Bemused
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2015
- Messages
- 118
- Reaction score
- 1
I think this is the right spot for this, considering.
"What do you need a vehicle like that for?" asked the gentleman from across the pond. He was smoking a cigarette outside an American pub and I had come out of said pub to retrieve my jacket. "In my country [I forget which country he was from, western Europe] nobody has a gas hog like that. And it's so big. We don't need vehicles like that where I come from."
Well sir, Said I, I don't know what I would do without this truck. I can haul all my camping stuff and my wife and kids and dog and kitchen sink and go camp for a week without going back to town. I can fit all my hunting gear and a hunting partner and camping stuff AND two bull elk in it. I can drive my family and all our crap across the country if I wanted and we'd ride in comfort. I can fit a half cord of firewood at a time without a camper shell or lumber rack, we use a wood stove for heat in the winter. I can drive off road to the firewood or the elk etc. I can haul beds and dressers and tree trimmings and lumber and whatever else I want, reasonably. I can tow a boat or a trailer with it. I can load the family up and go hunting when the dirt roads are muddy and icy and rough. I can drive to work in the snow and ice safely. And more than that, this was my grandpa's truck that I bought from my grandma when he died and I always remember him when I drive it and it means a lot to me. There's not a damned thing I can't do with this vehicle.
His eyes were glazed over half way through my diatribe, he didn't care of course he just wanted to be superior. He repeated himself "well, we don't need vehicles like that where I come from. Only in America do you see trucks like this."
I left it alone, I didn't have the heart to tell him that this is actually not even a very big truck. "Full size" is arguable.
Truck in question; 2008 Toyota Tundra, 4x4, 5.7L V8. Did whatever I ever told it to and I looked good doing it. Well, last weekend a guy fell asleep and rear ended me on clear open highway. I was going ~75mph, he must have been doing 85. I fish-tailed and was able to keep her from rolling but crossed a ditch at 65+ mph and she is totaled. I'll never drive that truck again. It probably saved my life. A little back pain for a few days is all I had to show for it. Doesn't look like much damage at a glance, but it needs a new bed, new tailgate, new bumper, bed smashed into the cab, right rear suspension was hanging loose, muffler was bent around, right rear frame was a little tweaked and who knows what they found underneath. I hit the ditch hard. That's what was obvious and that's a lot of money. Here's my last view ever of her:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsskv6dojl.jpg
But let's remember better times. Elk camp 2015:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsptlcbiii.jpg
Chasing squirrels with the family:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Copyofsquirrelhunt011.jpg
Got a few pinstripes getting to this bull elk but we got him loaded. Beat the hell out of packing him out. The only thing better than shooting a bull elk is being able to drive to him:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/bullhunt14.jpg
I wasn't kidding. A week's worth of supplies, two humans and two bull elk. Road out was a sloppy, muddy, rocky mess. We cruised out in comfort:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps518jokmw.jpg
Yeah I'm gonna make good memories with the new one and the most important thing is that I'm ok and that my girls weren't with me, but I loved that truck as much as a man can love an inanimate object. The truck made the ultimate sacrifice. I'm in the market for another Tundra.
"What do you need a vehicle like that for?" asked the gentleman from across the pond. He was smoking a cigarette outside an American pub and I had come out of said pub to retrieve my jacket. "In my country [I forget which country he was from, western Europe] nobody has a gas hog like that. And it's so big. We don't need vehicles like that where I come from."
Well sir, Said I, I don't know what I would do without this truck. I can haul all my camping stuff and my wife and kids and dog and kitchen sink and go camp for a week without going back to town. I can fit all my hunting gear and a hunting partner and camping stuff AND two bull elk in it. I can drive my family and all our crap across the country if I wanted and we'd ride in comfort. I can fit a half cord of firewood at a time without a camper shell or lumber rack, we use a wood stove for heat in the winter. I can drive off road to the firewood or the elk etc. I can haul beds and dressers and tree trimmings and lumber and whatever else I want, reasonably. I can tow a boat or a trailer with it. I can load the family up and go hunting when the dirt roads are muddy and icy and rough. I can drive to work in the snow and ice safely. And more than that, this was my grandpa's truck that I bought from my grandma when he died and I always remember him when I drive it and it means a lot to me. There's not a damned thing I can't do with this vehicle.
His eyes were glazed over half way through my diatribe, he didn't care of course he just wanted to be superior. He repeated himself "well, we don't need vehicles like that where I come from. Only in America do you see trucks like this."
I left it alone, I didn't have the heart to tell him that this is actually not even a very big truck. "Full size" is arguable.
Truck in question; 2008 Toyota Tundra, 4x4, 5.7L V8. Did whatever I ever told it to and I looked good doing it. Well, last weekend a guy fell asleep and rear ended me on clear open highway. I was going ~75mph, he must have been doing 85. I fish-tailed and was able to keep her from rolling but crossed a ditch at 65+ mph and she is totaled. I'll never drive that truck again. It probably saved my life. A little back pain for a few days is all I had to show for it. Doesn't look like much damage at a glance, but it needs a new bed, new tailgate, new bumper, bed smashed into the cab, right rear suspension was hanging loose, muffler was bent around, right rear frame was a little tweaked and who knows what they found underneath. I hit the ditch hard. That's what was obvious and that's a lot of money. Here's my last view ever of her:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsskv6dojl.jpg
But let's remember better times. Elk camp 2015:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsptlcbiii.jpg
Chasing squirrels with the family:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Copyofsquirrelhunt011.jpg
Got a few pinstripes getting to this bull elk but we got him loaded. Beat the hell out of packing him out. The only thing better than shooting a bull elk is being able to drive to him:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/bullhunt14.jpg
I wasn't kidding. A week's worth of supplies, two humans and two bull elk. Road out was a sloppy, muddy, rocky mess. We cruised out in comfort:
https://2img.net/h/i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/******jake/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps518jokmw.jpg
Yeah I'm gonna make good memories with the new one and the most important thing is that I'm ok and that my girls weren't with me, but I loved that truck as much as a man can love an inanimate object. The truck made the ultimate sacrifice. I'm in the market for another Tundra.
![[3-Size Set] Copper Pipe Cleaner for Drill, Clean 1/2, 3/4, 1-in Copper Pipes & Tubes for Soldering, 3 Tube Cleaning Brushes, Model InerLok050, 075, 100, w/ Stainless-Steel Wire Bristles & 1/4” Shank](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41FEqUv4rNL._SL500_.jpg)
