Need Help / Input

[jjackstone]

Trik,
Armor piercing round through the engine block. No longer a gas guzzler.
More seriously, I always tried asking the wife(ex) to figure out what she would do if we had to change something. Then do it if reasonable. That way she came up with the solution herself and hopefully both parties are happy.
JJ

[blueflame]

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=q9VIqAoStMM

Dad gets to wear the helmet.

[mikel09]

I have had the same discussion about too much stuff, with my wife. As our family grew we went from VW Rabbit, Caravan, to bigger van, for the passengers and lot of gear.

Along the way I tried roof racks, roof mount carriers etc. and found they impact MPG, are a pain to load, hard to store and are costly. From this experience I took the plunge to develop a carrier that mounts to the back of a wagon, sedan or minivan.

My brother in-law uses it on his Honda Element, similar to an xB. Others with minivans and suvs have found it a better solution than roof boxes/bags or hitch mounts. It is called AeroPACK.

Hope this helps

[metroschultz]

When I was raising my kids (3) we had many cars laying around, to the point my wife would use whichever one had the most gas in it.
I drove a 1973 Dodge B200 full size work van and had a school bus seat bolted in behind the 2 fronts for the kids to sit in.
My wifes DD was a 1980 Rabbit, and she managed quite well to get them where they needed to be when they needed to be there.
The Dodge van averaged 12 MPG and that was the one we used most for family outings. After I spent 2 or 3 hours emptying work stuff.
Later we got a Caravan and that seemed the best choice all around, She liked driving it and I didn't have to clean it to go anywhere.
Now I just have cars laying around, but not as many, and she only drives the Avalon, I drive the Geo, the rest are for sale.
I hope you can sway her. Remind her that you are not taking away, rather, reducing outfloe so you will have more useable income. That diamond neclace might be noce, but a vacation will give her more happy memories.
S.

[wagonman76]

Originally Posted by Peter7307

If the trips are to and from the same places (ie Mom's place and yours) on a regular basis then get a second set of whatever is needed and leave it at Mom's place to save packing / unpacking / repacking and eventually unpacking it all again every trip.

Easier for everyone and when you are only carrying the essentials in the car the smaller vehicle is easier to justify.

Good call. That was my first thought. The cost of buying an extra set of stuff is a lot less than the extra cost and fuel of a large vehicle to lug the same stuff back and forth all the time. Plus less work.

I like the umbrella strollers. Any other stroller is like a friggin tank. I took 2 matching umbrella strollers, cut off the right wheels on one and left wheels on another, and joined the middle tubes with conduit clamps to make a cheap double stroller. After the wife left I only had my daughter to push around, but the other side was really handy for bags, clothes, and whatever else. Plus it was still cheaper, lighter, and folded up smaller than most elaborate single place strollers.

[trikkonceptz]

Well I thank you all for your valuable input. Here is where we stand with the excuses that back them up.

-She is in love with the 4-runner. So we will be refinancing the 4-runner which will drop our payments by $200 a month.

-I am paying off my xB, (The trailer show queen), this will save us another $300 a month approx.

-In order to remain active in the life I have grown accustomed to, Scion car shows and road trips with Scion etc, I am going to trade in the Vibe and pick up an xD. After doing the numbers and such, I will end up financing $8000 and have a new car, while paying less for two cars than what I was paying for the 4-runner monthly.

Now everyone in the household is happy and I retain a vehicle capable of still towing the trailer queen when necessary.

The addition of the xD will keep me immersed in the culture, keep me happy and provide me with a vehicle capable of excellent mpg's.

Not the ultimate outcome to this drama, but certainly a good compromise.