A friend of mine bought this Power Wagon somewhere a bit over a year ago and his health has failed. It doesn’t have power steering and he lacks the upper body strength to handle the rig. I’ve generally been in the market for a Power Wagon for some time, and this one does NOT have the winch bumper or the crew cab, both of which are attractive options to me. I can buy (like being a bumper made of gold) a winch bumper for a PW and install it. The crew cab is not do-able with this purchase.
I’m familiar with the rig and negotiated the purchase for him when he bought it, so I know what he paid for it. He’s been a friend of mine for about thirty years. 

WSF… I can see you there, sharpening your knives at the thought of a truck purchase and hammering the price down/up.

The rig is clean and I’m not sure how stock I want to keep it. (Leave me alone Fredd) I am not fond of the pizza cutter bias ply tires and while that’s OEM, I can get a tire that performs better on rims that I like better. 

For those of you who know, Fredd, he is not fond of “improving” classic automobiles unless the improvement returns them to OEM. He has a valid argument.

I don’t own vehicles that I don’t use and enjoy. The same is true of firearms. I don’t buy them for show. I buy them to enjoy them. This PW is so squeaky clean that I don’t know if I’d have the heart to scratch the bed up by installing stake racks so that I can haul firewood, etc. You may not think that’s a problem, but it sort of is.
Yes, I could keep it as a show truck for parades and car shows and it could be a garage queen and take up space…but would that make me happy? I doubt it. I’d want to take it on trails because that’s what the rig does well. It’s not very highway friendly, not geared to be a highway warrior. Dodge designed this one in 1949 to be a species of farm vehicle, for rough use. And they are rugged.
It’s the sort of rig that you’d take somebody slightly fancy like Vladimir Putin (the only world leader I know of who likes to hunt) in to go elk hunting. Donald Trump Jr. likes to hunt. He could hang out at the White Wolf Mine only if he brought his new girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle with him.
It’s Yellow, so California hunters don’t mistake it for an elk. (You laugh – don’t) 
I can put a winch up on the bed so I can lift the bull elk onto the rig. I’d do that anyway. I like winches (and wenches too, as it goes) because they’re useful (so are wenches, but in a different way).  It’s too fancy for Texas hunters, but I have two other 4×4’s so I’m not saying that I wouldn’t take the Texas crew out to kill big game. LSP likes my Raptor anyway, but he has his own white PopeMobile  truck that he drives around Texas Hill Country, equipped for war or fishing, or both.
To buy or not to buy. THAT is the question. The White Wolf mine is about 60 days from move-in and I’m starting to get the itch for toys. I also want a power boat for skiing and fishing ($55K problem).  The PW is about half that price. What’s better? A boat (hole in the water that you throw money into) or a yellow Dodge Power Wagon? Yes, I know, you will counsel me to buy both, but that’s just crazy talk.

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35 COMMENTS

  2. Too purty to use so help him sell it. Hemming classifieds a good place to start.
    hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/international/l152/2123968.html

  3. buy the truck.
    I've heard it said that the two happiest days in your life are the day that you buy your boat and the day you finally sell your boat. besides, you can catch all the fish you want standing on the shore. the only thing a boat does for you is it gets you to the next fishing hole faster.

  4. I don't think that he wants to sell it. It's more of a 'sell it to me' sort of emotion that's involved. But he's not using it. The rig just sits there.

  6. I've owned a couple boats. I have a canoe (better for the small mountain lakes) that rides on a rack I fabricated on my 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. Canoes are not like regular boats to me. They endear themselves to me.

  7. Reminds me of the old M37 3/4 ton Dodges we used in SE Asia back in the day. Those were solid rugged old trucks.

  8. Buy it and loan it out to the SNL's or use it around the WWM for, as you mentioned, hauling firewood or just working around the home front. It is nice looking, though.

  9. Buy the truck and use it for what it was intended for period. I did something similar about ten years ago(61 f-100 unibody) and drive almost daily. I get enjoyment from using the truck the way Ford intended you to and the fact it's 57years old just adds to it. My two cents for what it worth.

  10. I do not own 'safe queens'. Some do, which is fine. If they invite me to share, I am most grateful. I also ask that they please wipe everything down afterwards, as I seem to have a body chemistry that will rust everything from plywood to platinum.

    All of the U.S. long arms in my collection, from my Garand back, have seen tours of duty and have a history behind them.

    As to the Yellow Beast pictured, I would very much like to have a ride in it. However, I could not bring myself to put a scratch or dent in it something that pretty. Give me a solid old war horse that I can drive over and through things with.

  12. Definitely put better tires on it, for the kind of driving you'll be doing. Maybe even a portable air compressor for just in cases..

  14. I carry CO2 tanks in my existing trucks, but an air compressor under the hood might be better for this beast.

  16. The sons-in-law don't deserve it until after I've shuffled off this mortal coil. Then they can do what they want when I'm pushing up daisies.

  22. I'm going to wait until my move is complete to make a decision on the PW. I have to get my stuff from point A to point B. And the PW isn't going anywhere.

  25. Yes, buy this rig, LL. And use it. It is beefy enough to mount a 50-cal on the back, but you could get by with a wimpy M-60 if you don't mind the 'girly-man' comments from your buddies.

    And yes, I would discourage adding A/C, power steering or even seat belts. But I would not poo poo such alterations, as a trailer queen antique vehicle is no good to anyone. Drive it and enjoy it, the way they were meant to be.

  26. The rig wouldn't be going a long way and A/C isn't needed many days out of the year up in the high country. There are not but a dozen or so days in the year in that area that get over 90 and I have other rigs for longer trips.

  27. These were made by the thousands but are quite scarce now.
    Restored and resto-mods are really, really expensive:
    legacyclassictrucks.com/p-34987-legacy-power-wagon-conversion.html
    Restoration is a huge project, to be undertaken with eyes wide open. Finding a suitable candidate is the first hurdle to overcome. Some examples here:
    dodgepowerwagon.com/classifieds/

    That is a rare and desirable truck in excellent condition. Grab it while you can.
    You will have a true head-turner, much like a resurrected dinosaur. And, like a dinosaur it might be cantankerous.
    But when going down the road in all its inefficient, massive glory, everybody else can Kiss Your Ass!

    =TW=

  28. What the heck are you waiting for! Buy that beauty and drive it like it was meant to be driven. (don't forget to put the WWM logo on the doors) The grandkids will love you for it!!!

  29. As much as you'd enjoy it, I'll have to advise against buying it. Every nick, dent, scratch, and ding in it will drop the value rapidly. It's really too nice for a daily use truck.

    Get something already banged up but in good mechanical condition.

  31. I'm a few weeks from finally moving into the hovel in AZ. Once that is accomplished, the PW is very high on the list.

  32. I already have a couple of those, and one of my sons-in-law bought a 1946 Jeep that he's sort of restoring that will end up as a mine vehicle too.

  34. Then buy it and make it the Queen of the Fleet.

    I couldn't bear to take it off road and get it damaged. It's far too nice for that….

  35. I haven't decided yet. I put off the decision until I get settled in the new abode. The Power Wagon isn't going anywhere.

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