Rebirth Update #5...

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Perfectionism can be an all consuming disease especially when afflicted upon a person known to have succumbed to many addictions in the past, a person such as Truckman...Ever since recognizing the symptoms of devoting unwarranted amounts of time and resources to a particular project or pastime, I have been on constant alert for the signs of new addictions, those which can drain time and energy away from other callings in life which may deserve equal attention...Examples which brought on my hyper-sensitivity to such events were the abuse of alcohol and tobacco early in my life which brought on terrible, irretrievable losses...To a lesser degree, the acquisition of the tools of trade for a mechanic, and even the collection of photography equipment for a new hobby showed their roots in new addictions...In recognition of those events, I now look at every new day wondering what new attractions would lure my wandering attention...

Even something as commonplace as a means of conveyance for transporting oneself from point to point meeting life's demands can become addictive in seeing changes that could be made in a car or truck that could make it more distinctive and appealing to its driver...Truckman is no stranger to that occurrence, and I have talked of it at length in other articles...In view of this, when I first spotted my current ride beckoning to me from the used car lot, I already began to list in my mind the various changes that would become necessary for satisfaction if it became mine...And knowing from past experience that perfectionism only exists in my own imagination, I also understood that some of my wants and desires go far beyond practical needs, and that a tight rein would have to be kept on my own self as changes occurred to my mind...Therefore I began to prioritize my plans even before the title changed hands...

Some of those changes deemed absolutely necessary have already been accomplished, and discussed in the previous updates in this series...Others are yet to come, and some will continue to exist only in my imagination...Items such as conversion to four wheel drive, or that ten speed manual transmission I've always lusted for will continue to reside in my dreams, while more attainable goals dealing with convenience of ownership and safety of operation find their places in a schedule governed by a retirement budget...Other thoughts, such as onboard air with train horns and air ride suspension, remain on the "maybe so, maybe no" list...Small details such as those added since our last update are less noticeable, but listed here in any event...

Some sandpaper plus a few rattle-cans of Rustoleum primer and paint added uniformity to the spare tire stop mounted on the flatbed deck...The paint will no doubt find uses in the future as small wear spots appear elsewhere on the bed...Adding stickon decals announcing the use of "diesel only" in this truck were superfluous, but found their place nevertheless...Changing all the padlocks to those requiring a common key reduced the weight carried in my pocket...The addition of one of the original Ram hubcaps to the spare tire will probably go unnoticed by the casual observer, but I like it so I did it...And bolting on my personalized 45 FMJ license plates is always a crowning moment, signifying that the truck is truly mine...

Today I had an appointment at VIP Tinters on Hwy 242 to tint my two side windows with a ceramic material, and to spray a bedliner on the flatbed with the added protection against future UV damage from the sun...Remembering how faded the bedliner on my previous truck had become, I felt this was a good value...After comparison shopping, and asking others who had previously had work done there, I decided to trust my needs here...Their prices were competitive, their reputation is good, and as I found out by asking around, most of the local businesses that advertise spray-on bedliners bring the work to VIP Tinters anyway, so the middleman lost his percentage on this one...Having a very old, very sick puppy necessitated bringing him with me to wait since I had no other ride for the day, and Jason and Allen accommodated my dilemma by putting me at the first of the line, and assigning extra hands to finish the job sooner than promised...

This is ordinarily a time consuming job, and I was grateful that they were able to shorten my stay, while still turning out quality work...My original intention was to bypass the front area of the bed where the exhaust stacks, spare tire and extra equipment now reside, but after the crew conferred on a plan, they removed the spare tire, jerry cans, Hi-Lift jack and all mounting hardware to apply the bedliner to the entire flatbed deck surface...They did this without asking knowing I would be happier with the quality of the work...And they were right...

Everything that wasn't to be sprayed was masked off, then all equipment was reinstalled after the bedliner application...This is definitely high quality work with attention to customer satisfaction...And my puppy appreciated being able to go home a little sooner than he had anticipated...I recommend these guys to anyone...

As usual new pictures of the progression from "as found" to "my truck"are posted at the bottom of this photo essay...

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Rebirth Update #4...

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Just another short contribution to the saga of Truckman's truck...When we left our story last time, the new exhaust stacks had just been installed, and purists were horrified at the sight of the exposed plumbing which underlies all installations of beautiful chrome stacks...Not to worry though, as plans had already been laid to surround the unveiled piping with other equipment and accessories providing at least some shelter for those eyes which may be offended by bare foundations...

The first step was in selecting and mounting some of the hardware necessary to hold the Hi-Lift jack in place, and the eyebolts which would eventually secure the newly purchased spare tire...Chrome accessories were chosen for weather protection and aesthetic appeal (matching the shiny appearance of the wheels and grille surround) even though it was known that rust would eventually rear its ugly head...After making slight adjustments on the spacing of the studs to mount the jack, it was secured to the deck...

Next the jerry can holders were bolted to the deck using chrome sheet metal fasteners, and the jerry cans themselves were locked down with padlocks...Joey Belton of Texas Auto Pro of Conroe again stepped up with the stop for the spare tire mount...A heavy chain now runs between the eyebolts securing the spare tire and the Hi-Lift jack...When the weather clears, I'll address the bare metal on the exhaust brackets and spare tire stop with some Rustoleum...More to come in the following updates...

As usual, photos of the changes have been added to the bottom of the accompanying photo essay...

EDIT: The rain cap bumpers I chose failed to last, and new, hopefully more durable ones have been ordered...The Roadlux tires now on the truck perform well on either dry or wet pavement with no noise or vibration...It is noted that the truck now exhibits a slight amount of wander which might be attributed to front end alignment...When I drop it off at Texas Auto Pro for service next time, I'll consult Joey on the matter...

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Rebirth Update #3...

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Those readers breathlessly awaiting the next installment in Truckman's truck saga may breathe a sigh of relief...I dropped off the new beast at Texas Auto Pro in Conroe where my friend Joey Belton was waiting to install a custom exhaust...Having gathered an assortment of items from Amazon including a 4" stainless steel Y-pipe, stainless 4" flexpipe (necessary when connecting body mounted exhaust to frame-mounted exhaust to prevent loosening from torque-twist), two 4" to 5" reducers, two 5" straight cut chrome stacks and two chrome rain caps, we had a conference to discuss exactly where to mount the pile of parts...I left the truck in the capable hands of Joey to  work his exhaust wizardry...

As long time readers already know, Truckman elevates the exhaust of his diesel trucks above the level of the timid souls who drive lesser vehicles such as Prius (question for self: should the plural of Prius be Prii?)...In any case, Truckman does not wish to be accused of intimidating or frightening other drivers, and it is known that the exhaust on most factory equipped diesels is at eye-level to those who are forced to convey themselves in the smaller econoboxes...Therefore as a courtesy to Prius drivers, Truckman's exhaust is directed upward instead of at the windows of those unfortunate drivers who are unblessed with more robust transportation...

My previous truck had been "stacked" by Joey when he built a custom manifold to mount in the bed, but in the interest of expediency, I bought off the shelf items this time...It was first thought that the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) would need to be discarded and the ECM be re-programmed, but I did not want to do that after having read of the myriad problems encountered by others who chose to defeat the factory emission controls...Some like to do this to gain extra power, but I am happy with the 305 horses that it has run with since new...Joey did have to trim some of the DPF tubing and move a temperature sensor to make room, but all EPA mandated controls are still intact, and Al Gore can sleep blissfully tonight in that knowledge...

Joey is also an excellent welder and fabricator, and had no problem manufacturing the brackets needed to mount the new exhaust...It's rattle-free and sounded great on the way home...I was unable to locate silenced rain caps to prevent rainwater from entering the open tops of the exhaust, but I found some nylon clips to install under the caps to prevent the "ting-ting" noise when they open and close at idle...No other new equipment has been installed, and other than applying a little wax as weather permits, the only other update is a report on fuel mileage...All driving so far has been in town, and the first tank produced 14.06 MPG calculated by hand...The overhead display showed slightly higher, but those have been known to lie...Also the new tires and wheels ride very well, with no noise and no vibration even from the unbalanced outer duals...

Truckman has been assured that with his new stacks, he can have his redneck card punched in confidence anywhere rednecks gather...New photographs have been added to the bottom of Truckman's photoblog essay...In addition an attractive member of the local paparazzi had staked out Texas Auto Pro hoping to catch a glimpse of Truckman for his adoring fans...I complied with her wishes and that photo is included also...

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