I finally decided that my ol'1992 pick-up was not dependable enough
for me to be hauling my trailer on the back roads by myself.  Basic
requirements enough power to haul the horse trailer, and a long box so
that my carriage would fit into the back and 4x4.  Current truck is a
2 wheel drive, and and it does not take much for it to have no
traction.  Preferences were regular cab and ideally a standard shift.
Well I finally found one.  2006 Dodge Ram 2500 HD, 4x4, standard,
regular cab,  low milage, reasonable price.  It is a BEAST.  When I
told hubby about it he claims I will start sprouting a beard from the
testosterone fumes.
I took a train to Etobicoke to see it.  A very pleasant younger chap
who runs a car repair shop with his father.  He used to run a
landscaping company (hence the truck) before joining his father in the
family business (hence selling the truck).  He showed me everything
under the hood - with my mechanical ability I would only be able to
determine if there were dead squirrels inside or not, but anyway there
were no dead squirrels.  He then put it on the hoist so I could see
the under carriage.  Most informative, as I had never seen under a
truck before, so I got quite the lesson on all the bits and pieces,
and where to change the oil etc.   The only  alarming thing was the
size of the gas tank.  Bigger than a coffin, and probably would take a
mortgage payment to fill.  All in all I learned a lot and it was well
worth the train trip.  He  was gracious enough not to be patronizing,
although I don't know which one of us was more surprised that I didn't
stall when I test drove it.  It had been a long time since I drove a
standard vehicle other than the tractor.  We shook hands, I left a
deposit, and I will return next week so we can transfer all the papers
through the motor registry office.  A most pleasant experience
compared to the car dealerships.  He was a little surprise when I
called about the truck on Monday, as the Autotrader paper version he
was advertising the truck  in did not come out until today.  I guess
Autotrader put it on their website only hours before I saw it.  Ya
gotta love the internet.
He also mentioned a camera thing you can have installed on the rear
license plate holder so you can see for backing up to horse trailer.
hmmmmm. could be interesting as you need to pole vault to get into the
cab, so if I can avoid 3 or 4 in and outs to hitch up it would be
worth it.  I am going to keep a mounting block in the back!

Wheee what fu!!!  With luck this beast should last as long as I am
able to get into it.

Sally

Wheee what fu!!!  With luck this beast should last as long as I am
able to get into it.

Sally

Wheee what fu!!! With luck this beast should last as long as I am
able to get into it.
Hah!