Vehicles

First replace the smallish SUV with another smallish SUV. Pro- Decent compromise vehicle. Con- Towing capacity sucks. Honestly that leads me to doing things with it I shouldn’t in terms of towing which is hard on a vehicle and a disaster waiting to happen. Largely rejected this.

Second is to buy a newish standard sized truck like an F150. Probably a 2008 or so with under 60k miles. Pro is it can tow anything I would want to and gives me a lot of options in terms of space, power, capability, etc. Also I would have a full sized 4×4 truck. Con gas mileage. Most social opportunities are in KC or Lawrence so I go on 45 mile one way drives alone pretty regularly. Mostly it is just me in the vehicle. While fuel is cheap now it won’t always be. This plan still has some merit.

The third option is to buy a little commuter car like a Toyota Yaris and a significantly older truck. Use the car to putter around, go to town, etc. Basic daily driver. The truck would be some sort of an older Chevy/ GMC with a standard 350 drive train, pre fuel injection, etc. Cost to purchase both would be roughly the same as a newer truck. Pro- Best of both worlds. Affordable fuel economy for puttering around. Old EMP proof (or easily made so) BOV. The risk of an older truck is negated by having a pretty new reliable vehicle, also just plain having a second set of wheels. Also if I need to go out in bad weather (which we have here) I would way rather risk banging up an old beater than a shiny newish truck. Also this would be roughly as expensive as a newer truck but in two pieces so I could get the car and then a truck in a couple months. Also I would have a full sized 4×4 truck. Con- A truck that old has some risk to it and I am not very mechanical. It might end up being a 5k to buy and a couple grand to get right type of thing. Duplicate expenses for insurance and up keep, tires, etc. When I move I would have to shuttle one out early or ship it.

Thoughts?