# Buying a truck - crazy?



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

4 wheel drive I get, but why does it have to be a truck? I have a Jeep patriot North edition that has never left me stuck. I only plow the driveway 2 or 3 times a winter and just drive over the crap the rest of the time.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Buying a truck from a dealer is pretty straightforward, but one can always order a truck online and receive all the "cash backs" and financing specials available.

You order it, know the total cost and pick it up at a dealership prepped and ready to drive. GM trucks right now have $10,000 off the list price.

http://www.gm.ca/gm/


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

hboy43 said:


> 4 wheel drive I get, but why does it have to be a truck? I have a Jeep patriot North edition that has never left me stuck. I only plow the driveway 2 or 3 times a winter and just drive over the crap the rest of the time.


Like hboy43 is saying .. why spend 50k on a truck when a much cheaper (yes brand new) SUV-type vehicle will fit the bill?
Also would likely save you a bit on gas too.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Mukhang pera said:


> Cainvest, thanks for your comment. I was typing a reply to hboy43 when you posted. Please read what I said there. To be honest, I know little about SUVs. Will they do all the stuff I just mentioned? If so, maybe worth a look.


It's a tough call, sometimes a truck makes sense which might be the case for you, I don't know. Some of the SUVs have fairly large cargo areas with the rear seats down and you can always buy/rent a trailer, like you mentioned, for bigger items.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

I priced it out, the full sized trucks are quite cost competative with the mid sized and the fuel economy isn't really much worse anyway.
The F150 with the 2.7 is a blast and cheap. 

If you don't need the third row, I think a truck beats out an SUV, unless you're size constrained. With regards to size and city driving, they're big, but they're pretty much the same size as a minivan or full size car. Most "mid size" have a similar footprint to a truck, within an inch or two.

If you don't really need a truck, go get a compact SUV, or a Golf-Wagon. I'm only throwing that in there because I love my new Golf, and it's so much easier to scoot around the city than the old minivan.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

mukhang those giant lumber trucks that were able to drive into your property to harvest your huge fir trees ... can a delivery truck not make it to your house, which would mean delivery by barge would not be necessary?

i thought you said something about steep grade somewhere on your house driveway but surely it would be easier & cheaper to adjust the grade on the driveway, instead of having to huff one ton items such as propane tanks & sacks of cement onto & off the barge? 

(i can't resist teasing you, as i absolutely adore your stories. In quebec's mythology there once was a legendary lumberjack named Louis Cyr who was so strong he could haul fleets of trucks & cars on a string. Louis reportedly could throw logs around like toothpicks. Might you be some kind of reincarnation?)


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

We have both a small truck and a larger SUV. We have had an SUV for years, and a truck for the last year and a bit. Here are my random observations in our situation:

Our SUV was more expensive than our truck. We use our SUV to haul kids, and it has the option for third row seats because my spouse didn't want a mini van. Prior to the truck, we were about to haul larger items if we put the second row down, as long as it wasn't too tall and could be laid down. So looking at your list, I think we could have brought everything back, except the trees, u less the trees could be laid down horizontally. The weights that you mentioned wouldn't be a problem for our vehicle. I would want to measure how tall the propane tanks are.  Our longest 'items' we would carry on a regular basis are our skis, and they fit in creative way on short trips, however if we were going away to the cabin then we have to bring roof box. 

The truck is definately more flexible if you are hauling things. We have little people (including the adults) in our family so passengers in the back are not a big deal. The ride is definitely not as comfortable. However, it's so easy to just throw everything in the back quickly. if you are using the vehicle for hauling primarily them I would actually go with a truck. We use it for all those awkward size items. 

Another consideration is from what I have read on some of your other posts, it sounds like financially you are secure and buying the truck would not really make a dent in your future retirement. If can afford it, and it's not really going to degrade your future lifestyle, then I say go for the truck. I know that is not the most fugal thing to say, but it sounds like you would use the capacity of the truck way more.


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## 319905 (Mar 7, 2016)

Fwiw ... since most of the time an SUV worked for me as the daily ride, I had a trailer for hauling stuff as needed (rather than a full time large vehicle). Watching the flow meter, it's an eye opener to see the gas mileage reduced by almost half when towing it's own weight. So maybe a nicely appointed used SUV .... and a trailer.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I don't see why you can't have a pickup truck for work and an SUV for pleasure. That is what I did for years. Do you really need 2 pickup trucks?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

mukhang i am speechless with admiration. You are a pacific northwest coast gulf island settler movie hero come to life & walking around among us.

from your descriptions i'd assumed you had a not-yet-mentioned army of help that does all the heavy lifting & moving. Now to my wonderment i'm beginning to see that you look after most of the property yourself.

it's an Ernest Hemingway story. It's a Baroness von blixen Out of Africa story. At the very least the CBC ought to film you homesteading on your tree farm on the wilderness shores of the pacific ocean. Including the beautiful missus Pera as she steadfastly guards & protects the seven old growth Douglas firs, growing in the hollow, that remain to you. Queen & empress of all that she can see.

i think the blue truck is very handsome. Is it the 05 or the 08? it would be a shame to have to replace it.

there's one thing i haven't quite grasped though. Do you mean to say that there. is. no. road. into. your. place. whatsoever?

i mean, are. you. saying. you. are. completely. cut. off. except. by. sea ??

egads. The pioneering self-sufficiency, the sheer heroics, of it all. I'm impressed beyond belief.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Mukhang has done a pretty thorough job of explaining why he needs a truck, in view of his unusual circumstances. And I agree the back of a Ranger Extended Cab ( I own one) is no place for a growing teenager to ride for any long time. It's just that full-size Crew Cab trucks are so bloody big, and you would be adding all that space (and weight) just for occasional use.

The only thing I can suggest is that you continue to examine whether you would be better off with 1 truck and 1 SUV. You would have to plan your supply runs a little more carefully around "which vehicle do I need to take into town?" But otherwise it would give you more flexibility on passenger loads and provide something more comfortable for long trips.

I don't know how a trailer would affect your freight rates on your barge. But as others have suggested, maybe an SUV with decent hauling capacity, and a small utility trailer for bulky loads would give you the best of both worlds. You might have to try borrowing a trailer to see how it tows on your difficult roads.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

Mukhang, I must say you are the most interesting person to happen across the site of late.

I thought I lived way out, as there is no road access that does not involve a single lane bridge, but you are clearly more out there LOL.

Hboy43


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

as far as we know, mukhang is the first cmffer to live entirely off the grid, year-round. What an accomplishment.

mukhang, are there other people living on your island? their presence would change everything i would imagine. You could have buying coops, even a small general store of sorts.

wondering where your pre-teen child goes to school? home schooling?

what happens if you are all injured in a common accident & can't operate the trucks & boats in order to reach medical help?


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

MP - wow some amazing stories thanks for sharing. I have always wondered what it would be like to be off grid, though we would never do it. There was a show called 'risking it all' where families made the choice to leave the grid. It was interesting but not as interesting as you make it sound.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Sounds like you need a hovercraft, not a truck! But I don't know of one that would handle the 20% grade at your dock. When will they hurry up and invent those Star Trek shuttlecraft?


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

what wonderful tales. Mukhang, this is a book, this is a movie, this is at least a blog. Bravo.

or, your son could be the author. Just think, when he eventually gets to college on the mainland, he will likely still be a teenager but he will already have lived nine lives of adventure.

_"How I Saved my Parents when We were Lost at Sea on a Snow-covered Yacht"

"Never Go to School without a ChainSaw in the Car"_

i love the part about everybody on the island goes to all the school parties, whether or not they ever had any children in the school. About the police who show up to arrest some visiting bandits & pretend not to notice how everybody's island truck has no license & no insurance. About fearless ms Pera who sails bravely into a thick february fog at sea, as night begins to fall.

i was relieved to hear about the Coast Guard. Thank goodness all 65 of you on the island have some sort of connection to emergency medical rescue. It may not be sufficient if push ever comes to shove, but at least it's something & it does sound civilized. It's one step up from 3rd world conditions where, as you say, there is no help at all & death is certain.

i suspect the Coast Guard views all the souls on your island as a little community, sort of an extended family over which they keep watch. They probably know all of you fairly well.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

MrMatt said:


> I priced it out, the full sized trucks are quite cost competative with the mid sized and the fuel economy isn't really much worse anyway.
> The F150 with the 2.7 is a blast and cheap.


I'm sure a 2.7L F150 would use less fuel than a 4.0L Ranger. Probably significant savings in gas.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

hystat said:


> I'm sure a 2.7L F150 would use less fuel than a 4.0L Ranger. Probably significant savings in gas.


Probably, they don't go back that far on nrcan, and the 2.7 F150 is better than the 3L ranger, and nearly as good as the 2.3 Ranger.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

Mukhang pera said:


> You are probably right on that score, hystat. It is true that many buyers default to a full-size pickups on the basis that they don't cost much more than a smaller truck and their mileage is similar. It's just that we don't appreciate their bulk in city driving. More in the case of my wife. She simply does not like driving big things. She does not like to run our big boat. She thinks the big pickups look intimidating. Perhaps understandable taking into account that she's 4'10" and 90 lb.


exactly why I have a Ranger. Fits in my garage and my wife is ok with driving it.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

MrMatt said:


> Probably, they don't go back that far on nrcan, and the 2.7 F150 is better than the 3L ranger, and nearly as good as the 2.3 Ranger.


FORD RANGER 4X4 *2011 *PS 4.0/6 A5 X 16.3 13.1 *14.9*

lol, 14.9L per 100km combined. I don't think mine has ever done that well. 

2016 F150:

FORD F-150 4X4 *2016 *PL 2.7/6 AS6 X 13.1 10.1 *11.7*


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

If you can live with a 5ft. long box, there are several compact pickups with crew cabs that wouldn't be much larger overall than your rangers. See http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Compact-Pickup-Trucks/ for examples: Chev Colorado; GMC Canyon; Toyota Tacoma. Some of them are available with 6ft. box, about the same size box as your Ranger Extended cab. Even with a short box, if you buy AWD, with the large engine, your hauling capacity, in terms of weight, may still be greater than your Rangers. Check the GVW and curb weights carefully - I don't think any of the compact pickups are designed to carry a whole lot of weight onboard, but some models will tow a lot. But if you have been satisfied with the load-carrying capacity of your Rangers, a compact truck may still be suited for you. 

The wheelbase of the Colorado Short Box Crew Cab is 128", close to the 126" of your 2005 Ranger. Overall length is 212.7", about 10" longer than the Ranger. 

If you want to carry a lot of weight onboard, you will have to upgrade to a full-size pickup. From what I see on the street some of them may be available in a short-box crew cab.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

The Tacoma is pricey, but super reliable and fantastic resale value if that's important to you. Very capable.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Be aware the 6' box Canyon has a wheelbase that is a foot longer than the model with a 5' box. So it won't be quite as maneuverable as your Rangers. But otherwise probably a good choice, based on the description of your needs.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

I have no informed opinion on truck caps. But besides the Cap-It outlet located in Victoria, Hornby’s Canopy City in Victoria http://www.hornbyscanopy.com/Products.page carries 2 brands - Arrow & Century. So you can go and comparison shop easily.


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