re: Is it legal to have a loaded pistol in my truck?

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You don't have to tell the LEO but it's a good idea.

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Why is it a good idea to volunteer to a LEO that I have a firearm in my vehicle that I am NOT carrying concealed? If asked, I will provide an honest answer.

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For one if the officer is competent he should be asking you if you have a weapon on your person or in the vehicle within the first few statements made during the stop.

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He's not going to get a chance to ask me if I'm carrying concealed as I'll hand my cc license to him at the same I give him my driver's license. But again, I'm NOT referring to a concealed carry situation. On a routine traffic stop, I've never been asked by any LEO if I have a firearm in my car. None of my acquaintances have, either. Is that question really part of a routine traffic stop?

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Lets say you get pulled over and don't tell him about the gun or even worse you tell him you don't have one when asked (which is legal). Say the officer asks you to get a document from the vehicle. While you are reaching in for the papers say the officer spots a portion of the weapon sticking out. This has the possibility to be a very bad and tense situation. You are likely to get a gun put in your face at a minimum. If you lied about there being one there then prepared to have your person and vehicle thoroughly searched.You don't have to tell the LEO but it's a good idea.

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Like I said, if asked, I'm not going to lie. I'll tell him what it, where it is and it's condition. If I'm going to have to look for something in the car where the firearm happens to be, I'll tell him the same info. I'm all about keeping the LEO comfortable. But, I don't see how it will make him more comfortable for me to tell him, w/o him having asked, that there's a firearm somewhere in the vehicle and not even on my person.