When I wanted a new truck bed cover for my 99 Sierra, I ran across quite a dilemma. Do I save a few bucks and buy the Undercover Tonneau Cover my buddy has? Or, do I blow his truck away with a custom painted truck bed cover from Gaylord's? The internal struggle was quite wrenching.

Make Buy Chevy Truck sure the electrical components of the vehicle work properly. Check the lights, and power inside of the vehicle if it has power windows, locks, or seats. Fixing electrical problems is pretty much just a pain in the @#$.

If you're buying from a dealer ask to see the maintenance record. Also ask for this from an individual selling a car. If they don't have it, ask for contact information on the previous owner and where any service had been done. When buying from a Chevy Truck Deal ask for the Buying Guide, federal law says they have to show it to you.

Also during the test drive, go up hills and in curves see if it has enough power in the motor to get you around. Don't turn on the radio; you need it to be quiet to see if there are any strange noises from the motor. Make sure the car handles well and does not need to be lined up. Make sure any dealer oral promises are written down and signed for so they have to back up their promises.

But don't head on down to your local chevy truck keys deal just yet for a Suburban. Just because there are lots of play dates in your schedule doesn't mean you have to spend all of your money on gas. Also, just because you need lots of cargo/human room does not mean you have to dread driving the "family car." Trust me, I have road tested a number of surprisingly quick and agile family vehicles this year.

If you have to pull a trailer behind your truck you will notice that your gas mileage decreases. Usually a trailer is taller than the truck, and this blocks the wind, obviously. There are spoilers that you can install on the cab of your truck to help the wind go over the trailer and therefore it won't put as much of a pull on the truck's engine.

On Part 4 of our series of articles about truck restorations I will talk about more lessons learned the hard way during the restoration of my 1954 Chevy truck.