Commuting in a truck (a year later).

Status
Not open for further replies.
I daily drive in an F150 that I bought new in 2016. Wonderful to drive, mpg's around 22, great family vehicle and tows anything I need it to... what's not to love?

Full disclosure, parking can be an issue.
 
My old commute was out of the city and all highway and I really miss my old 99 7.3 power stroke 4x4 with the 6 speed manual for that, the visibility and ability to tackle any weather was the best, so was the over the road comfort and safety, out here in the Seattle area where everyone is on drugs or DUI having something substantial is a good thing, plus it's deer country.

We use the RX now with the baby, but my next vehicle will be a truck, probably an F150 v8 crew cab so we can continue to take lots of road trips down Lake Tahoe and SoCal with the little guy and all our stuff, the rx just doesn't have quite enough room for all that baby stuff. But as a DD, they're great IMO
 
Originally Posted by 2strokeNorthstar
True. I consider a "commute" sitting in traffic on a freeway. It must be a CA thing. Never thought of a long drive on open roads as a commute.

Same up here in Seattle, we're also blessed with the 5a-9p bumper to bumper traffic BS, but an optioned out luxotruck does great in that too
 
I have been commuting in my 99 jeep grand Cherokee for the last 5 years. About 50 miles a day. I just bought the Escape to use instead.
 
if it's not a Snap-On toolbox, you are nobody, on welfare or something.. if it's not a truck you drive, you are not a guy around here.
 
Originally Posted by JEL01
Originally Posted by 2strokeNorthstar
True. I consider a "commute" sitting in traffic on a freeway. It must be a CA thing. Never thought of a long drive on open roads as a commute.

Same up here in Seattle, we're also blessed with the 5a-9p bumper to bumper traffic BS, but an optioned out luxotruck does great in that too


I have no idea how the SeaTac region gets such bad traffic. I was driving around at 4-5AM and there were already ramps backed up with hundreds of meters of cars still waiting on the highway.
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Originally Posted by Railrust
I owned a Lexus LS 460 before this...great car...but when you're replacing the entire front suspension every two years and it's costing you thousands?? Kind of gets old.

What road obstacles were you attempting to clear with your Lexus that caused that much damage?!
crazy2.gif

My Lexus is still on it's original suspension with no rattles, or slop whatsoever

But yes, I kind of wish we chose an SUV over the Lexus.
Something with 2wd, yet luxury like the Lexus.
Does such a vehicle exist?


The LS460 has 8 control arms up front in their multi link suspension system - generally the control arm failure starts at 80,000 miles. A Lexus's genuine control arm is $400 a piece...x 8 = $3,200 bucks. So most people go aftermarket and spend $800-$1,20, but those arms won't make it 80,000 miles...more like 50,000 miles. I was able to do the replacements myself (twice), otherwise I'd be looking at close to $10,000 parts and labor to do it twice at the dealer. It's really not that big of a deal (skill wise) to repce them, but even aftermarket it's still costly and time consuming.

And tire wear on those cars was horrendous!! Awful. You could never ever get a set of tires to last more than 25,000 miles. So I had to buy new tires every single year.

But still I loved that car...great performance, great technology inside, comfort, room, looks. Loved it. But to put 25,000-30,000 miles a year on it became a little more expensive than I was hoping for. I started burning some oil once it got over 150,000 miles...that and the brake actuator was beginning to fail ($3,000 part). So I traded it in, I figure when things start failing on the truck, at least parts will be reasonably priced (I hope).
 
Originally Posted by Tdog02
I daily drive in an F150 that I bought new in 2016. Wonderful to drive, mpg's around 22, great family vehicle and tows anything I need it to... what's not to love?

Full disclosure, parking can be an issue.


Yeah I've driven the F150 ecoboost...very nice riding truck.
 
Yes. I've been commuting in mine for 11 months. I also enjoy it. Parking isn't an issue for me -- as I always park in the "back 40". If I were at my previous job -- with the horrible (tight) parking garage, it wouldn't be fun to park.
 
I've done both and enjoy both. I commute in a new-ish truck. Before I had beater sedans and a reliable but strained gen1 tundra for weekend towing. I gave my re-worked and reliable s60 sedan to my daughter, bought another s60 beater and reworked it, all the while maintaining the truck which was beginning to show wear. Finally bought the 18 F150 and sold the remaining s60 - down to one vehicle that does everything I need. It's cheaper. I lost 2 mpg going to the truck, but gained back a vehicle's-worth of annual insurance and less stuff to maintain, and shrinking from a quad cab to extended cab, gained a full bed.

OTOH, aside from being pushed around by the occasional lazy (or aggressive) large-vehicle that is more threatening to small vehicles, I do miss the small commuter car. I don't need 5,000 lbs of steel around me to be a man. I felt more freeing to be in a smaller car with less stuff. If it weren't a safety issue, I'd be fine in a non climate-controlled go-kart. the 10 year plan is perhaps a volvo BEV when the truck ages.
 
I commute in a Tacoma 4-cylinder. The ride is surprisingly good but then most modern trucks ride like cars, and the interiors mimic cars more and more as well. The fuel economy is not great (23-24 average) but my commute is only 15 miles each way... it gets close to 30mpg on long interstate drives. I do need a pickup for my hobbies (camping, dirt biking, helping friends move LOL) and also use it for work sometimes. Commuting in the Corvette would make the insurance go sky-high due to the extra mileage. Someday I will sell the Corvette and either get a sports sedan, or an econobox for commuting. I am enjoying the legendary Toyota reliability, with a 4-cylinder, ultra-simple drivetrain and live axle. If reliability is important, Tacoma is a good choice.
 
Originally Posted by DGXR
I commute in a Tacoma 4-cylinder. The ride is surprisingly good but then most modern trucks ride like cars, and the interiors mimic cars more and more as well. The fuel economy is not great (23-24 average) but my commute is only 15 miles each way... it gets close to 30mpg on long interstate drives. I do need a pickup for my hobbies (camping, dirt biking, helping friends move LOL) and also use it for work sometimes. Commuting in the Corvette would make the insurance go sky-high due to the extra mileage. Someday I will sell the Corvette and either get a sports sedan, or an econobox for commuting. I am enjoying the legendary Toyota reliability, with a 4-cylinder, ultra-simple drivetrain and live axle. If reliability is important, Tacoma is a good choice.


The truck definitely comes in handy for mountain biking...I mountain bike 3-4 days a week (Santa Cruz Tallboy 3). Truck makes things a whole lot easier than tossing a $5,000 dollar mountain bike onto a $70 dollar bike rack (I never really felt comfortable with that. Lol).
 
I used to travel the countryside in a full-size (2000 era full-size) truck. It was great compared to a car in so many ways. Gas mileage was worse, but not horribly so on the highway. I usually did 40K miles a year with stuff in the back and frequently a trailer. Today's trucks are too big for me, and I now live in an area that you can only have a truck if it fits in your garage. So, no more truck for me.
 
Originally Posted by Railrust
Originally Posted by DGXR
I commute in a Tacoma 4-cylinder. The ride is surprisingly good but then most modern trucks ride like cars, and the interiors mimic cars more and more as well. The fuel economy is not great (23-24 average) but my commute is only 15 miles each way... it gets close to 30mpg on long interstate drives. I do need a pickup for my hobbies (camping, dirt biking, helping friends move LOL) and also use it for work sometimes. Commuting in the Corvette would make the insurance go sky-high due to the extra mileage. Someday I will sell the Corvette and either get a sports sedan, or an econobox for commuting. I am enjoying the legendary Toyota reliability, with a 4-cylinder, ultra-simple drivetrain and live axle. If reliability is important, Tacoma is a good choice.


The truck definitely comes in handy for mountain biking...I mountain bike 3-4 days a week (Santa Cruz Tallboy 3). Truck makes things a whole lot easier than tossing a $5,000 dollar mountain bike onto a $70 dollar bike rack (I never really felt comfortable with that. Lol).

I do like the wagon for taking the bike to work in the morning and going for a ride on the way home, its nice having it locked up and out of sight. For me the truck doesn't compute in terms of initial cost and mileage, but we have higher fuel prices up here. Plus I like the use the DD for autocross, for the nearly free motorsports fix. With good snow tires I think a fwd car is great in the winter, on main roads atleast and if its bad enough that I wish I had AWD I'm staying home anyways.
 
Last edited:
Yes, trucks are nice.

I was driving my dumb truck-based Explorer in heavy rain the other day and seriously miscalculated a large amount of standing water on the road...the TTB (4wd Twin I Beam) suspension plowed through it like it was nothing...I had to slow down because I couldn't see through the spray, but the truck was cruising through it.
 
I don't like the high seating position of trucks and vans. To me it feels like I'm sitting too high with my feet hanging down. I like the feel of a low slung sports coupe where you're more laying flat,close to the ground. Maybe we just all like what we're used to.
19.gif
 
Originally Posted by 2strokeNorthstar
Commuting in a truck is miserable. Gas mileage stinks, changing lanes, parking, storage while parked is all more difficult. I don't want to make the drive any more miserable than it is.


My new 3.6L V6 RAM is one of the most comfortable vehicles I have ever road in. My wife just loves the ride too. After two months, I am getting 24 MPG highway, with A/C on. My RAM rocks!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top