 1980s. I’ve driven Ford and Chevrolet pickups from the 1980s – the Dodges weren’t any more dated in appearance than the square body Chevrolets, drove better, were more rust resistant, had similar build quality, and were stouter. The Dodge had drivetrains that weren’t nearly as strangled as what Ford had on offer.
These truly were the best pickups of the 1980s.
That Dodge also spoiled me. When one is able to easily take care of whatever business presents itself, suddenly not being able to do so is a situation in which it is hard to acclimate. My parting ways with it was voluntary as the bold and beautiful old Dodge was getting a case of cancer in its undercarriage (you can see part of my high-quality patch panel in the above picture), thus I sold it. Dr. Jason did not care to perform a cab-ectomy.
Having such utility at my disposal, only for it to disappear, was akin to trying to run a marathon while breathing through a straw and having your ankles cuffed together. It was really tough.
But my timing was right. We were about to move (again) and while having the Dodge’s utility was phenomenal, its replacement was something that much better fit the huge need that was about to present itself.
(Author’s Note: The Bold and The Beautiful premiered on CBS March 23, 1987, and new episodes are still broadcast daily.)
I really must live in some bizarro world, where my Ford Tauruses provide years and thousands upon thousands of miles of good service (250k+ on the current, original drivetrain, not the highest I’ve achieved), and the low mileage, old-man-cared-for 1986 Ram I drove extensively was a total pig with a gutless 360 that used more gas than the 460-equipped Ford that replaced it. It was certainly no better than a square body, much less the GMT400s or the Fords of the era, quite the opposite.
The only redeeming quality these trucks had was that unbeatable Cummins engine offered later in life. Too bad you had to put up with a decades old truck to get it.
You are such a ray of sunshine this morning. 🙂
From what you say, I would love to know further details. Getting that many miles from a Taurus is quite admirable given how transmissions and head gaskets sometimes exert their influence.
What weight-rating was the Dodge? The “old man cared for” part could have been a factor as I’ve often seen how old men (don’t) maintain their vehicles.
What weight rating was the Ford?
I pulled well over 6000 lbs with this Dodge, in hilly terrain, and for long distances. It did great.
While I never claimed these were cutting edge, what specifically about these Dodges relegated them to having no redeeming qualities if not equipped with a Cummins? For what it’s worth I have not seen one of these with a Cummins in a few years, but still see gas powered examples nearly daily. Ford and GM pickups of the same vintage as this Dodge are remarkably scarce.
What can you tell us? Enquiring minds want to know!
John; when someone uses the name of a specific car in their online name, and endlessly extols its vast superiority while putting down just about everything else, it destroys ones credibility, never mind the desire to read their comments. We’re grownups here, and we have come to recognize that cars don’t all fall into the convenient little boxes of either crap or perfection. They pretty much all fall somewhere in between.
But I do agree with you that you must live in some “bizarro world”. It’s clearly not the one the rest of us live in.
John, I work in the auto wrecking and salvage business, and it’s been common knowledge that Ford Tauruses and Mercury Sables all have a defective transmission that goes out, sometimes within 10,000 miles from new. I talked with a automative transmission expert, and he said there’s a part or parts that were poorly designed and under engineered that fail. He does say that better parts are available to upgrade the transmission. I also am familiar with the reputation of Chrysler small blocks allways being economical, and Ford 460’s always being gas hogs.
This same guy was just on The Drive griping about how terrible 1st-gen 4Runners were, and how the 22re is overrated because his overheated slightly and cracked the block at 120k miles.
Take his opinion for what it’s worth.
I maintain an unrequited desire for one of these. I am not sure I would want the 3/4 ton (I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t, based on my most likely use case) and the 318 would probably be sufficient. But this very last version of Mopar’s fuselage era has kept my attention for many years.
The problem in my area is that they are rusters – I am not sure I would elevate them much above the square Chevys. I recall seeing one years ago with the roof panel flapping in the wind from being completely separated from the windshield header because of rust.
I would prefer these to the 1980s Fords because of three letters – AOD. Actually, I think a farmer 4 speed would be my choice. But I could see where one of these would fit your life very nicely.
That 3/4 ton was delightful overkill for my purposes, but it also removed any concern about overloading it. The only buzzkill on that pickup was it being geared so low – 45 was its happy spot and had to be coaxed beyond that with 55 creating some respectable engine rpms.
The rust thing is weird…you are in a rustier area than me, so I can see where it may equalize the problem among brands. On the flip side there are still oodles of these gas powered half-ton Dodges floating around in these parts and beyond the typical above-the-rear-wheel-arch rust, they appear to be remarkably resistant to the tin worm.
Any Ford from this era would need a 351 and a manual transmission.
Good read as always Jason. I too am a DIYer that lives on a similar size property in the country and a pickup is an invaluable tool. I live in a rustier area than you and JPC, but my experience is much the same as JPC. These Dodges weren’t much more, if at all, rust resistant than the 81-87 GM trucks (the 73-80s seemed to the least rust resistant of the bunch). Over time, the Dodges became the thinnest on the ground, but they also were sold in the least numbers. I too saw the phenomenon that for a while the only old Dodge pickups were the Cummins powered trucks. Oddly, today I hardly ever see the old Cummins Dodges, but I see more old 80s era gas Dodge trucks than I used to 10 years ago. Maybe they are old enough today that people are starting to fix them up. I still see more old Fords and GMs trucks running about, but like I said they were sold in bigger numbers.
Something utterly anecdotal…just went to the paint store and back, about 4 miles round trip. On the way I saw an early ’80s half ton that sounded like a slant six as it went by. Then, I saw a ’91 to ’93 one ton (with a Cummins!) driven by a very young guy pulling a trailer with a tool shed on it.
No Ford or GM examples. Really, I think this area has cloistered these old Dodges for some reason, but that’s okay.
self-propelled tool uniquely represents an independent, self-reliant mindset … sometimes we just don’t articulate thoughts as well as we can at other times… .
Well articulated Mr. Shafer.
Being able to carry tree debris, leaves, dirt, mulch, landscaping stuff, hurricane windfall, new shrubs and baby trees (root balls are heavy) and other people’s stuff gives me a nice sense of independence, self-reliance, and neighborly volunteerism after years of trying to do the same with the small and light duty PT Cruiser. I view the scratches and dents near and around the Tacoma’s bed area as badges of (manly?) honor in the world of self-reliant people.
An added bonus is that with a bed full of snow and 4WD, it is very good in the snow. But, getting the snow out of the bed so I can carry the branches that were broken by the snow, well, that’s another story.
I look forward to your COAL every Saturday.
Thank you. I had been somewhat worried this series had fallen into a rut given my aim to present them in chronological order of acquisition and then having a run of Crown Vics. We are done with those!
Deep down I think many people don’t like having to depend upon others and for a variety of reasons. Case in point is our attempts over the last few months to hire people for some home improvements, including painting the exterior of the house (about 2/3 brick and 1/3 masonite siding, a problem unto itself). After so many failures of people to call back, my wife has decided to start painting the front of the house this week. We are tired of the runaround from depending upon others and are moving forward independently.
This is the same thought process I mentioned in the piece. Our desire for independence (or not relying upon others, depending upon perspective) stems from many factors so we have actively put ourselves in a position to rely upon others as little as possible.
It gets tougher. Having just turned fifty I can tell some subtle changes in my abilities and I also know that it is not going to get better. However, given the longevity of my grandparents I am just now middle-aged, so I think I’m doing okay in the big scheme of things – just as long as I can still do basic things into my 90s like they did, I’ll be a happy camper.
We had our house’s exterior painted last year – I think that four-week ordeal took about 5 years off of my life. If you’re able to do it yourselves, that’s probably the better choice.
I painted out house in St. Joseph – four times. Granted that was two coats of primer and two coats of paint, but still. It was all siding, no brick.
But that also took time off my life. We’ll see how this plays out.
Another excellent COAL chapter Jason, thank you. Great to see you consistently pursue cars (and trucks), to satisfy your own calling, and tastes. Not to impress others. Dodge pickups from the early 70s to the early 90s, attracted a dedicated following of owners, that didn’t follow the ‘herd’. They always caught my eye, because of their relative rarity, compared to Ford and Chev pickups.
Just an anecdotal observation, but I’ve probably seen more pre-’94 flatbed Dodges than either of the two other brands. Likely, because the early beds on these were more rust prone.
Upon seeing the pics of your Dodge, the colour break between the cab and bed, looked very familiar. But I didn’t place it at first. Then it clicked. Bell Canada’s mid 80s fleet featured Dodge pickups and vans, and a similarly unique colour scheme. Their cabs were silver. And their beds dark blue. Different, for sure. The colour break looked much like your pickup. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a sample on the web. Dodge trucks and vans were very popular with fleets during this era. And remember them well, in the livery of various businesses, and utility companies.
These were burly looking trucks in 3/4 form. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you. I figure that what others think of me is not my business (and vice versa) so that makes self-satisfaction easier to attain.
The Bell Canada fleet colors are definitely unique. The cab on this one was a pale green of sorts, the driver’s door was white (I had a spare and the original door had rust), and the bed was a gray/silver from a ’93 3/4 ton. It all bolted right up.
Fuel mileage was nothing stellar but it was not hugely affected by load. Pulling an empty car trailer netted Not So Great. With a 1963 Ford Galaxie on the trailer, the mileage was Not So Great – 0.3 mpg. Not many can do that.
I really like this truck.
I have sparred with several people, particularly cannuck regarding the capability and cost per mile of the new diesel trucks we use for our small company. Anyway, to that end, I recently decided to use the elevated trade in prices to cull the herd of my least needed least favorites. That went particularly well, especially because I’m OCD about our fleet and keep them looking new.
After this cleanup I had a couple holes in the lineup and cash in my pocket. A friend offered me a mechanically stock and sound but physically rough 96 f250. Long story short, I’ve fallen in love with it. Not only do I enjoy driving the 5 speed with the windows down, I love the freedom the condition of the truck offers. None of the aforementioned OCD about condition and trade in values. And its easy to wrench on. Freedom.
Love it Jason. Nice truck.
Thank you. Your F-250 looks to be in quite good physical condition, at least from what you’ve shown us. Good color, also.
It is indeed freedom to not worry about condition. If I were I never would have had four paint colors on this Dodge nor would I have ever hauled bricks in an unprotected bed.
Even better, I sold it for $900, some 2.25 times more than I paid for it.
Stay tuned as there is a surprise you might like running in a few weeks.
Manual transmission ‘90s full size pickups are not particularly common, but they can raise the driving experience. As these trucks are, by virtue of their size and specification, rather lumbering beasts, the manual transmission gives a great deal of driver involvement generally, and also additional load/towing flexibility in hilly areas. Like full size truck ownership generally, which is hard to explain to someone without the need for one or experience with one, the manual transmission really ups the full size truck game, IMO. Four or five on the floor likely beats three on the tree (I can’t speak to that), and it isn’t ideal for constant stop-and-go situations, but otherwise it makes for a truck that is really easy to love to drive.
I like the truck as well. My pet theory as to why you (me as well) see so many still around is that I think many of the Ford and GM trucks were sold to those seeking the latest and greatest but the Dodges sold to those seeking better value, or at least a lower price, perhaps often older “more mature” people. The Dodge is rarely pimped out or dressed up, whereas the Ford and Chevy got all that. This all then results in less miles driven, perhaps longer period of original ownership with an eye to protecting the “investment”. And here we are 30-40 years later with the payoff. All of that changed with the 1994 where all of a sudden the Dodge was the new hotness for once.
I think you are onto something with that theory. It’s got me to wondering if one day soon my father’s ’98 Dodge will be a rarity as it’s a one-owner regular cab with 2wd. Never pimped out, not really maintained (it’s that old man cared for thing), and less annual usage.
There is a YouTube channel called “Jason Explains Things”. He’s located in Washington state and has a really sharp ’87 Dodge half-ton. It’s red/white with a 360 but a manual transmission. While I don’t know the history of it, I suspect it was purchased by one seeking value and fortitude, which it certainly provided.
Definitely no ruts in this COAL. Each week brings another story that offers a variety of new insights and a wealth of connections.
I share all of your feelings about the utility of a pickup that does not have to be cared for – at least appearance-wise – as one would a daily driver (or really, any car IMO). In my case, we started out years and years ago with pickups as that was what my wife drove in college and in the relatively early married years. Hers had a cap as she had intended to be able to sleep in it…well, that was ripped off of it when I installed a new bed to take care of the bed that was literally turning into brownish-red dust. After that, we had exactly what you describe…a vehicle that could carry pretty much whatever junk we wanted to toss in, yards (in all senses of the word) of mulch, fill dirt, gravel, etc. It was truly a wonderful thing to have. In our case, the two such trucks we had were long-bed Chevy Luvs (Isuzus), but in fact I always wanted exactly what you had. One purchased as a former institutional vehicle would be perfect, and I’d have left it in quad-tone mode as well.
Rust eventually killed our 2nd Luv and for some reason I cannot fully recall it was decided to replace it with a more conventional although far less useful vehicle (that turned out to be another Isuzu…a Trooper). That was fine, but to this day I still find some reason every few weeks to feel that I NEED a beater pickup. Someday….
Thank you.
In Jason’s Ideal World I would have myself a new pickup, having even built a few virtual ones on websites. However, having one would utterly ruin the freedom a pickup such as this offers. Coming back from the paint store and a can ruptures in the bed? Who cares? Drop your 72 ounce fountain soda on the seat and floor? Who cares? Get too rambunctious in throwing bricks in the bed and one bounces off the roof? Who cares?
Your institutional vehicle statement reminds me…the son of a coworker is about 17 or 18 and a while back purchased two circa 1980 Dodge pickups from a university. Both are well used and he is refurbishing them both. In the process, he was elated to discover they have sequential VINs. They are like twins, having always been together.
You do need a beater pickup, but not one from your part of the world. You need something from a more temperate climate. Let me know and I can help you find one here where Mother Nature isn’t as mean spirited in the winter.
I may well take you up on that. And then I can bring it back here and see which one lasts longer, me or the truck 🙂
Otoh, warming winters and less snow here may be a boon for keeping old vehicles on the road longer. So says Mr. Glass Half Full.
Great story about your coworker’s son. That’s exactly how I would feel too, about they being twins.
I can certainly relate to your desires to be more self-sufficient and how an old beater pickup helps to facilitate that. Been doing that in my ’66 F-100 since 1987. And it’s sitting in the driveway right now, with a load of trimmings from the garden. After I dump that this morning, it will haul a washer back to one of my rentals.
Yes, getting contractors these days is a serious problem. I’d love to find someone to paint my rentals, but realistically, it’s going to be me. So much for “retirement”.
I have fond memories of the 360 in my Dodge Chinook. It’s pretty much the polar opposite of the Pentastar 3.6 in my Promaster. For better and for worse.
The contractor thing is indeed a problem. Two have come to inspect things for an estimate then never followed up. Several just don’t even return calls; others simply didn’t listen to what we had to say.
In turn, we have began to do things ourselves. A desired mini split heat pump in a cantilevered sunroom morphed into replacing the existing, and dead, through-the-wall a/c unit. I did that myself, saving over $4k in the process. We took half of that and ordered some furniture – which is 12 to 15 weeks out.
We will likely be painting the exterior of the house. Thankfully very little will require being on a ladder. The living room needs paint also, which I envision us also doing ourselves.
As for pickups, I will likely be using my current one to haul off the old a/c unit this weekend. And hauling my tinted paint so a spill won’t hurt anything.
You did your own mini split install? Good for you. After watching a contractor do the first one on a rental, I’ve done about ten or so myself.
Did you buy a vacuum pump and manifold? Or?
I came painfully close to doing a mini-split but opted to do another through-the-wall unit. It prevented having to plug that large hole and procuring matching siding, which could have become a real pain.
That said, some brands of mini-split don’t require manifolds when installing – which intrigued me greatly.
Overall, price is what got me. Quote for a Mitsubishi was $4750, and a Fujitsu was over $5k. This for a 225 square foot sunroom that was added onto the house at some point. It was that or $750 for another through-the-wall unit.
Whoa. Were those installed prices, I hope? I pay less than $1k for one that size, at Amazon. It’s not one of those brands, but they’ve been good.
But I see where that made sense to just replace the wall unit if you’re not equipped to do your own install. That’s where most of the cost is for mini splits.
Yes, that was an installed price for a 9000 BTU unit. I was able to talk one guy down, but only around $250. He said the install would be easy as I had 220 service right there and there was nothing challenging directly below where it would have been placed. But still pricey.
Shopping around I found a Mr. Kool (that did not require manifolds or vacuum gauges) for around $1500; other brands are certainly less.
We certainly haven’t ruled out getting one but with so many other things coming due right now we opted to wait a year or so.
I’m having the same issues with contractors here, I need a not huge amount of concrete flatwork at a rental and the first guy was all set and then went completely blank. Second guy I’m still awaiting on a quote, it’s been a few weeks, he’s working on it…
I’m seriously considering adding a semi-professional handyman business to the side-giggery. The sums people seem to charge for what are simple projects if one has the tools seem staggering. Just show up and call back and you’re already 90% ahead of everyone else.
And the minisplit is intriguing, I’m considering one for one of the Laramie houses as even temps up there are increasing in the summer although winters are still bitterly cold. I may though need someone to upgrade the electrical panel(s) though in that case…now with Paul AND you experienced that helps too when the time comes.
LR paint? Absolutely DIY, just need a good roller frame, a 3foot extension, and some good rollers along with a dropcloth. $40 in materials that’ll last a long time and make the work FAR more pleasant. Wooster frames and extensions are great, and Purdy White Dove 3/8″ nap rollers will put a great finish on the wall if it’s smooth or lightly textured. The same materials work for the exterior, that’s 90% prep and paint quality. Your house is a few weekends if both of you help each other. Just split it up into sides of the house as distinct smaller “goals” and you’ll be pleasantly surprised rather than thinking it’s a huge project.
Well, once again CC has provided useful advice that has relatively little to do with cars. I wasn’t familiar with the term “mini-split”, and now (after some research) I am. And actually it’s pretty much exactly what I need to be looking at for my house, which was built before traditional central air became common in New England houses. I’m getting too old and too sick of moving the frickin’ window ac units…plus someday if I ever want to sell this place, I’ll need some sort of air conditioning system installed since that’s what people have come to expect in current times. Not to mention that I’ll not be wanting to install another oil-fueled furnace in this house (hydronic heat now). Maybe a mini-split geothermal (neighbors are all installing these) heat pump. Hummmm.
You will want to do a mini-split. I still do. There are many brands right now but it appears Mitsubishi and Fujitsu are the top rated ones – but you’ll want to check for yourself.
Better is their efficiency. The Mitsubishi we priced had a SEER rating of over 30 – higher, really, but I don’t want to overstate it.
Also, they are quiet, like 40 dB. No window unit can touch that.
I wash my truck once a year, whether or not it needs it 🙂
Great story, Jason.
Thanks. You had me beat for frequency of washing. On that pickup, that is why there is rain.
Sometimes when I am watering the plants, a truck gets a quick squirt, if things are looking very untidy, in our parched neck of the woods. Drive it around the block to dry it off a bit, if it seems necessary. Truck ownership seems to have more leeway in such things.
After a certain age, the make is not really important. Every manufacturer made some real clunkers. They also made the occasional truck where manufacturing tolerances, past use and the moon being in the 7th house lined up to produce a really excellent unit. Once natural selection has thinned the herd, chances of getting one of those best of the breed examples greatly improves.
Looks like your Frankentruck was one of the good ones.
For hauling in Mizzou, a tailgate is probably unnecessary. Here an old pickup often doubles as an Arkansas convertible. You’d want a tailgate for that. Too bad they are usually the first part of any truck to rust away to nothing.
If all those kids are yours, you’ve been a busy guy!
That is a sweet Dodge. I’m guessing it has a 360. It is the same color as my father’s ’98.
On the old Dodge featured today, not having a tailgate was a rather nice feature. But I certainly enjoyed having one on my next pickup.
LOL. Nephew driving, wife in back, 4 of the kids are his, the rest friends. My only part in this was loaning him the truck. This was an old BLM (Bureau of Land Management) truck I picked up at a government auction.
Being the last year of this generation, the truck may have been built out using whatever left over parts Chrysler wanted to get rid of. Can’t think of any other reason why the government would get the engine that was actually in this truck.
Arkansas convertible? Got it.
Pickups in GA used to be called Georgia Cadillacs. Nowadays, with the price of light trucks when equipped with gear costing as much as Cadillacs – that old moniker is more to the truth these days.
Another terrific entry and view into the world of Shaferdom. Given what you’ve written about your Type A tendencies, it makes complete sense that you had a pickup like this Dodge to handle things yourself. It’s great to revisit this Dodge. And yes, I do not envy the task of digging up and disposing of funky carpet and funkier pad.
We are very anti carpet at our house; it is so easy for it to get so funky. The cantilevered sunroom mentioned above is carpeted as is one small area downstairs. Everything else is either wood, tile, or bare concrete (basement).
Last year we had a bunch of carpet ripped out and replaced with wood. In a way I was unhappy about it as I wanted the thrill of hauling that garbage off and dumping (burning?) it.
I am passively a bit anti-carpet, but the Mrs. is definitely in the pro-carpet camp. Our house has lots of carpet 🙂
Back in the late 1980s, I thought of Dodge pickups were like Wrangler jeans. Other brands may have been more fashionable, updated more often and more reflective of recent trends. But for those who had actual work to do, Rams (or Wranglers) were the go-to choice. Maybe that’s why it seemed as if Dodges were the local-government pickup of choice in those years (just my observation… not sure if that was really the case).
In fact, this truck reminds me of a similar-vintage Ram that a co-worker of mine purchased from a small city fleet. His truck had some sort of hydraulic lifting bed, and he thought he could sell the bad alone for more than his purchase price. However, he liked the truck enough that he just kept it, bed and all.
And (randomly) on the subject of Missouri natives, while researching an article on a Mercury, I learned that former Ford Executive VP Paul Lorenz (who was fired by Iacocca in the late ’70s) was a St. Joe native. Just a random thought there.
On the subject of burning rubbish, we used to burn trash quite a bit at my in-laws’ place. The worst thing I’d ever burned was a stack of styrofoam boxes. Ick.
Interesting you say that. This afternoon I bought a pair of Wranglers at the hardware store. I tend to have better luck with clothing from hardware stores than from other venues. If I had a Dodge truck I might have even driven it there.
After that carpet escapade, I am choosy on what I burn. Mostly it has been yard waste but that’s getting to be too much.
I don’t think one can happily give up owning such a truck, once one has had the first-hand experience of the versatility of the thing. This is especially true if one is doing all sorts of brush clearing, towing of trailers for whatever reason, or doing constant big DIY projects around the home.
I think there is a happy medium between a truck that is run down and beat up, and one that is new. The first can be undependable, and the second is too vulnerable to the “first” inevitable dents and scrapes.
People who don’t have good uses for such a vehicle, or don’t have the first hand experience of ownership and the versatility, just don’t “get it”. That said, I don’t DD my trucks any more, due to the fuel inefficiency of them. I save them for when I need their capabilities, and I don’t drive a truck with an empty bed around much any more (my wife and I split and coordinate our driving with her Honda).
I think one can pick his favorite year, make, model, and features, and do fine. As the TV character says, “it’s all good, man!” (Saul Goodman). The defense of particular brands and drivetrains, one to another, don’t really count with trucks. Especially as people have various needs for capacity, as to size or weight of cargo or towing. And with used ones, unless you are the original owner, it’s all about finding a good candidate for purchase, as these things can be violently abused and chronically overloaded (to the detriment of the long term reliability of the drivetrain). It looks like you got a “good one”, Jason. I would have been tempted to keep the flatbed and make removable stake sides for it, just because. But maybe that would be a bit too “agricultural”.
Selling this Dodge was tough. Seeing it go down the street with its new owner almost brought a lump to my throat – and I’m not generally that type of guy.
You are correct on those not having a need not getting it. It is an invaluable tool for many people and there isn’t any real palatable substitute.
I DD’d this Dodge but work was only like 3 miles away, so fuel economy (or lack thereof) wasn’t really a thing. I only got gas like once per month, if that.
There is a sweet spot in age, condition, and mileage. And, if I were to ever buy a new pickup, I would likely feel constrained from treating it with kid gloves.
That must have been my problem – when I owned my truck I didn’t have any real use for it at all, so it was really just a plaything. And as a plaything it just wasn’t that good at its job. Maybe my truck relationship could have been different if I had bought it 5 or 10 years later than I did.
I had a 1982 D-350 rack body dump. It was bought well used for cheap and sold off for a little less. 360 4 bbl, low geared 4 speed, it was a beast. I bought it for a select few projects and it performed well but the gas mileage was awful. The speedometer quit at 180,000 miles so I couldn’t asses mileage accurately but if it got more than 7 mpg I’d be surprised. One thing to keep in mind is that so many of the old Chevys and Fords that are considered to be survivors and only made it because of the aftermarket sheet metal available for them. I never saw aftermarket sheet metal for this era of Dodge trucks. They did have a just right feel to them.
Excellent point about aftermarket sheetmetal. That could explain the survival rate of many a square body.
Despite the rocky start in the comments section, this turned out to be a very informative discussion on the usefulness of pickups, home remodeling and renovation tips, the virtues of self-reliance, and the difficulty of finding reliable contractors.
Although I’ve never had a brawny full-size pickup with a V8, my little ’98 Frontier has proved its worth over the 24 years I’ve owned it (as old as Jason’s Dodge when it was sold). Ironic too the I kind of stumbled into it after a fruitless search for much older cars with either too-high asking prices or problems not worth the hassle.
There is nothing if not variety at CC. The variety provides a lot more fun and satisfaction especially since we all have additional interests.
While it’s a fairly recent thing, I am seeing the virtues of smaller pickups and a Frontier is what got me to thinking that direction. My ongoing concern with smaller pickups is the ease of overloading them combined with having driven my sister’s rather snug fitting ’92 Ranger.
But if the right needs exist, they are a good option. It also sounds like your Frontier is a true keeper.
Utility is part of why our second vehicle is a truck. Nostalgia for the Ford Ranger we had when we were first married is also a consideration plus wanting something to occasionally tinker on.
My 2002 F150 is a bit like a farm truck, spending weeks parked while waiting for a task. Since I work from and it gets lousy gas mileage I generally drive it when I need to hul or tow or when the car is otherwise occupied. Since buying it in March 2020 it has had a month of epic wrenching, several dump runs, lots of lumber and other material hauling, some furniture moving and three towing jobs. Since I live in a dry salt free area, I can keep it running more or less indefinitely.
There are actually quite a few 70s and 80s Dodges in my neighborhood, because they don’t rust here. This includes two Ramchargers. Surprisingly modern Dodge trucks are thin on the ground with only one 90s pickup and a government Durango in a sea of Ford and GM.
Mr. Shafer ;
You are gifted and blessed on so many levels .
These C.O.A.L.’s have never had any ruts .
I remember Dodge trucks back to the late 1930’s when they had good styling but flat head engines that didn’t like open road speeds .
At one point I bought a well equipped 1979 Dodge D150 from the state, it was a dandy little truck that often carried well over 8,000 pounds in it and never complained nor broke .
Ice cold A/C too, I shouldn’t have sold it on but the profit margin was so great I couldn’t turn it down .
(oops)
Dodge trucks have always been the other ran or fleet choice due to low initial co$t .
You did well here, too bad it was rusty and had to go .
I see nice low mileage light duty pickups for sale all the time, almost all have loads of little niggly things that need to be addressed then you’ll have a great work rig on your hands that didn’t co$t over $5K and usually looks nice to boot .
Americans are so dang lazy these days they just want rid of anything that needs attention .
I’m well past your age and still go up ladders so hang in there, life is good and yours sounds sweet .
-Nate
I remember reading a review for a Dodge of this era and they complained about the “steering wheel in the chest” driving position. They said to only buy it if an employee, not you the reader, was going to drive it.
I also wonder about why these didn’t sell better. Of course the Jeep J10 was in the same boat, and that was a sharp truck, and tough as nails to boot. To say nothing of Jeep’s 4X4 prowess. Of course, today the Nissan Titan is the also-ran and I now wonder why they can’t find a few more buyers in a country gone mad for trucks.