I’m discovering some things about myself, driving a 40 year old truck. I didn’t realize how annoying I found all of the warning beeps and bongs: when you’re door isn’t closed; when your seat belt isn’t latched; when your key/fob is still in the ignition… just to name a few. And as far as I know, there’s no easy way to turn them off. They nag you until you do whatever. The Truck has not one single warning tone. Blessed silence.

I get that some of these are safety features but you know… I’m willing to roll the dice. Knowing the truck won’t remind of anything has made me a little more careful. Aware of what I’m doing.

PS: And how will I know if my tire pressure is low? I’ll check it once a week.

Like them both. Can’t decide.

For years I resisted the temptation to dangle shit from my rear view mirror or attach stuff to my dash. But the aluminum body of The Truck is just too perfect for these kinds of modifications. I’m always hunting around for a pen/pencil so last night I velcro’d a couple within easy reach. Ahh. And there’s all sort of little nooks and crannies for parking stuff like the garage door remote and my wallet. The visor is bristling with stuff (insurance card, etc) under rubber bands. #farkle

Keeping the MINI around for a bit until I’m confident the The Truck can be my daily drive. This photo shows just how small the Land Rover is. I’ll bet there’s more space inside the MINI. Longer wheelbase. But the center of gravity is very noticeable on turns. The contrast in driving experience is dramatic.

It’s been a long time since I drove a car without power steering and brakes. Fifty years? Manual brakes and steering dramatically changes the way you drive (okay, the way I drive).

Stopping at an intersection requires some planning, some forethought. I have to start slowing well before I get there. Same with turning. You do not want to be going fast while turning this truck. If the MINI is a go-cart, the Land Rover is one of those red, double-decker London buses. Center of gravity two or three times higher than the MINI.

To make those turns the Land Rover engineers gave us a big old steering wheel, made of the same Bakelite as old telephones and ancient Farmall tractors. While I’ve never driven a farm implement, driving this old truck feels more like a tractor than a car.

Another difference one notices in the first few seconds is the noise. The 2.5 liter diesel engine is loud. You can talk to a passenger IF YOU ARE BOTH WILLING TO YELL. Phone calls? Forget it. I set my iPhone to ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving‘ mode. The accelerometer senses when I’m driving and automatically sends a message to incoming calls and messages. “I’m driving, call you later” or something like that.

What else? The turn signal lever doesn’t turn itself off. I seem to recall that being standard back in the day. So I’ve been driving around with my turn signal on. I’ve started keeping my hand on the lever until I turn it off.

I’m having a blast so far. But an old Series Land Rover would not be a good fit for everyone. Or anyone who has to be somewhere soon or far away.