Pickup Philosophy Question

[MossRoad]

The difference is that pickups and many SUVs are bodies bolted down to a steel frame. When you hit something, the vehicle stops but you don't. You hit the interior of the vehicle with sometimes lethal force. Cars are built with a unibody chassis that has crumple zones. The car may get totalled, but it gives the passenger much more time to come to a stop in an accident. The crumple zones absorb the energy of the impact before it gets to your body.

And yes, pickups and SUVs are much more likely to roll over. Rollover accidents are just 4% of all traffic accidents, but account for 86% of fatalities. The higher you sit off the road, the more dangerous your perch is. A pickup may be more useful than a car, but it is not safer.

Yeah. I remember the crumple zones VS frames now. You need the frames to handle heavier loads, towing, etc.... but they don't give as well in accidents.

 

[tcartwri]

I get the itch about every three months or so,.... and then I do the math. Quite simply cannot begin to afford driving one, and the wife and I make pretty good money. I have a single axle trailer that I can beat the snot out of that basically costs me nothing. I literally could buy two nice 40 mpg sedans for the truck payment and the cost of the fuel that it would burn through.

Maybe when I retire and have a 10 KM daily radius that I traverse.

 

[dmccarty]

A month or so back I saw a nice little accident at the on ramp to the Interstate. This is a really nasty on ramp because the traffic heading east bound in the morning can be blinded by the rising sun. North and south bound traffic turning into the on ramp can have trouble seeing the backed up traffic....

The morning of the accident traffic was backed up for some reason but not from the sun since it was raining. I could not make it out of my lane to get out onto the ramp because traffic had backed up. The light changed for the south bound traffic and a woman in a VW thought she was in a drag race. I saw her accelerate onto the ramp and knew this was going to be ugly. At the very last second she saw the line of traffic and she slammed on the brakes but she still hit the Jeep in front of her. The Jeep had made the extra effort to squeeze onto the ramp to stay ahead of the next pulse of traffic from the light, aka the woman. He succeeded in saving 90-120 seconds but it cost him a bump in the rear.

Everyone was ok which surprised me even though they all where wearing seat belts. I can't remember if the air bags deployed in her car but I think her car was totaled. The car was not drivable and the front the car was toast. The guys in the Jeep drove off after the report was written. The Jeep looked just fine and it was a Cherokee. I really expected the Jeep to take some damage, and maybe it did under the trim, but I could see nothing broken on the ground. In any case, the two guys drove off, while the woman, waited to be towed.

Later,
Dan

 

[sandybeach]

How many times per month do you have to need a pickup, before it makes sense to buy one?

If it's a question of finances, amortize the cost of owning and operating the truck over the time you'll own it.

I've owned pickups for over 40 years. I bought most of them used, i.e., cheap. In '95 I treated myself to a new one. 203,000 miles later it's still running great. My monthly amortized cost over the years? Pocket change.

 

[WilliamBos]

In '95 I treated myself to a new one. 203,000 miles later it's still running great. My monthly amortized cost over the years? Pocket change.

Exactly! If you own for 10-15 (or more) years, the cost is pocket change.

I will be up for a new truck in 2015, and look forward to what GM has in works for the next Sierra.

 

[WilliamBos]

In '95 I treated myself to a new one. 203,000 miles later it's still running great. My monthly amortized cost over the years? Pocket change.

Exactly! If you own for 10-15 (or more) years, the cost is pocket change.

I will be up for a new truck in 2015, and look forward to what GM has in works for the next Sierra.

 

[Bird]

If it's a question of finances, amortize the cost of owning and operating the truck over the time you'll own it.

I've owned pickups for over 40 years. I bought most of them used, i.e., cheap. In '95 I treated myself to a new one. 203,000 miles later it's still running great. My monthly amortized cost over the years? Pocket change.

Pocket change?? Then you've got a lot bigger pocket than I have.:laughing: Of course, I know I'm one of the few that actually keeps track of everything a vehicle costs, and most people would be greatly surprised (in fact, probably wouldn't even believe it) if they knew what a vehicle actually costs.

I'm currently driving a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup, 4-dr SuperCab, loaded with all the options. It was 3 years old with 36k miles on it when I bought it for $13,503.79 including tax, title, & license. And I have a spreadsheet with everything I've spent on it, gasoline, oil & filters, tires, insurance, even wash jobs ($5 today). It now has just over 90k miles on it and if I scrapped it today with zero salvage, it would have cost m $353.05 a month or $0.55 a mile. If I could get Kelly Blue Book "good condition" trade-in value for it, then it would only have cost me $252.53 a month or $0.43 a mile.

I'd be surprised myself if many people are doing any better than that, but for me that ain't pocket change.:laughing: And I actually expect the little truck to last the rest of my lifetime.

 

[dave1949]

Pocket change?? Then you've got a lot bigger pocket than I have.:laughing: Of course, I know I'm one of the few that actually keeps track of everything a vehicle costs, and most people would be greatly surprised (in fact, probably wouldn't even believe it) if they knew what a vehicle actually costs.

I'm currently driving a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup, 4-dr SuperCab, loaded with all the options. It was 3 years old with 36k miles on it when I bought it for $13,503.79 including tax, title, & license. And I have a spreadsheet with everything I've spent on it, gasoline, oil & filters, tires, insurance, even wash jobs ($5 today). It now has just over 90k miles on it and if I scrapped it today with zero salvage, it would have cost m $353.05 a month or $0.55 a mile. If I could get Kelly Blue Book "good condition" trade-in value for it, then it would only have cost me $252.53 a month or $0.43 a mile.

I'd be surprised myself if many people are doing any better than that, but for me that ain't pocket change.:laughing: And I actually expect the little truck to last the rest of my lifetime.

That's interesting Bird. I always assume any vehicle is a basic money pit, but I would not have guessed the monthly amounts you documented, and think what they would be on a $30K truck. FWIW: No Ford will outlast you

 

[Soundguy]

How many times per month do you have to need a pickup, before it makes sense to buy one?

to me.. if i need one.. I need one... to much of a PITA to 'borrow' one.

get a crewcab or extended cab.. it hauls 4-6 people depending... about as much as a car.. thus anything you could do in the carn.. you could do inthe truck, AND haul cargo. if you don't like guests.. get a single cab and leave some stuff piled up in the seat and floor board..

 

[Bird]

That's interesting Bird. I always assume any vehicle is a basic money pit, but I would not have guessed the monthly amounts you documented, and think what they would be on a $30K truck. FWIW: No Ford will outlast you

I bought a new 1993 Ford Escort station wagon to tow behind a motorhome. We towed it just over 15k miles and drove it just over 106k in 73 months before my wife rolled it and totalled it. So I know what kind of salvage or residual value it had.:laughing: So that little car cost us $269.68 a month or $0.1855 a mile (average price of gasoline back then was $1.079 a gallon).:laughing: