home on the range: Texas ranch trucks

this from our man in West Texas, Don Culbertson:

'Fashion comes and goes, form and function follow. Soon after the innovation of the automobile, a truck format was quickly introduced to replace the cargo carrier of the day, the buckboard wagon. American auto makers have included a truck in the line up every year since then. Autoliterate among many things showcases examples of truck innovations in engines, drive trains, body styles, that vary over the decades and from manufacturer to manufacturer. Last spring I sent a perfect example of a ranch truck that was a late 70s model converted to a flat bed type truck. 

"Since that time I've snapped a few more photos of the flat bed ranch truck that has become more the standard with West Texas cattlemen...

"The flat bed configuration allows for conversion and switching from goose neck trailer pull to rear bumper pull depending on the need. Likewise the flat bed can accommodate a welder, a box or mechanical feeder, or an open platform for hauling. This summer I saw a flatbed configured for fencing, there were two different reals, a large reel for 5 foot  mesh wire and a smaller reel for single strand barbed wire. Here are a few examples of the flat bed type configuration mostly early model with a couple of young'uns thrown in."--DC