RCBS Easy Melt Pot

Ian

Notorious member
Every folding step tailgate I see around here has the same huge dent right in the middle that happens to perfectly match the ball in the receiver hitch. Seems the engineers failed to consider that some people buy pickup trucks with the intent of actually USING them. You know, like drag trailers around and so forth. If they would make the bed platform at thigh-level like they used to instead of eye-level, nobody would need a stupid power folding step tailgate in the first place.
 
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RBHarter

West Central AR
Fun fact . I had a 78' IHC Scout 392 , "tank tranny" (all cast iron integral bell housing syncro'd granny) high/low 5 stop transfer case , Dana 44s , steel wheels , spare , 22 gal of gas , spare , full top , A/C , cruise , tilt , handyman jack , 5 straps , 50 ft of chain , and a Sidewinder winch . The iron fortified tank of a truck tipped the truck scales at 2800# on the front end and 2000# on the rear .

Enter the 1999 Ford Explorer . 210 CID V6 , auto , Dana 25 IFS , 8.8 rear , alloy wheels , plastic everything , electric t case in aluminum housing high/low 4 , 2 high , 3 " less tire both up and across , no gas can , rack , or winch , no receiver , no brush guard , cruise , A/C , tint . Gear box with jack, chains etc from the Scout .
Guess what ? 2780# on the front 2000# on the rear ......the 20 yr newer plastic aluminum alloy all over "truck" weighed the same as the old cast iron , V8 , steel reinforced iron behemoth . It got 7 mpg more but I attribute that to aero dynamics and half the displacement making 2/3 of the HP . Of course for torque there's no comparison , and the old carburated beast was sucking wind pretty hard at 8000' where the little black box of wonders would make up the difference to about 9500' . I got nothing against either one , I just don't see how 2/3 of the vehicle weighs just as much with less equipment ........
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
it's a more dollars for less value equation.
even the IH's suffered from it, pull a fender/door/hood from a 78-79 and one from a 73/74 and weigh them.
I guarantee a 74-IH Scout-II fender weighs about 25% more than a 79 even though they interchange bolt for bolt.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Exactly, Ric. Lots of sound deadening material, hundreds of pounds of it by the time you add the coatings, MLV, foam, styrofoam, jute, mastic panels, trim panels, carpet, headliner, firewall blanket, heat shields, inner fender appointments, etc. Then there's HVAC. Sound system. Evaporative emission system. Impact bracing. Power seats. Power windows. Lots more glass. ABS. 79 computer modules (ok, maybe only 50). You get the idea.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I won't buy a new PU until they move the bed back down from the stratosphere. I can reach into the bed of
my 2003 F150 and get stuff near the edge, I'm short. I can step up onto the bumper fairly easily, even at 68.
The new ones are a literal joke. Bed is so high that I can't SEE into it, let alone reach into it. And they need
a step to get into the bed.

Ridiculous, foolish PickUps. I may have to keep my 2003 until I die.
 
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Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Cindy has a Colorado pickup, I was surprised how high the bed is. Rivals the full size ones of yester years.

BTW, I'm not short.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
My Dad's last newish pickup was a 1957 International Harvester. The bed height was 32 inches, if I remember the ads right. Only had three inches of rear wheel travel, but you could haul a ton of hay in the back. Everything now is about style and appearance, not function. My wife bought me a tailgate ladder for my 1/2 ton Dodge for birthday last years. Otherwise I had to lay on the tail gate and crawl up.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
my 64 3/4 ton IH couldn't have been any higher than that, by 70 that was increased 2-3"s and by 74 it was another 2"s in the 1/2 ton's.
most of it was spring arch.
 

blackthorn

Active Member
The older I get the less I like crawling up into the six-foot deep box on my 2006 Tundra. I got a used garden tool which consists of a garden rake style handle, and three spline like "teeth" with a bit of a "spade" on the ends. I took a hammer nd collapsed the three into a semi-hook thingy (tech term). With this "hook" I can usually pull or push whatever I want to wherever I want it. Works real well and limits the times I have to crawl in.
 
Back to the topic, LOL. New pot arrived today with about a week turn around, quicker than I thought it would be!
Now to try to find an older Promelt!