Pretty Pictures

I'm just making an observation here, but it seems like it is something all NEW O/O or L/O should think about.

I know there are lots of ways to spend money on a truck. Most of them totally necessary, some of them worthwhile, some of them strictly to stroke your own ego.

Yes, lots of lights and lots of chrome looks real purtty. But it costs a lot of money, and gives you back absolutely N O T H I N G in the way of pay back. That chrome does NOT save you fuel mileage, nor does it make you money in ANY way. Now perhaps the chicken lights do help from a standpoint of making you more visible at night, but realistically, if your DOT mandated lighting is up to par, and folks are too blind drunk or fast asleep to see them, what makes you think adding lights is gonna make them see you.

I am not in any way faulting those folks who want to "pimp their ride," as long as they KNOW THEY CAN AFFORD IT. IMHO this is for the driver who has been a L/O or O/O for enough years to FLAT OUT KNOW what they can and can't afford.

When you first get into a contract on a truck, it would strongly behoove you to watch how you spend each and every penny.

 

Good advice, BD (or is it OF? ; JK, JK)

The other thing is, why add chrome/lights/whatever to a lease truck, i.e., a truck that is not and will never be yours? If you swap out the OEM in-dash radio for your Pioneer Big Boy, hold on to it and put it back in when your lease is up. Ditto chain racks and load lock holders and personalized mud flaps, etc; I think some lease agreements state that what you add to the truck stays with the truck. They're going to hit you for things like tires or gaskets or body work or a water pump when they prep the truck for resale anyway--why give 'em more than you have to?

 

Again, someone who does not understand the contract and refuses to consider it. Yes, you are right. The majority of L/Os have no intention of purchasing the truck they are leasing. There are some others who are laying the groundwork ahead of time and have every intention of being in a position to purchase. Unlike Prime's lease contract, there is an option at the end of Swift's. It's whether you want to and how you get there. If you want to, you have to work toward that goal from the beginning...rather than wait until three months from the end of the lease to scramble for financing.

Yeah, I know...who in their right mind would pay even more money for something they've already paid over $100K for. Everybody has their own reasons.

Regarding chrome: if I want to put hub caps and lug nut covers on my truck, at a cost of roughly $100, why do you care? You bet'cha I put in on. And you're right. It is only there to stroke my ego. But I like it and I could afford it....and it's a tax writeoff.

I happened to have tail lights because I put them on my Prime leased truck. My personal experience with the tail lights is car drivers notice them a lot more than those tiny lights near the middle of the rear. They seem to actually pay attention to my turn signal with the tail lights over the wheels. It's where they're used to looking for tail lights. Therefore, it is a safety issue. In order for me to put my tail lights on, I had to replace the angled mudflap hangers with straight ones. Found the ones I wanted, did the wiring and mounting myself and now I have my tail lights...and additional backup lights.

I intend on putting 1/4 fenders in front of my drives so I can stop flipping mud and rocks around. IMO, another safety issue. I don't need a rock flipping out of my tire and hitting someone else. After that, I don't think I'll be making any more additions to the truck.

The times you have to leave your stuff with the truck are when you made modifications to install. I'm not talking about adding a little wiring. I can snip the wire, butt it off and seal it with shrink-wrap. No permanent modification.

Adding an APU? Major modification: cutting holes, drilling the frame, adding fuel lines, tapping into the main electric system, adding controls to the inside of the truck, so many alterations as to change the appearance of the vehicle. Therefore, it is spelled out in the contract that if you install an APU, it stays with the truck. I have no intention of instaling an APU. Unless someone else wants to pay for it. An APU would be a complete waste of my money.

Mr. BigDon is absolutely right, though. If you don't have the money, don't spend it. That's simple business sense. And a very, very good point.

No, I did not take anyone's comment as a personal attack. I am merely telling you my justifications for what I've done with my truck. The question was asked.

 

WHOA THERE! If you can do it, run back and get them! Those things are expensive (relatively) and can be repaired cheaper than replaced.

 

BigDon: Scottie has the required 7. He doesn't need those busted-up ones. Besides: he can pick up extras if he needs them from the chan bin behind most of the shops and not have to deal with repairing them. They don't treat tire chains like a controlled substance here. You need 'em, get 'em.

 

Hell I've had to fight tooth and toenail to get tire chains. And that was for a COMPANY truck. If his company will furnish them to him, wonderful.

 

actually, you SHOULD have mounts on the arms for the side mirrors. i'll have to send you a picture once i get stopped. You can run coax thru the arm and up where the CB goes. Looks like the previous driver took some crap off the truck they should have left. The quote i got from Walcott CB on I-80 in Iowa was about $400....to run new coax, new antenna and a peak and tune. I lost my drivers side antenna in an ice storm somewhere in Wyoming on I-80. been running on the passenger side antenna since. and i only get out maybe a mile. =) i wanna big boy radio like Billy Big Rig....

the tank drain is at the bottom of your drivers side fuel tank. about in the middle of that fairing. as far as your upper bunk, is there not a belt buckle type attachment to fold it 90* up and flush against the back wall?

my truck didn't have one, though, i happen to have found the specs for the truck when it rolled off the assembly line. and it clearly showed they installed a fridge. not much i can do about it now.....

 

Stopped in Memphis, since i dropped my trailer, i ran over to the KW dealership which was like 3 blocks away. Went in just for a pair of fog lights, and wiper blades....ended up getting that plus a KW keychain, 20 lug covers (with red inserts and the KW logo...they're kinda slick) and hub covers for the steers. sure cleans up the look of the wheel.

scottie...if yours is at all like mine, the center cap cover (should you choose to get 'em) is the 5 tooth veriety. what you do, is count how many flanges are on the inside of your wheel, and then once you get the cap, you have to take the tiny clips (they'll be taped to the inside of the cover) and clip them on the flange of the cap. kind of complicated, but you'll figure it out. =)

 

For the life of me I'll never understand why people let themselves get taken by L/P deals.

Please don't give me that freedom crap! If you're the type of person who does, you obviously have no clue as to what freedom really is...

I do like the color scottie...