Thursday, June 18, 2009

still truckin'...

We think trucks get better with age...and so we tend to keep them around for a very long time.

Our pick-up truck came home from the 'spa' the other day...

...looking...oh, so much better! Here's the thing...it is a 1993 model...which doesn't seem all that old to me...but I guess it is getting on. GMC seemed to have an issue with peeling paint for a few years on their pick-up trucks...and so we thought we would 'touch up the grey' that was showing all over the hood.

I still recall our first truck...


...a vintage International. We didn't actually drive it much...but on occasion needed a truck on the farm...and this one did the trick. We actually sold the farm...and left the truck for the next owners...and have often wondered why we would have done that.

We had a raspberry farm 'back in the day'...and needed a big sturdy truck for hauling tons of berries to market...and so this was our next upgrade.

The multi-purpose three-ton truck was used in season...and out of season. I'm not sure how the calf rated...to ride in first class...but the picture shows that it happened.

We switched to a Ford 3/4 ton pick-up...and used trailers for hauling farm produce and cattle.

In the mid-seventies we bought a camper that fit nicely on our pick-up truck...and served us well...for three decades! While our friends went from campers, to trailers, to motorhomes, and back to trailers...we used the same camper. Every year we would go to the RV show...and dream about what would one day replace our camper...but it was all looking...and no action. The camper made it's last trip...from the west coast to Iowa and back a few years ago. When we got home we put it up for sale...and it sold in no time for just a little less than we paid for it thirty years earlier. Sometimes things become more precious as they age!

We have another truck that has been around the block a few times. It was my dad's....and he repainted it several decades ago...and now we find many uses for it around the farm. What could be handier for getting bark mulch than a truck with a dump box?

So...as you can tell from our tour of trucks today...nothing at this place is disposable! We keep everything for a very long time. Who knows...maybe we'll still be driving the GMC pick-up truck when there are no GMC trucks left on the road. At that point it will be a treasure, right?


Oh yes...and just so you know...I'm not usually the truck driver around here!


Have a great day...

12 comments:

  1. I guess I would do well to live on your farm, since you don't get rid of old things. I don't know how many times I have heard my husband say, "if only I had a truck now, it sure would come in handy." What a great post on truckin', and how perfectly the story goes with the pictures. I can picture your Christmas tree on the back of the red and green truck. Hope you have a good day!

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  2. A great idea for a blog. I can remember most things in our lives based on what car we had and/or which year a baby was born. 7 of the babies. We have a 97 Toyota Tacoma with 336,000 miles. It looks really good too. Blessings
    QMM

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  3. Yes, that dump truck would come in handy for gravel for the path, bark mulch, some fresh top soil......
    Why get rid of a perfectly good vehicle? I'm with you on the old cars - you know all their quirks and kinks and you'd just have to start all over again with a new one!

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  4. I love the pic of the calf riding 'shotgun'..how cute is that!

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  5. I agree with Betty! The calf up front - must have looked pretty funny going down the hightway like that! She looks a little stunned herself, that she gets to sit on a seat.

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  6. Some people keep trucks and others keep VW's. There's nothing like a GMC. Fun to see how over the era's they have changed.

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  7. We tend to keep our trucks a long time too. ..our Chev is a 96. .a little newer. .and it still does well.
    Sadness about leaving the old vintage behind .. .oh that is sad. . .
    My mom once called the scrap people to come and pick up some old heaps behind the barn .we we dating at the time and my beloved still feels sad about that fact.

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  8. That was interesting, and I am going to share your post with my husband. He will enjoy seeing the truck evolution.

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  9. John is going to love this one...he'll be right over after he finishes shaving. He loves trucks and would really like a newer older model. His poor truck is getting 8 miles to the gallon. Not so good. So we find ourselves looking longingly at truck ads.

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  10. how wonderful...I love trucks....used to love to visit Grandpa on the farm where he would let us drive his truck out on the fields. Great memories.

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  11. LOL...what a fun post Judy.

    Hey if I were you guys...I'd hang onto that GMC....it'll be worth alot some day...a collectable maybe!!

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  12. That was a fascinating look back on your trucks, Judy. We never had a truck and it would be impractical in the city, but I've always wanted a camper --I just wouldn't have a place to park it..lol!

    In our almost 35 years of marriage we've owned four cars -- the fourth is still going strong. and will hopefully last to our 40th year. Not bad service from each of them!

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