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.

[EcoBullet]

I use mine as a daily driver. I don't have any desire to have another vehicle sitting outside (or build another garage?) to keep maintained (oil, tires, and batteries need changing whether you use them or not), pay insurance on, and depreciate to nothing. I'm also not sure I'd want to be 2,000 miles from home, towing with an older vehicle that only gets driven now and then.

My TV fits in the garage and most parking spaces, is 15 months old and has 20K miles (5K towing, 15K non-towing). Its computer says it has averaged 14.8 mpg, and it has checked out to be pretty accurate. Since it gets about 10 mpg when towing, the remainder comes out to about 17.5 mpg. I'm OK with that.

[tim_and_amy]

Yea, I daily drive my F350, if I only drive to and from work that is 21,840 miles per year. Again only commuting....

I created a spreadsheet to see what if any justification I would have to buy a chevy spark or even a used car.
I found out I would save $4,212 per year in fuel between the two vehicles, so that would pay for the spark in 3 years if I paid full retail of $12,500.00.

I'm looking for a used car now. I might take my daughters 2000 neon and get her a newer car for college that I won't have to work on 😉

Here is the numbers
Ford F350, Powerstroke 4.10 gearing, avg 14mpg at 21840 miles per year at $3.95 p/gal = $6162.00 per year in fuel

Chevy Spark at 42mpg for $3.75 p/gal @ 21,840 miles p/yr = $1950,00
a difference of $4,212.00 per year.
Price of spark is $12,500 / $4212 = 2.97 yrs to pay off just using money saved by fuel difference.

[rhagfo]

I read these post many clam they drive a small car for DD and commuting and running saving the truck only for towing. I think if one was to reference those, who fear gas stations and parking lots when towing are likely one in the same!
I daily drive my TV, 01 Ram 2500 Quad cab, LB,not the biggest longest TV, but I can park in any lot, drive in stop and go with no issue, and know where it will fit!!
If I needed to use for a 100 mile commute, right now less than $20 a day for fuel! Gassers seem to worry about miles drive, diesels don't.

[oldcat1]

I agree with most here, it's what works for you. When we bought our new TV last year the plan was to then sell my paid for 2000 Tacoma (with only 72K miles) to help offset the cost. My wife would keep her Camry.

A year later and I still have the Tacoma. The money may not make sense, but being older and retired what works for us is, with the Tacoma doing my daily stuff and a dedicated TV, we should never have to buy another truck.

Our plan is to try our best to wear that TV out. If we are around long enough to do that we will gladly buy another.

[jerem0621]

I guess it depends on what your TV is.

Our TV is a 23 mpg Town & Country. It's a daily driver...so the question really depends on the person.

When we had a 9 mpg V10 Dually F350...yup. Had a commuter car.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[MackinawMan]

If the numbers work for you then that's all that matters.

Our TV has not been a daily driver since we traded our 1999 Ford Expedition and purchased a Ford Excursion V10, then traded that in on a Ford Excursion with the PSD, then sold that and purchased our current F350 PSD.

However, it's a curious subject because I've seriously been considering selling my daily driver (2008 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP) and driving the truck as my daily driver. I have a 20 mile or so round trip daily for work. And we still have an old 96 Mercury Sable that I could drive every now and then (old rust bucket that runs beautifully) if I needed to.

[Dadoffourgirls]

For several years, I my Yukon XL was only used for trailering duty. I had an extra vehicle. My problems were from lack of use.

So my new truck obtains 40% better fuel economy. (14 vs 10). So I felt better.

Then my wife started driving 300 miles a week in the truck. That was a minimal of 21 gallons of gas each week. Now I am back to shopping for a Cruze lease. I drove one last week, and averaged 35.8 mpg for our driving. Plus, that would leave an extra vehicle for maintenance downtime.

[Frostbitte]

I drive mine to work and run errands everyday. It's a one ton pickup so the back usually has the 5th wheel hitch in it during summer, some wood, the odd things, fold-up chairs for watching soccer games etc. Even daily driving, I don't usually have to fill up on diesel more than twice a month. I don't know what I'd do without 4-wheel drive on some winter days either. It's also fully loaded so having all the creature comforts is nice as well.

[jjj]

I have a small hyundai for my 100 mile round trip commute. Last year got in a accident and used my truck for 5 weeks it cost me 35.00 a day to get to work. That was a painful time. My 02 has now only 31000 miles and plan on keeping her for a long time.

[APT]

Many people can save fuel money driving something other than the TV as a DD. A 5 year old used sub compact that gets 35mpg and has little depreciation over 2 years/20k miles for example. But then you are driving a 5 year old subcompact, or brand brand new Cruze vs. what is presumably a much nicer and comfortable vehicle that is used for towing.

My wife drives our TV to work, about 35 miles per day. It replaced a minivan as family hauler and at 14mpg vs. 17mpg isn't too bad a hit on fuel esp compared to the vehicle cost. However, I drive at least 50 miles per day commuting plus extra trips, lunch, errands, etc. I absolutely love my Passat TDI. My lifetime average is 38mpg over 38k miles and could easily be higher but I just enjoy the torque too much to care saving $20/mo. It drives like nothing else that gets 30mpg (except maybe a Tesla Model S) so I don't feel stuck in a penalty box. Since I'm tall, the large cabin is important.

[Bedlam]

Duplicate post

[Tystevens]

2500HDee wrote:

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.

Thanks for your response. I see how a couple of the comments in ( ) look a little snarky in retrospect. By "$120, really?" I meant that wow, I didn't know such a lease payment exists; I wasn't questioning whether you 'really' pay $120/mo. It looks like you've run the numbers, and essentially are getting another car for free, and burning less fuel overall, both of which are good things. Plus less wear and tear on the truck, less wear on $200+ tires, all of that.

Again, I wasn't calling BS or anything. My intent was more to highlight the point that your scenario is a pretty good one, but it is basically the borderline for where it starts to make (pure economic) sense to buy a commuter car for daily driving.

[thomasmnile]

All dependent on individual circumstances. I'm retired so other than local driving for errands and the like, the TV is my DD. Paid for, run 3 weeks on a tank of fuel, and annual mileage is below the 'rating' threshold for my insurance. Wife drives her 14 year old Camry with a 135K on the odometer. Same circumstances as my truck, but oh so cheaper to fuel!

[Bedlam]

I work in a city and live in the suburbs. My commute is mixed between catching a bus and driving: I can walk out out my door and catch a local bus to a commuter bus and not drive at all during the week, I can drive 5 miles to the commuter bus and save 30 minutes each way on my commute, or I can drive the entire way and save about 35 minutes each way compared to taking two buses.

In wet weather, I take the two buses and avoid driving at all. When there is snow or ice, I take my tow vehicle to the commuter bus since I live in a hilly area that is not kind to bus service on the local roads. In dry weather, I drive a motorcycle or scooter to the commuter bus. When I do have to drive to work (it's because I have to transport equipment), I take my wife's car and let her drive my tow vehicle.

My tow vehicle gets used at least once week but it is usually over the weekend. With alternative ways to get to work and additional vehicles, I still manage to put 10K miles a year on my tow vehicle going camping or skiing.

[ford_truck_guy]

I used mine as a DD for many years , the problem was that the vehicle is in the company name and Insurance... I was afraid of having a huge issue if something was to happen while towing my trailer with a company vehicle... I now have swapped my TV into my personal name and it is only used a TV.. My DD is a new f-150 in the company name.. If not for the company , my TV would still be my DD