Reader's Rides & Photos

stever · May 2014

Still going through the old albums and got this converted from an old slide. Photo dates from 1980, the Datsun is probably a '78 or so.

stickguy · May 2014

probably should have put some air shocks on that baby!

kyfdx · May 2014

My son posted a picture of my car on Instagram, and BMW's Instagram account picked it up.

See it here:

PF_Flyer · May 2014

It's the season for the birds to bomb my cars in the driveway. Once I get them clean, I'll get a photo up since we just added a new vehicle for the wife and gave the new college graduate the wife's 2011 Versa.

mako1a · May 2014

My small town car show. I was hoping he'd "lite em up"

imidazol97 · May 2014

@PF_Flyer said:
It's the season for the birds to bomb my cars in the driveway.

There's a season for that? Here it happens all year 'round.

PF_Flyer · May 2014

Once we get past "ice out", the robins all seem to join the 81st bomber wing and absolutely plaster our driveway. When you move one of the cars, there's a "shadow" left where the car was parked.

xwesx · May 2014

@PF_Flyer said:
It's the season for the birds to bomb my cars in the driveway. Once I get them clean, I'll get a photo up since we just added a new vehicle for the wife and gave the new college graduate the wife's 2011 Versa.

Nice, Bob! Looks like the birds aren't the only ones dropping bombs! LOL

Congrats!

Kirstie_H · June 2014

The latest addition.

stever · June 2014

Can I borrow that puppy? For, say, the next six months?

(It's got AC, right?).

Kirstie_H · June 2014

@stever said:
Can I borrow that puppy? For, say, the next six months?
(It's got AC, right?).

Sure! I doubt Andy would mind me loaning it out. A/C, and a nice flat-screen TV that gets any channel you like, as long as it's PBS (3 versions) or Fox (1 version).

stever · June 2014

Cool, can you deliver it to Las Cruces?

(I can leave the Subaru and Quest at your place for collateral. Maybe forever, lol).

xwesx · June 2014

Hahahah; sweet! Are both the truck and trailer new, or just the trailer? It's funny how stumpy the front end of the trailer is. Clearly, the RV manufacturers are catering to the short-bed crowd! With an 8' bed like that Ford has, you could get a fifth wheel trailer with another 3' of bedroom on the front of it without being any longer of a tow!

ray80 · June 2014

imidazol97 · June 2014

Nice Cruze. I really like the green.

Is it a diesel?

ray80 · June 2014

@imidazol97 said:
Nice Cruze. I really like the green.

Is it a diesel?

Not a diesel, was to afraid of possible oopsie between gas/diesel vehicles (meaning having both). Just saw a post elsewhere with gas cruze getting filled (really filled) with diesel by mistake , not good (2014 Cruze also, ouch) Mine is Eco version.

nyccarguy · June 2014

@ray80‌

How do you like it so far? Any minor teething issues or major problems? You have the 1.4L Turbo?

andre1969 · June 2014

That is a nice looking Cruze. I've always been a sucker for a nice shade of green.

ray80 · June 2014

@nyccarguy said:
ray80‌

How do you like it so far? Any minor teething issues or major problems? You have the 1.4L Turbo?

So far so good, just got it last Tuesday and it has < 900 miles on it so far . Yes, 1.4 turbo.
This is going to be my daily driver so I opted for the 6 spd MT. Took me a day or 3 to get my right foot adjusted to differance between the HHR with 170k miles on it and and a new vehicle thats rather eager to go in the first couple gears when the turbo comes into play.
Eco gearing seems a tad strange or different, couple thousand miles more on the clock and getting things a little more loosened up and I think that impression will go away.

Color choice was a little odd for me as generaly I would always go for some sort of red. In fact when I first went to see waht they looked like on a sunday when dealer was closed I had thought the crystal red tint would be my favorite, but in traveling down the row we came to the green ones first and they caught my eye. I didn't really like thr crystal tint red and for some strange reason didn't go for the red hot option .

(Oh Yeah, as much as I hated to, being a guy, I had to get the book out to get directions on how to put the thing in reverse, little different )

Karen_S · June 2014

@Kirstie_H said:
The latest addition.

Nice! And I'm not showing this to my husband. He will be green with envy!

Kirstie_H · June 2014

@xwesx said:
Hahahah; sweet! Are both the truck and trailer new, or just the trailer? It's funny how stumpy the front end of the trailer is. Clearly, the RV manufacturers are catering to the short-bed crowd! With an 8' bed like that Ford has, you could get a fifth wheel trailer with another 3' of bedroom on the front of it without being any longer of a tow!

Truck was purchased in March or April - new to us, but it's a 2008. Trailer was purchased on Friday. Bigger trailer? No thanks. That means more room to store visitors. Camping is our peaceful alone time

andys120 · June 2014

stever · June 2014

Okay, got a shot of the new minivan in the garage, a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Heading out next week for New Mexico to run a load out.

ray80 · June 2014

@stever said:
Okay, got a shot of the new minivan in the garage, a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Heading out next week for New Mexico to run a load out.

Nice, lots of room for stuff in this one.

imidazol97 · June 2014

@stever said:
Okay, got a shot of the new minivan in the garage, a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Heading out next week for New Mexico to run a load out.

Congratulations on the new van.

stever · June 2014

Thanks, and yeah, there is a lot of room in it. Tell me again why people buy trucks?

slorenzen · June 2014

@stever said:
Thanks, and yeah, there is a lot of room in it. Tell me again why people buy trucks?

Because you can't haul firewood, dirt or rock in a van? At least not much volume...

What's a yard of 3/4 minus weigh?

Granted, I LIKE minivans and think they are far more useful than a CUV.

stever · June 2014

I have to admit I never hauled rocks in the van. Used the Subaru for that, LOL.

qbrozen · June 2014

I hauled mulch in the van. But I also did that with the Leaf.

Actually got 19 bags in the Leaf! Everyone at Home Depot was in shock, and quite a few commented that I was going to break the car. Of course, those people just don't use their heads... it didn't weigh more than 2 overly large adults, if you really think about it. While I was loading up, a guy pulled up in an Expedition and declared he'll be making 2 trips for his 20 bags. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at him.

stever · June 2014

Leaf mulch. Perfect.

nyccarguy · June 2014

I put 10 bags of Mulch in the 3er last year. This year the Pilot took 30 with 2 kids in the back seat;)

slorenzen · June 2014

I put 2 yards of super soil in the bed of my truck, around #1000 lbs.

Rode better...

ahightower · June 2014

@ray80 said:
(Oh Yeah, as much as I hated to, being a guy, I had to get the book out to get directions on how to put the thing in reverse, little different )

That color is very nice. I love how green and blue are coming back in style and edging out the ubiquitous "50 shades of gray" that Mercedes got going a while back. I was over silver about 10 minutes after it came out.

andre1969 · June 2014

About 5 years ago, I bought some Mirada/Cordoba alloy wheels for $75, with the intention of putting them on my '79 5th Ave one day. Well, I finally got around to it. Please excuse the blue-walls, for the time being

xwesx · June 2014

@andre1969 said:
About 5 years ago, I bought some Mirada/Cordoba alloy wheels for $75, with the intention of putting them on my '79 5th Ave one day. Well, I finally got around to it. Please excuse the blue-walls, for the time being

Looks good, Andre! Can I be the first to say.... "It's about time!"

andre1969 · June 2014

Those alloys will also fit my '57 DeSoto, but I know better to do that...the 70's and 50's really don't mix well...sort of like watching a Happy Day's episode and seeing all those Farrah Fawcett-inspired feathered hairstyles on the women...and sometimes the men!

mako1a · June 2014

Here's one

xwesx · June 2014

Funny that the photo shows $1.30 fuel during a time when that was outrageously expensive! Fuel was also that cost in the late 1990s for a few years, but it wasn't "expensive" that time around.

andre1969 · June 2014

Well, I don't have to remember too far back, as my '67 Catalina, '76 LeMans, and '79 Chryslers have the fuel filler behind the license plate.

fintail · June 2014

My fintail has the filler behind the plate, too. I put gas in it 8 days ago, so I remember those days

What's that off to the left, a 66 Country Squire? Cool.

stickguy · June 2014

And a jeepster behind it!

lemko · June 2014

My 1989 Cadillac Brougham has the fuel filler behind the license plate.

boaz47 · July 2014

@slorenzen said:

A yard of 3/4 weighs About 3000 pounds. It takes a F-250 or better.

andre1969 · July 2014

@boaz47 said:
A yard of 3/4 weighs About 3000 pounds. It takes a F-250 or better.

Back in 2006, I bought some topsoil from the place up the street. They told me that a cubic yard would weigh about 2800 lb. Well, I'll confess that I had grossly overloaded my '85 Silverado before, so I figured I'd chance it, as it was just a half-mile drive.

Well, I got the load home, and unloaded it, and saw just how far a cubic yard of topsoil DOESN'T go, so I went back for another. And then a third. By the time I got the third home, I was tired as heck, so I let the truck sit, and had a beer. And that's when I heard two cracks, in rapid succession.

I didn't know what it was, until I got the truck unloaded, and noticed the tailpipes were hanging kind of low. The Silverado had a single exhaust, but with two pipes coming out of the muffler, both exiting on the driver's side. I think I had weighted it down so much that the pipes got pinched by the rear axle as it settled, and the stress caused them to snap at the muffler, where it was already rusting, and weak.

I remember going into DC on one hot summer Saturday, and suddenly heard a dragging sound. Those tailpipes had finally worked their way loose enough that they were dragging the pavement, on Route 50 coming into DC. Luckily I was able to pull off onto a service road and then a parking lot, got them completely off the truck, and threw them in a dumpster.

Well, then about a month later, I was in Baltimore, and heard more dragging. This time it was the muffler itself, which after being unsupported on one end for too long, I guess, finally stressed out the pipe leading into it, and it broke loose. I pulled off by the Ravens' stadium, kicked it loose with my boot, and, forgetting that it was still hot, grabbed it with my bare hands to throw it in the back of the truck, and got a nice burn...

After that, I had learned my lesson, and stopped overloading the truck! And the next time I needed dirt, I just ordered a dumptruck load...14 cubic yards. It was worth the $80 to deliver it!

I still see people leaving that material place though, in their compact/midsized pickups, and half-ton full-sizers. Most of them look like they're loaded down at an even worse stance than my Silverado was! Even worse, some of them go out on the main road with those loads, a divided road with cross traffic and a 45 mph speed limit. In my case, I just stayed on my own street and kept it easy. I wonder how much more effort it takes to panic-stop a half-ton pickup from, say, 45-50 mph with an extra 2800 lb in the bed? I imagine that has to be hell on not only the brakes, but the whole structure of the truck!

boaz47 · July 2014

Now and then I have done it with a beefed up 3/4 ton with heavy duty rear suspension and one of the older 7.2 diesels. Last time was with a 1 ton dodge dully diesel. I can't imagine trying to move a yard of gravel or even dirt with a 1/2 ton. You could pull it with a trailer but that is a lot of weight for a 1/2 ton.

mako1a · July 2014

boaz, I remember you from the old Frontlines site. The name also rings a bell (one of the pillars?). Maybe you could add what you drive and what state you hail from in your settings. Thanks, Dave

morgusx · July 2014

1999 Chrysler Concorde,

kyfdx · July 2014

Let's see if we can get a bigger picture:

stever · July 2014

Here we go again - part of this load is headed to my sister in VA (she gets the electric mower on the left). Most of the rest will go into storage in TN at my brother's pending our move to NM in a month. I do have a view out the back - this pic was taken at the shop getting a flat fixed and I had moved stuff around to get to my jack and tools. Picked up a nail doing a pit stop at McDonalds.

explorerx4 · July 2014

My daughter is getting ready to move to Madison WI, over a thousand miles from CT. One of the tires on her Escape was mounted backwards when the tire was plugged over the winter. I had it mounted the right way, but it started losing air. Brought it to another (closer) place to have it fixed. They said they removed a nail and plugged it, no charge. Of course it still lost air. Took it to another place and they replaced the valve stem ($4.05). It seems to be holding air now.

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