I have some minor guilty feelings about driving my 2012 KIA Rondo to places where I really should not be driving it. I do not really like the car however I do not abuse it. I am reasonably careful taking it down rural roads.
I have been keeping an eye out for a used truck. Not an SUV, an actual truck. I had one years ago, a beat up manual Ford Ranger that refused to die. I do not need one. I want one. There is a difference. I want something that I can cruise down rural roads that is capable of going more places than the car. Something sturdy, something I am not going to be upset over if it suffers getting a dent.
When I was in my late teens my father bought an early 1970's Ford Bronco that had a three speed column shift. It would be theft proof in this day and age. I spent the summer helping him do the brakes and wiring among other fixes. We put a winch on it later. You could unbolt and remove the top and you had a convertible. You did not care if it rained since it was a metal interior, just hose it and drain it. My dad and I once deep-sixed it trying to cross a river that turned out to be deeper than we thought. The water was up to the windows. We got out through the windows onto the roof and hopped onto the riverbank. We hauled it out, dad turned the key, and it fired right up. One day I came home to find out that my father sold it to put money towards a car for my sister. That broke my heart. I loved that thing and regretted that I did not get to drive it more. You really wish someone would make something like this again. I bet they would make a killing.
I recently checked out an older truck on a buy/sell page. One of my problems is that I am frugal bordering on being cheap. I do not want to spend a lot of money on this and I also do not want to end up with a project. Projects cost you money. The truck I looked at would fit the bill. It was less than I wanted to pay. The problem was that it was not enough of what I wanted. I could not picture myself driving down a country road in it so I passed. Used trucks are a popular item in Alberta. I doubt I am going to find that gem at a rock bottom price, they do not exist anymore. The great stuff from my younger years that has been kept up is way too expensive, the guys my age are not going to part with them anyway. I am going to have to raise my budget and search some more. It has to be a truck. That way I can put a gun rack in it.
Good used vehicles are hard to come by. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteKeep looking...it will turn up...and yes you may have to increase your budget but the pay off will be your enjoyment. Life isn't long enough (says the woman who lost her younger brother recently)... and a ride in the country in vehicle you love is one of life's little pleasures... I love a nice drive in the country! Go for it!!
ReplyDeleteThe first vehicle my father could ever afford to own was an old (possibly early 1950s/late 1940s era?) Studebaker truck which he bought in 1964. He was 40 years old. I was 6. It was a big day in our family! He had to bring the battery inside the house every night during the winter so it would start in the mornings.
ReplyDeleteYou'll find the right one. I would also love to my own truck. My car is not a backroads car however that hasn't stopped me yet. Except for those times I got stuck.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was about ten or eleven years old one of my brothers-in-law bought an old Jeep, a real Willys Jeep. He was mechanically gifted and soon had it running like a top. It was a fantastically fun little 4x4 that would go anywhere effortlessly. Lots of good memories involving that Jeep!
ReplyDeleteI use a 2005 Ford Focus for most of my back roads trips. It has air conditioning for summer and seat heaters for winter. It won't go everywhere but it'll take me to most places and every now and then a walk-in is just what's needed. Good judgement and knowing your vehicles limits are most important for back roads journeys.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to have a car as a daily driver. I drive a truck. The current truck is an '04 Ranger 2-wheel drive with a limited slip axle. I will not own a truck without a limited slip axle.
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