Buy a trailer (instead of a pickup truck)

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Because you don't drive the car you are going to race to the track, because you might not be able to drive it home from the track?

So that applies to the maybe 0.001% of the population who race cars on tracks?

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

My VW likes going to the dealership which is almost 100 miles away.

Well, you really need to get over that codependent relationship. You know you're just enabling her...

[freebeard]

Someone has to speak up for the 0.001%.


http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/12/kids-carts-and-mini-cars.html

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by ByDesign

Cool, a people carrying trailer with more than one function!

What about those folks who claim to need a 9-seats SUV or a minivan that is not so mini at all?

[skyking]

Originally Posted by freebeard

My VW likes to sit in the carport and say, 'if you really loved me you'd buy me parts'.

My Beetle sits in the carport and thanks me for not taking it on the gauntlet.
The road into the job is about 1200' of mud, rocks, and a gnarly construction entrance with 8" plus rock. I went in once before we had about 5 inches of rain. It was a crawl and I still bounced off the belly pan a few times. These days I bite the bullet and drive the logging truck to work. It is much better suited for these conditions.

[freebeard]

Mine has to cross speed bumps at a 15° angle at no less than 5mph so it rolls to the left and lifts the tow hook on the right side (it's 1 inch lower than the rest of the car).

It's been raised twice since the initial suspension work was done—for no other reason.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Today in the morning I saw a Kia Sephia with a small trailer coupled to it.

[acparker]

About the Mazda 5 -- it is not a minivan, except perhaps for mini people. I had a pretty humorous encounter with a Mazda 5 at a dealership a few years ago. I first tried out the driver's seat, then I got out and tried to get in the second row behind the driver's seat. I couldn't get my legs in (I am a long-legged 6'1", with an ample spider-gut), even with the the seat set back all the way. Then I looked back at the 3rd row. There was no legroom at all with the second row seat set back all the way. I don't think you could have even put in a child's car seat. I was laughing so hard by then, I don't think the salesman was very pleased. Needless to way, I didn't take it on a test drive.

I am stuck with the T&C for now. I am still looking for a good city car, as the T&C city mileage stinks (but much better than a full-size SUV). I do plan on getting a trailer hitch for the van. The caravan body style is great for carrying most things, and is rated for about as much as a half-ton pickup (with proper weight distribution), but my wife doesn't want to mess up the interior of this very nice new-to-us T&C. My oldest brother has always put trailer hitches on all his cars, no matter how small. He gets good use out his Harbor Freight trailer, which he has had longer than any car he has now. I think the smallest car he used with his trailer was a Ford Aspire.

Have a Happy New Year!

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by acparker

About the Mazda 5 -- it is not a minivan, except perhaps for mini people.

But isn't the point of a mini van to haul around your mini people (AKA kids)? So unless you've been dosing them with HGH in hopes of being supported by your future NBA team, footroom for six-footers in the rear is sort of superfluous, no?

[acparker]

footroom for six-footers in the rear is sort of superfluous, no?

Well, no. Unless you are feeding them growth suppression hormones, kids grow -- like weeds. I also need space for the in-laws when they come for visits (often extended, seriously extended).

I did my time with multiple car seats. A Mazda 5 would be a nightmare getting squirming or sleeping kids in and out of the back row -- and I have a bad back. A lot of children's car seats require almost as much leg room as a full sized adult, because the seats lift the child's feet to mid-back or higher of the seat in front. Getting kicked in the kidneys on a long drive gets old fast. The infant carriers that face backwards are even worse for taking up space.

We drove an '86 VW GTI with our two oldest, but when the twins came (we had planned for only one more, to keep us in a sedan or compact station wagon) we needed a third row. The little people movers available at the time had no appeal for me, as they were all too cramped and they did not get appreciably better mileage than a minivan. The Mazda 5 should more appropriately be labeled a people mover but that marketing term and design disappeared with the advent of crossover SUVs.

My father kept a state surplus grand caravan in his driveway for many years, just to have enough seats to take grandkids (well, some of them anyway) around. He found an extra rear bench and put it in the middle to give it 8 seats with seatbelts.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by acparker

Well, no. Unless you are feeding them growth suppression hormones, kids grow -- like weeds.

Still takes 10-15 years to get them anywhere close to adult size, which is probably longer than most people would keep a vehicle.

I also need space for the in-laws when they come for visits (often extended, seriously extended).

The in-laws can't rent a car and drive themselves? But if that's what you need, why are you even looking at a mini-van? I mean the mini part of the name probably does mean something. You need a larger van, or maybe even a small bus :-)