minor dilemma(any thoughts?)

[bigeasy1]

I'm trying save a few bucks on fuel,(not in the boat,but on my vehicle.)

I live 400 miles from where I keep my boat,(Western NY)and am planning on semi retiring next year,so that I can make more frequent trips up there.
My Ford F150 gives me a hair under 17mpg on the highway,and at current gas prices costs me in the ballpark of $250.00 for each round trip depending on how many side trips I make while there.
I have a permanent trailer in a campground, up there so lodging isn't an issue.

The boat is only a quarter mile from the launch,so I don't need a fancy tow vehicle.so
One thought is to buy a beater truck good enough to tow the boat to the launch with,and leave it permanantely hooked up to the boat trailer.
Then replace my F150 with a car/truck/suv that gets better mileage for that long ride up there and back.
This naturally would require two auto insurance bills,but i would have the minimum on the tow truck which would be about 350.00 per yr.
We took my friends wifes 2.5 liter 4 cylinder Ford Escape up last week to close up the boat,and got 30 mpg with it.Saved over 100 bucks on fuel.(Damn,I wish I could pull it up the launch with that little thing).

Second thought is to have just one vehicle for both my personal vehicle and tow vehicle that gets better mileage.Are there any small trucks that could get mpg's in the high 20's that would both pull the boat(23'Tsunami) that 1/4 mile trip,and serve as my daily driver?

Any suggestions?,

New trucks are out of the question financially,so it would have to be a used vehicle.
It's just me,kids are grown and married,ex wife's long gone,so only need one vehicle.I guess the most sense is one vehicle that gets mileage in the mid to high 20's which would save fuel on both the long trip to the boat,and around home.

[McGillicuddy]

Cheapskate
Seriously, I hear you.
Get an older 97-2006 4cyl Camry, get you about 30mpg on the way there with out feeling like a sardine. And get an older truck with a AGM battery or battery saver to park at the lake.

Nothing that can pull your Tsunami is gonna get high 20s. At least not available in the USA. Love to have a Dakota sized truck with a Cummins BT4. That would be perfect.

I think an old Dodge 2500 '93-'97.5 with the 2 gen 5.9L Cummins would be a good single vehicle choice. To this day nothing will pull better or more economically. Maybe a CNG powered work truck but not sure how available they are up there or if filling stations are adequately located.

[fdheld34]

Dont laugh but I owned a Kia Sorento (bought new in 2006). It was 4wd/ 6cyl. and was able to pull my 21' Chris Craft Scorpion Walkaround out of the ramp (to and from my house) with no problems at all. I only had to use the 4wd once due to backing in too far. Might look into a vehicle like that for your Tsunami for the very short haul you have. I think the tow capacity was around 4000 lbs or so.
Or, I have a nice 2 owner excursion 7.3 if you are interested
-Fred

[Abe's Rocket]

How many trips per summer do you plan on making when you semi retire?

If the # of trips drops significantly it might make sense to pay the extra money for lower mpg and not deal with a 2nd vehicle.

[NoBones]

Plan A:
My suggestion John would be load up and move to Florida...
Problem solved!! 300 days of fishing... give or take weather.
Most RV places on the water have dockage and storage.
Most of the people that stay on site have large tug vehicles,
make friends with one or two to let you borrow their truck to get
in and out!

Plan B:
Buy a 2 door speck that gets 40 MPG.. KIA, Civic or the like.
Leave the truck at the RV park for in and out at the ramp.


My neighbor that owns the property next to me comes up about
once a month from Palm Beach with his 1 ton Ford that costs
him $200 round trip. He has a travel trailer on his site which I
provide power and water to him from my barn.
He bought a mini beater car just for coming back and forth..
His last round trip fuel cost was 1 tank at $40.00

Hope it works out for you!

[mrobertson]

I'd keep the F150 you currently have and buy a beater gas saver car.

My honda civic SI (sporty faster model) gets me 32 - 33 mpg with my foot on the pedal. If i drive with some sense 35 - 36 mpg. It's a 2006, bought it with 44k miles on it for $6,000. It's a 2 door hatchback and with the seats folded down i have room for my gear when i go down to the boat.

[riverrat]

I"d look for a used honda civic.you can"t kill them and their good on gas and in the snow.drove one for years to logan airport 160 miles round trip and in some nor easters.allways got me home while 4x4"s were stuck

[FishStretcher]

My 2WD 7.3 powerstroke F250 tops out at 22MPG. That probably isn't enough to make the swap. I think the 2nd economical vehicle might make sense. The 6 watt solar panel on the boat keeps the battery topped up nicely- should do the same for a truck battery.

[bigeasy1]

As Elvis would say,,,Thank you,"thank you all very much

Gillie,I did give the Camry/Accord/Passat vehicle types some thought.A friend has a Passat diesel and gets well over 40mpg on the highway.

Bones,don't think I didn't give some thought to Florida,but with a lifetime of accumulating thousands and thousands of dollars worth of specialized freshwater trolling tackle,there's no way I could buy all the salt water tackle in the years I have left.
Not to mention all my family is up north,and the minor fact that I know very little about saltwater species and fishing tactics.
And the "HEAT!! how do you guys take the heat in the summer?I used to go to Florida twice a year for a week (April & Aug.)at a time in my last job,Doral in Miami,and also Orlando.It was always so hot.
I can't even begin to Imagine how you deep south boys do some of the beautiful restorations you do in that heat.

AS others stated I did give some thought to diesel trucks,& Honda civics,although I never thought about a Kia sorrento Hmm,interesting.

I guess I'm searching for something equivalent to a perpetual motion machine.After doing all the math and figuring all the different scenarios,I might save $200.00 a year.Not worth the trouble.Back to other issues now,like maybe rigging up a sail for the Tsunami,to save on fuel for it.If Gasoline keeps going where it's headed,we're all going to need it..