Gotta disagree here especially considering the MPG some guys seem to get.
If it’s a daily I guess the smart thing to do is get a high MPG daily.
The truck I’m building isn’t going to be a daily and the better MPG it gets the more likely I’ll be to take it on road trips instead of the other vehicles
I am real curious about how much of an improvement you can get with mods.
Especially since I just filled up for $4.19 a gallon.
Im to the point where Im more likely to take the truck on long road trips and just close my eyes when I stop at the gas station.
Every gas station.
Only because after 16 or maybe 18 hours of driving I can fall out of the truck and crawl away from it.
I cant take that long of a drive in the econo cars without bending the door trying to pull myself out of it.
My Dad warned me about this.
He said son, sooner or later you reach Caddillac time.
I could run out and buy a new truck.
But there is no way on earth that i am going too spend more than I paid for my first house on a truck.
Hell, Im not even done wearing this one out yet.
My reasoning for behind chasing reliability over mods is thus,
I used to be a Dodge truck salesman.
That was a real eye opener.
New cars are the most sure way to suck money out of your pocket.
Well except boats. New boats are just dumb.
I havent had a car payment in about twenty years.
Over those twenty years I have probably spent about 15 grand or so on buying cars.
Maybe another 15 on parts.
But with sales tax and financing and insurance,
I have about $240,000 dollars more in my retirement.
I wrenched my way into having enough money in savings to put a down on houses that I flipped for profit because I knew that my crap wagon would make it down the road.
And I always keep a backup crap wagon.
Or two, or four.
Just my take bud, you dont build wealth and security by chasing dimes per gallon.
You build wealth and security by using your mechanical skills to stretch your vehicles as far as you possibly can.
Maintain it, drive untill it is beyond hope.
Buy another one.
Use the money you save over the next ten years as a down swat on a house.
Use the truck to fix the house, flip the house
Take the profit, stick it in the bank.
Form an LLC,
Run your entire business world through the LLC.
Register the truck through the LLC.
Take the tax depreciation for it.
And on and on and on.
Yes, this is a bit of a rant.
But, I started with a clapped out 83 K5 blazer back in about 91 or so.
I didnt have **** all of anything.
It was a bad idea.
Im 6'4"
Living in a Blazer sucked.
If you dont have a bunch of money?
If this is your dailly?
Dont **** with it.
Use it.
Many, many, many people have used the gmt400 platform as a step up over the years.