New Bronco

[ThundahBeagle]

Careful what you ask for?

Well, when I joined this relatively small community almost 15 years ago...

Don’t get me wrong, I‘m not saying there is anything inherently bad about this, but it’s a totally different thing than grabbing a cheap cooler, MSR stove and a basic toolkit and throwing an old air mattress in the back of your rig and getting a few stamps in your passport.

I have changed my priorities as well, and now camp out of one of our custom Airstreams, or in a shiny new truck camper with lots of comforts, but I use these rigs to access back country hunting and fishing spots. I haven’t done a trip worthy of being talked about on here in probably close to 6-7 years. That’s why I don’t spend nearly as much time on ExPo anymore. I call it what it is… car camping.

I for one admit I do not Overland. However, I do truck camp. In doing so, I grab a cheap cooler, an old Primus stove, a basic tool kit, and an air mattress and get going. I have a few stamps in my passport but mostly through flying (which I hate) and riding up PEI. No stamps for that or whatever rest of the US I've seen.

One thing I can say is that seeing what everyone like you have done, I'm glad your ilk still post here. My puny by comparison trips have been made better by some of the tips and hacks found on these forums, so I appreciate it. So while I'm not Overlanding per se, I benefit from some of the things the hard core people do here, and I am most definitely not the guy who has money to spend making all the items of my checklist the most expensive variety. I'm still a tarp for my awning kind of guy.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I love how the overseas Toyota's just get these ridiculous, god like, reputations when we have some quite nice vehicles here.

Honestly, the overseas ratings are whacky to me. My guess is a Toyota Hilux is not a beefier truck than a domestic half ton, but they are simply given ratings that would be considered insane in the US. Take a look at the Australian Ranger. It weighs the same as a domestic Ranger, its not like its built on some ridiculous chassis, but is then given payload ratings that make a US half ton owner blush.

Our 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks are ridiculously stout.

And...the Toyota Tacoma gets what? 19 miles per gallon?!?! I get that in my Sierra while I'm driving around in a sofa with room in the box for a queen sized bed or a bunch more cargo or tools

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Thi

Sure... But how do you pay rent / mortgage / utilities / food etc.... Life costs money... how are they surviving?

#vanlifewalmartparkinglotsbloggingincome?

This is what happens when you strike fear in the hearts of men, telling them thier d!x will explode if they so much as step outside without a proper gas mask, shut down factories, and pay people to stay home.

Sure, the checks stopped coming but you save a lot of dough living at home, not driving to work or eating out, and your student debt has been forgiven. I'm not even being political. This is just what the situation seems to be.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And...the Toyota Tacoma gets what? 19 miles per gallon?!?! I get that in my Sierra while I'm driving around in a sofa with room in the box for a queen sized bed or a bunch more cargo or tools

Different uses require different trucks.

I will not do things with my '150 that I will with my Ranger... and vice versa. Tight trails made for a jeep, tight barn lots and the like the ranger will pummel the fullsize. Open highway and heavy towing is the F-150's game.

My Ranger does have a longer bed though lol.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Different uses require different trucks.

I will not do things with my '150 that I will with my Ranger... and vice versa. Tight trails made for a jeep, tight barn lots and the like the ranger will pummel the fullsize. Open highway and heavy towing is the F-150's game.

My Ranger does have a longer bed though lol.

Love those old Rangers and S-10's

Someone a few miles from my house has a green (like yours) Bronco II for sale. Just drove by and noticed it today. I'm intrigued.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Love those old Rangers and S-10's

Someone a few miles from my house has a green (like yours) Bronco II for sale. Just drove by and noticed it today. I'm intrigued.

A couple years ago there was a clean brown 84 roller on marketplace with a title. They had just pulled the engine and trans out of it. Asking $400

This was right after I did the 5speed swap on my '85 so I still had the C5 and 1350 tcase laying around. AKA I had a darn near perfect V8 conversion for a trailer queen.

I still kick myself for that one...

 

[Crazy Schooner]

82 days after dropping the Bronco off, I might (ffs) get it back today. Quick little trip to a park and tomorrow, I bloody hope I can trade it off without hassle.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

$21/hr doesn’t really get you that far. Health insurance, utilities, fuel, the cost of goods and services. Companies offering $15-25/hr a few years ago would’ve brought folks running in droves. Nowadays, with pandemic and political craziness lurking everywhere, not many people are eager to rush back out into the public for an okay wage. There’s also an irony to the fact that we’re discussing wages on a forum about the new Ford Bronco, one of the the newest big bad big boy toys on the market. How much of one’s monthly wage (at $21/hr, after taxes) would it take to make the monthly payment on a new Bronco. And of course it’s got to be all kitted out, because otherwise you’ll be the goof with the stock truck in the line of folks with ALL the gear. So that makes the dream all that much more out of reach.

I’m not saying people should turn their noses up at these opportunities, but to a degree I can understand the social and financial dynamics that are at play that may be influencing what we’re all seeing all around us.

Human dignity has to come into play at some point. I’m 42 and could retire today comfortably - I’d take a 21 an hour job if I lost my current one, I don’t think it’s beneath me to work at the depot. Heck they have clean restrooms at least… lol

 

[Todd n Natalie]

82 days after dropping the Bronco off, I might (ffs) get it back today. Quick little trip to a park and tomorrow, I bloody hope I can trade it off without hassle.

Still looking at a 4Runner?

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Human dignity has to come into play at some point. I’m 42 and could retire today comfortably - I’d take a 21 an hour job if I lost my current one, I don’t think it’s beneath me to work at the depot. Heck they have clean restrooms at least… lol

Exactly. I'd probably try and get in at Cabela's so I could get a discount on crap too, haha

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Human dignity has to come into play at some point. I’m 42 and could retire today comfortably - I’d take a 21 an hour job if I lost my current one, I don’t think it’s beneath me to work at the depot. Heck they have clean restrooms at least… lol

I kinda think a lot of the "problem" rather than young people that "don't want to work"... To avoid exposure or just enjoy life a lot of people retirement age working for something to do just retired.

Both my wife and I have changed jobs moving up in the world to fill vacancies from people retiring. People ain't buying up all the houses with the covid checks from two years ago

No science or figures to back it up, just my private musing.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

My puny by comparison trips have been made better by some of the tips and hacks found on these forums, so I appreciate it. So while I'm not Overlanding per se, I benefit from some of the things the hard core people do here, and I am most definitely not the guy who has money to spend making all the items of my checklist the most expensive variety. I'm still a tarp for my awning kind of guy.

This is exactly why I joined Expo and why I'm still here.

 

[Crazy Schooner]

Still looking at a 4Runner?

Considering they still have the 4runner I ordered on hold for me, yeah thats the plan. Interest rates are kinda a craphsoot right now though, but they did hold onto it for 54 days and not give me grief, so I'll probably just buy it rather then fight for my deposit back after all this time. I really don't want something else to break on this Bronco and be stuck in another rental for the summer.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Human dignity has to come into play at some point. I’m 42 and could retire today comfortably - I’d take a 21 an hour job if I lost my current one, I don’t think it’s beneath me to work at the depot. Heck they have clean restrooms at least… lol

Judging by the fact that a young 20-something I know refused to work with his late 50-something uncle the bricklayer at 25 per hour last summer, for "fear of contracting COVID" , human dignity has taken a nose dive. Same kid who wants his college debt forgiven, and whose father still buys his cars for him...I dont know. He is a nice and good guy. But these views seem incongruous with a hard work ethic

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Judging by the fact that a young 20-something I know refused to work with his late 50-something uncle the bricklayer at 25 per hour last summer, for "fear of contracting COVID" , human dignity has taken a nose dive. Same kid who wants his college debt forgiven, and whose father still buys his cars for him...I dont know. He is a nice and good guy. But these views seem incongruous with a hard work ethic

Sounds more like a fear of contracting callouses on his hands.?