The odometer turning over to 100,000 miles is considered by many to be a rite of passage for a vehicle. The moment it crosses the threshold of automotive achievement is the moment when most people feel they’ve gotten a lot of miles out of the “old girl.”
But in a world where automotive reliability and new technology can extend a vehicle’s longevity past the 100,000-mile mark, does hitting six figures have the same distinction anymore? How about seven figures?
When Norman and Debbie Conner traded in their 2002 Ford F-350, it had just over 1,071,000 miles on it. What is perhaps even more extraordinary than the mileage on the Conners’ truck was their reluctance to part ways with it.
“It hurt me to sell it,” says Norman. “Not a mark on it, and it was still running fine.”
However, when you make your living transporting campers and trailers across the country, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. With that – and Norman’s fondness for the new 6.7L Power Stroke® Turbo Diesel engine – they traded into a 2011 Ford Super Duty® F-350 last September, and continued their journeys. When their latest cross-country run is completed, the Conners will have around 84,000 miles on their latest Ford truck.
One would think that maintaining a truck would be difficult when you’re putting so many miles on it so quickly, but not according to Norman. “If you want to get the miles out of it, you have to take care of the truck,” he explains. “Just do what Ford says.”
Norman, who does most of the maintenance on his truck personally, also credits a network of Ford Dealerships that he’s gotten to know across the country with helping keep his Super Duty on the road.
OK, so a husband-and-wife team managed to essentially drive to the moon four-and-a-half times in their 2002 Super Duty. A fluke, right?
Consider the story of Duane Thalan, who recently crossed the 1,229,000-mile mark in his 1999 F-250 and is still going. In fact, his truck still has the original fuel injectors.
Much like Norman and Debbie Conner, Duane packed on his miles hauling campers and boats all over the U.S. and Canada. He’s been fond of Ford trucks ever since he worked at a Ford Dealership. He does a lot of the routine maintenance on his Super Duty and says that you just have to accept that sometimes things are going to break. The trick is to be proactive.
“Keep stuff lubricated,” he suggests. “It will last a lot longer if you pay attention. Look under it, make sure nothing is leaking.”
While Duane may have had to make the occasional pit stop, he says his trusty F-250 has never left him stranded. That’s why he’s not planning on trading it in anytime soon. He just trusts it.