Pickup truck vs. car + trailer

[Spazdog]

How am I coping with gas prices?

My Mazda6 is my SUV.

I probably couldn't do half of what I do if my Mazda was a sedan.

It's not without it's drawbacks. The cargo area of my car bears the scars of many a load. But to be honest, a crossover or truck based compact SUV would likely be just as dinged up.

I would like to own a truck. I genuinely like trucks. I was born in Texas and raised in Georgia....I've been fully indoctrinated into the pleasures of truck ownership. Just not of the mindset that it's a good idea for me to have a vehicle that needs that much fuel. My average with a V6 is as good as the best pickup's freeway mileage

I do have a lot of trees on my property and it would be easier to just haul off all the cut limbs than to cut them down into small enough pieces to run through my little chipper and into fireplace sized logs. But to date I do not have a trailer.

 

[cchase]

The lifetime average of our truck is only 2 mpg worse than our 4-door sedans.

Yes on a pure highway trip the cars get far better fuel economy, but for around town driving (the vast majority for me) there's not a substantial difference.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Our trucks work, so we could care less about the gas police. We can't do our work in a car no matter what. If you put our type of equipment in a trailer you will be hauling a minimum of two to three tons total, and you won't want to pull that with any FWD vehicle for sure!

We have a bit of land, and I prefer a Pickup for the utility versus a trailer.

 

[ls1mike]

Right, I didn't mean to sound douchey either, but you have to realize cars don't have have the suspensions and brakes need to tow comfortablly and safely.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Right, I didn't mean to sound douchey either, but you have to realize cars don't have have the suspensions and brakes need to tow comfortablly and safely.


No and cars are also to lightly built with to little ground clearance to drive on [censored] dirt roads or off road at all.

I use my truck for work, every day. I can't own a vehicle without an 8ft bed.

I just pay for gas, its a small overall cost in my business. I average about 15mpg around town.

 

[exranger06]

I love my truck. It's an extremely handy vehicle to have around. Gas mileage kind of sucks, but I knew that when I bought it and I can afford it comfortably. I only put about 6k miles per year on it anyway. I may also get a trailer in the future, as I may be transporting my garden tractor back and forth between my (future) house and my mother's house about once a week. I already installed a new receiver hitch a few weeks ago.

 

[AHC]

Originally Posted By: bigdreama



How are you guys dealing with $4 gas?


I ride my bike a lot more. 2001 F150 5.4L V8 sits in the driveway. Meanwhile, I've lost a lot of weight and feel great.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy

No and cars are also to lightly built with to little ground clearance to drive on [censored] dirt roads or off road at all.


yeah, passenger cars are terrible off road.

Outback through the outback

Tokyo to LA The Hard Way

 

[Bladecutter]

I look at those two pictures, and I don't see any reason why I would want to be driving in those two places in the first part.

Nevermind wanting to drive a car or a truck.

BC.

 

[BearZDefect]

I would not drive a car through water like that Suzuki photo, but I've driven ordinary front wheel drive cars over dry terrain like that Outback photo many times without incident in the past. Keep a bit of momentum so you don't get it wedged in somewhere, and be careful about ground clearance.

 

[HM12460]

I love my truck. It is the one below in my signature line. It has the 4.2 V-6 engine, a 5 speed manual, 2 wheel drive regular cab with a 3.31 geared rear axle. Get's 19.5 mpg on highway on winter blend 87 octane. I drive it like the old man I'm very fast becoming. My last F-150 was a total hog and I hated it. I do use a truck for a truck. That being said, my next vehicle will be a car but so far, there just isn't much in cars that I like. The newer Mustang's and Challenger's are nice but probably not good year round driver's here in Michigan.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy

No and cars are also to lightly built with to little ground clearance to drive on [censored] dirt roads or off road at all.


yeah, passenger cars are terrible off road.

Outback through the outback

Tokyo to LA The Hard Way


Oh please, tell me something I don't know. The Mercedes W123 is the king of the third world.

But they do it because they can't afford good vehicles, which over their is a Hilux or a Range Rover.

Oh and if you read the article that Suzuki was done after that trip, the unibody was developing cracks and tweaked.

I'd love to drive from Paris to Peking one day in a classic Mercedes. Probably a W126.

Their is a reason Top Gear uses Range Rover or Toyota Land Cruiser support vehicles off road.

 

[Tdbo]

I'm also in the category of people who like their trucks.

Every time that I have ever gotten rid of one because I thought I could do without it (2x now,) I've ended up going and buying another.

I tried the 4x6 utility trailer route. What burned me the most was $42 a year for Trailer plates vs. $70 to register a pickup.
My Ranger is inexpensive to insure and comes in handy either when we need to haul or have a car down, so I just do that.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy

Oh and if you read the article that Suzuki was done after that trip, the unibody was developing cracks and tweaked.



That's surprising from Suzuki.

I chased a Dakota 4X4 down a rutted/holed dirt road in my Suzuki Swift. Holes bigger than the 155/80R13s that the little 'Zook rode on. Mud where the road was covered by trees. Dust and rocks everywhere else. The little car was a terrible car most of the time. Slow steering/softly sprung and sloppy for a supermini, but it handled a lot of abuse on that run and came out of it unscathed.

Again, I thought it was just a sloppy car. I think now that it had been made more for third world countries. Like the Samurai. Suzuki even put a bigger engine in the US bound Samurai, but it was still terrible for US highways. In third world countries it goes anywhere and keeps going.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Tdbo
I tried the 4x6 utility trailer route. What burned me the most was $42 a year for Trailer plates vs. $70 to register a pickup.
My Ranger is inexpensive to insure and comes in handy either when we need to haul or have a car down, so I just do that.


Did your trailer also require insurance? In NC, trailers are not insured, but pickup trucks obviously are. So for us, it was the small difference in registration fees, but also $300-400/year just to have the pleasure of parking a mostly unused pickup in our driveway. Add to that things that happen to vehicles that are not used all the time (ocassional battery issues or brake issues or vacuum hose rot, etc), and it was costing us closer to $1,000/year just to OWN our Dakota, plus any gas/tires/etc for it.

I was long a proponent for having a spare pickup truck, because it doesn't cost anything to own it. But once I actually thought about it, it really does...at least ours did.

 

[millerbl00]

Also I have no room to park a trailer and I have a tough time "hitching" it up to a car.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
I tried the 4x6 utility trailer route. What burned me the most was $42 a year for Trailer plates vs. $70 to register a pickup.
My Ranger is inexpensive to insure and comes in handy either when we need to haul or have a car down, so I just do that.


Did your trailer also require insurance? In NC, trailers are not insured, but pickup trucks obviously are. So for us, it was the small difference in registration fees, but also $300-400/year just to have the pleasure of parking a mostly unused pickup in our driveway. Add to that things that happen to vehicles that are not used all the time (ocassional battery issues or brake issues or vacuum hose rot, etc), and it was costing us closer to $1,000/year just to OWN our Dakota, plus any gas/tires/etc for it.

I was long a proponent for having a spare pickup truck, because it doesn't cost anything to own it. But once I actually thought about it, it really does...at least ours did.


Certainly, nothing is free but I feel that the cost is reasonable. I pay $245. a year (full coverage) to insure it and $70/year to tag it. Maintenance costs aren't horrible, I change the oil once a year. Since I have had it, I have done oil changes, an ATF change, and put brakes in it once. I am also taking it in this week for wires/plugs, a cam synchronizer, and having the radiator flushed (first time done since I bought it in '08.)

Since I am on vacation this week, I used it this morning to take a load of scrap aluminum to recycle. We also use it quite a bit for hauling stuff and I use it quite a bit for yard work.

Having the truck has not caused me financial distress in any way and has also been handy the times that we have had a car go down (I commute 130mi/day, at least until I retire in 2015, so having auxiliary transportation if a car goes down is somewhat of a necessity.)

I tried the trailer route and hated it. No, we did not have to insure it but it was the most miserable, unstable thing to tow or back. I was never so happy to get rid of anything in my life. I have come to the conclusion (and even my wife agrees with me) that we will always have a pickup in our driveway.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Originally Posted By: Tdbo
I commute 130mi/day,



That's a lotta driving. Do you use your truck for that commute?

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: bigdreama
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
I commute 130mi/day,



That's a lotta driving. Do you use your truck for that commute?


No, that's why I have the Accord. I don't drive that truck regularly to work, it gets horrible mileage.

However, I did do it with a 1995 Ranger for 8 years. However it was a 2.5/ 5 sp.
It got 25-27mpg. I'm lucky to hit 21 in my present truck.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Exactly. Unless you are hauling large loads on a regular basis, pickup trucks are not a good commuter vehicle.