The New Truck

Julie and I were at an empasse. One I'm sure many of you find yourself at. We wanted a big enough truck to go on long trips comfortably. But we wanted something she could drive to work.

It turns out that such a creature doesn't exist.

So, we changed gears. After driving every large SUV on the planet we stopped on a dime and decided to instead, keep the Trooper and trade in my z-71 on a crew cab truck.

As bizarre as it sounds, a crew cab truck is far more suited to our needs than any SUV we could find. It seats 5 comfortably, and you have tons of storage in the bed. We picked out the truck, ordered a cab-high topper for the bed, and are now searchin' out a grille guard.

If you don't absolutely need the third row, I strongly suggest you consider this route too. JAC has an Excursion, and with all that room available, he still wishes he'd got an F-350 crew cab instead.

So after driving and comparing them all.... what did I finally get?

2004 Nissan Titan.

I cannot express how much bigger this truck is inside than the Silverado or the Ford, and the Dodge Crew is about the size of the Nissan Extended. To get a 4x4 that will outpull this truck, you have to either get a v-10, or a 454, or a Diesel, and while I desperately want a Diesel, it just ain't time yet.

The Titan is the perfect stay-at-home Dad vehicle. Nav system (never ax for directions again!), 9500lbs towing capacity (most in class), 305 hp (most in class), 400lbs of torque (most in class), DVD to keep the youngin's happy, and a Rockforde Fosgate sound system to keep Dad happy.

I'll grant you it doesn't sound as good as my z-71 did... but on the other hand, the z-71 had a set of after-market pipes, and this baby's stock. She sounds DAMNED good too.

I'm quite satisfied with the purchase. And, rest assured, should any of you piss and moan about it, I can always go outside and bark the tires. Rendering your howling mute.

Cry if you want. Nissan ain't Toyota. They built a truck, and they came to play.