Couple weeks ago I had to go into work after dark and ended up hitting a deer with the truck. Forcantully the truck was still driveable and made it on time for work. The deer damaged the front bumper, the grille, both headlight buckets were broke loose from all mounting tabs, even the passenger side fender was slightly damaged. The damage done by the deer came out to be roughly $3,000; this being the most expensive deer hunting trip I ever went on.
While the truck was in the shop to get fixed I made the decision that I would just keep the truck instead of trading it in for something newer. This was partly due to the fact that the trade in value of the truck would have gone down because of the recent accident and also because it is about the roll over 100k miles. So instead of trying to get a new vehicle I would spend some of the money I have saved up and do some much needed upgrades on the truck.
The upgrades would make my everyday driving experience a little more enjoyable. Adding a bull bar to the front to give some little more protection from future accidents, also will allow some auxiliary lighting to be installed. I plan on having a set of Halogen spot lights mounted to bar as well as a LED light bar mounted to the top of the bar. Backing up in the dark has always been a challenge withe the stock backup lights, I plan to replace the bulbs with LED's and add a set of auxiliary backup lights that will only come on when I am in reverse and a switch is turned on, no need in such bright lights backing up in a Walmart parking lot. A toolbox would allow me to actually carry my recovery gear instead of removing it whenever I have passengers in the backseat. I also plan on upgrading the front door speakers and to also install speakers in the rear doors like they were in previous year models.
I also have been shopping for recovery gear that I never gotten around into getting. Items like shackles, recovery strap, recovery hitch, things of that nature. I started getting all of these items when I had a vehicle that had enough storage to hold such things, but somehow lost interested even though the current truck I own is four wheel drive and has a need for such things even in my everyday driving around.
In addition to the decision of keeping the truck, I also plan on getting a second vehicle for the times I wish to go play,I miss having a vehicle that I didn't mind if it gets a dent or scratch, let alone something major like a CV joint or front hub breaking.
