Daily Driving Tow Vehicles

[2500HDee]

How many people daily drive their tow vehicle?

I sat down and did the math and the lease payment + fuel + insurance for a basic Chevy Cruze to commute to work in was cheaper than just fuel to commute in my truck. That does not even include the wear and tear I am saving on my truck. For me it made sense to lease a car that I don't have to pay to fix (under warranty for the whole lease) and just use my truck for towing and hauling when needed.

I drive about 10k miles a year commuting.

10,000 miles / 12 mpg = 833 gallons of gasoline. At $3.75 a gallon average that is $3125 a year just for fuel.

In the Cruze: 10,000 miles / 35 mpg (my historic average for the last 4 months) = $1071 a year for fuel. Lease payments are $120 a month = $1440 a year and insurance is cheap because adding a 3rd car gives me a bigger discount. In the end with insurance it is right around $3000 a year for the car.

The big bonus is I am saving 10k miles a year on my truck and the maintenance $$ that goes along with it and I don't have to pay to maintain the car since Chevy offered free regular maintenance on the 2014 models.

[Campfire_Time]

And all of this depends on how many drivers you have, how far you drive, if you feel the need to have a new car or fine with older used cars. Its going to be different for each of us. There is no "one size fits all" in this scenario.

Dollar for dollar a 3rd car would kill me, and I drive 23 miles to work one way. I drive aur HHR 4 days a week, my wife drives the truck as she never really has to drive far, nor every day. On Fridays I get the truck.

[ib516]

I DD mine and enjoy it.

[M_GO_BLUE1]

NC Hauler wrote:
18 mile commute to work...My TV, (dually in my sig), is my daily driver. No problems, no issues, no 3rd. vehicle..Wife has her's and I have mine and we tow the 5er we want with my truck...part of the trade off for the 5er we want...


I like the OP's math, but having had 3 vehicles and letting my TV set and use a 3rd vehicle to commute to and from work doesn't pan out the way his did...cost of vehicle, insurance, cost of fuel and maint of the 3rd.vehicle, on top of using the TV to tow my 5er, fuel it up on camping trips, keep insurance on it and do maint., the numbers just didn't crunch the way his did...and I do know how to "do the math":)

x2

[2500HDee]

Tystevens wrote:
Actually, I'd say the OP's example highlights how a 3rd car almost never makes sense from a purely economic standpoint. He is quoting very bad mpg for the TV, very good mpg for the economy car (is the Cruze really averaging 35 mpg overall, or is that the freeway average?), an incredibly low monthly payment ($120/mo, really?), and even there, only saving $125 a year by his calculations. Note -- I'm not calling bs on the OP's numbers, but they are about as good as you're going to find.

If the OP were to average, say 30 mpg overall in the eco car, 15 mpg in the truck, and/or spend $200/mo on the car payment, he'd be losing money on this setup. I suspect a lot of people do this and think they're saving more money than they really are.

Sure, there are advantages of having the 3rd car, but if economics is the primary concern, I doubt most who go this route are saving much, if anything.

For me, I've used a TV as a DD for years. I only drive 3-4k miles doing non-'truck-stuff.' My commute is only 10 miles each way, and I ride my bicycle weather/schedule permitting. So I guess you could say my bike is my 'commuter car.' It is slow, and wasn't very cheap. But that thing gets great mpg!

A little healthy skepticism is always a good thing.

To clarify, yes those really are my lease payments, I am not exaggerating. Is it still exaggeration if you quote a smaller number?

I calculate fuel economy and compare to the computer in the car and I do average 35mpg which is a little lower than I hoped, I was getting 39 mpg in my Saturn with a 5 speed.

The 12 mpg in the truck is also accurate, with a 4L80 and 4.10 rear end you get what you get.

My commute is all two lane country roads with one stop light to cross a highway so there is never any traffic or idling.

You are correct that by those numbers it is only $125 a year savings but I also get to drive a new car that has free scheduled maintenance and a warranty. And there I am hoping it means I can keep my truck much much longer as it is not exposed to road salt everyday in the winter.

Like I said I daily drove trucks for a long time when another car did not make sense and I am not saying it makes sense for every situation, I just was curios if the majority daily drove trucks or just used them for towing and hauling.

[Stefonius]

I usually leave Truckasaurus parked at home, since my daily driver gets more than twice the MPG. When we're getting ready to take the fifth wheel out for a trip, I'll drive the truck to work for a few days to make sure she's ready to go. Of course, my commute is only 4 miles each way... I may not be the best example.

As for lease/truck payments, there are none. Unless I hit the lottery, I'm never buying a new truck. Truckasaurus was 10 years old when I got it and I paid cash for it. I don't need to drop 50k plus on a vehicle unless I'm going to use it every day.

[BB_TX]

Retired now but was putting 60+ miles on my F350 on my daily commute. But I preferred that to driving a small car in the heavy fast traffic I had to drive in.
Recent picture in the paper of a new F250/350 Superduty head on to a small unrecognizable car only reinforced that. Front of Superduty relatively unharmed, even grill still intact. It went over the front bumper of the car and pushed the hood, dash, etc. all the way to the back of the front seat.

[Tystevens]

Actually, I'd say the OP's example highlights how a 3rd car almost never makes sense from a purely economic standpoint. He is quoting very bad mpg for the TV, very good mpg for the economy car (is the Cruze really averaging 35 mpg overall, or is that the freeway average?), an incredibly low monthly payment ($120/mo, really?), and even there, only saving $125 a year by his calculations. Note -- I'm not calling bs on the OP's numbers, but they are about as good as you're going to find.

If the OP were to average, say 30 mpg overall in the eco car, 15 mpg in the truck, and/or spend $200/mo on the car payment, he'd be losing money on this setup. I suspect a lot of people do this and think they're saving more money than they really are.

Sure, there are advantages of having the 3rd car, but if economics is the primary concern, I doubt most who go this route are saving much, if anything.

For me, I've used a TV as a DD for years. I only drive 3-4k miles doing non-'truck-stuff.' My commute is only 10 miles each way, and I ride my bicycle weather/schedule permitting. So I guess you could say my bike is my 'commuter car.' It is slow, and wasn't very cheap. But that thing gets great mpg!

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I don't. I'm not about to wear out a 40K, (now 65K) pickup just driving around.

I buy a good shape high mileage lizard car to commute in style. Right now I have an Acura CL. Leather, good AC, nice car. 3 grand for a nice car and easy on my back.

I save my truck for truck duties. YMMV

[Golden_HVAC]

I agree that trucks cost to much to put on 10,000 miles a year just going back and forth to work. In 10 years, you will have worn out the truck just with those miles alone, not including the fun camping trips.

I have a fuel bill of around $300 a month to drive my Ford Edge back and forth to work - 25 miles each way. When I saw a electric car lease for $139 a month, I investigated. I can charge for free at my work, and the car has a 80 mile range. So I would also need to charge it at home sometimes, and the 10,000 mile lease per year would limit me to only 200 daily trips per year at 50 miles, so care would be needed to not add excessive miles onto the lease, or face a penalty.

Buying extra miles is sensible before signing the lease, as you can change it to a 12,000 or 15,000 mile per year lease in advance, but not so easy once you have 30,000 miles on the car.

In the end, I can not fit my 6'2" tall body into the Smart car easily, and insurance costs to add this car will exceed my fuel costs. I do not want to sell the Edge, as it is all set up for towing behind my motorhome, with braking system, and is very comfortable to carry 4 adults out sightseeing, or take the family someplace.

However it is something to consider when looking over your monthly fuel bill. And how nice would it be to have a electric car as a towed vehicle? I could charge it at the campground for free, and save a few bucks on fuel costs.

I also looked at the Ford Focus electric car. It is nearly as small as a Kia Rio that I already have. I have started driving the Kia to work and home, but it is not nearly as safe "Feeling" as the Edge, should I get in a collision. The Focus comes with about $11,000 in Ford and Federal rebates, making it a economical alternative to the cars I drive now.

My work is also considering purchasing 2 Smart Cars for local deliveries, and they might become available to employees at night to commute home and back to work the next day. This would be a blessing to be able to run those cars totally cost free, as they would pick up the insurance costs and charge them free too!

The think I hate about the Smart Electric car is the 120 volt charger. I hoped it would be built into the car, so you just walk over with a extension cord and plug in the car. However Smart has a removable charger, that you set beside the car, then plug in that to 120 volts and into the car. Anyone can also unplug and walk away with the expensive charger. I guess the Smart engineers never lived in a neighborhood where the locals like to recycle your stuff to provide drug money for themselves. It they are taking $1,000 tailgates off of pickup trucks, think how much easier it would be to pick up a $1,400 4 pound portable charger?

Fred.

[kvangil]

Mid-size SUV that tows our hybrid camper about 6-8 times a year is our daily driver, as we have 4 kids to tote around. 🙂

[NC_Hauler]

18 mile commute to work...My TV, (dually in my sig), is my daily driver. No problems, no issues, no 3rd. vehicle..Wife has her's and I have mine and we tow the 5er we want with my truck...part of the trade off for the 5er we want...


I like the OP's math, but having had 3 vehicles and letting my TV set and use a 3rd vehicle to commute to and from work doesn't pan out the way his did...cost of vehicle, insurance, cost of fuel and maint of the 3rd.vehicle, on top of using the TV to tow my 5er, fuel it up on camping trips, keep insurance on it and do maint., the numbers just didn't crunch the way his did...and I do know how to "do the math":)

[1oldtruck]

I have a company car to drive everyday. While this sounds great it does cause problems for the truck to sit for extended periods of time. It is not unusual for the truck to go untouched for 2-3 weeks at a time. I have had numerous issues due to lack of use. A/C doors stick shut, weather stripping cracks, etc. I'm sure sitting outside in the Florida sun isn't helping.

I would definitely suggest driving the truck at least once a week to circulate fluids and allow other systems to function to avoid these problems.

[2500HDee]

Zero down. It is not the lowest msrp cruze but had the best lease price due to incentives at the time so it has some options like the turbo engine and Bluetooth radio. I do prefer driving the truck on longer drives but my commute is quick and the radio sounds pretty good. That's all I really need for 25 minutes of driving.

[Bionic_Man]

It makes sense for some, but not all. That is quite the lease you found there. Is it $0 down?

One of the drawbacks for me is going from a top of the line truck with every option imaginable to a stripped econobox. That said, it is nice to keep the miles off the truck, and certainly easier to park.

[2500HDee]

valhalla360 wrote:
It's all about miles driven.

We've been lucky of late that the commute is zero miles in the winter and 10 miles roundtrip in the summer, so we would be losing money buying a seperate car.

Of course if we are going purely for the financial benefit, buy a 5yr old car for $10k. Assuming you don't abuse it, you should be able to get 10yrs out of it with it being reliable and your lease payment would have it paid off in around 7yrs. Your insurance will likely be a bit cheaper as it's worth less.

Unless you are talking crazy high miles, I wouldn't put much emphasis on wear and tear for the truck. Regular use is actually good for mechanical devices, so modest use likely will result in a longer lifespan than sitting for a month or more at a time between hard use towing.

I agree that the tow vehicle still needs to be driven regularly and mine gets used every weekend for home depot runs or going fishing and things like that, it just made financial sense for me to get a separate car to commute.

The nice thing about leasing is you always have a new car that is always under warranty.

I was just curious how many people daily drive their tow rigs and how many have trucks dedicated to towing/hauling. I daily drove trucks for 15 years before this.