It’s recently occurred to me, I’ve been driving pickup trucks nearly all of my adult life. Through school I drove the family’s cast-off cars. First was a gigantic Pontiac Bonneville that could literally carry a small rowboat in the trunk. That was followed by a Plymouth Volare wagon, complete with “wood look” contact paper side panels! It was the car I had when I met my future wife, and she agreed to marry me anyway.

When we wed she brought the vehicle to the relationship—a 1977 Ford Thunderbird. It was notable in that it had almost no trunk, but nearly endless hood. Newlywed finances demanded we quickly trade that gas hog in for something more economical—(fellow rednecks forgive me) a Subaru. You want to see something funny? How about a little, ’80s, squared-off Subaru GL with a camo’d duck boat on the roof, with decoys and dogs stuffed in every possible crevice pulling up to the landing at the public hunting area?

As soon as we could afford two vehicles and I got my own Chevy S-10, and since then it’s been pickup trucks for me!

Obviously, I can remember all the vehicles we’ve owned, but I also can say I’m not a guy who usually falls in love with a truck. Like all my other hunting equipment, my trucks are tools—a means to achieve a result. Of the string leading to my new truck that just arrived a month ago, my favorite was the 2006 GMC Sierra 1500 HD. For a half-ton, it was truly a “heavy-duty” truck. I’d have gone on happily with that exact model forever, so naturally, by the time the lease on that one was up, they quit making it!

But with the new Ram 1500 Outdoorsman I just took into possession, everything seems to be changing. I might be falling in truck love.

I have to admit the moniker “Outdoorsman Edition” is what initially attracted my attention, but it’s way more than a name. Real thought and design aimed at the needs of hunters and fishermen went into this truck. And Ram isn’t bashful about associating directly with hunting and fishing—aka “blood sports.” They are actually embracing us with this edition.

Because this might be my first actual case of “truck love,” chances are pretty good that while you’re reading this, I’m sitting in the waiting room at a graphics shop on the north end of the Twin Cities waiting on the installation of the Mossy Oak Graphics I ordered up for my new baby. By the end of the day she’ll be wearing Mossy Oak Duck Blind accents on the bumpers, rocker panels and fender flares. I saw a Ram Outdoorsman in dark green, just like mine, done up this way at SHOT Show, and I’ve been hunter green with envy ever since. So I’m scratching that itch. The picture running with this blog is “the before,” and I promise to share “the after” in an “Around the Campfire” blog installment in the very near future. (That green bandage on my arm? I gave blood that afternoon.)

This Mossy Oak Graphics stuff is really cool. They combine 3M high-tech material with state-of-the-art printing technology. The result is a product that looks fantastic and is guaranteed for adhesion for 7 years, and color for 5 years when installed properly. I’ve put the Mossy Oak Graphics on a couple of guns myself, and am really impressed how well it works—even someone like me who has no patience when it comes to fussy projects requiring close attention to detail.

But on a project as big as the truck accents, and considering I’m counting on this being my baby’s wardrobe for as long as I own her … I’m leaving this installation to the professionals.  Stay tuned, and I’ll let you know how it goes.