Remembering the Old days

**Dave&Ginny** · 03-29-2016, 04:17 PM

On another thread, we were discussing the fuel mileage from the old days. This subject got the dust and cobwebs flying around my head.

Today’s trucks come pretty well equipped to pull the RVs but that wasn’t always the case. Remember all the modifications we had to do to the trucks just to get a few more ponies. We had a love affair with our trucks that were underpowered and in many cases overheated.

When we lifted the hoods we saw art form and we were proud of our work! From the painted valve covers (that always seeped oil) to the wrapped headers. Getting the spark from the single coil, to the distributor cap and then down the wires to the spark plug was an art and a challenge. The way a man ran his spark plug wires through the chrome wire looms and around anything hot or metallic was a sight to behold. In many ways, spark plug wires measured a man’s mechanical aptitude. There were different colors and cores that all brought impressive names. We had solid core, multi-strand or copper and each had impressive names like the MSD2000XLT SUPER CHARGED and then the yellow super duty wires that cost a weeks wages and guaranteed to ignite a spark plug in the truck in the next lane. With all the extra spark we had to put filters on the CB radios to prevent static. We had to have a clear signal out of our old “T Charlie One” 10-4 good buddy radio.

Then we had the cam shafts………High lobes and supper polished. The trucks sounded like a Harley Davidson on steroids at idle.

Rick and Mindy · 03-29-2016, 04:54 PM

And with a good gas war we only paid 25cents/gal to drive all those tanks around town......................wow!....the good ole days!

johnboytoo · 03-29-2016, 05:30 PM

You hit on a nerve re sound !!!
love, love, LOVED the 6.7 350 platinum, but that SCR system made it sound like a blow dryer on steroids !!!

Miss the supercharger whine coming in over the duals on an early Ford lightning

Heck, the rear engined motorhome sounds better than the jeep or the dual turbo explorer or the big deezle platinum

**Dave&Ginny** · 03-29-2016, 05:37 PM

How about the sound of those bias-ply tires running down the highway. If we were lucky we'd get 30,000 miles out of them

atom ant · 03-29-2016, 07:41 PM

I never really got into the chrome and tricks, but we have come a long way from the old days. I sometimes turn to Dory and we reflect on what it used to be like to go to the same old lake I've been going to for 40 years.

Used to be windows down because the AC caused that Chev gasser to start pinging, even on premium. 55-60 mph towing, because that was all that 3/4 ton had in it with a 3-sp and 4.10 gears. Dual turbo mufflers popping back there like a P-51 Mustang. Probably even a full ash tray and a few cold ones in the front seat.

Today - cruise on 75 with a quiet cab that you can talk in, air conditioned seats, 1,800 or so rpm pulling 10-11 mpg with 17,000 lbs on the back. Music from an SD card or satellite, visual map displays, weather displays, and even a live video feed of the road behind - ahhh!

coloradolivin · 03-30-2016, 12:29 AM

Man, I am starting to tear up a bit

Char & Steve · 03-30-2016, 12:57 AM

Many memories of the early days of RVing and back then we could actually open the hoods and work on our trucks. Now days we have to make a phone call to come rescue us and get plugged into a computer.
Almost embarrassing to post this picture but we all start somewhere and long before Char was in the picture. I think I was 19 when I got this and it made about 5 trips to the Loudon NH races and two trips to bike week in Daytona with our bikes in the back.Not in the trailer but there was a overhead door I installed on the back. Guess I was a little crazy back then but it made the trips. I had put a 100 gallon gas tank inside that I made to feed the straight 6. Cars would just move over when they saw that behind them coming up quick.

Steve