Now that we’ve got horses everyone in the family can ride, and since my wife’s back on the barrel racing trail, it’s time to upgrade the pickup. I’m not completely happy about that, because the truck I have has been a great truck for 250,000 miles. The truck it replaced got us well over 300,000 miles, but it was constantly in the shop for one thing or another. This one’s been incredibly reliable, so I hate to give it up and get back into another truck that could be racking up repair charges again. Besides, my mechanic doesn’t have any kids in college anymore. I already paid for their entire educations.
Also, this truck has been fantastic off the paved roads. It’s been to hunting camp, down prairie two-tracks in search of antelope and coyotes, and through deep snow on Christmas tree hunts. It has performed admirably. But now that we’re back to pulling a trailer thousands of miles a month, we’re going to need to step up to a dually. And I’m not sure a dually is going to be as good off-road as my current truck has been.
Back when I was doing auto reviews, I tested scores of trucks, and I put them through their paces both on and off the highway. The best trucks for off-road navigation were always four-wheel models. The duallies were always more challenging, and there were places you just couldn’t get the dually that a truck with single rear wheels could go.
The original idea was to keep this truck and just buy a second one for hauling, but that’s not an option with vehicle prices where they are. So I’m just going to have to be nicer to my friends so they’ll take me hunting more often. At least until I can afford a dedicated hunting rig, too.
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