Originally Posted by
B. Carfree
I'm curious as to what fraction of the times you drive your beasts you fill them up enough to justify such large capacity? When I go to the lumber store, hardware store, Costco or food warehouse, I generally leave with more on my bike trailer, which I try to not put over 700 pounds on, than most all the pick-ups or SUV's are carrying off.
I don't have a problem with people choosing to use the vehicle that gets the job done, and no one needs my approval anyway. If I need to haul 30 tons, I'm going to drive a class A rig. If I only need a quarter-ton or less, I'm on a bike. I can see where folks would have routine loads between those extremes for which a pick-up is the best tool. However, it does look like that tool is used mostly for just moving one human at a time with almost no other payload, kind of like these vehicles are fashion statements or are for "just in case" things that never come to pass. I'm not saying that's you, by the way, just that a pick-up with an actual payload is almost, but not quite, a unicorn.
Hehe, yeah...... I live on 28 acres, so sometimes i'll need to pick up quite a few bags of cement, or lumber, or bulky items- but not all that often. Just doing a grocery & errand run though, can pack up my vehicle pretty good though (35 lb. bag of cat food; 40 lb bag of dog food; bucket of chlorine tabs for the pool; cat litter; dog biscuits; a few 50 lb bags of grain for the chickens.....amazing how quickly it all adds up! Plus, I like to carry tools with me, in case i have a flat/trouble on the road. Of course, the only time i ever have a flat or trouble, is on the rare occasion when i forget to transfer my tools to the vehicle I'm driving!
)
But to tell you the truth, I just like big vehicles. Even when I lived in the suburbs, i drove big trucks. (And I could go to the store every day there, or even walk to the store).
I tried a little car back when gas was up to $4 a gallon. Couldn't stand it/rarely used it. I've learned to drive infrequently. If i need something, it'll just have to wait till shopping/errand day, 'cause i'm not wasting a 40 mile round trip to the shopping town just to get one thing, and I don't want to be like some of my neighbors who spend hundreds of dollars a month on gas; but when i do drive, i want to drive something that i enjoy driving.
Funny thing too, i spend less on gas now (even when gas was high) living in the boonies, than i did when I lived in the 'burbs, when gas was only $1.20/gal. -because my life now revolves around my own property, instead of always having to go somewhere else for everything.
Do i need an Excursion that seats 9? Probably not- LOL- since the most passengers i ever carry is one.
I do hope one day though, before i die, to move to the jungle or a Pacific isle or some place like that, where I could be car-free, and where doing so does not mean having to live among a car culture, and just being one of the few who abstains. I have great memories as a child, of the freedom and intimacy of being car-free, and am so grateful that i got to experience that. I mean, actually walking places, and seeing all the details one misses from a car; and experiencing the weather and all, is just so much better than watching the world go by a 50MPH. Car culture has so taken over, that there are few places one walk now, where you aren't assaulted by the noise and bustle of constant traffic. THAT is sad.
