CatSkinner

I've got another weekend gripe. Oh, got the speedo fixed in the truck, the original gear was put in wrong, figured out how it's supposed to be and I track within 2 mph of what the GPS says I'm doing.

Anyway, what in the hell has happened to trucks. OK, so I'm a dinosaur, but, still, REALLY?? When I was growing up, generally trucks belonged to DAD. Dads didn't have man-caves. The garage was filled with bikes, lawn furniture, and if it could fit, the family car. Dad had his truck. It had a bench seat, so it could fit one other adult and maybe 2 small children if the truck shifted on the tree. Usually, the kids rode in the bed of the truck which may or may not have had a cap (heaven forbid you try that today).

The truck was Dad's inner sanctum. Passengers in the cab were limited, so if you got to ride with Dad, it was sort of an honor. He was sharing with you some of his space. Try to find a truck on a car lot today that's worth throwing some money at that doesn't have a back seat. They're making trucks so that you can fit more and more people in them taking away Dad's inner sanctum.

Oh, I've got to give credit to the new trucks, they're comfortable, smart, and full of conveniences that were never dreamed of 40 years ago. But they're not really a truck, they're more of a family car with extra storage. The shells are flimsy and they seem to have more bling than bang.

Today, guys have "man-caves", but that's a false illusion. Try locking that door and keeping tthe rest of the family out while you do a reset. Man-caves aren't really a sanctuary, they are a men's game room. If you're in a moving truck, nobody's going to be knocking at your door asking you to watch Sponge Bob with them. You don't have to hear Justin Bieber or 50-cent and you don't have to get sucked into the family vortex until you want to or your running out of gas.

How many out there really have a space in your house where you can be at piece. In my case, even the bathroom wasn't safe. But my truck... Limited seating, versatility for working, and peace.

Sorry ladies, trucks were originally designed by guys for guys for working and due to the limited seating, an added benefit was noticed. That was our sanctuary. It was Dad's inner circle if you were asked to ride with him. It was an uncomfortable, noisy, stinky piece of heaven a guy could call home.

What happened to trucks?

R.S.LOGAN

Talking about seats in the cab and riding in the bed of the truck brought back similar memories for me .One of my mates father had a fruit and veg business and drove this type of van http://www.austinmemories.com/page67...s/page72_1.jpg. You can see it had only the one seat here( link didn't work ).He had to deliver to out of town hotels and occasionally when we were on school holidays he would take us along for a day trip . If you were lucky you got to sit on the engine canopy or just got thrown about on the floor as he was a bit of fast driver . Or you could sit on the wheel arches and hold on to the side battens . http://www.austinmemories.com/page67...s/page72_3.jpg. No air con in those days , you drove with the slide doors open .How we never got thrown out was a mystery .As for the slide doors , if you forgot to put the catch on the first time he braked hard they would slide forward and decapitate you if you happened to be hanging on looking out .Health and safety , not to mention the cops nowadays would have run out of ink logging all the offences . But we all survived and are probably better for the experience .When I was serving my apprenticeship I learned to drive using the works van on garage grounds during lunch breaks .Then , being the youngest with a driving licence I was usually sent out to pick up parts / spares from other garages . Used to love driving that rear wheel drive van , letting the tail drift out and feeling every bump on the road through the steering and suspension . You could hammer it not bothered with looking for speed cameras or traps . Nowadays the younger generation are too used to all the accessories and fittings on modern cars and dont know what they missed years back . So I can appreciate your " weekend gripe " and the nostalgia with it .

CatSkinner

I guess that's a sign of *ahem* "maturity" when you realize what a wonderful world yesterday really was.

jwko

I have a smaller man cave and get peace about 90% of the time. Of course its so dull and boring, nobody except for my 2 yr old grandson wants to come in here when he comes to visit.

R.S.LOGAN

"maturity" is the prime qualification for joining our " Wise Guys " club on the forum .Every day you can get up and log in is a bonus nowadays.

CatSkinner

Not quite that old, yet. I expect to *ahem* get up for a long time to come. I've decided to take my Great Grandmother's attitude on life. Her expression was that she was XX years young and kept repeating that until she was 92. At that age, she finally confessed to getting old, only walked one way to church everyday (4 miles) and would take the bus home instead of walking the round trip, started asking for help in chopping and gathering would and reduced the size of her garden.

I'm a mere 50, I've got a long way to go to fill her shoes.

R.S.LOGAN

Great outlook on life to take .You'll have to go some to match that .