Quote:
Originally Posted by Autobahnschleicher
There are more fuel efficient alternatives to trucks, such as vans.
A Mercedes Sprinter (sold as Dodge in the US) can transport every bit as much as a truck and get far better fuel economy.
Alternatively one could get a normal car and a trailer, then loadthe materials on the trailer and only use the trailer when materials need to be moved.
As for AWD and winter:
You don't realy need AWD, you need proper winter/snow tires and weight on the driven axle, something that 2wd trucks lack.
However this whole case is not at all representative for the average person at all.
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This is what I've been preaching for years.
People don't believe me when I tell them we get around fine in the winter with any 2WD vehicle (FWD or RWD) and a good set of tires. Friends will come up in an AWD monster of a vehicle to visit us in the winter and I'll offer to take them somewhere in my car and they'll automatically say, "wouldn't it be better to go in the truck so we don't get stuck?" as if I were new here (at least 6th generation Coloradan Mountain-man).
My wife, who was never around snow or ice until she married me, learned how to drive a stickshift the first year of our marriage. She drove around an old 1984 Toyota RWD pickup and then a FWD 1993 Mazda 323 and NEVER got stuck in either, ever. And her job had and still has her driving all over to many different locations, now in the 2013 Avalon. But most people must think I made that story up.
I love my 8ft flatbed trailer I bought new for $400. I can fit full sized sheets of drywall and plywood. I have even transported pianos and other big things with it. It's much easier than lifting a piano or drywall high enough to get it into a pickup bed.
As far as vehicle selection goes, the used car market has been where most people go. Sadly, that limits you to what the rich buy. You can find plenty of semiused pickups for cheap, because there are lots rich people that buy pickups just because that's what they like (and never ever put a thing in the bed, except maybe their dogs). That usually isn't the same story for vans.
People are also just sold on the idea of pickups being better. Even after having all their tools stolen out of the back of their pickups, it still doesn't seem to cross their mind that maybe a van would be better. I guess because there usually aren't very many AWD or 4WD van options, but lots of 4WD pickups, and well, I already explained what people generaly thing about that around here.