A New Truck

This month we bought a new truck. How exciting! It is a 2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD extended cab short bed with a Duramax diesel engine. We have spent years moaning and complaining every time we were around people who owned diesel trucks. Why did they need that? The engine is so noisy. Diesel owners always let their trucks idle forever and don't turn them off, even to go into the campground office to register for the night. Why buy a diesel? It is so much more expensive and our 2002 Chevy pulls as much as a diesel.

But when we went shopping, we discovered Chevrolet doesn't make the Vortec 8100 engine any more. Within the next year or so, we want to buy a new fifth-wheel trailer that will weigh more than the one we own now. The diesel was our only choice!

At first we were dismayed. But the new diesel engines are so much quieter. And do we ever enjoy the bells and whistles that came in the 2008 truck: On-Star, XM radio, tire-pressure monitoring sensors, messages that tell us how much oil life is left—all are included, though some will cost extra to keep them operating.

We never expected to use On-Star. In 1991 we had a car stolen. With On-Star, they can track our truck if it is stolen. And the hand-free telephone service is satellite based—just the ticket when we travel through Canada or other areas where our Sprint cell phone won't do us much good.

We'll see about the XM radio, but it includes the Weather Channel and 24/7 emergency weather messages. That should be much more use-friendly than our US weather radio.

All this and the truck looks great and is comfortable to ride in. What a deal!

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Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.