1998 Chevrolet 3500 Truck

LINCOLN LS V8 ----- CHEVROLET 3500 ----- LAND CRUISER ----- VW CONVERTIBLE

1998 Chevrolet 3500 Crew Cab Long Bed Truck

Jim acquired the truck when it was about one year old from the Chrevrolet dealer in Ogden, Utah. Elizabeth was the first one to spot the truck on the dealer's lot and pointed it out to Jim who immediately fell in love with it. After Jim drove the truck from the dealership up Logan Canyon to Logan, Utah and back to Ogden, he never turned loose of the keys until the truck was his.

It had been previously leased by a contractor in the Salt Lake City area whom we were able to contact. He told us he used it to pull a snowmobile trailer and that he had painted the trailer the same color scheme as was on the truck. The truck had some mechanical problems before we acquired it so the dealer and GM added an additional year to the existing warranty, but we don't want to talk about that!

It is a 1998 Chevrolet 3500 crew-cab long bed 4-wheel drive and has the only color scheme we have ever seen like it. (Our traveling northbound WV neighbors recognized us southbound on a section of Georgia interstate one time--the vehicle is that distinct.)

It is powered by a 454 cu.in. gas engine that gets about 13 m.p.g. loaded or empty, going uphill or down. It is geared such that the engine seems to be running wide open all the time. We hauled a load of 'stuff' from our West Virginia home to Jim's daughter's place in Portland, Oregon and even crossing the Continental Divide in Montana, the transmission only automatically downshifted one time. It pulls a heavy equipment trailer hauling Elizabeth's tractor (total weight about 10,000 lb.) and it is easy to forget the load is behind. It is very comfortable and stable as an arrow in flight.

We added a Leer topper to the truck that was purchased in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The first topper we put on the truck was exactly as we ordered it, but it was about 2-inches too short. A replacement topper was subsequently installed and is somewhat--somewhat-- improved. Seals have been replaced but it still leaks whenever it rains. We have never removed the topper since it was installed for several reasons--we don't have the energy and we don't have another place to store it.

When we first brought the truck to our West Virginia home, we faithfully kept it in the garage. However, the garage is now full of other stuff (don't ask). The image above shows him parked outside our Brown House during a rainstorm. We took the picture from our front porch mainly to show the torrent of water running across our yard and concrete driveway.

Our Truck on Continental Divide During Snow Flurry

When the going gets rough we can always roll out the 4-wheel-drive truck. We always have Thanksgiving dinner with Elizabeth's family in New York and there is no question about which vehicle we take. We hit two deer on the highway during the winter of 2008; one deer bounced to the right side and the other went completely under the truck. The only damage sustained (other than to the deer) was a bent front license plate. (Our neighbor, who works a night shift, seems always to have his car in the shop repairing deer damage.)

It seems that anything that could possibly go wrong with the electrical system has done so and our folder of service and repair actions is approaching 1-inch thick. We were on a first-name basis with the Chevrolet dealership in Gallipolis, Ohio. We love it anyway and use it to tow Elizabeth's vintage John Deere 60 tractor. Its weight, combined with trailer weight, approaches 10,000 pounds. In the picture above, she/he is parked at a rest area on the Continental Divide.