Jeff, I remember when I was younger, I would hop in my Ranchero and drive hundreds of miles every weekend. I would check the fluid levels and air pressures and never think twice about anythng. Now that we are older and wiser, we tend to be more causious than ever. If it's sound: GIV'ER. I would!

 

Here ya go, Jeff, Bobby and I got together last night at the KOA he's staying at, then took a trip up into the mountains today. A little too much highway for my truck, so I rode my bike and so did Bobby. Had a great time, swapped a lot of lies and talked a lot of trucks...

 

Well if Jeff is in Albuquerque then he's at the starting point of my longest run in a old truck. I left Albuquerque in a beat up '69 F100, wife, 2wk old kid (10 yr old son, now ) car trailer with a '74 Duster on it and the back of the truck loaded with crap. The truck was all stock (4 wheel power drums in all) except for the 200k mi. 351W and unknown mi. tranny and rear end. I think i was close to 14k lbs. lock, stock, and barrel rolling weight, a bit much for a small block powered 1/2ton, but it really wasn't bad at all! Headed west to Las Vegas(visited friends) via Hoover Dam then up through Califorina via Bakersfield. Out side of Bakersfield heading north, busted by CHP for doing 75 pulling a car trailer.... Then onto Modesto to visit more family. From there a long soild all-day pull from Modesto, CA to Vancouver, WA.
Freakin truck never missed a beat... Never overheated, not a bit of trouble. Started using a little oil after pullin the hills comming into southern Oregon, but just kept on going. Still have that truck to this day. The 351W is gone, pulled it out with over 235k on the clock and replaced it with another low mile used one.

I think alot of these old beasts are under estimated... I was young, dumb, and determined then and had always owned old rigs (pre-'78). I know I didn't think twice about that trip, but now i sit back and think about it and tell myself... i must have been crazy!!

 

Hey Jeff, any luck on gettin that webcam hooked up? Safe trip buddy, Patti says Hi!

 

Excellent! Glad you guys got to meet and had a good time.

 

Jeff, It was nice to meet you in person. I'm envious of your trip.
The first pics are kind of dark, my poor little old camera just didn't have enough flash to light it all up. There even a couple of action shots of you driving down the road....
<a href="http://s546.photobucket.com/albums/hh405/bobbytnm/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_1710.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh405/bobbytnm/IMG_1710.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

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Safe travels my friend
Bobby

 

Check out his grin in that last pic -- big as the Grand Canyon!

 

Have a fun and safe trip! Looking forward to seeing pics!

 

Jeff, I think I would snap my neck trying to get a better look at your truck-n-teardrop going down the road. I love the patina!
Safe travels, rustyrelic

 

in my 45 years , i never been a thousand miles from home.i might get lost. i have been lost within 50 miles from home more than a few times.

 

Take care and have a safe trip my friend!

 

Very COOL my friend!! Looks like you're having a ball dude!! And don't worry about fuel, Tom says it dont matter too much. I'm glad you got some cool pics up dude. I'd like to meet Bobby and Ross one day too. Thats some beautiful country out there

 

Drive carefully and enjoy the trip. Last summer I drove from central Florida to Alaska, by the time I got back was just over 15K miles. The road was pretty rough from Destruction
Bay (very nice provincal park near Destruction Bay) to the Alaska line, but much better on the way back. There are many nice provincal parks on the way. Enjoy the trip and drive carefully, the scenery is spectacular.

Paul

 

Let me know if you're going anywhere near Corona, CA on your adventure. I'd love to see your truck and trailer. And we can swap lies over a couple of cold ones.

At any rate, have a safe journey. I love the fact you're doing this in an "old" truck.

 

As my signature line in another forum reads "you can never be lost if you don't care where you're going" that's the theme of this trip. No schedule and no set route!