Employed by Orange or Blue?

[rt66electric]

Tires?

Tires?

Thanks! That's not an easy one to answer. It forces you to work differently in a lot of ways to save on space. Collapsible trash cans, well planned storage, etc mean the difference of having or not having space. I'm able to carry all of my regular tools other than the large rotary hammer all the time, but because of the interior length, I'm limited to what materials I can handle or how I have to transport them. I'll be getting a pipe carrier, but forget about loading 400' of 4" PVC into this truck. The solution to that is getting a hitch and lightweight trailer for hauling large materials. Six and eight foot baseboard heaters or channels can be mounted on the roof in small quantities. As a "mercenary" I'm mostly at jobs in a support role, so material transport isn't a large issue. My stock is pretty assorted, but I can't carry everything in every color. I stick with the basics mostly and load up on Decora style or Spec. Grade/Commercial stuff when needed.

It drives like a car, is extremely maneuverable and gets great mileage which is important to me. Last week I drove over 500 miles for work and spent about $60 on gas, so I know I'm coming out ahead in that respect.

Ladder rack was under $400, Ranger C211 bin kit un-assembled/uninstalled cost about $2200 after a $200 rebate from Ford, and the truck (XLT version with hands-free system) was about $23,000 IIRC so total is about 25-26k. Some will say that's not cheap enough for such a small vehicle, but I have no complaints. In fact, I don't think I've ever driven such a conversation starter as this which is great for business!

How do you keep tires under that?? My first impression is that the tires are not able to carry the load. The stock tires on my 1/2 ton lasted until my first gravel road, two tires blew-out on the same service call. I switched to 3/4 ton 6-ply and have not had a problem.

 

[ty]

E-Rated tires?

also, have you had any issue with the windshield seal leaking?

 

[electricguy61]

I have a different opinion on the economy. I personally think that a religion can be built on faith but there needs to be a real foundation for a sound economy.

For the past few years people have believed that the economy was good when in fact it wasn't so they borrowed money to buy things they couldn't afford and that did give the impression of a good economy but there was no real foundation. Hot air is good for blowing up a bubble but not for building a sound economy.

Just an opinion folks.

Growler, I agree 100% with your comments.

Here in the sunshine state, if you could borrow $100K on your house, go ahead and do it! You need that $10K entertainment center, 2 new cars, the boat and all the other stuff. The house will continue to go up in value, and your wages will continue to go up, and you'll never lose your job, etc, etc, etc.

The chickens have come home to roost.

What I do find sad is that the middle class is rapidly disappearing. The days of a tradesman being able to feed his family w/o his wife working, or he or she working 2 jobs, seems to have totally disappeared.

 

[PetrosA]

How do you keep tires under that?? My first impression is that the tires are not able to carry the load. The stock tires on my 1/2 ton lasted until my first gravel road, two tires blew-out on the same service call. I switched to 3/4 ton 6-ply and have not had a problem.

Max GVW is 5005 lbs. Last time I weighed in I was at about 4600-4700 or so, so within the ratings of the tires. The snow tires on it now cost me $45 each at Sears. The only difference between them and the stock Contis is the max air pressure allowed. The Contis can take 50 psi. I've driven through gravel, snow, ice, mud, you name it without issues. I may get commercial rated snow tires next time since they can take the 49 lbs of pressure you're supposed to have in the rear tires.

E-Rated tires?

also, have you had any issue with the windshield seal leaking?

The stock tires are Continentals with a 95T rating (1521 lbs.) I haven't had any leakage issues so far. The only thing I would really like to see upgraded is the washer fluid spray nozzles. They're awful.