KLZ 560 AM DENVER'S CONSERVATIVE HOME STATION
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Get ready to rev your engines and flex your automotive knowledge with us this week on Drive Radio. We begin with uncovering the mystery behind a Chevy ignition question that baffles even the savviest of car buffs. As we cruise along, listen in on a curious debate about auto parts store quality and the hidden truth behind extended warranties. Whether you’re in need of a new battery or direction to a local street fair, our hosts deliver a blend of car wisdom, wit, and community insights to keep every listener in gear.
SPEAKER 05 :
Being an expert on general automotive knowledge, what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet with a 327 cubic inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor?
SPEAKER 19 :
It is a trick question. Watch this. Because Chevy didn’t make a 327 in 55. The 327 didn’t come out until 62. And it wasn’t offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb until 64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top dead center.
SPEAKER 16 :
Get ready for another hour of Drive Radio, brought to you by Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. Got a question for the experts? Then give them a call, 303-477-5600. Now it’s time to pop the hood and get our hands dirty. Drive Radio on KLZ 560 The Source.
SPEAKER 23 :
All right. We are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Thanks for joining us today. We appreciate it very much. Myself, Steve Horvath from Geno’s with us today. Of course, Larry Unger answering phones. Charlie Grimes, of course, our engineer as well. And really quick, back to Brent. If you’re listening, we did find a TSB on that that you might want to check out as well. If you’re listening, it’s 15-0162. So 15-0162. Check that out too before you do anything else. And I’m still researching the scan tool. I haven’t gotten that far to know exactly what your scan tool will and will not do. Eric in Denver, you’re next.
SPEAKER 10 :
Hey, you guys. How’s it going?
SPEAKER 23 :
We’re good, Eric. How are you?
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, pretty good. I got a pretty good question for you. I think a lot of people would be interested in this, but I have a 1979 Pontiac Le Mans. It’s a 231 V6. Okay. And that’s not really important, I don’t think. But anyway, the car just sits… in a basement of a condo tower. And in the winter, the temperature down there is about maybe 50 degrees. And in the summer, it gets really hot down there. It goes up to like over 90 even because of the way the sun hits the cement, you know, steel girders in there, you know. Sure, sure. And anyway, a lot of times that car just sits down there. I don’t drive it a lot, maybe four weeks, six weeks, and then I’ll go down there and start it. And it usually starts in the summer. I seem to have more trouble. But I think the battery capacity, especially in the summer, is going down to like, you know, 50 percent or something. And then when I start the car, then I charge it up and then bring it back. And then it just sits there. And once in a while, the battery will actually go dead. And when I’m trying to start it, and if I come back the next day, bam, the juice is there and it just starts. But my question is, am I right that the battery in the summer, the capacity is going down? And under that circumstance, do you think someone would be better off buying a gel battery?
SPEAKER 23 :
You are correct that extremes, hot or cold, will diminish the way the battery operates. Its capacity, I guess you could say, and I’m not going to get into all the technical reasons as to why, but extreme temperatures one way or the other definitely affect it. Will a gel battery help? I don’t think so. I wouldn’t think. What you really need to do, and I guess this is the next question, Eric, do you have any ability, is there a 110 outlet anywhere nearby the car or no?
SPEAKER 10 :
You mean 110? No, sir, there’s not.
SPEAKER 23 :
So no wall outlet anywhere nearby, huh?
SPEAKER 10 :
No, sir, there is not. The nearest one is I’d have to run a great big giant…
SPEAKER 23 :
extension cord and people would run over it i don’t think the border would like that yeah that’s not gonna work yeah i was thinking if you could park someplace closer where there was a ability to you know plug in a battery tender is where i’m going then i think that would be and there’s no there’s no sun coming in the basement right of that place right okay so you don’t have any light to do a solar or anything like that even yeah no there’s just regular lights you know uh
SPEAKER 10 :
So you don’t think that a gel battery would, just in general, would it tolerate charging and recharging better? Or is there any advantage to a gel battery?
SPEAKER 23 :
No. Cost is way higher. From having them in some of the cars I own, no, there’s no advantage. Other than if you’ve got to put a battery inside someplace, you don’t want any of the fumes and stuff from the battery. That’s about the only advantage, Eric, of using a gel battery. I haven’t, and I know people might argue with me on this, but personally speaking, I see no advantages in how they operate at all. Zero. In fact, they are more finicky and, in my opinion, higher maintenance. You even have to have a special battery tender to use a gel battery than you do a regular battery. Personally… If some of the ones that I own weren’t inside of the car whereby you had to have them, I wouldn’t. Do you think if he used a disconnect? That was going to be my next thing. Thank you, Steve, for saying that. No, Steve’s on the right track. I think, Eric, for you, figure out a good battery disconnect or just simply unhook the battery, whatever’s easiest for you to do, and just get it out of the system while it’s sitting.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, I’ll try that. So now if I buy one of those battery jumpers, you know, you carry them around, you know, can I still use it with the gel battery? Is there any if I buy one?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yes, you can. That part doesn’t change anything.
SPEAKER 10 :
That doesn’t change anything. Okay. So basically, you don’t think, now that they have a longer life guarantee, is that any marketing gimmick?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yep. Just a little history. So I just did a replacement of a gel battery in a battery that wasn’t that old. It was a car that I had bought, used, and it already had one in it. And reality, Eric, and so I had no warranty or anything on that particular battery. So there was anything I could do, just buy a new one and put in. And it has to be a gel battery because of where it is in the vehicle. And I’ll tell you, Eric, that, again, if I had my way, I am not a believer. I mean, a lot of people love them. They think they’re great. And in certain instances, you don’t have any choice but to run them. But for the extra cost you spend, they’re not worth it. You could buy almost two batteries for what one gel battery costs.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, okay. So if I bought the top-of-the-line conventional battery and maybe the second-to-the-top-of-the-line… You don’t even need that.
SPEAKER 23 :
That’s another marketing thing. They say top-of-the-line because you’re getting a longer warranty. It doesn’t necessarily mean the battery is any better. You can go buy a 48-month Napa battery, and it’ll be just fine.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, okay. Maybe not even buy the top-of-the-line conventional.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, buy a 48-month Napa battery, and you’ll be fine. And disconnect it when you’re not using it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, sir. And then I had one more real quickie. Sure, go ahead. Is there really any difference between the cheapy auto parts stores like AutoZone, O’Reilly, and Advance? Are they all about the same?
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, each one of them, and this is not to knock them. We’re sponsored by NAPA. I love those guys dearly. I’ve used NAPA most of my life. I’m not going to knock any of the others. They all internally have different quality of parts that they’re selling. Now, with that being said, some of those companies don’t have… in essence, the same top-of-the-line part that you might buy from the dealer or from NAPA. So, again, not being critical, but some of them just are not going to carry that top-of-the-line part because it’s not what they do. For example, I hate to say this, but AutoZone. AutoZone may not. In some cases, they will, but in some cases, they won’t. They won’t have the same comparable high-end part that you would find even, say, at O’Reilly’s or NAPA. They just don’t stock it because it’s not their model.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, so that one maybe they have a little bit more maybe cheapy parts then, huh?
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, they’re going to have more quote-unquote discounted parts, yes, because that’s the customer that they’re sort of marketing to is what I should say. You know, kind of like Rock Auto, for example. Rock Auto is not going to have the same quality part that Napa’s going to have. They’re not even close.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, okay. Well, that answers my question. Okay, sir. Well, thanks a lot. You’re very welcome.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, thank you. Thank you, Eric. I appreciate the question. Very good questions, by the way. Rojo, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hello, Rojo. How are you? Oh, good morning. Good morning to you. This is really not a car question, but Larry was kind enough to let me come on and pick John’s brain. Sure. Because he says he knows everything. No, no, I don’t. First of all, well, just pretend you do, okay? Okay, there we go. I can do that. There you go. First of all, Arvada Auto. I’m from out of state. I am now, but I was here for a long time, and we’re here today. But for a short time. Arvada Auto have to be the fairest, most knowledgeable, kindest people. I’ve used them year in and year out. They are just tremendous. And I’ve recommended them. Everyone that I’ve recommended them to says the same thing. They’re just great people. Can’t argue that. Now, to my question. We would like to attend the Louisville… street fair today. We’re both over 70. I’ve got a knee full of shrapnel still. What is the best way, how would you go about getting there, period?
SPEAKER 23 :
Up in Louisville?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, not familiar with it at all.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. And it’s been a while since I’ve been to the street fair. Do they run that on Front Street or is it on Main Street? Do you know which one it is? I think it’s on Main.
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s on Main.
SPEAKER 23 :
Okay. So the best way to do that, and where are you going to be, how are you going to get to Louisville? What direction are you coming from, Rahul?
SPEAKER 09 :
Let’s say we’re coming from… say Wadsworth and say 92nd. Yeah. Okay. Something like that.
SPEAKER 23 :
Best way, just go up to US 36. You’ll hop on 36. Okay. Get off, though. Don’t get off at the Superior exit all the way. Get off at the exit prior to that, which is the shopping mall and all of that exit. So get off at Flatirons Mall and head north.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m writing this down. Flatiron Mall, north, okay.
SPEAKER 23 :
I believe it’s the, and I do this one a lot, so I’m doing this from memory. I believe it’s the second stoplight. You’re going to turn left. That’s either 95th Street or Highway 42. I don’t know. I don’t remember what it’s marked, Rojo, but it’ll be the second stop.
SPEAKER 09 :
I saw on a map there was a Highway 42.
SPEAKER 23 :
I saw that. It’s the stoplight that you have to get off of if you’re not going to go on the toll for 470. So turn left before you go on 470. Okay. Okay. Okay. That road will take you all the way down to the east side of Louisville. And once you get down in Louisville, then you’re going to turn left. You kind of get down towards the main drag. The Mile High Appliance is on the corner. If you turn left at Mile High Appliance, that’ll take you right down to Main Street, and you’re going to find a place to park. So I would say as soon as you get to turning left, look to see where you can start parking,
SPEAKER 09 :
Left and look for parking.
SPEAKER 23 :
Look for it as soon as you can. And you won’t be able to park at, like, mile high and all that because they’ll probably exclude, you know, parking. But just start looking around to where you can park, and you’ll be a block off of Main Street at that point.
SPEAKER 09 :
Fantastic. I do appreciate it very much. You’re very welcome. That’s the easiest way to do it, Robo. And listen to somebody complain about, you don’t know where you’re driving.
SPEAKER 23 :
You’ll get her that way very easy. That’s the easiest way to do it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, John. You’re very welcome, Rojo.
SPEAKER 23 :
Thanks for coming back to town and visiting and appreciate you. I’ve talked to him before in the past, by the way. I can remember his name. He’s got a distinct name. So, Rojo, thanks for calling again. Ben and Aurora, you got a comment on that Ford that we were talking about earlier for Brent. Hang tight. We’ll come right back and take your call. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 22 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
All right, we are back. Myself, Steve Horvat, Geno’s Auto Service. Ben and Aurora, go ahead, Ben.
SPEAKER 07 :
I didn’t specifically have the comment on the Ford you were talking about earlier. I’m not even sure because I tuned in late. No, that’s fine. What it was you were pointing at. You’re fine. But anyway, I had a couple of interesting Ford things happen. I’ve always been sort of a dubious fan of Fords. My first car was a Mustang, which… Not that great of a car, but it had that classic look. Kind of like a T-Bird. Anyway, I ran into this girl at a convenience store. Her name was Shelby. And I jokingly said, I even like your car. And she told me that her dad knew Carroll Shelby. Really? Because I thought it was pretty cool. That’s why she was named Shelby? Yeah, yeah. Her dad liked the guy so much. And then… A fast-forward couple of years, I ran into a guy not long ago. He ran a development lab for Ford in Colorado.
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 07 :
And he knew Shelby. Oh, very cool. Which I’m like, I would have liked to have met that guy.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER 07 :
Just the innovation and just that raw courage to do something nobody had done with a car. Yep. But my question on a couple of Fords, and being the dubious… fan than I am, they’ve got some stuff like the Ford 306 and certain 289s and whatnot that are pretty reliable. But what are you guys’ opinions on some of the older Ford 150s, not old, old, but like say 2010 Ford 150s as well as some of these Rangers. The Rangers kind of look like an old man’s car, but I’m thinking if it’s got the reliability, and I’ve heard good and bad about the Ford Ranger and the 150, where are you guys at with those? I mean, if you had your druthers, would you buy one of those? in lieu of a Chevy, or would you stick with Chevy all the way?
SPEAKER 23 :
New, used, what are we talking? Used, used. Unused, I have no brand preference. That one, and I’ve talked about this a lot, Ben, and for everybody listening, please, I mean this sincerely. This one comes down to who owned the truck, how well was it maintained? That is a bigger factor for me on a used truck than what the brand name of the truck is itself. How was it maintained? Who took care of it? In other words, did somebody change oil at the at good intervals like they were supposed to? Did they do all of the other services as needed and so on? I’m more worried about that, Ben, as opposed to who made it.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think I’d probably agree.
SPEAKER 23 :
I am not as brand specific as I was probably when I was a kid because I’ve learned through the years that the majority of parts, it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking Toyota, Chevy, whatever, they’re all assemblers. They don’t manufacture anything other than maybe the sheet metal parts Even the frames are typically brought in from a supplier. They make their engines. Transmissions are typically a joint effort or they’re buying something from ZF or somebody along those lines. At the end of the day, Ben, the majority of the parts on all of these vehicles is very, very similar at the end of the day. It’s a matter of, and this is me, especially on a new one, for all of you listening, when it comes to new, I’m more worried about the service that I can get out of the dealer itself as opposed to the vehicle I’m buying.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think I’d agree with all of that. I had a comment on batteries, if you’ve got time. Yeah, go right ahead. Years ago, I had a need for a really good battery, and I bought this, like, five-, six-year one or whatever from AutoZone. It’s like, give me the one, the heaviest duty one in amperage with the best guarantee, and it wasn’t that bad at the time, $120 or something. And that thing, I had this job on the road, and I had to have emergency lights, and I’d leave them on, and the headlights are on, and that battery would go dead after, like, whatever, an hour or two. And I’m thinking, well, that’s it. I’ll jump it. I’ll just have to go get a new one. That thing was indomitable. It would not die. And I didn’t really expect that. And it way outlasted its warranties. And then I’ve got another funny Ford story. I was doing work, and I needed a Ford. Well, I just needed a working pickup at the time. It was a diesel. And I was up in Gillette, Wyoming, which is halfway between the middle of nowhere and nowhere. And the alternator went out. Well, it had two batteries, two alternators. So it goes out. There’s a garage up there. They fix it. It’s done in a couple hours. Good work. Then I’m up there about a week later, within 100 yards of where the first alternator went out, the second one went out. And I’m like, what are the odds on that? But it happened. And I had that with a windshield, too. I had put a brand-new windshield in on a brand-new pickup. I get a rock a week later. I’m on the same stretch of I-25. Within 100 yards, another rock hits it. So as far as vehicle maintenance goes, when you get that weird incidence of coincidence or whatever, I’m like, I just want to get something to run, do reasonable maintenance, and get it to go as far as you can. Yep. Yep. Nothing wrong with that. Anyway, rather than rambling on, I thought those were some cool stories. And even though, well, if I had the opportunity, the money was right, I would probably get a Shelby. Can’t argue that.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah, no one can’t argue that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Have a great day, guys.
SPEAKER 23 :
Ben, you do the same. Really appreciate you calling. Jeff, hang tight. We’re going to take a quick break. We’ve got a review that we did on Monday, and we’ll be back right after that. Don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. All right, we are back that time of the week where we slip in our car reviews. I shouldn’t say slip in because we take time to talk about each car that we drive and get into, Richard. So what have you driven lately?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Dan, so it drove a really fun compact SUV, or I should say subcompact SUV. This is sort of a new market that’s really, I would say, exploded over the past few years. And that’s, in my opinion, headlined by the 2025 Mazda CX-30. It is the Turbo Premium Plus level, which, in essence, that gives you an upgraded engine and kind of the top of the line as far as a lot of the creature comforts and such goes, Dad. As far as price point on this vehicle, Dad, kind of the base model starts about $27,000, and you can go all the way to the Turbo Premium Plus where we were at, which is the high $30,000, just a hair under $40,000. and that this vehicle is really meant for, I’ll just say it’s the subcompact, and that’s exactly what it is. It’s still an SUV. It still sits a little bit higher than a typical sedan, but it also doesn’t have a ton of room, right? It’s not meant to. It’s got enough room to put your kids in a booster seat in the back as far as the bigger booster seats, and those with kids know what I’m talking about. You’re going to be hard-pressed to do that. Outside of that, though, this car is really fun to drive, and especially in a more urban environment where you’re tight on space, maybe even in a newer housing development where those garages are not overly large. This is a vehicle that I would strongly consider for people. It came out in 2020. There hasn’t been a whole lot of changes for 2025. But I would say the turbocharged engine, especially out here at our altitudes, may be the only way to go just because it’s a really fun, sporty drive. As far as apportionments on the inside, it’s got a lot of nice soft-touch materials. The Turbo Premium Plus trim level has a little bit bigger infotainment display. It’s got Mazda’s display, and I’ll say it, folks, you’re either really going to love it or you’re going to struggle to get used to it just because it’s a little bit different of a display and an infotainment system than some vehicles out there. However, once you do get used to it and you get it all set up, It’s really easy and really fun to use. And actually, Dad, the Mazda 3 is one of Mazda’s kind of sedans. This vehicle is actually a little bit smaller than that. So you’re actually getting a vehicle that sits a little bit higher up, Dad, right? Part of the subcompact. SUV market. And so you’re saving on the size, again, in some cases, smaller than sedans, but you still get that being able to sit up a little bit, see around people, feel a little bit more, feel a little bit larger, right? Sometimes in sedans, you can feel like you’re going to be run over by all the bigger cars, SUVs, trucks on the road. You don’t necessarily have that with this vehicle. But outside of that, it was a real fun car to drive. The different modes you can notice a difference in the shifting and how this car operates. And just overall, you know, cargo capacity, yeah, you might want a little bit more. And there’s other cars in this segment or other SUVs, I should say, in this segment where you might get a little bit more, but it definitely wouldn’t determine that. And so what I would say, I would highly encourage folks, get out, test drive this. It is related to the CX-5, which we actually reviewed yesterday. A few weeks ago, and so I would encourage folks to check that out, but it is seven inches shorter than the CX-5. So if you are worried about length and overall size, but you still want, again, kind of the size, as we’ve mentioned over and over again in this review, of the SUV, the subcompact SUV, Check this out. And when you do, again, 2025 Mazda CX-30 at your local Mazda dealer. Test drive it. Get yourself in it. Get your family in it. And when you do, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
And we are back, Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Thanks for tuning in today, guys. I really appreciated all the calls as well. Text messages, the line is 307-200-8222, or you can call us directly with a question, 303-477-5600. Jeff in Montana, go ahead. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Jeff. Close enough.
SPEAKER 11 :
I’m losing track because it’s such a gorgeous day. It’s 72 degrees. It’s nothing but sunshine. Nice. Got the rainwater off of the time show. I’m getting the last of the raspberries and apricots that we’ve got. I mean, it’s a… That’s nice.
SPEAKER 23 :
Perfect days. Good for you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Last caller talked about the truck. That was actually… This is kind of what’s going on in my mind. You know, I have a Ford… Ford truck. Okay. You have the… You have the… new Mavericks out there have up 150s. On the Chevy side, you have the Silverados and the Colorados. And they’re all rated.
SPEAKER 23 :
Right.
SPEAKER 11 :
And so the question in my mind is, has the half ton rating kind of become diluted or even kind of meaningless that any truck under a certain
SPEAKER 23 :
uh level of construction is considered a half ton and then suddenly when you get into three quarter and one ton well and i’m glad you brought that up because for a lot of folks listening anymore even the factories aren’t even calling them you know half ton three quarter they’re basically called either you know they’ve got their mid-sized truck like ranger colorado tacoma they’ve got a full-size truck which they consider the 1500s and that’s what they even call them or the 150s And then you get into most of the trucks now, even Ram, GM, Ford, they’ll either get Super Duties or HDs. So if you go Chevy, Ram, they’re HDs. If it’s Ford, it’s a Super Duty. And that’s kind of what they’ve done to distinguish between the lighter trucks versus the heavy trucks. Now, all that being said, every single one of those trucks, whether it’s Colorado Ranger, Silverado, F-150 Ram, all of them will have different weight ratings, GVWR, depending upon how the truck was bought and equipped originally. So it’s very… you got to be very careful in looking at these trucks new or used and knowing what am I going to be doing with the truck versus how was the truck built? Because even in a 1500 series or an F one 50, for example, they are not all created equal. And in that you could have two trucks sitting on the lot, look identical to one another. One has one weight rating and the other one could be completely different.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. I, uh, and you have the uh i know you don’t like to call them pickup trucks i call it the difference i distinguish between uh you have a unibody pickup and a frame pickup that you know the unibody typically cannot pull as much weight and carries correct weight typically not right on frame yeah body on frame so um that’s a good distinction as well um i just it just seems like the And it’s not a criticism, it’s more of an observation. It’s kind of like the whole truck market has become a little bit confused as to what they actually have out there.
SPEAKER 23 :
Well, and you bring up a great point, because I think for the longest time, you know, a half ton was a half ton, a three-quarter ton was a three-quarter ton, a one ton was a one ton, and so on. And you pretty much, you know, if you bought a half ton, they were pretty much all the same. They might have been a… 500-pound difference in total gross weight carrying capacity or so, Jeff, and that was about it. Not anymore. You can buy one Silverado that has one rating and buy a whole different Silverado, depending upon engine and whatever combo, and there might be 1,000 pounds difference in carrying capacity from one truck to the other, depending upon how they equipped it. Yep. And, by the way, same thing in the Rangers and Colorados. A lot of that comes down to, again, how was the truck equipped originally? Was it an extended cab? Was it a crew cab? You couldn’t do single cabs, but what was the box length and so on? A lot of that factored into the carrying capacity, and most folks don’t know that. They just think, well, they’re all the same. No, not anymore. They’re not. They’re very different.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, it’s… It’s a different world than what we grew up in, and I think a lot of folks are just kind of thinking it’s the same, and it’s not.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, no, and you bring up a great point, because I think folks looking for, especially, you know, this is where I think this is the most important, Jeff, and I see this a lot, you know, where I live, and I-70 being, you know, right there, and I watch the people going up towards the pass that are, you know, dragging trailers that, frankly, they don’t have enough vehicle to… drag and then they they you know they go up the pass a couple of times realizing well I don’t have enough truck and I get emails and text messages even on this as to you know I bought X trailer the truck I have now just isn’t enough truck and guys like yeah it’s not and not being critical but whoever sold you the trailer should have helped you on that in but they don’t care they’re just selling trailers and so now they’re looking to do an upgrade to tow whatever trailer they have which is fine I’m all for that but now I’m instructing on just because it says you know, X on the side doesn’t mean that’s exactly the truck you need. So you really need to be careful and look at how is the truck equipped? What is its actual weight rating and so on as to what you’re going to be doing with the truck?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. And we have our share of that, particularly this time of year. A lot of RVs, a lot of RV campgrounds, they’re all pretty much full. And I, uh, I was behind one today was doing 50 in the 70 zone. And just, you know, frustrating, but it comes with the territory. So you just go and bear it.
SPEAKER 23 :
Yep. And again, those are the people I wish you had the ability to talk to on the front side because they wouldn’t be in that situation if you had a little bit of instruction on the front. The problem is there isn’t anything out there that keeps a trailer dealer from selling a trailer to anybody that has a trailer hitch and will haul it off the property at the end of the day. They are not required to make sure that your vehicle is enough to haul said trailer. Now, the good guys out there, they will tell somebody, hey, you don’t have enough vehicle to haul the trailer. that you’re looking at. The other ones, though, Jeff, they just want to sell a trailer. They don’t care.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and I won’t even get into something you’ve discussed at length multiple times about the folks, Class C motorhomes with absolutely no training and then think that they can drive them as well as they can a little compact. Yeah. It always cracks me up.
SPEAKER 23 :
I saw this even last night on my way home from the station going home. You know, travel trailers and trucks in the left lane, which… Again, I look at that and I just think, first of all, if you’re able to keep up with the speed, that’s fine. But you shouldn’t be because anymore in this town, if you’re in the left lane, you’re doing 70 to 80 miles an hour, depending upon what part of town you’re in. And I know everybody listening is like, nobody should be driving that fast. Well, that’s my point exactly. Nor should you be driving that fast with a camper trailer and a truck in, you know, traffic inside of the Denver metro area. But yet, Jeff, people do it all day long.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep. And they pull out onto a two-lane highway with very little space between vehicles. Folks will just have to give me…
SPEAKER 23 :
yield to me because i’m bigger it’s like really dude yeah now you just now all you did is you just you know backed up traffic because it’s not just that guy it’s the it’s the guy behind him and the guy behind him and you get the drift i mean it just starts stacking up like like dominoes and the guy that pulled out doesn’t even i guess doesn’t consider doesn’t think doesn’t know doesn’t care i don’t know where the mentality is on that i mean when i’m pulling a trailer and and even though you may have all the power in the world i’m looking at all of that and i don’t want to pull out in front of traffic just common courtesy yeah yeah it’s an old three stooges you know i stopped i think and i forgot to start again so yeah yeah that’s great but that’s a great great topic by the way because i think there’s a lot of folks out there that go look at even used vehicles and you know they may look at three different vehicles on a used lot for example and even though they’re you know similar trucks you know f-150 1500 silverado 1500 ram and They’re thinking, oh, they’re all, you know, they’re all 1500, you know, F-150. They’re all in the same category. Well, they are, but that category is now large. It’s not what it used to be.
SPEAKER 11 :
Right. So bottom line is check gross vehicle weight.
SPEAKER 23 :
And for those of you listening, I’ll make sure I throw this in, Jeff. For those of you listening where you’re saying, well, how do I do that? Open the driver’s door. every one of those vehicles will have a sticker that tells you what its rating is. Front axle, rear axle, overall, it’s all right there spelled out for you. It’s a law that it has to be there. If it’s not, first of all, if it’s not, it’s probably a vehicle that’s been fixed and the sticker got removed, meaning you’re going to walk away from that truck anyways, because if that sticker’s not there, you’ve got other problems. So reality is the sticker will be there telling you everything we’re talking about, Jeff.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep, so… You know, it just seems so much simpler now in a lot of ways because they’re forced to do these kinds of things. But you used to have to kind of look around and find out things like even tire pressure. That’s right. Well, where do I find that? Well, you don’t have to look for that anymore. It’s in the location. Just go where you know it’s going to be, look for it, and figure it out. I mean, people are just either ignorant or lazy, I guess. Yeah.
SPEAKER 23 :
Or ignorant. I think in some cases, Jeff, what I just explained to some folk that may be even wanting to buy a pickup truck, a truck or whatever, it doesn’t matter even what size, they don’t know what I just said. In a lot of cases, they see those stickers, they kind of brush over them, they might think there’s some information there, but… On that sticker, for all of you listening, is the VIN number, the delivery date, or sorry, the manufacturer date of when the truck was actually made, all of the other pertinent information, not the, to Jeff’s point, not your tire fill pressure. That’s a separate sticker. But that main sticker will have VIN number and everything on it that you need to know. And it’s very important, and it’s something else that rarely does anybody ever check, Jeff, even when you buy a new vehicle. Make sure the sticker matches the plate on the windshield. And your paperwork to boot.
SPEAKER 11 :
You mean people would move them from vehicle to vehicle?
SPEAKER 23 :
Yeah. Imagine that, Jeff.
SPEAKER 11 :
You just destroyed my faith in humanity.
SPEAKER 23 :
This is where you know whether things are above board or not when it comes to some of these salvage vehicles, for example.
SPEAKER 08 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 23 :
So double-check all of that. Those of you looking at used vehicles, very, very important to check that. And I got caught on this one time. I’ll share a really quick story. And I do this now, but I didn’t up to that point. I always assumed, and you know what happens when you assume something, but I always assumed that dealers were correct. So I bought a Ram pickup for the fleet way back in the day and signed all the paperwork, didn’t think anything about it, blah, blah, blah. Well, then that truck ended up getting hailed on. And had to do a claim. And, I mean, hailed on not just a little bit. It looked like somebody took a ball-peen hammer and beat the whole thing up. It was in one of the, you know, West Arvada heavy hail storms. And this thing was, you know, basically totaled. So called the insurance company. They come out and look at it. And they’re like, you know you have a problem here, right? And I’m like, what’s the problem? The VIN number that you have here doesn’t match the title work. And I’m like, huh? What are you talking about? They’re like, yeah, do you have another truck maybe that this registration is wrong? And I’m like, no, no, no, that’s all correct. Let me check something. So I pull the file out for that particular truck, go through, look at the VIN number. It was completely a different truck. that they had done paperwork on, Jeff, and it was a real mess getting the dealership to go back in and fix all of that and get the right VIN number back to me with all the right paperwork and titling and so on. Huge, huge mess. Finally did get it all handled and dealt with. The insurance company did what they needed to do. But at the end of the day, by the way, at the end of the day, had the insurance company, this is sometimes why bad things happen and still ends up being good. Had we not had that hail damage and I’d have gone to sell that truck on down the road, I’d have been screwed.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, it would have been years later. That’s right. Now try to unwind that.
SPEAKER 23 :
Exactly, now fix that. So point being, those of you that are even buying new vehicles, go click a picture of both the plate that’s up on the windshield, the tag that’s over there on the door, and make sure that paperwork that they’re filling out for you matches.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep, good. Yep. They’re not necessarily dishonest.
SPEAKER 23 :
No, this was an honest mistake, Jeff. They had two trucks, almost identical. This was back in the day where Ram made what they call a snow chief. They were all white, and they had several of them on the lot, and they had sold a couple on probably the exact same day, mine and one other one. And I happened to get, you know, they just got the paperwork all reversed is all they did. Or gave me the wrong truck. I don’t know at the end of the day which it was. They were identical trucks, so it could very well be they just gave me the wrong keys and put the wrong temp tag on. Bottom line, it happens and can happen because nobody’s perfect. There you go. So, great reminder, Jeff. Appreciate the call. Appreciate you. You bet. Thank you very much. Mike, hang tight. We’ll come right back. Don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
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SPEAKER 23 :
All right, we are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. And Mike, you’re next. Go ahead, Mike.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hey, this is a great show as usual, and glad Steve’s on. He’s a class act. Oh, thank you, thank you. This gross vehicle weight subject, you have done an awful lot of work on over the years in trying to educate people, and the last caller gave an opportunity for all of us to continue to learn I would expand on your answer a little. None of my business, I guess. But gross vehicle weight also includes the people in it. Yep, that’s right. Your luggage. That’s right. You know, if you’ve got a half ton, 1,000, and you’ve got 300 pounds worth of passengers… You only got 700 pounds left.
SPEAKER 23 :
That’s right. You’re right. Absolutely. And then you throw in a big old cooler and, I don’t know, a bunch of other gear and junk and so on, and you might be at full capacity at that point, Mike.
SPEAKER 06 :
That’s exactly it. Manufacturers tend to hide that in the small print and brochures.
SPEAKER 23 :
That’s right. And thank you for pointing that out, too, Mike, because I think in a lot of cases, these guys, they’re trying to, I don’t want to say be deceptive, but in a way, they’re trying to compete with the next guy. So if we can have a little bit higher GVWR, well, that’s great, but they forget about this side of it.
SPEAKER 06 :
That’s right. I mean, they’re not going to tell you about, generally speaking, aren’t going to tell you about that. And I don’t want to disparage anyone. But, hey, if you want a half-ton truck, you got this. This will do it. It’s a half-ton rated. Well, they’re not going to tell you that after you’re finished loading it, it’s not a half-ton.
SPEAKER 23 :
Mike, and I want to say one other thing along those lines for all of you listening, and this is not a knock, and the fleet departments, this is not against the, because the fleet guys all know this stuff, so I’m not talking about the fleet departments by any means, guys that are out there listening, but your regular average salesperson, Mike, and there are some good ones that are an exception to this, but on average, Mike, most salespeople have no idea what you and I are talking about.
SPEAKER 06 :
I agree. I couldn’t agree with you more. You’re absolutely correct, and Once again, this is a subject that you’ve expanded on many, many times, and I really enjoy it. And it’s still interesting how many people buy the wrong truck. We all see it every day. But anyway, great show, fellas.
SPEAKER 23 :
Thanks, Mike. No, I appreciate that. Thanks for the confidence. And just to kind of close on out on that before we go to our top-of-the-hour break, it really is important. For those of you out there that are trying to buy either new or used, study the product, study some of the things even that we just brought up, that Mike even brought up. Number one, first things first, what are you hauling? Is it you and a family? Is it just you and your spouse? Is it just you and your dog? Is it you and your dog and spouse and all kinds of other stuff that you’re adding in? What’s the weight of the trailer? And by the way, the trailer is the same thing. Most of the time, they’ll give you an empty trailer weight. Now you got to put water, propane, gear, all the other stuff. So by the time it’s all said and done, you might have added, you know, 500 pounds or so to whatever they say that trailer actually weighs. That all has to be factored in as well. And I just see it constantly, and I think where this comes into play for me mostly is the stores I operated for years and years, for almost three decades. We did a lot of trailer hitch, trailer, off-road, SUV, four-wheel drive, all the performance stuff, regular general repair, all of that. So it gave us an opportunity to do things that even a lot of the regular shops just don’t get into. So for me, I can’t tell you how often I saw vehicles that came in that they needed far more maintenance than they should have needed, mainly because they didn’t have enough truck for what they were doing. This included landscapers, contractors, guys that did other type of field work, folks that were using things to go play with, and so on. I mean, across the board, it wasn’t any one particular group. In a lot of cases, they didn’t have enough truck, for what they were doing. Rarely, rarely was it ever the opposite. Occasionally, you’d have a guy that was rolling in an F-450 that was hauling a 24-foot camper that would have been fine with a smaller, even an F-350 or F-250 even, it would have been just fine. But in those cases, it’s like, okay, I’d rather have overkill than not enough. And so I guess for all of those years, I experienced so many people that that either A, had to spend too much money on maintenance, brakes, all sorts of other things because they didn’t have enough vehicle for what they were hauling. And I just looked at that and thought, you’ve spent more money. You could have upgraded the truck initially. And in some cases, that would be our recommendation, be like, okay, we’re going to do all this maintenance work, and that’s great. But the next thing you need to do is go swap because you’re going to keep doing what we just did over and over again because you don’t have enough truck for what you’re hauling. And I’m sorry that the trailer guys didn’t tell you this. And, again, I’m not knocking the trailer guys either. They’re trying to make a living. They’re trying to sell stuff. But, again, the average trailer person, they’re going to sell you more on, you know, how does the sink and cabinets and fridge work and how much storage space do you have inside, not will your outback haul this. And I’m kind of exaggerating, but kind of not, because I see vehicles constantly that are way underrated for what’s behind them and what they’re hauling. I see it constantly. You know, I’ll see a, you know, 24-foot vehicle. you know car trader behind a fifteen hundred series truck and i’ll just tell you straight up that’s too much trailer for the truck i don’t care what’s your i’ll care for got a ford chevy ram that matter that twenty four foot less it’s an all-aluminum trailer and those are super expensive and most people don’t have those so unless it’s that typically that twenty four foot trailer empty not even with a car in it, but empty is too much trailer for that particular truck in that situation. And yet, I see that happen. I’ll see contractors doing that because somebody told them, yep, this trailer will work just fine behind that truck. No, it really doesn’t. And thank you, Mike, for saying that because, yes, that is a hot topic for me because I see so many things that can be avoided, struggles, troubles, accidents, and so on that could be avoided by having the proper equipment on the front side. So, Another full hour coming your way. Myself, Steve Horvath, Geno’s Auto Service. We’ll be right back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 18 :
Still haven’t had enough? Go to drive-radio.com, email your questions and comments, download previous programs, and find lots of useful information, including your nearest Colorado Select Auto Care Center. That’s drive-radio.com. Thanks for listening to Drive Radio, sponsored by the member shops of Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. On KLZ 560.
