Читать книгу Truck Nuts - Kent "Mr.Truck" Sundling - Страница 9

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Competition Created

the American Free Enterprise System

For three out of the ten years I sold trucks, I was an auto broker. Most of the time I was working for AAA Auto Club, buying vehicles for the membership; I’ve sold all the major makes and models. Most people become loyal to one brand. But it’s good to compare. Competition is what improves things. The Japanese taught us valuable lessons in the 80s on how to build cars. We as humans are such emotional buyers. We seldom do what’s best for us. And of course marketing rules the earth. That’s why the best diet in the world is shutting off the TV during commercials! Back to trucks, competition helps us in so many ways. The top brands usually alternate leadership with each new model. There is a difference in areas like diesels and transmissions.

“The Right Truck”

I learned how to buy the right truck by, you guessed it, by buying the wrong one a few times! Since my first trucks were used, I had no idea of what the manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating or warranty requirements were all about. I hauled 3,000 pounds in my half-ton, 5,000 pounds in my three-quarter ton, and 10,000 pounds in my tonner. Oops, that was probably a little too much. That could explain why so many u-joints, clutches and brakes had to be replaced.

It’s hard to recommend which truck without knowing what you are going to use it for. Half tons are generally used for the light work, loaded occasionally. Three-quarter tons and one-tons can be loaded all the time just like their cousins, the 18-wheeler. The heavy-duty three-quarter and 1 tons used to only ride nice when they were loaded. They have come a long way, baby. Now they all ride like cars. In the big cities, people use them as cars. When I first came to Denver, I was amazed to see five-year-old pickups with no scratches in the beds. My pickups didn’t last the first day without a scratch. After you drop the first salt block and the first big round bale, the bed just doesn’t look the same.

Our affair with the pickup truck will continue as long as the old glory continues to wave. Is there any other way to explain it?