Those are cool. I've seen them in new f150s. Out of my price range for the time being though. We just bought a house and it's been an expensive month.?ÿ
Combined with a fiberglass truck lid they offer visibility to the rear and nobody knows what's in the bed.?ÿ?ÿ
A good setup for ease of use for a solo surveyor.
@jitterboogie To really get a truck buried up to the running boards, it really helps having 4WD so you can get more tires digging. Unless your really prepared for self rescue, winch, traction mats, shovels and the man power, best solution is to just not push your luck and get stuck in the first place. This I speak to from experience.
I have the fiberglass cap (same height as the truck cab) and the windows are tinted black so you can't see in, but I can't see out the back in the rear view. It is a good way that I know I left it open if I can see behind me. Lol
I'm in pretty good physical shape but it still sucks climbing onto the tailgate and partway into the box to get some old rubber boots or other stuff I rarely use from the front of the box.?ÿ
I'd love to have the slider. Other than that my truck is pretty ideal for the construction layout I do. I usually only have to calc stuff when the office forgets to do it.?ÿ
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In mountainous states, where it snows often, you need 4WD just to get out of your driveway
@warrenward It??s winter half the year here. If it??s not AWD or 4WD, it should be parked for that half of the year. There a few intersections around Anchorage that are on a slight incline and they get iced up pretty good from cars idling at the light, which when it turns green, every front wheel drive car without studs are near hopelessly stuck.
I would never go without 4wd again for surveying here. Even construction sites in the winter you can get stuck trying to park out of the road.?ÿ
Also I do have to change fluids on front diff, transfer case, plus the usual fluids, but other than that this truck hasn't even needed a u joint in 209k miles so far. 16 years old.?ÿ
I've thought about it for years, actually.?ÿ Would love one of the tall models and make it a mobile office too.?ÿ?ÿ
I know a company that uses those little transit vans. Keep in mind they are intended for pavement driving and not heavy equipment. That company said each one has had parts break and not a great vehicle. ?ÿOn a Chevy 1500 you??ll have typical wear items and transmission at 140,000 or later.
and AWD is meant for pavement driving, 4WD for off road
This is what I heard from Cogeco drivers using them when I worked at a Goodyear garage. And they wore out front tires really fast as the weight in the back made them spin really easy trying to pull away.?ÿ
The larger transit should be a much more solid vehicle hopefully.?ÿ
I call those new style vans euro trash
14" tires and unibody construction no thanks
When I was a graduate surveyor the office manager thought that all graduates should get were 2wd vehicles as the often 10 minutes the 4wd would save was undone by the 2 hours it took to go find the farmer and their tractor to pull you out. Of course I did get to find out on several jobs he was probably right.
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Granted some jobs are impossible without 4wd but those are less than the field staff would like to admit. And usually on those jobs the ATV gets you much further than a 4wd truck/van ever could.
