Why do people do this?

[Xist]

Cut the frame at roughly in the middle of the doors. Make pie cuts slightly ahead of the box in the upper and lower flanges of the frame(assuming it's a C channel). Pull the two sides together evenly. Plate, box, add a chunk of tubing, whatever, so you can mount a hitch.

Unplug the taillight wire from the firewall and install a flat-four plug on the factory wire and you got lights.

Go to local DMV and register as homebuilt trailer.

It will haul more than you're likely to ever put in it. A. The axle's not driving it anymore. B. You've lost the rear axle weight of the engine and whatnot, so gained that much hauling capacity.

DIY Trailer From Truck Bed--The Garage Journal
It seems like a cheap and easy way to make a great trailer

[Accordowner]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

I don't know if there's another thread like this. But I thought it might be educational if we ranted a bit on why people do things that don't make sense. I'll start.

I just saw another Prius with a roof cargo box. This seems very common to see on Toyota Prii and Volvo station wagons here where I live.

Now I get that having a box for every once in a while makes sense. If you want to go camping you may not have enough space in a car like a Prius for your kids and your camping gear. Or you're single and need to move. So you slap on a cargo box or a hitch rack and go, kind of like a little Chevy Spark I saw Monday from Florida cruising along with both a huge roof box and a hitch rack with a large plastic tub on it.

But the thing is that it seems most people with a Prius, at least where I live, strap on a roof cargo box permanently. Which makes me wonder why they bought a car known for having a very good aerodynamic shape so that it gets good fuel mileage, and then ruin it with a large permanent box on the roof. Why? Is it that they didn't understand that adding a box defeats the purpose of the car's shape? Is it that they figure they drive slow enough it won't matter?

But that's another thing. Some of the fastest driver's I've seen around here are Prius drivers. Maybe it's the college culture in our town where apparently half the population are college students. Maybe they drive fast, want something they can pack all their stuff in as they go back and forth from whatever state their parents live in and here, and think they're saving money and the environment by owning a Prius.

I have had the chance to talk to a couple of these college Prius owners and have been told that they're disappointed with the fuel mileage, getting upper 30's at best. Mmm... I wonder why.

Driving around the lower 48 a couple years back, I couldn't agree more. But then again most people, including the ones that drive the so called green cars are typically your average Joe's who are not necessarily well acquainted with aerodynamics or the finer points of making a car more efficient on the roads. In fact I would go to say that most "green" car drivers are typically in it for the image they project in public eye. Any wonder why there so many Tesla owners and electric car owners in Southern California. This is especially a common scenario in your highly affluent and materially rich areas. If you look at these people's lifestyle (i.e. homes, purchasing habits, energy consumption etc) they are terrible ecologically speaking. But then they have their "green" cars to project otherwise. I guess they are following in footsteps of celebrities!

[JSH]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

People turn vans and pickup trucks into trailers

Why would you do that?

They are cheap.

[Xist]

I haven't been able to find it in a while, but I once found a forum post where a guy wrote that he was trading in his Civic for a Prius because it doesn't look like a hybrid.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Accordowner

I would go to say that most "green" car drivers are typically in it for the image they project in public eye

I met some people who bought hybrids because they were promised to get an outstanding fuel-efficiency, but in real-world conditions it was not even closer to what they expected. OK, some of those were quite lead-footed, and the hybrids they got were not the most streamlined ones.