When I reviewed a stripper Ram Tradesman earlier this year, a comment was posted up that made a very interesting point by Aussie 351: “Why are your pickups so big? It’s only rated at half-tonne, yet it’s huge! Are Americans all 8 ft tall? How do you get stuff over the side and back out again? Australian utes make so much more sense….” And I’m inclined to agree with him: around 2000, every full-size truck grew a size larger than they really needed to be. The deep well of the bed does have perks of it’s own, but more often than not it’s pointless. The true work truck used to look like a stakebed or what would now be called a stepside, where there was a point to access every corner of the cargo area for the best use. Even fleetside boxes of old were thin enough that you could get to things easily. It’s why if I were to ever buy a new truck, I’d look at one fitted with an aftermarket flatbed or a stakebed.

One of the most worked trucks I’ve ever dealt with was a Dodge D-50 that I used on one of my first paid deals, where I was cutting up firewood and clearing up construction lots. That truck taught me how to drive a manual transmission well, taught me the difference between loaded and over-loaded, and why good fuel economy can be a benefit. Shame I never actually owned the truck, it was a clean little piece. So seeing this 1982 D-50 with a tag axle attached and a flatbed tray has left me thinking about that initial comment by Aussie 351. This little truck is meant to work. It isn’t here to look pretty or to pamper your ass. It exists simply to have it’s tray loaded with stuff and to move that cargo at a reasonable speed to where you need to take it. And that tray will be loaded, because it’s an old truck that most people wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about. You don’t look like a coal-rolling stroke, you don’t get the nod of approval because of your horse saddle-themed interior. You just work, knowing that your $2,800 truck is doing more than everyone else nearby.

Craigslist Link: 1982 Dodge D-50 6×4