Pickup Reaches 1.7 Million Miles

Pickup Reaches 1.7 Million Miles PICKUPS Miscellaneous 28-6-5 I had an interesting call from a reader the other day. Terry Binder from Pittsville, Wis., wanted to tell FARM SHOW about his 1989 Dodge pickup with more than 1,780,000 miles on it. The pickup has a 5.9 liter diesel engine. Over the years we've featured some pretty amazing cars and trucks, some with over 1 million miles. But this was carrying things to a new level. We asked for more details. Terry told us he delivers flatbed trailers around the U.S. so he's on the road much of the time. In 15 years of use, he says he's only had to replace two sets of ball joints and two sets of exhaust. He replaces the brakes every 250,000 miles and he puts on new tires every 40,000 miles. Terry washes his truck several times a week because he thinks a clean truck "just runs better". In fact, he says he probably could have bought a new truck for all the money he's spent on washing. But he seriously thinks it makes a big difference. Most surprising of all was that he said he only changes oil every 30,000 miles. "I use Mobile Delvac oil, which is a severe-duty synthetic oil that's more commonly used in over-the-road trucks. I also use it in all my tractors, my wife's Ford Taurus (240,000 miles) and even a push lawn mower that I bought for $59 and have used for 22 years, changing oil just once. It still starts right up with one pull." In tractors, Terry says he usually goes around 700 hrs. between changes. He runs an oil analysis at about 350 hrs. and says it always tells him there's no point in changing oil that soon. Terry's truck has only a tiny bit of rust on the box. Otherwise, it looks like new. He recently gave the high-mileage truck to a friend and bought a new Dodge, also with a 5.9 diesel. He did it to get the premium seats that are available on newer models.

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