Tell me again why you "need" that big truck

[dcb]

wish I had taken a picture of us moving the sleeper sofa on top of the vw rabbit The fridge pic has it beat pretty well though. Tellin ya though, trailers got it all, convert your little vehicle into a hauler only when needed.

[Christ]

I'm also thinking about getting a popup or something similar to convert to a trailer, since I often haul more volume than mass.

[RH77]

This exercise requires a pencil, paper, magnet, calculator, telephone book, telephone, and a refrigerator. If you want to get fancy, borrow a nice spreadsheet program like Lotus-1-2-3, a Commodore 64, and a Motorola DynaTac 8000X mobile.

1. Identify the number of times you will use the truck in a year's time.
2. Use the phone book to call vehicle rental agencies or home centers for a rental quote.
3. Take the calculator and tally the operating costs, insurance, fuel, depreciation and additional expenses of the truck. Subtract the rental charges (I even encourage you to develop a "convenience" value to subtract). Do the same for an efficient vehicle with low-op costs and compare the costs.
4. Calculate the money saved and retain the number.
5. Write the savings on the paper and use the magnet to post it on the fridge as a daily reminder.

In few instances, you may need to tow your boat, or other classic Chrysler to car shows (in which a truck is necessary and may be a good option to park in the off-time and have a low-cost daily driver).

Otherwise, this exercise saved my household several $1000's of dollars.

If the issue of safety is brought up, there are several here to argue the point.

RH77

[Frank Lee]

Easy peasy? Man that sounds like work.

I know keeping my truck hardly pays... but it's resale value is so low it doesn't pay to get rid of it either. So buying tabs for the full year every year stinks but now I pull the insurance off when it sits for extended periods- that helps.

Then too, the thing is already sitting there ready to go whereas if I want to efficiently use a trailer I have to get/make a trailer and get/make a hitch and then install it and in addition my stupid State has many categories of trailers yet that require annual license tabs so I might be on the hook for that too. Oops... the truck is probably cheaper!

Er... Frank Lee defending trucks... wth?

Well I do have a huge flatbed trailer that does get used; no way any of the cars or even the Ranger could handle it.

[Christ]

I'd agree with Frank for someone that already has a truck... many insurance companies will offer the opportunity to add insurance and remove it provisionally, without charging surcharges. As many times as I change vehicles normally, it's a good thing, because just this year alone, I've made 20 some changes to my insurance policy. They pro-rate the 6 month period, and adjust my remaining payments accordingly.

[dcb]

for comparison, my $200 4x8 trailer has a total annual recurring (keep it legal) cost of $35, and no insurance headaches.

[Christ]

PA = $36 every 5 years for registration, no insurance necessary, covers just about any trailer.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by dcb

for comparison, my $200 4x8 trailer has a total annual recurring (keep it legal) cost of $35, and no insurance headaches.

The state just jacked the rates for tabs to $41.25 this year. If I was more diligent about pulling the ins off right away it would cost hardly anything but eh sometimes I don't know if I'll need it again shortly.

In a few years I can put collector plates on it... no tabs YIPPEE!

[CoastRider]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

(Wouldn't hurt to think about getting a car for the other six days/week, though, if the money's there.)

its not but it will be one day


I hauled a v8 engine in the back of a corrolla once... good thing i wasnt going up any hilly gravel roads

[Christ]

If you can manage even to make payments on a car, you'll usually cover the payments with the fuel savings, plus what you'll save taking that truck off the insurance until you need it.

Most times, you have to spend money you don't have to save it in the long run... timing is key, though.