I would never buy a Toyota. Big 3 for me.

 

I like to wander around Nevada and the eastern Sierra in a Ram diesel. I sleep in the back of my truck.

 

I heard a mechanic say that he had a Tundra (a '23/24?) in his shop that needed a new seal in the transmission, but Toyota told him there are NO parts for transmission repair, but a new transmission could be purchased for $12K. So, might as well just buy a new Toyota was their thinking. His plan was to remove the transmission from the truck and machine an internal to facilitate an aftermarket repair part.

I've always owned American made: GM, AMC (loved that Javelin), Dodge. My first M/C was a Honda made in Japan. My second one was a Honda made in Marysville, OH.

 

I heard a mechanic say that he had a Tundra (a '23/24?) in his shop that needed a new seal in the transmission, but Toyota told him there are NO parts for transmission repair, but a new transmission could be purchased for $12K. So, might as well just buy a new Toyota was their thinking. His plan was to remove the transmission from the truck and machine an internal to facilitate an aftermarket repair part.

I've always owned American made: GM, AMC (loved that Javelin), Dodge. My first M/C was a Honda made in Japan. My second one was a Honda made in Marysville, OH.

Brother had a Javelin. Great car.

 

My Dad had a new Javelin SST with a the 343 in 1968. It was his drive to work car.

 

Dozens of memories that stand out from almost 50 years of camping with the same group of idiots, but one of my favorites was me in a 2WD Dakota and all my friends in their Jeeps trying to lose me in the snow on the roads through the state forest. With 400+ pounds of concrete in the bed and some seriously aggressive tires in winter, I went everywhere they did. I ran that truck to just short of 250,000 miles when some a-hole broadsided me.

Still think of you at times, Bessie Blue!

 

I still have mine, a '90 which I've had for about 21 years. It needs a tune-up, it needs shocks, it needs a new ignition switch after someone tried to steal it from out front of my house. But in spite of requiring a week's notice for it to get out of its own way (3.9 V6), it's been a great little truck for me.

 

^ That's in amazing shape for a truck that old. Nice! And I definitely remember that 3.9 being a dog on mountain roads. That's why I traded one in after only having it less than a year to get Ol' Bessie with the 5.2

 

And I'll bet the MPG with the 318 CID is about the same as the 3.9 V6.

 

Yep. Still think the 318 was one of the best engines ever made. I've had three that wouldn't die. Tranny would die at 100K, body would rust to hell, but they all went to their grave with a running engine.

 

Tranny on mine is pushing 180K and doing just fine. Right after getting it I had the entire tranny/torque converter/cooler flushed clean and serviced, I went with Amsoil synthetic fluid and some and some Lubgard additive which is a synthetic based replacement of the whale ester that used to be in tranny fluids back in the day when trannies lasted a LONG time. I also dumped/cleaned and filled the diff with Amsoil synthetic and the compatible sure-grip additive.

Brakes, tires, oil changes, belts, a water pump, a starter, batteries is all I've had to do to it in 21 years. Oh, I had a new hi-flo cat installed and added a Flow Master. I did see an improvement, mostly I think the OEM cat was plugged up.

 

I drove a Ford F-350 with the 7.3 liter diesel for 20 years. Best vehicle I have ever owned. I paid 35k and sold it for 16k after 175k miles.
My best mpg was 23.8 over 600 miles.

 

Some of my best trips are in the big mountain ranges of central Nevada. This is nobody out there except during hunting season.
I like unregulated parts of the Sierra Nevada Range.
The Pinenut Range behind the house is very interesting, now there is an antelope herd along with the wild horses and mule deer.

 

I had a 72 SST Javelin. It was my brother's car. He was in the Army and couldn't take it with him. Gave it to me when I was 16. It had a 304 with a motorcraft carb. It ran good and was dependable. Had lots of sex in that car. Young and limber. Wrapped it around a walnut tree one night.

Most dependable vehicle I've had yet was the 06 Colorado with the 5 cylinder in it. Just bought a 21 Colorado and sold my 06 to a guy at work. It has about 270k miles on it. I hope I get that good of service out of my new 21 Colorado.

Lots of good vehicles out there, of all makes and models.

 

Young and limber

'66 Valiant here. Would not be possible now.

 

We used to make Toyota engine pistons. They were very particular and strict on quality. Toyota does build a good product, but they are more expensive.
I looked at the used Tacoma trucks before I bought the Colorado. Most had high mileage and they wanted a lot more for them, more than I thought they were worth. I didn't like the way I had to climb in behind the steering wheel. They felt closed in, not as open as the Colorado.
I preferred a 2 wheel drive, never needed a 4 wheel drive. I'm happy with my Colorado. V6 2 wheel drive and I average 26 miles per gallon, unless I'm pulling the boat. Then I get about 18.
Roy

 

I'd forgotten about that, Yep - left handed threads. Valiant wasn't exactly a beauty either. But the back seat smelled nice (to me anyway).

 

Never needed 4 wheel drive. I always need it and get stuck anyway.
I have a Ram 2500 with an inline 6 diesel and 4 wd. It makes 386 hp and gets 23 mpg.
It will pull 20,000 pounds and I can sleep in the bed with a canopy.

 

Never needed 4 wheel drive. I always need it and get stuck anyway.
I have a Ram 2500 with an inline 6 diesel and 4 wd. It makes 386 hp and gets 23 mpg.
It will pull 20,000 pounds and I can sleep in the bed with a canopy.

That's impressive. Is that the Cummins engine?

I never go anywhere where I've needed 4 wheel drive. We don't get enough snow here to amount to anything. What little we do get turns into ice, or melts off fast. I drive 44 miles to work and back, mostly 5 days per week. Sort of needed a mid size truck with decent gas mileage. Heaviest thing I pull is my boat it's maybe 1,600 lbs?

 

I didn't necessarily need 4WD for the infrequent snow we get here but the steep gravel roads where I camp and wet boat ramps make it a gotta have for me. There are a couple of really steep boat ramps to the Potomac River near me that I wouldn't trust in 2WD even if they're dry. I could be kidding myself, but I also feel like I have more control with 4WD in heavy rain like we had today.

 

Never drive on the pavement with 4wd unless you have an all wheel system.

87% of Nevada is public land. We have dirt roads, two tracks and other turkey trails all over the place. We use 4wd often on the steeps, in the mud and on rough roads. Nevada has 276 mountain ranges.