Post by Dave Poor on Apr 30, 2024 23:33:43 GMT -5
I'd like to buy a new one.
My 1995 Ranger, an end-of-model-year lot rat with 220k miles sits out front. I need to replace the windshield and the seat. It has a four-cylinder motor that I think Ford originally designed for the Pinto. That underpowered engine may explain the longevity of the rest of the drive train.. it's on its original clutch. I paid 10K for it, and that included the dealer installing "factory" AC.
I do actually have some excuses for driving a pickup. I've moved probably half my friends, some a couple of times. After North American Van Lines moved us from Anaheim to Boise in a 40-foot hi-volume trailer, I moved all the same stuff about a mile in a VW Rabbit Pickup. Took NAVL three days, and me, a week, but it got done. Motorcycles need to be hauled when they die in a Winco parking lot. When her van quit I couldn't move Lorraine's power wheelchair in, say, a Prius.. the Ranger, no problem.
But I don't see any modern pickups I think I would like as well as I do my ancient Ranger. For one thing they all come with a back seat like Dad's Oldsmobile. In 40+ years I have never needed a back seat. We have always had other rigs, so that's not that weird. The back seat has two effects for me, both bad: It makes the truck longer, and the bed shorter. Also I'd just fill the extra space up with crap, so I guess that's three bad things.
Marshall just posted about the Rivian Pickup. That truck has a 4-1/2' bed. So does the Maverick. The '95 Ranger has a 7' long bed. My 2005 Virago 250 fits fine with the gate latched. I just saw an F150 carrying a dirt bike, front wheel against the back of the cab, rear wheel entirely supported by the lowered tailgate. A big open bed is why I want a pickup truck.
I like a manual transmission. I like to have the option of having the transmission in the right gear when I speed up or slow down. From absolutely no personal experience I suspect a CVT offers an infinite number of ways to be in the wrong gear. I know, get off my lawn!
The Ranger bed height is 24". I think all the new ones are higher. Is that right? I'm 71, and I don't expect it to get easier to hoist heavy objects to a higher bed. And what's with those huge front ends? Is there a reason for that?
Well, thanks. I think you've talked me out of it.
Dave
My 1995 Ranger, an end-of-model-year lot rat with 220k miles sits out front. I need to replace the windshield and the seat. It has a four-cylinder motor that I think Ford originally designed for the Pinto. That underpowered engine may explain the longevity of the rest of the drive train.. it's on its original clutch. I paid 10K for it, and that included the dealer installing "factory" AC.
I do actually have some excuses for driving a pickup. I've moved probably half my friends, some a couple of times. After North American Van Lines moved us from Anaheim to Boise in a 40-foot hi-volume trailer, I moved all the same stuff about a mile in a VW Rabbit Pickup. Took NAVL three days, and me, a week, but it got done. Motorcycles need to be hauled when they die in a Winco parking lot. When her van quit I couldn't move Lorraine's power wheelchair in, say, a Prius.. the Ranger, no problem.
But I don't see any modern pickups I think I would like as well as I do my ancient Ranger. For one thing they all come with a back seat like Dad's Oldsmobile. In 40+ years I have never needed a back seat. We have always had other rigs, so that's not that weird. The back seat has two effects for me, both bad: It makes the truck longer, and the bed shorter. Also I'd just fill the extra space up with crap, so I guess that's three bad things.
Marshall just posted about the Rivian Pickup. That truck has a 4-1/2' bed. So does the Maverick. The '95 Ranger has a 7' long bed. My 2005 Virago 250 fits fine with the gate latched. I just saw an F150 carrying a dirt bike, front wheel against the back of the cab, rear wheel entirely supported by the lowered tailgate. A big open bed is why I want a pickup truck.
I like a manual transmission. I like to have the option of having the transmission in the right gear when I speed up or slow down. From absolutely no personal experience I suspect a CVT offers an infinite number of ways to be in the wrong gear. I know, get off my lawn!
The Ranger bed height is 24". I think all the new ones are higher. Is that right? I'm 71, and I don't expect it to get easier to hoist heavy objects to a higher bed. And what's with those huge front ends? Is there a reason for that?
Well, thanks. I think you've talked me out of it.
Dave