Farm Truck
18 August 2008
I can't imagine being a farmer without a good pickup truck. I own a
Dodge Dakota 4x4. It's nothing fancy, just a typical pickup truck.
When I first purchased the truck, back before becoming a Kona coffee farmer,
I was taking some coworkers to lunch when one commented "Why do you need such
a big truck? I don't like big trucks, they waste gas and take up too
much space on the road. Why do so many people drive big trucks for no
reason?"
I'll admit that one person commuting in a large pickup doesn't make a lot of
sense. I commuted on a motorcycle when
we lived in LA but commuting on a motorcycle in snowy New Hampshire, where I
purchased the truck, doesn't make much sense. The coworker in question
was young and didn't own a home or do any sort of yard projects. Even
though my truck was new, I had already used it several times to haul stuff
that wouldn't fit in our station wagon. Some truck owners may not really
need a truck but I certainly do.
Not only do I have a truck, I also have a trailer to pull behind it. I
can't count how many times I've filled both the truck and trailer beyond
capacity. My truck is a V-8 and I've
used all eight of those V's pulling stuff up the hill. During harvest
season I regularly load over two tons of coffee cherry onto my truck
and haul it down to the mill. Two tons is beyond the truck's rated
capacity but I try to go slow and haven't broken or bent anything yet.
My truck has "full time all-wheel drive." At first I didn't want
all-wheel drive because of the extra expense, decreased mileage and
additional parts to break. The term "all-wheel drive" is vague and not
used consistently by manufacturers. In most cases AWD simply means a
limited slip differential in the transfer case. That gives the vehicle
better traction on slightly slippery pavement but can actually be worse
in true off-road conditions. A mechanic once told me that AWD in my
truck means the front-left and rear-right wheels are powered while the
other two spin free. Whatever the case, my truck does seem to slip
less while driving around the farm than other trucks do.
It's still possible to get my truck stuck. It bothers me that even in
4WD-LO the differentials are still not locked. Locked differentials
would mean the wheels would skid and bounce any time the truck turns
which would confuse and scare some drivers but when one or two tires
are stuck in the mud, a locked differential is the only way to get
out. I haven't gotten my truck completely stuck yet but it's been
close. I would happily give up all the fancy AWD stuff for a simple
different lock.
The worse part about my truck is the horrible mileage, best case is
maybe 15 mpg with less than 10 being more typical. The truck hasn't
been maintenance free either but so far nothing has broken that I
couldn't fix. I do need to change the oil again, I won't say how long
it's been.
My truck has 50,000 miles on it and I'll double that before even considering
a new truck. Maybe by then they'll have some sort of decent hybrid or
other alternative. Imagine four electric motors, one on each wheel.
A simple computer brain could power the wheels independently so they'd never
slip. If it also cost less and got better mileage, then it would be a
no brainer.
Unfortunately, electric and hybrid vehicles are still not a practical
solution for most people. The model T was introduced on October 1,
1908 which means we've been using and improving gasoline cars for over
100 years now. Electric and hybrid vehicles still have a ways to go to
catch up. I won't purchase one just because it's neat, it will have to
have equivalent power, handling, reliability and most importantly, be
less expensive than my truck.
It sure would be nice to have another solution though. With the
current prices of gas I'm glad that most days I stay on the farm and
don't need to drive anywhere. Now if only
my tractor was as reliable
as my truck. American made trucks may not be perfect but they sure
are better than cheap Chinese tractors.
UPDATE: After reading this post, a friend sent me a link to a video called
Killing a Toyota.
The video explores exactly what it takes to destroy a Toyota pickup truck.
It makes me think that maybe I've been a little too easy on my truck.
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