truck

Running Boards Are A Must Have For This Old Lady

While I love our new truck, I have been having a hard time getting in and out of it. Because it is a 4X4, it is very high off the ground. The F-250’s tend to be higher up than the 150’s too. Anyway, FabGrandpa went back to Tuscaloosa for the third time today to get the running boards and the tonneau cover installed.

Ford F-250 Lariat 2006 4X4 diesel — This truck is too high off the ground for me to get in and out of!

The good folks over at Truck Supply in Tuscaloosa had everything we needed. They installed the black running boards. I have to tell you that I was very concerned about how this would be done.

Back in 2001 when we bought Baby Doll, our 1997 F-F250 that we just traded in for this truck, we took it to Leer in Atlanta to have the running boards put on. A couple of days later, I was going to lunch from the job I was working at back then. All the guys at that place were standing out there looking at my truck, because I had the best truck of anyone who worked there at the time. I stepped up on that running board to get into the truck, and it fell off of the truck, and I wound up falling on my hiney in the parking lot. I was so embarrassed! We told the Eric at Truck Supply that story and he assured us that would not happen this time!

Truck Supply Tuscaloosa alabama — Eric of Truck Supply and FabGrandpa

Truck supply sells all kinds of things you would need for a pickup truck. They have running boards, tonneau covers, shell covers, tool boxes, hitches, and a whole lot more. I saw some of the biggest truck tires I have ever seen in there! Their prices were very reasonable, too. We had to order the tonneau, but it was delivered to them in one day.

truck accessories, running boards, tonneau covers, hitches — The tonneau display at Truck Supply

FabGrandpa had been thinking of getting the soft cover, that was more like a heavy canvas cover. I don’t like those, as they don’t seem to be as secure as the hard ones. I have always thought that someone could just use a knife to cut one of those open and take your stuff. At least with the hard one, that raises up like a car trunk, there is a lock and key so I feel like my stuff in the back of the truck is safer. We decided on the hard one.

running boards, tonneau cover, ford f-250 4x4 lariat — Doesn't she look gorgeous with the running boards and tonneau installed?

The running boards and tonneau cover just made this truck look more beautiful to me! I think this is the nicest ride I have ever owned. It is a long long way from that old 84′ Cavalier Wagon we used to have!

pick up truck running boards and tonneau cover — Gorgeous!

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We Bought A New Truck

Karen · 5 Comments

We went on a trip to Georgia last week to visit FabGrandpa’s mother. She had fallen the week before and broke her hip. They operated on her to repair the damage, and then she was moved to a rehabilitation facility near her home. It is not what we as a family would like to hear, but with physical therapy and a lot of hard work, she’ll be able to go back home. I felt so helpless not being able to make her comfortable for more than a minute or two while I was there.

1997 Ford F-250 Diesel 4-door crew cab — My Baby Doll

When we got back home, FabGrandpa checked the oil in the old truck, the one we always called Baby Doll. She was so low on oil that it was not registering on the dipstick. That was so unlike her–in the more than 10 years that we owned her, she had been an excellent workhorse, and served us well. But, since we are getting ready to travel almost 2000 miles pulling a 34′ travel trailer, I did not feel comfortable taking a chance with a truck that was leaking oil. He called the Ford dealership in Tuscaloosa and talked to them about making a repair, and set it up for dropping Baby Doll off yesterday.

Townsend Ford Tuscaloosa — Townsend Ford

On the way to Tuscaloosa, we decided to look to see if Townsend Ford had any used F-250’s on the lot. They did. As a matter of fact, they had at least four, and one used F-350 dually that I was in love with. Larry Price, the salesman, showed us all five of them. We drove all of them, and decided that this tan 2006 Ford F-250 Lariat 4X4 Diesel Power Stroke V8 with 89,000 miles on it was the one for us. It is loaded! It has a 6-disc CD player, heated seats, defroster on the side mirrors, all the razz matazz you can think of:

Ford F-250 diesel 2006 — Our new truck--yet to be named

We had to go back to the dealership today for them to put on new tires and a new switch for the mirror adjuster. All of the people who work at Townsend Ford were great! They treated us like we were valued as customers, and that really makes a big difference when you are making such a big purchase. From the sales manager, (sorry, I forgot to get his name) to the service tech, they were all smiling, and I’d like to think it wasn’t just because we’d just dropped a chunk of change there.

Larry, our salesman, probably spent more time with us today than he did yesterday, helping us get things squared away. I can not stress enough how smoothly this purchase went, and how good I felt about the service we had at this dealership. I have been to car lots before to buy a car, and have salesmen treat me as if I was invisible and only discussed the vehicles with my husband. I hated that, and I can tell you, there are several dealerships in the Atlanta area who lost sales because of it. I did not feel that way at all at Townsend Ford.

Me and Larry the salesman — Here I am with Larry

Oh, and look at this:

1957 thunderbird convertible — I only wish!

Too bad it won’t haul the Jayco! But don’t I look mahvelous, dahling?

2006 Ford F-250 Lariat Power Stroke diesel V8 — It's a little high off the ground!

The only thing wrong with this truck, is that it is soooo high off the ground. I have a hard time getting in and out of it. So, tomorrow, FabGrandpa is taking back to Tuscaloosa to Truck Supply to get running boards and a tonneau cover for the bed. Can’t wait for those running boards!

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I Feel Like A Redneck Now

Karen · 4 Comments

Here are just a few pictures of the new truck to tease you with. I’ll be writing more about this adventure tomorrow:

Ford 2006 pick up truck — My bee-yoo-ti-ful new truck!

2006 Ford F-250 diesel — I need some running boards ASAP!

2006 Ford Lariat F-250 — It's a towing beast!

Ford F-250 diesel — I Loves Me a Power Stroke!

More tomorrow, I promise~!

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Getting Ready To Roll Again

Karen · 3 Comments

My last day to work for this season was Saturday. I spent Sunday doing as little as possible–all I did was work on that baby quilt. Then on Monday, I spent all day cleaning out closets, drawers, cubby holes, and the pantry. I do this every time before we leave on a road trip so that everything is all neat and clean, and to get rid of extra weight of the things we have accumulated over the season. I was planning to finish up the quilt today, but….

Last week when FabGrandpa went to town, he made an appointment for work to be done on the truck, thinking he would be off on Tuesday. Well, he is not off on Tuesday, and hasn’t been all season, so I was elected to go and take care of business. I was ok with going, but I have so many things on my “TO DO” list Iwasn’t really happy about it. This morning, I got up at 4:30 A.M. and drove to Utah to the mechanic. It was sooo foggy out there it was hard to see, but I did ok.

That photo was taken on the side of the road at about 5:45 A.M., before the sun came up. It was getting lighter outside, but still hard to see in the fog. Had breakfast at Jacob Lake, then headed on down the plateau towards Kanab. The sun was out and shining on the Vermillion Cliffs—I think this is the best photo I have ever been able to get of them since it had rained the night before and washed all the dust out of the air.

PA190020 — Vermillion Cliffs on Hwy 89A in Arizona

I love seeing this area, it looks different every day, in every light. I got to Kanab about 8:30 A.M. Utah time, (7:30 AZ time). It’s kind of like going from Carrollton, Georgia to Anniston, Alabama—it’s just over the state line, but in a different time zone. I dropped off the truck, and my friend Chris picked me up. The first place we headed was the coffee shop! I NEEDED coffee!

After a french vanilla cappucino, we went to the fabric store. Need I say more? I didn’t get a lot of stuff, but did get what I needed to finish up the quilt I am working on:

I got a batting and this solid pink Kona Cotton for the back. Now I can sit down tomorrow and finish this little jewel up!

I also got this set of fabric:

I really love that green batik, and it looks really good with the others in blues, purples, and greens. I am thinking about making a laptop bag out of it, but really haven’t decided yet. The last thing I got was 4 yards of white on white print just so I will have it for when I need it. I never have enough of solids, especially whites and creams.

After I dragged myself away from the Ace Hardware/Fabric Shop, we went to a couple of thrift stores. Didn’t find much that interested me today there. The last stop with Chris was at Calvin T’s barbecue for lunch. I had a pulled pork sandwich without the bun, and some potato salad. The barbecue was the best I have had in this part of the country (in my opinion, they really don’t know how to do barbecue here 🙂 but the potato salad was lacking. I always measure potato salad by what my mother makes, and this was not even close.

Finally, the truck was ready to go, so Chris dropped me back at the mechanic shop to pick it up. It was hard to say goodbye because I don’t know when we’ll meet again. Such is the life of a fulltime RV’er, though. There’s always Facebook!

On the way home, I stopped at the Fresh Produce sign, and picked up some corn and tomatoes:

The weird thing is, that those tomatoes weren’t cracked open like that until I got back up the plateau. It happened last time we bought some, too. I think it is the high altitude, over 8800 feet, that does this. But it is weird that ONLY the fresh picked ones do this, not the hard ones from the grocery store. Hmmmmm…….

I had to stop and take this one last picture, because the place just looked so, well, photogenic, today:

This is on Hwy 67 on the way to the North Rim, in the Warm Fire area. The Warm Fire happened in 2006, started by a lightning strike, and burned about 58,000 acres. In case you can’t get your head around 58,000 acres, you drive through the burned area for 11 miles. Those clouds, with tinge of gray around the edges, and the stark trees, just screamed “WINTER IS COMING!”. I’m glad I’m leaving soon.

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