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Life without a truck or SUV - a story

*speedracer**speedracer* member
in Eco-Friendly Family

we had a truck when we got married, but traded it in for a sedan when we moved to phoenix because gas was expensive and F-150's are high on the auto theft lists here.  It's also just not a good commuter vehicle.

The main reason my husband wanted to keep it was "what if we need to haul stuff?"  He loved that truck.

By trading it in for a cheaper car, we saved at least $100/month on a car payment and easily just as much on gas.  

We are going up to the forest tomorrow to get our christmas tree.  Our cars won't cut it on the forest roads very well so we are renting a truck.  It's a treat for DH to drive it, and even though it costs ~$100 to do it, we can afford to rent a big truck like that 24x's a year for the same cost it was to OWN a similar truck.  We only actually need this type of vehicle a few times a year, so you can do the math. 

I know several people who won't let their large vehicles go because of a "what if we need it?" scenario.  Obviously this doesn't apply to those who require those vehicles for work, ongoing committments, large families or road/weather conditions.  I know i'm rambling, but if this is you, i wanted to let you know it's totally do-able to live in an SUV world with only a little sedan.

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Re: Life without a truck or SUV - a story

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    papagenapapagena member
    Yeah!  DH would love a bigger vehicle, and I agree, it would be nice.  For now, however, we rent when we really need one (like for holiday travel this year).  I'm hoping we can stick with that method, too.  Good to hear others do the same thing.
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    Nige!!aNige!!a
    I have a corolla and DH has a silverado. Both cars are paid off and DH really wants to keep it around b/c we do a lot of camping in the summer and it's great to have b/c we bring a lot of stuff with us and pull our pop-up camper. We really don't use it very often, DH goes back and forth to work with it but we take my car on longer trips. Although I would love to have a smaller SUV I cannot take their gas mileage, lol. It makes me crazy when people think 26 mpg is great.
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    DomerJenCDomerJenC member

    true that. 

    when we lived in chicago we didn't even have a car.  we averaged about 1x/mo for renting a car for the weekend.  it cost about $100, much less than insurance and gas for the year even!

    now we have a ford focus hatchback that we share.  i loathe that we may need to buy a 2nd car when the baby comes.

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    kelbriankelbrian
    It's also totally do-able to live in an SUV world with no vehicle, even with a baby! :O) Best decision we ever made. We will be joining a local car share soon that uses mainly hybrids so that we can make big grocery shopping trips but that is all we will really use it for.
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    AlligatorAlligator
    I tell DH this all the time! Granted his 1-ton truck runs on waste veggie oil, so we don't have to buy gas.
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    redhead2466redhead2466
    We have a truck which we use for camping in the summer - we just bought a new camper trailer last year.  However, my DH drives our car to work (about an hour commute total [both ways] for the days he works), and now that I will be on mat. leave for a year, the truck will stay home with me and barely be used.  Plus it is nice to have a bigger vehicle for safety & the 4x4 is nice in winter.  However, we are talking about our next vehicle being a hybrid, and I'm so excited about this prospect!
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    Ms.JadeMs.Jade member
    Thank you for writing this. DH and I have a year of renovations ahead of us and have been wondering if buying a big truck would be worth it. This helps to understand that we have options.?
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    *speedracer**speedracer* member

    you'd be surprised at what you can fit in a little car - those fold-down seats are HEAVEN SENT!!

    we even bought an 8 ft countertop to use as a new desk and it came home in my little Elantra.  When we do rent trucks, we try to combine trips for things.  Before we head out to get our tree, we're going to load up and dump some stuff at the landfill. 

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    jay.otterjay.otter member
    image*speedracer*:

    you'd be surprised at what you can fit in a little car - those fold-down seats are HEAVEN SENT!!

    we even bought an 8 ft countertop to use as a new desk and it came home in my little Elantra.  When we do rent trucks, we try to combine trips for things.  Before we head out to get our tree, we're going to load up and dump some stuff at the landfill. 

     

    Ditto! Just last weekend DH and I went to Ikea and managed to fit a crib, six drawer dresser, shelf, bookcase, rug, and lamp into our two-door Echo. You just fold down the seats and put those Tetris skills to work.

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