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In November of 1997 I bought my first new vehicle. Today, that old friend no longer belongs to me. It always was a bit of an unusual truck. You don't see many of these 7700 lb gvw Fords out there with their bizarre 7-lug wheels. Heavier than an f-150, but lighter than a heavy duty 3/4. I guess it was more of a 5/8 ton. It was a 1997 F-250 light duty 4x4 with the 4.6L v8. I paid extra for the automatic transmission thinking my then fiancé (still my wife today ❤️) who couldn't drive a manual would drive it periodically. It was the first vehicle I ever drove with an automatic transmission. In 20 years, she probably drove the truck 5 times. the things we do for love! It could carry 2700 pounds and it did that and more many, many times. It probably has hauled over 100 separate wheel horses in its 8-ft bed. Until 2003 it was my daily driver until I grew tired of the 17 mpg it gave. Since then I added another car and only used the truck as a truck. So the last 50000 miles or so were usually loaded with something...rock, dirt, tractors, drywall, etc. or pulling a trailer. In reality, it's worked pretty hard when called upon for the last 14 years. It moved me and my belongings from Illinois to Missouri to Indiana and back to Illinois. A friend borrowed it to move his stuff and ended up making multiple back and forth trips to West Virginia. its its been registered and titled in three states all under the same name -mine. Never an accident and until a hailstorm last spring that claimed the headlamps and windshield it was still 100% factory. It's going to be weird not seeing it around anymore. Hopefully it doesn't get crushed soon as I think it has quite a bit of life left in it. I'm sure it's bound for an auction as the next part of its life. age was starting to take a toll and rust was making weird things happen. The engine and transmission are still sound but it had been decaying around the edges. The exhaust manifolds are both rusted, the 4x4 system only works 75% of the time, the AC is dead, and general rust was making it somewhat unreliable. I had good luck in the last 20 years with this truck, but it did make me pucker the time the brake line ruptured at a rail crossing with a train careening across the road. Had I not got that sucker to stop by throwing it in park and flooring the emergency brake the day would have ended differently. Another er time it wouldn't start after launching the boat with the trailer still in the water. That was fun. And there was that 10-degree winter night between Decatur and Springfield Illinois when the heater core blew leaving me with no heat and a puddle of coolant on the floorboards. Thank god Home Depot was still open that night so I could cut the heater hoses and isolate the heater core. That last 120 miles to mom and dads house was cold and my poor dog kept looking at me with confusion on why we were freezing with the windows open a crack (to keep from fogging up)instead of running the heat. But it was still a good truck for me. Some time ago it hit that valuation that made anything beyond regular maintenance an undesirable investment for me. Filling the 30 gallon tank increased its value by 25% The new battery this spring kind of broke the camel's back so I kept it through the summer to get some work done around the house and decided to sell it before the plate expired in November. No regrets letting it go, but it's going to be missed for a while. replacing it and my wife's car is a Honda Ridgeline that better suits our current needs. We're back to two vehicles which just makes more sense. I'm sure others have old trucks or their first cars with which they parted and it might be neat to hear some stories. Farewell old friend! steve
