My new (used) truck. Any tips or suggestions?

Sorry for the delay in replying, and thank you everyone.



logansryche - 20-30mpg? That's insane. What kind of setup do you have? I'm getting about 17. Also, there is a tiny tiny cooler for something (maybe the a/c I thought) in front of the bottom right corner of the radiator.
ThatTubaDude - I hadn't thought about airbags. What would be the difference between that and add a leaf other than being adjustable?
sawmilleng- Thank you very much for bringing that up. It's 1500lbs here in CA, so I was probably going over that even with my 4x8. Will have to look into brakes not only to comply, but for safety. Also, I like the idea of going through it myself. Not only will feel better, but will get to know the truck a lot more.
matador - I was thinking the truck should be ok with the weight too. The farthest I haul significant weight is *usually* 10 miles.
Metalbestos- What about a sign with "Giraffe Recycling" on the side, and some stuffed animals hanging from it?
spinroch - Should I return with the truck too?
badkarma506 - I have looked at those for my old toyota. Was consdering one of those, but also clamping 1x6s on the sides to create walls.
matador - I like the sides you made, and I also would like something easily removeable. Was thinking more like (if I don't get a lumber rack) of having steel bars fashioned for the posts.

Originally Posted by ryanw

Sorry for the delay in replying, and thank you everyone.

logansryche - 20-30mpg? That's insane. What kind of setup do you have? I'm getting about 17. Also, there is a tiny tiny cooler for something (maybe the a/c I thought) in front of the bottom right corner of the radiator.

The cooler behind your front bumper is your transmission cooler and serves like the heat pipe on a computer to disperse heat. I'm not sure what my gearing or transmission is, but if I'd wager a guess I've got the E4OD which is really good on gas but if not maintained will lead to trouble later in the life of the transmission. I use to have a chart that specified what transmission and gear ratios you have based on the year, but yeah - I was averaging that coming back from TN highway driving. I'll admit I did overheat once on oil and once on lack of rad fluid on that trip but that was attempting to go uphill in an ice storm carrying alot of weight(I'd also been fighting ice and rain since KY).

I'll also admit that I don't have any pipes past the headers(was like that when I bought it) so if you're having power troubles at all, it might be worth replacing the catalytic converters and muffler. Also forgot to mention that when you go to do the tune up you don't have to get a cap and rotor as it's a distributor less system but I am told that the starter coils will burn themselves out after a certain mileage(like I said, I'm approaching 300k and mine haven't). I often think my truck has a mind of its own and has a kink of being used.

-Matt