Narrative:

Just shortly after rotation and becoming airborne; the pilot yelled out that we had a near-miss hit with a truck that was in the middle of the runway. I never saw the truck; however on turning crosswind and on a right downwind departure; I confirmed that there was a truck in the middle of the runway that was just slightly past the mid-length area of the field. The truck was stationary.lessons learned:1. During taxi from the mid-field apron area to the run-up area prior to takeoff; I had my head primarily in the cockpit to set-up the routing. During that time; I should have been scanning the entire runway and adjacent areas that were in my view.2. The pilot and aircraft owner insisted that there be a backup garmin 496 on the dash. This piece of equipment on the dash; with a bird's nest of wires; obstructed a considerable amount of my forward view. I complained a number of times but should have absolutely insisted that it be taken off the dash; most especially for departure and arrivals. After a long conversation with the pilot after this incident; it was agreed that this piece of equipment should no longer be on the dash.3. Prior to arrival; we had verified that there was a NOTAM of surface spraying; however the NOTAM never said that there would be a vehicle on the runway. During arrival and prior to departure; we never noticed any vehicles spraying in any area. I would assume that if a vehicle was to be working on the runway; that the runway should be closed and a NOTAM of runway closure. We questioned the FBO on unicom on turning downwind; however; they were not aware of a truck on the runway; but were aware of the current NOTAM.as a new flight instructor; this incident reminded me to stay alert and be vigilant at all times. I was with a very good friend who is a very accomplished pilot and I see that as [contributing]. I believe I was relaxed and should have been scanning outside on taxi instead of primarily focusing on entering the routing. However; we are not sure if this would have made a difference because the pilot never saw the truck in the area or on the runway when taking off.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GA instructor pilot stated the pilot flying noticed an unreported truck on the runway just after takeoff.

Narrative: Just shortly after rotation and becoming airborne; the pilot yelled out that we had a near-miss hit with a truck that was in the middle of the runway. I never saw the truck; however on turning crosswind and on a right downwind departure; I confirmed that there was a truck in the middle of the runway that was just slightly past the mid-length area of the field. The truck was stationary.Lessons Learned:1. During taxi from the mid-field apron area to the run-up area prior to takeoff; I had my head primarily in the cockpit to set-up the routing. During that time; I should have been scanning the entire runway and adjacent areas that were in my view.2. The pilot and aircraft owner insisted that there be a backup Garmin 496 on the dash. This piece of equipment on the dash; with a bird's nest of wires; obstructed a considerable amount of my forward view. I complained a number of times but should have absolutely insisted that it be taken off the dash; most especially for departure and arrivals. After a long conversation with the pilot after this incident; it was agreed that this piece of equipment should no longer be on the dash.3. Prior to arrival; we had verified that there was a NOTAM of surface spraying; however the NOTAM never said that there would be a vehicle on the runway. During arrival and prior to departure; we never noticed any vehicles spraying in any area. I would assume that if a vehicle was to be working on the runway; that the runway should be closed and a NOTAM of runway closure. We questioned the FBO on Unicom on turning downwind; however; they were not aware of a truck on the runway; but were aware of the current NOTAM.As a new flight instructor; this incident reminded me to stay alert and be vigilant at all times. I was with a very good friend who is a very accomplished pilot and I see that as [contributing]. I believe I was relaxed and should have been scanning outside on taxi instead of primarily focusing on entering the routing. However; we are not sure if this would have made a difference because the pilot never saw the truck in the area or on the runway when taking off.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.