A Long and Winding Road

When I think back to January 24, 1995 (19 years ago), the day I had my first look at the black pickup I had waited for.  Two days earlier, there was the phone call from Bill Miller, a salesman at Bobby Rahal Toyota, telling me my truck would be  ready for pick up.  Base purchase price, $15,088.00. 

The car I was driving, a 1987 Nissan Stanza, would be traded in.  They offered me $3,700.00 for it.  That plus a down payment of $5,166.00 left a balance of $6,222.00 to be financed.

I wanted the least painful terms as possible.  Other than the mortgage and living expenses, there was nothing else financed.  So I went to the ECU (Employee Credit Union) at AMP Incorporated, where I worked.   The result was a monthly payment of $74.91 over four years.  It would be paid by payroll deduction.  I would never miss it.

Manufacturing History:  Designed in Calty, Ca. and built in Fremont, California, the 4WD Tacoma truck was outfitted with a new 150 hp 2.7l four cylinder engine producing 177 lb-ft. of torque. The suspension was new as well.  A coil spring double-wishbone configuration replaced the Hi-trac torsion bar double-wishbone configuration.  Tread width also increased improving stability and ride comfort. 

The 4 X 4, standard bed DX model has a 5-speed manual overdrive transmission, and a 2-speed manual transfer case.  It is equipped with recirculating ball bearing power steering.  Power-assisted vented front disc brakes are standard.  Hi-trac independent front suspension is complimented with 5 P225/75R15 radial tires.  Doors are outfitted with impact beams.

As for power accessories, except for steering, there are none.  I wanted it that way.  Things that came standard, I considered a plus included chrome bumpers, am/fm radio and 8-track tape deck.  In terms of extras, I had the dealer add one thing, a bed liner.

From the day I drove that truck off the dealers lot, I have enjoyed every mile the odometer recorded.  I drove it to work, 34 miles RT, every day for the next twelve years, until retiring in 2007.  During those years, the vehicle saw duty at many trailheads throughout Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Many of those trips were to trailhead parking lots along the Appalachian Trail.

On duty at Delaney Community Gardens, Aurora.

Hard jobs were made easier using the truck to transport everything from tan bark, sand, logs, top soil, and shrubbery, to construction materials.  It became the choice for delivery of new furniture, preparing and maintaining a garden, taking donated items to Goodwill, or help a friend or neighbor when extra horsepower was needed.

I would soon turn 60.  Retirement was being thought about more and more.  I remember thinking, 'This truck will be the last vehicle I purchase in my life.' 

There was one occasion, however, the truck caused me to experience panic.   It was the last of a 5-day backpack trip from Rockfish Gap to the Tye River, in Virginia.  The plan was for a co-worker to drive my truck from the trailhead, 30+ miles south to where my good friend Kevin and I would arrive.  When we came out of the trees, I looked for my truck...NO TRUCK!!!

It had rained all day.  We were wet, tired, and hungry.  What to do?  After walking a country road, we approached a residence and asked a man if he had a phone.  He did not.  Walking in the opposite direction, to the next residence, a trailer, nobody was home.  More walking brought us to an old dilapidated cabin.  On approach to the front door, I noticed it was padlocked. A sign out front said; Game Warden.   As we walked back to the road, Kevin said, "I felt like there was a shotgun pointed at us the entire time."


Always something in my bed.

As we walked back to the hard road, we decided to try hitch hiking to the nearest town and contact my truck-shuttling friend, and locate my truck.  It didn't take long.  Two women in a white Cherokee stopped.  After Kevin told them our story, the driver said, "Toss your packs in the back.  We can take you to the country store in Montbello, they have a phone."

More conversation got one of the women thinking that maybe my friend had taken the truck to a parking lot farther south on Fish Hatchery Road.  It was nine more miles from where we were.  As we approached the area, I was feeling hopeful, yet my heart was pounding in my chest.  As we rounded the bend of the entrance road, I leaned forward with anticipation.  There, alone, mere yards from the A.T. was the truck. 

By September, 2005, I had a three-times-revised plan for retirement.  I would retire at 60 in 2007.  By the following March, the scope of my job had ballooned from the Americas' to one that required global attention.  As more manufacturing was being shifted off shore ("Tiwan, China, India), it required more travel, leaving less time in the office and at home.


Gear for the day.

I decided to retire in July, 2007.  Aside from being diagnosed with early Parkinsons in 2004, I was in good health.  There were no outward signs of the disease.  I was able to do all the things I enjoyed up that point.

Three days after retiring, the truck was loaded with my clothing and personal items, and all the camping and outdoor gear I had accumulated.  With daughter Amy as my co-pilot we headed west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, for a three-day journey spanning over 1,600 miles, ending in what would become our new home, Denver (Aurora), Colorado. 

Over 57,000 miles have been added to the odometer since arriving in Colorado.  In the past four years annual maintenance costs for the truck have actually declined.  Major maintenance expense in two of those 19 years this vehicle has been on the road, exceeded $1,000.00, i.e. $2,846.16 in 2008 and $1,557.45 in 2010.

Boulder Lake trailhead, before my owner disappeared into the wild.

Those items include the following:  radiator, water pump, head gasket, front drive axels, fuel pump and filter, muffler and tailpipe, rear universal joint, clutch master and slave cylinder, front disc pads, rotors, calipers, starter, and plug wires.  As for oil and filter changes, this vehicle has had a regular appointment every 3,000 miles.  The spark plugs have been changed early on at every 30,000, and more recently at every 80,000 miles.

The question is, with all those items replaced, will there be other major components that malfunction?  I chose to think the worst is behind me.  Ahead, only normal periodic maintenance.

Since the day it came out of the dealership, only certified technicians (Bobby Rahal dealership, and Pep Boys Automotive Service, both in PA. and Ellis Automotive Car Care Center, in Aurora, Colorado, have serviced it.

So the little truck that keeps on going, and going, and going, has had a full and adventurous life.  There have been times while sitting at a traffic light, I think, 'How many times have I shifted the transmission?  How many times have I washed and waxed it?  How many times have I been offered cash on the street for it?'

Resting in my owners driveway.

I would guess I've made the shifting sequence...all five gears...at least 650,000 times.  Washed and waxed...200 times.  Been offered cash...twice in PA., and five times in Colorado.

This story is far from over.  Although I have found replacement truck parts at a good price over the  years at scrap yards, the truck overall is far from being buried in some obscure scrap yard on the outskirts of town.  In addition, the vehicle still has no rattles under the floorboard, no squeaks when the tailgate is lowered, and most of all, the gearbox remains tight.


After 19 years service.

This past week, the truck reached a milestone of sorts.  The odometer reached 249,999 miles.  I had been anticipating the accomplishment for weeks, watching the dashboard for the latest number each time I parked.  My hope was that I would be close to home when it happened so I could document the accomplishment.


Phew! Another milestone!

As it unfolded, a normal day of errands...post office, library etc...would bring the tumblers close at 249,993 miles and counting.  I watched the odometer as I pulled the truck into the garage the next day with 249,999 miles.  The next time I started the engine, and went a few blocks, would take it over the top.  The milestone occurred the day before Mothers Day.

The future of this truck remains bright.  I don't expect offers of cash on the street to buy the vehicle to stop.  I'll continue to relish those occasions, telling the hopeful buyer...It's not for sale.  Many offers have been from guys driving rusted out fenders and engines that emanated weird sounds while idling and terrible sounds on the road.

Then there is the comment one of my grandsons made. 'Papa, I would like to have a truck like this some day."