The Perils of Modern Truck Design: A Personal Perspective

As I sit here reflecting on my experience with the 2023 Toyota Tundra, I am reminded of the good old days when men were men and trucks were built to last. The new truck, which features a V6 twin turbo engine with hybrid technology, is a far cry from its predecessors. While it may boast impressive numbers, such as 19 miles per gallon on the highway, I couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.

The first thing that struck me about this truck was its size and weight. It's a heavy vehicle, designed to haul and tow, not to navigate tight city streets or rough terrain with ease. And yet, despite its bulk, it's surprisingly agile on the highway, thanks in no small part to its advanced four-wheel drive system. I must admit, I'm a bit of an old-school enthusiast when it comes to four-wheel drives. There's something about the simplicity and reliability of these systems that I just can't get enough of.

But I digress. The real issue at hand is the truck's lack of refinement and character. It may have all the bells and whistles, including a fancy backup camera, but it lacks the soul and personality of its predecessors. And don't even get me started on the electronics. The computer module in this truck has already gone bad, and I'm told that these things happen with great frequency in modern vehicles. In my day, we didn't need all that fancy technology to get the job done.

One thing that did strike me as particularly impressive was the truck's manual locker system. The owner had removed the automatic hubs and installed a manual locker system, which allows him to lock the hubs in or out by hand. It's a simple but effective solution to the problem of getting stuck in four-wheel drive mode when you need to get moving quickly. And it's just one example of the kind of ingenuity and resourcefulness that's missing from modern truck design.

As I drove this truck, I couldn't help but feel that it was missing something essential: a connection to its roots. It's a vehicle that's designed for functionality rather than excitement or adventure. But I think there's still room for both in the world of trucks. And that's where my friend comes in – a true original, who's built his own truck from scratch using only the finest aftermarket parts.

His creation is a stunning example of what can be accomplished with a little bit of creativity and elbow grease. The F-150 XLT may not have all the bells and whistles of its modern counterparts, but it makes up for it in character and charm. And at just $5,000, it's an absolute steal. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as I watched my friend take his truck out for a spin, feeling the rumble of the engine beneath me and the rush of the wind in my face.

But what really struck me was the way this truck is designed to last. The owner is a self-proclaimed "tinkerer" who's always looking for ways to improve his vehicle, whether it's through modifications or repairs. And I have no doubt that this truck will be rolling down the road for many years to come, long after its modern counterparts have given up the ghost.

In fact, I think that's one of the biggest problems with modern truck design: their emphasis on technology and electronics can make them prone to breakdowns and failures. But my friend's truck is a testament to the power of simplicity and practicality. It may not be the prettiest or the most advanced vehicle on the road, but it's built to last – and that's something that we could all learn from.

As I conclude this article, I'm left with a sense of nostalgia for the good old days of truck design. There was something special about these vehicles, something that's missing from modern trucks. But perhaps that's just me being an old curmudgeon. One thing is for sure, though: my friend's F-150 XLT is a true original – and it's a reminder that sometimes, the simplest solutions are often the best ones.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines okay we got a classic today a 95 F-150 that the guy's completely done over back in the day when men were men and trucks were trucks Ford still makes 90% of their profit on the F-150 line they make about 10 grand for each one they sold and they sell a whole bunch of the F-150 lines and this thing still runs great which is a good reason to tell people you look at a of the new F-150 loaded some of them are $90,000 maybe do what this guy did and get an old beat up one and fix it up like he has all right you might think my God he spent a fortune on this thing he's got six grand in this thing he bought it for only 1,500 bucks ages ago and he's done it over now he's done it himself and he did a good job but look at that something that looks like this and he's got six grand in it I mean now he looked all around the bed was crap this bed came from I believe Georgia from down south they made so many of these things you're going to get parts all over the place and check it out this is a real pickup truck look at the size of that bed this isn't a toy with a little short bed it's a real work bed why not fix an old one now after this video is done and edited I'm sure the guy's going to get a million calls from people who will want to buy the truck from I should have told you well you know he's got 50 Grand in this truck somebody would offer him 50 Grand I can guarantee you they would cuz they like classic trucks but be that as me that's all he's got in his thing five grand still an amazing truck why cuz Ford makes so many of these you can get parts anywhere what he's got here the only thing he's done he took the engine apart and put new rod bearings the rod bearings aren't that bad this is the part that goes in the block and then the rods inside here so it lubricates and there's oil inside here and they're really not in all that bad shape but everything was still repairable parts are still available and when we look onto the hood okay it's a nice V8 engine one of the best they ever made being a 95 is still electronic fuel injection it's not you got to mess with the carburetor and being a push rod engine they can last basically forever have all the main Electronics as you can see it has a distributor to make spark they last a really long time they're very easy to work on and parts are totally available you see he's replaced air conditioning compressor but you can still get new parts of these things and they are not all that expensive even Ford got cheap it's a 95 yes they even had plastic radiator back because it's cheaper to make plastic radiator car is made out of aluminum and he's done the whole front over look at that Chrome Now isn't that impressive I mean that's what trucks are supposed to look like and you know what it is it's real Chrome on metal look it's it's not plastic all right so let's start this thing up still got the original transmission and everything sounds like a Ford V8 all right nice V8 Rumble it does have airbags believe it or not I don't know if I trust him now he did upgrade the sound system put some big amps in it cuz it didn't like the crappy radio but it still has AC it still worked it's put some nice insulation on here and he's done these seats over got him at Rock Auto put them on the sh look they really look nice that's the advantage we're getting an F-150 they made so many they sold so many we he got the whole bed from Georgia from non sou don't R these things are eminent rebuildable for low price including what he bought this thing for he's got five grand in this thing for a beautiful truck like this you could buy like 12 or 13 of these what he's got in it for one brand new one and let me tell you I can guarantee you this will Outlast the new ones because P R engine simpler they generally last a lot longer down in the Middle where it's lubricated with oil not on the very top where every time you start it the overhead cams start up there have a little bit of wear on them now I got against this is what you can't bypass the way they build them my grandfather called it a plumber's nightmare this one does have a lot of anti-pollution equipment on that they didn't used to have but it's a 95 it's old almost every state it is grandfathered in and it does not have emissions inspecting even on the East Coast you get the one advantage you get an old vehicle like this you fix it all up you don't have to deal with any of that crap yeah they were simpler too so they're easier to fix but you don't have to deal with any of it because they're grandfather in normally on one of these Northern trucks you're can expect the bottom to be rotten away but you can see he's done it all over and he's used special paint all over to keep it from riding and stuff this is a four-wheel drive truck too this isn't even a basic truck this is their top of the line of 150 back in those days the only problem he's having is these twin I Bean suspensions are really hard to align and you can't find anybody that knows how to align them anymore cuz it's such an antique design now he's got so tired of people not doing it right he's gotten his own parts for adjusting the front end and he does it using his phone with a protractor and just a yard stick to measure stuff and he's got it pretty close most of these guys today they don't even know what the stuff is what's that they'd say no of course truck G says on a highway gets about 15 m a gallon but let's put on our thinking caps okay this is a 95 if you saw the video I made with the brand new 20 23 Toyota Tundra they gave up with a V8 they went to a V6 twin turbo and the one that the guy brought me hybrid extra now it's not a strong Hy it's a mild hybrid but still it's hybrid right he got 19 miles a gallon okay 90 5 2023 is a long time and if all they could do is a V8 dump it down to a twin turbo 6 with hybrid and only get two miles a gallon better on a highway I got to say something man alive you Engineers you got your heads up something you think after all those years you could get phenomenal but you can't if you have a heavy truck this is a heavy truck the Toyota Thunder is a heavy truck whether it's got a V8 or a V6 it is still a heavy truck and the fact that this gets only a few miles a gallon less than all that technology that they threw in and this is still all original and going strong from 95 four-wheel drive system is the way they used to make them Che it out there it is there's the Shi lover right so you can change four-wheel low four-wheel high neutral right there it is your hand operates it the computer module went bad and on the Ford the computer modules go bad all the time and lay model ones right or the computer didn't sense it right or the shaft the motor's not strong enough it broke now you got to replace the whole thing we don't know what's wrong with it it's just stuck in four-wheel drive right it's so much technology this is so simple it's either shoved in or it's pulled out right it's pretty simple to do I don't know I guess people are so lazy you'd think there would be guys out there that would still want a system like this because it's foolproof right it's not oh you just get in and push a button and way you go right well the push button once break it's still going down the road and it probably will be going down the road forever the way he takes care of it's not going to ride away he sealed it all now he did one thing that if you're ever going to do one of these IIs doing he got rid of those stupid automatic hubs and has manual Locker so he locks them in he locks them out by hand if you're in that much of a hurry that you got to push a button you can't get out and turn the mind you're in too much of a hurry okay so this is a serious four-wheel drive vehicle this isn't for driving your kids to the soccer match I guess that's the problem back then men were men and trucks or truck well I guess trucks aren't trucks anymore and men aren't men anymore either what's happening to this world let's take it for a spin see if I'm going to eat my words or not it's got a backup camera of course he added the backup camera they didn't have a 95 just like these nice Dash look Dash designs it looks nice and we go over the bump with no problems at all look the original sliding window it's still here here we go let's see how this thing can go hey he hey this is before traction control baby you can do burnouts and me truthfully I would rather have this than the $80,000 new one knowing how long it would last how I can fix it all I want it and it's got more class anyways so there is a beautiful F-150 the XLT guy did all the work himself he's only got five grand in this beautiful truck it's going to have tons of life left in it anything as he says can be fixed cheaply the parts are cheap you look around there's so many aftermarket parts of these things and I can guarantee you this thing is going to be rolling down the road when those new 80 90,000 ones start falling apart cuz the electronics break or they're going to rust out the transmission's going to go out those ridiculous 10-speed automatics cost a fortune then people would just junk the things if you can find a truck like this hey maybe you'll offer him a bunch of money for it and he'll sell it to you who knows but I don't think so it's his project and it seems to me the way he was talking to me that this is the last project he's going to do so I don't think he's going to sell it anybody so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell nah nah\n"