I was working on my grandfather’s tractor over the Fourth of July weekend, and I was once again struck by the brute simplicity of the machine. The engine block and frame are the same casting. The carburetor is a leaky single-barrel updraft, feeding a thirty-pound cast-iron intake manifold. The manual transmission has no synchros, making an unholy racket every time you change gears. The front wheels are so close together that it’s basically a three-ton tricycle. The steering has about twenty degrees of play.

And I enjoy the heck out of that thing. So it was designed with a crayon to be assembled with a hammer; after over sixty years in service, it’s still running. After months of working with electronic spark and multi-point fuel-injected engines, it’s very satisfying to get back to something as solid and straightforward as that old Farmall. It’s from an age where problems were solved by throwing lots of iron at them, and has something our modern marvels lack. What do you think, folks? Fuel injection and aluminum blocks, or updraft carbs and iron intake manifolds?

(Thanks to Flickr user kretyen for this great CC-licensed photo.)

A couple days ago Benjamen previewed the upcoming Tow-N-Stow trailer. However, the $2,500 price tag and the odd choice of pairing it with a stationary storage unit got some lukewarm responses from Toolmongers. In light of that, I’d like to see what y’all think of this new fold-up utility trailer from Craftsman.

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The GapShield fills the gap between your tailgate and truck bed to keep gravel, feed, mulch, or anything else from leaking out.  It also keeps the tailgate area clear so you won’t have any trouble getting it closed.

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Toolmonger Sean O’Hara has wanted a bulldozer since he was a kid; maybe the tracks are the common theme, but in an unprecedented statement Sean has rated this lettuce harvester as a tie with a bulldozer for which he would get first! The “Headrazor” lettuce harvester sports all stainless steel construction, for easy removal of lettuce guts, and you can slide the walkways and canopy in and out to easily transition between transport mode and lettuce destructor mode.

I didn’t find pricing on the site, but I’m sure Ramsay Highlander will provide you with a price quote if you want a Headraiser of your very own.

Headraiser [Ramsay Highlander]

Airplane mechanics keep detailed service and maintenance records in the plane’s logbook — it helps ‘em prevent that long drop with the short stop at the end. But a logbook can also remind you to do routine maintenance on your car, or it can help you diagnose the reason for loss of gas mileage before a serious problem develops. For tractors, combines, bulldozers, graders, generators — the machines that run and build civilization — logbooks can save jobs and lives. Mechanic Support makes this Mechanic’s Logbook software that you can configure for almost any application.

You can put Mechanic’s Logbook on your computer for $16 — you might pay more than that for a dead-tree logbook.

Mechanic’s Logbook [Mechanic Support]
Mechanic Support [Corporate Site]

There was a time in the US when you could buy a small truck. It’s true! They usually had a modest inline four, a bench seat, and A/C and a radio if you were lucky. They weren’t the gigantic, six thousand pound, glorified station wagons that lumber their way to soccer practice and make the yearly trip to Home Depot in order to justify their existence. They were big enough to fit at least a sheet of plywood and strong enough to get it where it needed to go.

Does bigger mean better when it comes to work trucks? Do you miss the days of the Ranger, the S-10, or the Nissan Hardbody? Trucks like the Ranger and the Toyota Tacoma are still in production, but they’re fairly chubby compared to their former selves. What do you all think? Drop us a line in the comments.

Once you humped that refrigerator down three flights of stairs, you’ve still got to lift it into the bed of your truck. But if you had one of Dallas Smith’s converted F-450 Deeps, it wouldn’t be a problem. Dallas Smith Corp. makes low floor, axle-less trucks for small business and personal use. Lowering the tailgate/ramp reveals a truck bed only 15″ off the street.

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The debate is heated: to shell or not to shell. If you’re planning on carrying anything that might not easily withstand rain or moisture, a camper shell is pretty much a necessity. But at times they’re constricting, too; you’ll never move anything that sticks up higher than the cab.

What’s your take on this classic question? Is you’re truck equipped with a shell, or do you drive it au natural? Let us know in comments.

Long-time TM reader PutnamEco gave our Hot or Not? Utility Vehicles post a one-word response: hot — and added this professional-looking picture of his John Deere Gator 4×6 to the photo pool.

I have a friend who lost one of these, and misses it almost as much as his old dog. Of course, as fredboness says in comments, “Nothing runs like a Deere, but nothing smells like a john.”

Amen. Enjoy your gloves.

Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]

I’m seeing more and more of these utility vehicles around lately. They’re made by companies like John Deere, Kawasaki, and Cub Cadet. Here in the commonwealth we don’t have as many farms as we used to, and I’m wondering why people own them.

I could totally see owning one if you had 3000 acres in Wyoming, but then again that’s what what pick-ups and tractors are for, right? The do look cool with their knobby tires, fancy independent suspensions, and roll cages, but does anyone really use them as serious work vehicles or are they mostly the toys of people with too much money?
So what’s your opinion? Useful as heck or over-hyped golf cart? Let us know in the comments.

I posted this a few days ago over on FullOnCustom, but apparently the car guys aren’t into work trucks. Here’s the deal: the exhaust system on my F150 — yep, the one in which we replaced the heater core a while back — is fine, but the chrome tips someone installed before I got it are so rusted through that they’re about to fall off. I’m happy with the exhaust system, so I just want to have some new tips tacked on.

What should I expect to pay for them, and do any of you have recommendations as to sources? Let me know, if you would, in comments — here or on FullOnCustom.

Note: Yeah, that’s a stock photo. My F150 is a ‘97 three-door with a camper shell — like I said, a work truck.

Reader Question: What Exhaust Tips For an F150 Work Truck? [FullOnCustom]

We found these stars and stripes themed grilles over at AutoAnything.com.  They’re precision cut from 1/4″ stainless steel that’s then polished “to a brilliant shine.”  The manufacturer claims they install on most trucks with just a 9/64″ hex-key wrench (included).  Our only concern: that doesn’t look like much airflow, and I’d guess rocks would slip through the star-shaped holes pretty easy.

Note: In competition with our friends at The Hardware Aisle, we’re posting lots of patriotic tools today and tomorrow.  Look for a post on Wednesday (the 4th) where you can vote for your favorite.  And don’t forget to submit your favorite patriotic tools!  If your suggestion is the reader favorite, we’ll send you a tool from the test pile — something nice.

Still, it’ll certainly set your truck apart from the others at the jobsite.  Pricing runs from $86 to $211 depending on your truck’s make and model.

Putco Patriot Grille [AutoAnything.com]

Here in Texas I’m seeing more and more of these on the road: extended-cab, short bed trucks.  Sure, they look cool.  I can’t help but think, though, that if you can’t put a full sheet of plywood in the back, it’s not really a work truck.  But I’ve been wrong before.

What do you think?  Are these trucks or truckars?  Let us know in comments.

Thinking about picking picking up an ‘08 Nissan Titan?  You’ll definitely want to check out this awesome first drive article by our friend Mike Levine over at PickupTruck.com.  Mike knows more about pickup trucks than anyone I know, so I take what he writes seriously.  In this article he runs down the ‘08 Titan models in great detail and even places them in a historical setting to give you a good idea of not just what Nissan did with them, but why.

First Drive: 2008 Nissan Titan [PickupTruck.com]

CNN is reporting that Ford announced a recall yesterday of “over 37,000 of its new 2008 model F-Series Super Duty trucks after reported tailpipe fires in the diesel version of the pickups.”  From CNN:

“Ford said it had received reports of three cases where leaking fuel or oil ignited when trapped in a diesel particulate filter near the tailpipe of the new trucks.  In one case in Texas, a truck’s hot tailpipe set off a grass fire when the driver pulled off the road.”

Considering how popular the Super Duty models are as work trucks here in Texas, I’d imagine more than a few Texas dealerships’ll be seeing these in the near future.

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I’ve had a ‘97 F150 for quite some time now; I inherited it from my father who bought it used years before that.  I’m sad to admit, though, that when my Dad bought it, I gave him crap about it.  “You shoulda bought a one-ton,” I said, “It won’t tow enough.”  Well, after a few years of hauling and towing (things I probably shouldn’t have) and even taking trips in it, I’m a fan.  It’s rated for towing over 8k, and I’ve personally pulled more than 11k with it before.  It drives like a car thanks to the modern front suspension.

I’ve even almost come to accept the red interior.

But now I see the 2004+ redesigned model, and I can’t help but wonder if all the same stuff’s still there.  While it’s just a personal opinion, I’m not fond of the little “dip” in the window — modelled, I’d assume, after the F250 and F350.  But what about usability?  Does this model stand up to the previous one?  Or exceed it?

Let us know in comments.

With four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and an optional Caterpillar 3-cylinder diesel engine, think of Cub Cadet’s latest 4×4 utility vehicle as the ultimate ranch runabout or hunting camp transport.  Of course, living in North Texas as we do, these vehicles are all the rage, so we thought we’d take a swing by our local dealer to have a look — and a drive — for ourselves.

Read on past the jump for our hands-on experiences as well as lots of great pictures.

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