the REAL bday present

Obviously taking Charlie for a breathlessly carefree and refreshing spin around our cross country course last week was a perfect birthday celebration. But lo! Something else was afoot too!! 

trucky truck version 2.0

For some background: I bought my first truck, a 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 (v8, 4wd), back in 2014 from a dealer I found on Craigslist. The truck had just shy of 200K miles on it and a suspected oil leak, and I paid $4K cash.

Over the years, I replaced the brake lines twice (here and here ((this also still stands as one of my all-time favorite posts lol))), all four tires, and all the hoses and some stuff relating to temperature control / radiator / something or other I really honestly don't know.... I don't know anything about trucks but am perfectly satisfied to shove it off into the capable hands of my trusted mechanic. Make it Safe! and Reliable! and I'm Happy!

formal christening, care of my niece and nephew lol

I always knew that it was my "starter" truck, tho. And that eventually I'd upgrade to something much nicer -- like the trucks in the $8K range back when I was shopping in 2014. (*Hahaha such innocent, naïve times!*). 

More specifically, I was pretty positive the time had come when I first brought Charlie home. Which, you may recall, was the first time I gifted myself a vehicle as a birthday present --- when Charlie got his own appropriately sized chariot!

oh did i mention the flood lights? LOL

Somehow, tho, that old Chevy just kept on trucking. It never seemed like the right time to replace it. And you all know what happened next haha -- the used market went nuts omg wtf. 

guys it has like BUTTONS and stuff for the windows and mirrors omg -- no more cranks!

But I always casually kept an eye out, ya know? And a couple weeks ago, I found it <3

ooooh it has suicide doors too!!

So please allow me to introduce you to the version 2.0 of Emma's Tow Vehicle, the slightly absurd Big Daddy 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 (v8, 4wd), with just a hair over 100K miles. 

feast your eyes bc it will *never* be this clean and uncluttered again

Enhancements include: 4 doors with plenty of seating, more modern fittings like automatic windows, locks, mirror control (*gasp!*), fog lights galore, and absolutely ridiculous monster tires. Ahem, to be clear, this well-kept and lightly-used truck was most definitely somebody's plaything before coming to me lol.

guys these tires.... omg.... they might not be permanent lol, or will they?? see the red spikes omfg haha, more than one person has officially dubbed it slightly... redneck

But ya know. It hits all my requirements: v8 and 4wd and.... Yep, that about covers it LOL! Again, I'm not really a "truck" person. I don't really know much, don't really care much. But I've been towing as part of my regular routine now for something like 8 years (and ~40K miles)... so... it feels like I kinda know what I need for that pursuit.

spying from my apt window

Plus. Let's be real, guys. With the market as it is.... I really was not at all inclined to pay $20K for a truck that's gonna get driven a couple times a month and otherwise live under a tree. 

"sure sure, it's big dark and handsome... but, ahem, have you seen ME??" -- charlie, unimpressed

I wanted something nice enough to be easy and fun (and Safe! and Reliable!) to tow my ponies to horse shows, but not really much more than that.

anyway. horses and stuff <3

Because despite what my somewhat obsessive and excitable picture taking above suggests... Driving this thing around the city, and especially parking it in my neighborhood, is kinda a pain in the ass and significantly more expensive than my little civic lol. Which... Duh haha. 

and michael <3

The biggest advantage to this new vehicle is its unusually low mileage. Bc again, it was the former owner's toy, basically. He did CB radio stuff with it, used it to drive to the beach with his teenage kids, and... yea that was about it haha. So theoretically, with proper care and feeding, it should hopefully last me a good long time -- fingers crossed!

that's all for now!

There are a couple odds and ends to work out before it's tow-ready, like wiring in the electric brake controller. Plus I have a bed cover (tonneau?) on order since my last truck's cap really spoiled me for storage lol. 

And in the meantime I'm using it as my daily driver for a few weeks to get really comfortable with the new dimensions and figure out all its secrets lol (considering it's a used vehicle, they ALL have secrets!). 

Soon enough, tho, hopefully we'll be out and about with pony in tow!! Excitement abounds, lol. Anybody else have a similar approach to vehicle shopping? I tend to be a little trigger happy once I find something that fits my needs... But maybe you're more into research or have a longer list of specifications?