Truckin’ On! (We Bought A Truck.)

Big news for this post is that we bought a truck. The Dodge I had mentioned in my April 7 post had been sold — so Pam and I were out shopping when I noticed this 2005 Ford F-150 (Lariat edition) at the dealership where we bought the Subaru. We had test-driven a couple of Dodge Ram 1500 trucks previously so we had some basis for comparison. The Ford seems to ride a bit better and the rear seating area, where the dogs will ride, seemed a bit larger. While a bit more expensive than the comparable Dodge trucks, the Ford seemed to be a good fit and we made a deal on it.

This meant trading off the 2010 Subaru Forester we had purchased in 2009. While I like the Forester, there is no doubt our current needs of pulling the trailer and hauling materials to the lot would be better filled with a truck. Now we can go ahead with plans to move the trailer and get on with other activities.

** Boring Notice ** (Truck details follows.)

The Lariat version is Ford’s upscale trim package. It includes power heated leather seats, 6-CD changer, climate control, and other higher-end finishes. Engine is a 5.4 liter V-8 Triton engine. These are noted for durability but fuel economy is 14 – 18 mpg. We won’t be taking pleasure cruises in it! The truck does have a factory-installed tow package including the 7-blade connector that our trailer uses so there will be no problems hooking up and pulling the trailer around. The bed is short, 5′ 6″, due to the extra space in the cab, but does have 4 factory tie-downs and rails along the top of the bed for additional tie-downs. Longer items will be transported on our 5′ x 12′ aluminum trailer.

Biggest drawback is the truck body color is white. Pam did not want a white truck due to the association between white trucks and the energy industry workers. We have begun to look for colored decals to put on the truck to make it appear a bit “different” than the local yocals. Pam is looking for side panel decals in purple or purple/gold since purple/white was the color of both her high school (Go Hilltoppers!) and college (University of Wisconsin Whitewater) teams. We may have located some decals that are suitable and the price isn’t bad. As for other accessories, some kind of tonneau cover will be in the works before next winter sets in.

** End of Boring Notice **

* Note on Photos * These photos are from the Edmunds site and do not link to a larger photo.

A white 2005 Ford F-150

Truck interior

Dash board

Back seating area

More photos of the truck after  I bring it  home this Saturday. Yes, it does have the same interior pictured above.

Moving on to other news:

Going back to work after a vacation is always a drag, but it seems harder to do so when the weather is good. Well, it was below freezing again last night, but it will be warming up and the sky is sunny. Hard to sit in an office when you know it is so nice outside.

I received my first retirement check from the State of Wisconsin. Nice to know that is now set. Makes me feel older, though.

We picked up our 30 trees from the Forest Service and had planned to go to the lot and plant them this weekend, but the weather at altitude  calls for a high in the low 40s and a rain/snow mix. Nighttime temps are well below freezing and are in the “teens” range. Not good for tree planting. We will wait and see what the next weekend holds.

The trailer is nearly done. Pam has been cleaning and I have fixed the bathroom blower and re-attached the towel rack. We still need to get the propane tanks filled. The last big project is cleaning the bathroom, probably a several hour job. During the Boise trip we stopped at a Camping World and picked up a few items for the trailer, including some drawer dividers, slide-out stabilizer jacks, paring knives, garbage can hold-downs, and a couple other odds and ends. Now if the weather would stop dropping below freezing we could finish testing the water system.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!