My parents live 90 miles from me & back in 7/00 my Dad was diagnosed w/lung cancer. With the snow we get here I wanted a 4WD so I'd be able to get to them if there was an emergency. My Dad was expected to do "well" since he was in great health prior to this & responded so well to the first chemo treatment.
My Camry died 3 days after we learned my Dad was sick so it was the right time to look for a truck. I found this 1 & fell in love immediately & bought it.
Sadly my Dad passed away 3 weeks after I got the truck - he never got the chance to go for a ride in it or really look it over. Now I believe he's with me every time I get in my truck - how else could I avoid so many close calls? God's good but not as good a driver as mmy Dad was! J/K! LOL!
Although I no longer NEED a truck I'd never get rid of it - I love my Fearless & plan on keeping him Ford-ever!

 

I have a hard tonneau cover. When I know that we're gonna purchase something big, or I know that we'll need the bed, we just take the lid off. Four bolts, two people and a little bit of muscle and it's off.

Unfortunately, the last time we re-installed it, I scratched my paint pretty bad. I still have to get that fixed.

I'm interested in the retractable cover. Does anyone have one? Any pics? Likes/dislikes? Cost? I bought my tonneau used, so I don't feel bad about getting rid of it.

Maybe I should post a new thread.

Jenn

 

The necessity for me has always been there. I've owned a Ford pickup since my teenage years (yes, I can remeber that far back!) and have motored around in a '64, '69, 71, 81, & presently a '97. I'm always hauling sumthing whether it's construction materials, topsoil, or just toys & recreational stuff. The necessity of my last truck purchase was to have enuff room for the whole family so when the new body styles came out with the supercab & seating for six it was a no brainer for me.

I have read a lot of familiar things in this thread, ya ever notice that when you own a truck your family and friends know who to call when somthing needs to be hauled ala sdiesel316 ? Aside from making you popular for moving jobs and trips to Home Repo it also proves that a lot more people need a truck for themselves more than they realize. Most of you who own your own homes know that a truck is an indispensible commodity (maybe not the power functions and leather seats) for weekend chores and countless other jobs.

And Habib, yes home depot is a frquent destination. My truck has a remote start but I'm afraid to use it for fear that my truck will drive itself to the home depot without me in the driver's seat out of sheer habit.

I think we need to convince more people to get their own trucks so that we wont be pestered to do their hauling & such, let them put their own boats in the water and let them scratch their own beds when they remove the cap! I typically do a lot of favors for others with my truck but if any one of them ever says anything remotely close to "it's a truck so what if it gets a little scratch or dent" then it's the last favor they'll get from me!

Jenn I feel your pain, my neighbor volunteered to help me put my lid back on the bed (ARE LS II) and put a nasty scratch in the side. What a wussy boy, it's not even heavy! My mother in law helped me remove it without leaving as much as a fingerprint.

Whew! Ranting complete, stepping off the soapbox now.

 

I'm 6' 8" and fit comfortably in about 0% of cars .

 

mine gets used mostly for toy runs. hauling 4 wheeler, dirt bikes, snowmobiles and a canoe. also used for hunting. could probably use something else but why. i've almost always had a truck for the last 15 or so years.

jennireland my stepdad has one of those retractables. it's been very good to him so far. he has an f350 dually that is used exclusively for construction. this thing doesn't get babied, so the retractable holding up is very good testimony. he's had no probs with it, even in winter when they say the lock may freeze. i'm not sure but i think the cost was around $400. it does take away a little of the bed though with the roll away box. think it's takes about 10 inches or so.

 

I am in Health Care.

I have seen WAY TOO MANY people die from wrecks in their econobox cars!

My advice: drive the biggest damn vehicle you can afford!

Personally, my truck has saved my life TWICE in accidents.

 

I don't use mine as a WORK truck ( my Dad is a electrical contractor so this is what I use as a def of work truck ).

The Home Depot runs, and helping people haul stuff is the most the hauling it really does.

Tow a Wells Cargo trailer ~ 1 / mo.

When I look at it from this threads perspective, a car with a V8 ( Crown Vic..but I'm too young for that car <g> ) would do the part of the trailer ( I know how to load a tailer so the tounge weight is not too much ), and the HD trips for the large stuff the HD rental would work ( only ~ 10 min from there ),

All in all I could save a lot of money by owning a car like a Crown Vic or the likes, and use the rental when I really needed to haul larger stuff, beyond the amount of cash I drop in doing mods ( just did 2 more this week )...so that would qualify as a luxury for sure.

 

le pew,


many years ago i was helping a friend out by moving some stuff for him in my truck. at the time we were saving for a house, and i bought the cheapest little truck i could get. it was a chevy s10.

anyway, it was 2wd 5 speed, short bed, short cab. (tiny).

while we were at a traffic light the guy i was helping said something to the effect of 'why would you buy a truck and not get 4wd'

i responded with 'to do for myself exactly what i am doing for you right now.'

kind of funny, he couldnt get this stuff moved on his own, but at the same time he was wondering why someone would get a truck like the one i was driving.

btw, good to see a fellow jersey resident on the boards.

 

Jenn:

grishfish has pictures of the Retrax cover on his truck in his photo gallery. It looks gorgeous and I am seriously thinking of going that route with my truck. It's expensive but I'm worth it (where have I heard that before????).

Cowlady:

Forget Spiderman, you and Fearless are my new superheroes.

 

To answer the original question:

Yes, I could do without the truck, but I was tired of getting all those funny looks when I showed up various places (campground, deer camp, etc) towing either my camper or my trailer with the ATV on it behind my Accord! Seriously though, given the nature of my leisure-time activities, I pretty much needed a truck. Granted, I didn't need a 3/4 ton, but I find my F250 more aesthetically pleasing than the F150, and the sticker on this one was LESS than a comparably equipped SCrew (not that a V10 is available in the SCrew).

Regarding the retractable bed cover:

I have had a Retrax on both of my trucks. It is a great product, and IMO the best looking rolltop on the market. Well worth the cost. Do a search in "Other Aftermarket" for rolltop or retrax, and you will see plenty of posts about them (including contact information for the guy who seems to be selling them the cheapest).

Here's a pic of it installed on my '02.

 

my 01 screw is my first truck and I needed something that would haul people , haul stuff , and haul a$$ :o)

 

Jenn,

Yep, absolutely need a truck. This is the fifth truck I've owned since 1989. I'm a DIYer or do it yourselfer. I use my truck almost every weekend to haul something, here's one example.



Hope this explains my situation for you.

Later,
~DM~