[Jim Allen]

I admire your calm replies in the face of the challenges. I hope you regarded mine as sufficiently polite.

You have carried your mpg quest way beyond what I would. Mine is largely configured as I need it. I need the wide tires for floatation on soft ground and the 4wd for the same reasons. The low gears were not a liability towing at relatively low speeds. The old truck is "semi-retired" ( I couldn't bear to sell ti when I got the new truck) and only gets 2-3K a year on it now. It does better in town and for short hops than my much newer gas truck does. It's great for hauling loaded grain wagons to the elevator (30-40 tons worth) and for hauling heavy loads (3,400 pounds of gravel in the bed last Wednesday).