Living in the same town as your car-testing colleagues is a good thing, especially when you have a last-minute need for a truck.
The Sunday afternoon text conversation between me and Manager of Vehicle Testing Mike Schmidt (fellow Long Beachian) went something like this:
Me: What are you driving?
Schmidt: Ram.
Me: You busy?
Schmidt: Why?
Me: C'mon.
Schmidt: What do you need to move?
Me: Ganahl lumber yard. Need 200 ft of baseboard and door casing.
Schmidt: Game's at 4. Better be quick.
Turns out, my "rental" truck came with free labor.
That Mike Schmidt's one nice guy.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor
wobbly_ears says:
01:15 PM, 06/ 9/10
Kelly,
Please tell me that you bought him atleast a 12-pack of beer.
Rant: I don't know why chicks feel that they're free labor while moving stuff.
csubowtie says:
01:16 PM, 06/ 9/10
Good thing you had the sliding window. Also points out one of the drawbacks to owning a truck, people who don't have one still need to use one. And since most of us don't like to lend out our vehicles unsupervised, especially in situations where damage can occur (like loading heavy furniture, oversized home improvement materials) guess who gets roped into helping.
wobbly_ears says:
01:18 PM, 06/ 9/10
^ Correction:
Rant: I don't know why chicks feel that they're ENTITLED to free labor while moving stuff.
half_ton says:
01:22 PM, 06/ 9/10
@csubowtie
On a previous post by an IL staffer (can't remember who) he described not owning a pick up for several reasons; one of which was not wanting to be "that guy" . . . the one who gets asked to use the truck by someone who doesn't have one.
Just what you just described?
adamb1 says:
01:49 PM, 06/ 9/10
Through the back window? Good grief.
eriches says:
02:09 PM, 06/ 9/10
@ wobbly_ears: Watch yourself. I don't know any "chicks" who work for Inside Line. And I think you're probably off the Xmas card list, too. Happy commenting.
relyt says:
02:10 PM, 06/ 9/10
Please tell me that all that was at least tied down somehow.
jeepsrt says:
02:14 PM, 06/ 9/10
@eriches
"chicks" always take things the wrong way, lol.
thegrocer says:
02:49 PM, 06/ 9/10
This does little to disprove my theory that every time I need a truck, I need one with an 8' bed...especially for house related stuff...
geokilla says:
03:51 PM, 06/ 9/10
Um that last picture DOES NOT look safe at all. You guys should have at least tied it down or something!
zcalvert says:
04:50 PM, 06/ 9/10
the only "chick" thing on this blog are donna's "in the hot seat" posts...
...which i'd also say end up being some of the most entertaining posts here.
kevm14 says:
05:21 PM, 06/ 9/10
That's why this truck is stupid. It has 390hp, dual exhaust cutouts in the rear bumper, and it's largely useless for REAL projects. I don't understand why people buy these instead of cars...
I have a 91 Ford Ranger I bought for $900 and it's great. Dog slow, and actually gets pretty appalling mileage for 100hp, but it has the 7 foot bed, which is more useful than this Ram, except for towing. I do zero towing and I have two body on frame cars that will tow 5000lbs anyway...I guess I'm not a truck guy, so I don't "get it."
hybris says:
07:57 PM, 06/ 9/10
@kevm14
You are more of a truck guy then you think.
Ok did you guys actually stop and think about how to load all this stuff into the Ram?
Going through the back window with all that wood into your top level interior is just plain laziness, and of course it would appear that you didn't bother securing the load in anyway shape or form.
The one of the correct answers for loading these pieces of lumber is close the tailgate and let the wood go over the cab and if it appears to be too tall for where you are driving take some rope and gently bow the wood down and tie it to the tow hooks. For the back this truck does have tie downs of one form or another so use those with rope or ratchet strap or at the very least a 50lb bag or two of sand to act as a weight.
I'll end by saying what I usually say.
8ft bed people.
adamb1 says:
05:46 AM, 06/10/10
Of course, if you have a crew cab pickup and an 8' bed, it's not going to fit in most garages. That's why I also have a 16' tandem axle trailer.
blueprint1 says:
09:51 AM, 06/10/10
For a minivan owner like me, it's always a good laugh to watch people realise how to fit stuff in trucks and SUVs...
Ody carries 12-footers inside, warm and dry, windows closed, or 14' mouldings through the right front window, resting on the rear-view mirror.
Best trick is sliding in 4x8 sheets under the 3rd row bench, with the kids seated in there, and watch the face of guys in huge trucks with tiny beds.
the_big_al says:
10:16 AM, 06/10/10
for the occasional hauling of things like this... this works great. I dont see why it's an issue. Now if you're doing it all the time like this?? Spend a couple hundred and get a ladder/lumber rack. I put one on my little S-10 and it multiplied it's usefulness 10-fold. It looks dorky, makes it look like a "work" truck and hampers gas mileage a little, but I'll take all those sacrifices for the utility it created.
However, I wouldn't have it if I didn't do what I do everyday.
cr_driver says:
10:29 AM, 06/10/10
Yeah, that guy deserved some beers!!! And he had a game to watch at 4pm (I think so) so it was the perfect scenario.....
addicted2sp33d says:
10:54 AM, 06/10/10
You have two X-Chromosomes... this means that you can make most any Y-Chromosome do whatever you want - this law of the Universe does not apply in West Hollywood.
actualsize says:
11:08 AM, 06/10/10
That stuff would have fit on the floor of my minivan with the hatch closed.
felonious says:
11:27 AM, 06/10/10
Hey editors, I think I commented on this article, but it's not showing up. Error or was it moderated away?
ktoepke says:
01:27 PM, 06/10/10
C'mon now, I didn't con Schmidt into helping, we're friends. We both bought houses near each other around the same time, so we're often in each other's DIY biz. (Just don't take his paint advice, everything he thinks is brown is really purple).
And we did tie the wood down, just after the last pic. Plus, I only live 1.5 miles from the lumber yard, so it didn't need to be secured for freeway speed.
Didn't buy him beer, sent him away with homemade lemon cake instead.
I think Erin already addressed the "chick" bit, so I'll leave that one alone. :)
-Kelly