Yeah, they were well over the line. I always leave room for my tailgate when I back in.
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When did pick up trucks turn into cars?
- Thread starter timtune
- Start date
Yeah, they were well over the line. I always leave room for my tailgate when I back in.
Should have climbed up onto his hood to load your stuff in the bed.
My hitch has saved me a few times from idiots.
Once when I was in high school, one of my classmates wasn't paying attention and slid into me when stopped at a red light. The hitch went through her bumper, condenser and rad. I buffed the black line off the bumper and cut the bent pin holding the tongue in and I was back to good.
Another time in a gas station parking lot waiting to turn onto a busy road, similar situation, lower speed. Guy behind me with his Tim's not paying attention. Tongue penetrated his bumper/grille and bumped into the condenser before he stopped. My bumper never got touched. Had a look and told him to have a good day. Without the hitch, he would have been paying to fix my car. Now it was up to him to decide whether to claim/fix/leave his car.
I see the benefits, but I also see myself stubbing my shins on the hitch.
All. The. Time.
So, it's a no from me, Simon.
Don't get me wrong, it used to occasionally bite me and my wife swears a lot when the hitch on her car bashes her shins. We are both past that now. They have been in so long that you get used to it. The problem comes when you normally have it out but left it in for some reason.
The fuel economy game has become so much better in the last 10 years that it almost makes sense to upgrade
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I'd steer anybody away from one of those things. Plenty of horror stories.
I pulled up to a electrical/fire alarm contractor we frequently use to help us out. They have a good size fleet of vehicles. I noticed two newish looking promasters parked out front with No plates. I asked what's up. He said "junk" and rambled on about what pieces of trash they were and heading out for auction.
One hvac contractor returned his after his dash lit up like a Xmas tree and the thing left him stranded. Told me the vehicle was constantly in for repairs. Got rid of it in the end.
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sburns
Well-known member
You trying to make HD riders cry??!!
Well, think about all the tears that those dentists caused.
Turnabout is fair play, I say.
One of the problems with mini anythings is front wheel drive. I don't wrench trucks but suspect RWD is easier to fix. Our Chev Uplander needed a new alternator and the engine had to be tilted. The mechanic had another van in the shop and it looked in good conditions but parts and labour on a engine problem was going to cost more than it was worth to fix. He was getting scrap prices for the owner as a courtesy.
He's not doing as much Sprinter stuff because of parts prices. OEM is insane and aftermarket comes from the USA but takes weeks. If it's a trade van it is needed tomorrow or, better yet, yesterday.
He's not doing as much Sprinter stuff because of parts prices. OEM is insane and aftermarket comes from the USA but takes weeks. If it's a trade van it is needed tomorrow or, better yet, yesterday.
That uplander had a world of garbage design from a repair perspective. It's predecessor required you to drop the engine part way to get to the three rear plugs. Afaik, this continued until the whole platform was killed.
Design with little thought to maintenance is not exclusive to FWD. Check out this turd on a RWD vehicle.
That uplander had a world of garbage design from a repair perspective. It's predecessor required you to drop the engine part way to get to the three rear plugs. Afaik, this continued until the whole platform was killed.
Design with little thought to maintenance is not exclusive to FWD. Check out this turd on a RWD vehicle.
What's that off of? But that manufacturing mentality has been around for ages.
I knew a Ford production engineer that solved a turn signal installation problem by showing the assembly guys how to lever them into place with a broomstick. Great! How do you lever it out to change the bulb when it burns out?
1970 Oldsmobiles never had working backup lights after a few years. You had to take the rear bumper off to get at them.
I liked the Uplander for size, even with the short WB I could get a 4X8 sheet of plywood in the back with the seats out. The hatch had to be left open a few inches. Good seating and visibility and cheap to buy. Ours lasted 11 years but was starting to rust, tranny had a lurch and it needed struts. Bye bye.
I don't recall a plug change problem but with newer ignition systems 100,000 Km + on a set isn't unusual. A lot of cars never got a second set and some first owners never saw the first change. I can't imagine the 20,000 mile plug changes / tune ups on some cars.
I can't recall who published maintenance costs on cars, parts and labour. An intake manifold gasket on my brother's Pontiac Transport was $1600 IIRC. Some older main rear seals could be changed without pulling the transmission. Not now.
Ministry of labour doesn't help. If an interior panel has to be removed and there is an electrical connection the work must be done by a mechanic. An upholsterer isn't qualified to unplug a connector. Power just about everything and lights everywhere means an extra level of labour.
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I don't know which car that pic belongs to. I had seen similar designs recently and just posted the first pic I could find for mechanic unfriendly design.
Pontiac transport (predecessor to Uplander) had Iridium plugs with long change interval but required you to drop the front of the engine by a few inches to access the rear plugs. On the upside, the engine mounts were easy to access.
Mitchell has a popular flat rate guide which should give a solid idea of what you should expect to pay for labour. Not sure if that is what you were thinking of.
Hack
Well-known member
Most airheads can be a pia. But i still love em.
My F150 tailgate being aluminum and with the electric lock in it and the backup camera , my tailgate is worth about 3K. Ford had to install electric locks because stealing them was very popular.
I'm not likely to drop my tailgate on some dooshes $300 civic hood. I may encourage my dog to take a dump then carefully tuck it behind his front plate or close enough to his cabin air intake.
I'm not likely to drop my tailgate on some dooshes $300 civic hood. I may encourage my dog to take a dump then carefully tuck it behind his front plate or close enough to his cabin air intake.
wonderings
Well-known member
I am sure I have seen it, just not sure why it would bother anyone. Why do you care if they are trying to get attention? Let them attract the people who get attracted by tooting car horns.
People are bothered by different things? I travelled with 3 people who couldn’t stand a Rooster near our villa in the morning. By day 3 they were ready to turn it into the next meal. I appreciated the wake up call and couldn’t care less that the Rooster was doing Rooster things.
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