Maybe I need a new category, unexpected encounters of the good kind?
I drove away from home this afternoon heading for a hardware store hoping to find two bolts to get my F350 spare tire carrier operational. There was a special radio show on channel 60 Outlaw Country (Sirius/XM) hosted by Elizabeth Cook that I was enjoying so I didn’t want to find a store and stop. I continued driving south until I arrived in Carson City, Nevada, and when in Carson City I like to sample Dutch Bros. espresso. After pulling up to the window and ordering my juice, the kid inside (maybe all of twenty years) asked me about my truck.
Kid: Nice truck, is that about a three-inch lift?
Me: Thanks. It’s about 3.5 in the front and 2 in the rear.
Kid: I like it… [he looks down the side and sees the sticker on the bed] Rock Warrior?
Me: It’s a trim package, I got it because of the 17 inch wheels instead of the more common 18s and 20s everyone has these days.
Kid: Yeah you need that… some tire and sidewall on a truck. In sand or rocks those tall wheels get all scratched up and the tires don’t work.
This young man obviously has some experience traveling in the backcountry, he knows what works, and has not been corrupted by the absurd big wheel fad. I was pleasantly surprised, almost shocked.
Practical four-wheel-drives may have a future after all.
Copyright © 2012 James Langan