Lift Kits and Being White Trash

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Friday I took off from work as a Personal Day. I have never taken an actual personal day for personal reasons from work in the 6-years I’ve worked for my company, despite them offering the time. I have taken personal time in the past, but usually it’s just another day for a long-weekend road trip to somewheres exotic – and not a bona-fide personal reason.

I had a list of things of things I wanted to get done that day, like a hair cut, getting my camera repaired, and grocery shopping. But it mostly ended up being a day when I slept in and didn’t do much besides go and talk to a couple of shops about getting my truck jacked up.

 What I’m Leaning Towards

After thinking about it for a quite a bit, I am leaning towards going with 35s, a BDS-six inch lift, and 4.88 gearing. The shop said it would probably come out to between $5-6k, but I am not sure if that includes the re-gearing. A lot of money, but so be it – I’ve been saving my money, and my truck is my toy.


white_silverado

My top priorities for the lift kit is getting a truck that looks quite nice, has better ground-clearance especially in the snow, doesn’t break-down way out in the woods, doesn’t drink dramatically more fuel, and is economical to maintain. Those might be a tough combination with a lift-kit, but if I stay at 6-inches with the lift kit, get a good brand kit with necessary accessories, re-gear to avoid straining the transmission, and only put 35s on it, I should be okay. I’d rather spend the money now, rather get broke down somewheres in the boondocks and spending a lot of money for front-end repairs.

In my ideal world, I would love to do 37s and 6 inch lift plus a 3” body lift. But alas, money is no object, and indeed, I am afraid of the damage I would do the front end and the drive-shafts, putting so much weight and load on them. I’ve researched doing that on the interwebs, but and it might be a fun project if the truck was retired to be a mud-toy around the farm, but not when it’s something I’m taking on long-trips in the back country. Instead, I’d rather spend money a quality lift-kit that doesn’t put CV boots at a bad angle by replacing proper components, which I would have take somewhere to get fixed.

4.88 gearing with the 35s is a bit lower then a stock gears, but it will give me more power on the hills, and make crawling easier. I’ve always though the factory gearing was a bit high. From what I’ve read, it also won’t hurt gas mileage much compared to a higher gearing, e.g. 4.56s. It also leaves open the possibility of going to 37s when the 35s wear out and need to be replaced eventually, without regearing, if I am willing to sacrifice some power (e.g. 4.88s on 37s are about the factory gear ratio).

At any rate, the local shop seemed to think I could do that. I think it would make my truck look a lot more muscular, and give me a lot more ground-clearance in the snow and getting in and out of campsites, and on rough roads. It will be fun in April, once my truck jacked up, and I’m on my first road trip again with the higher vantage points and better views. If I want to go higher, I will think about the body lift later on.

muller_white_1500-004

Now the White Trash Part

So after I was looking at jacking up my truck, I had to swing by the Salvation Army to look for a new sports-coat. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find one, because the one I currently wear that after 7 years is wearing out. I only wear a sportscoat to work about 100 days a year, and a such, they tend to last. I really didn’t want to spend a fortunate, but I wanted to look good. I guess I will be stuck going to JC Penny or another large chain store to get a new sportscoat.

It really felt kind of guilty shopping at the thrift shop, looking for clothes for work, after looking at those expensive lift kits. But heck, it’s helping charity, and whatever – if it looks nice – who cares if I spent $30 or $70 on the jacket. But it sure seemed trashy going there, after drooling over off-road equipment at the off-road stores.

Then I had stop by the Freihofer’s Outlet store in Schenetady to stock up on bake goods and cookies. They tasted pretty awesome too. But it just seemed so trashy and tacky to be going to a discount bake goods place, after spending so much time looking at lift kits.

Note: Sample pictures used in this article are from OK 4WD’s Online Garage, which shows the quality work they do in Northwestern New Jersey. I didn’t ask permission to use the photos, and if they really object, please email me. They look like they do nice work, and I lived near them, would definately talk to their shop.

An afternoon spent visiting a 4x4 shop, then buying cheap pastries and shopping at a thrift store. It's called priorities.

The Recession and Young People’s Expectations

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This morning, getting ready for work, I heard NPR’s Markplace Update, where they discussed young folks expectations and beliefs after the recession. They said a common refrain – that young people are more liberal and believe that luck rather then hard work is the results of their accomplishments. I have younger people say that I’ve gotten where I’ve gotten by luck and not hard-work.

They may have a valid point. But mostly my luck was being born a few years before they were born.

Clearing Skies?

I graduated from High School in 2001, and while the economy wasn’t perfect, the reality is by the time I graduated from college in 2007, we were at the height of the post-September 11th boom. Getting my current job wasn’t easy, and indeed I applied many places, and worked temporary work and did a lot of volunteer work to get where I was. But it was nothing like those who graduated in 2008 through 2011, when the US economy was in the crapper.

I also had the benefit of going to college while state university rates were relatively affordable. Price escalation was well underway by the time I graduated in 2007, but prior to that was quite affordable. The cost of college really started going through the roof as the recession deepened and SUNY implemented what it called “rational” tuition hikes, as apparently its rational to continue a high-level of spending on education on the backs of students from working poor families.

When I started at Community College, coming from a working class family, college was free, and even included a small stipend to buy books and pay for commuting to classes. There was good Pell grants from the federal government, and a pretty generous state Tuition Assistance Programs. Both would be cut a few years later, by the federal government and state government. Counties also cut their assistance to community colleges, and they hiked fees to pay for their ambitious building programs and to keep up the quality of their fringe benefits and salaries of employees.

As mostly a commuter student, state college prices were pretty low after aid. But it changed. In 2003, the state raided the finances of SUNY to pay for it’s ever growing budget, To make up for some of the state raid, they hiked and hiked again the cost of tuition, and let fees grow without cap or control. But it still was fairly affordable, living at home, and commuting. I only lived away from home for two semesters in college, and after the tuition hikes and cuts, it was like $5,000 a semester, but by spreading those semesters apart, I was able to pay for cash.

Setting Sun along Lake Shore Drive

Today, in part because I graduated during a strong economy, I was able to get a very good job. I’ve worked my way up in the company, and are doing fairly well for myself. I had to work for the job, at first an unpaid volunteer, and then by persistent asking for favors from people and making phone calls and interviews. While I’m sure luck and timing played a role, I think it’s a mistake to say not most of it was my hard work.

I think I worked hard for my accomplishments – my college degree, my good job, my 4×4 pickup truck, and my outdoors gear. It wasn’t given to me by some luck on a roulette wheel. Rather, I took a conservative approach to my finances, and saved money. I worked hard, and the results paid off. But I also received many benefits from government programs like college aid, that made school much more affordable.

I believe if people work hard, they can get ahead. Not all will, and luck and timing have a bit to do with it — but it’s not all. The government can lend a helping hand, but it shouldn’t replace individual ambition to succeed at life.

My experiences are somewhat different then younger millennial who went to college during the post-2008 recession.