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.

[rowekmr]

Up to 2 years ago I had a dedicated TV (gasser) and a car or suv as a daily driver. My first attempt to consolidate the 2 into 1 for $$$ savings (insurance/maintenance) was a Navigator which was marginal for towing my TT and drank too much gasoline for me (11 mpg city 16mpg hgwy). I use my current TV as a daily driver and although it is a little big to my liking I never run out of room when we go shopping or pick up people and so far I have been getting an avg of 16 mpg which is only 1 less than the 06 Explorer I had previously as my DD.

[Cummins12V98]

afishinado wrote:
Everyone has their own set of circumstances for what they drive when. My TV is dedicated to just being that and nothing else. In fact, once our annual trip is over, I intend to park it in a storage facility, and drop the insurance on it for the next 9 months. They can reinstate full cover for a day, week or whatever with just a phone call. I have 5 vehicles (and 3 Harleys) for just my wife and I (I'm semi retired and work from home). Her daily driver is a 10 Mustang ragtop, mine is a 12 Tahoe, plus I have a 92 Carrera that has become a garage queen. One more, the car I drive most frequently, a 03 Jeep Wrangler in fair (at best) condition, it is my real daily driver, hasn't left town more than 3 times in the last 5 years. I park it anywhere without concern, hell, I leave the key in it 90% of the time, and the back and rear windows haven't been in it since I bought it. That monster Dodge aka The Tank, is all the PIA I knew it would be driving in/around town...

I would not drop the insurance. Put "storage" insurance on it. It's cheap and will protect against fire and theft.

[afishinado]

Everyone has their own set of circumstances for what they drive when. My TV is dedicated to just being that and nothing else. In fact, once our annual trip is over, I intend to park it in a storage facility, and drop the insurance on it for the next 9 months. They can reinstate full cover for a day, week or whatever with just a phone call. I have 5 vehicles (and 3 Harleys) for just my wife and I (I'm semi retired and work from home). Her daily driver is a 10 Mustang ragtop, mine is a 12 Tahoe, plus I have a 92 Carrera that has become a garage queen. One more, the car I drive most frequently, a 03 Jeep Wrangler in fair (at best) condition, it is my real daily driver, hasn't left town more than 3 times in the last 5 years. I park it anywhere without concern, hell, I leave the key in it 90% of the time, and the back and rear windows haven't been in it since I bought it. That monster Dodge aka The Tank, is all the PIA I knew it would be driving in/around town...

[ls1mike]

I drive a fully loaded supercharged 04 Grand Prix with 60,000 miles on it. It is my daily driver been paid off awhile. I also have 2000 Trans Am WS6(63,000 miles), been paid off since 05. Comes out in the summer.

My Truck is an 02 Silverado, this past trip this weekend I rolled 36,700 miles. My wife has a 2013 Equinox. We pay 189 bucks a month for it.

Not a truck guy never have been never will be. I have vinyl seats, rubber floors, manual windows and locks. It is a tool for me. I run it a couple times a month in the winter and it gets used a bunch in the summer. It is paid off. That is how I like it. The Equinox payment makes me sad. 🙂

[stetwood]

DIRTI, is a mostly fixed significant cost of ownership. D=depreciation, what will the depreciation of the two vehicles be. I=interest, what is the interest and opportunity cost of having the two vehicles (include DIRTI in the calculations) R=repairs,(tires, oil changes,car washing and other maintenance costs which are variable depending on miles driven, T=taxes (licenses and sales taxes on the purchase price) I=insurance.

The savings in variable costs,(gas)must offset DIRTI to justify have a second vehicle, plus the desire to have that second vehicle.

[camperfamily]

My '13 Superduty is just year old and almost 19k miles on it. Its my DD at 55-70 miles a day (depends where I need to drop the kids off). I did the numbers on a commuter. Financially its a mess. Insurance here in NJ would cost me close to $1000/year. I get 15+ with my truck commuting. A car big enough to not be killed in, used at a somewhat reasonable cost, would only yield about 30mpg. No savings for me. Leasing would be pricy as I need at least 15k/ year.

The other problem is that I can't fit another vehicle in my driveway. No chance. And I can't make it bigger - property line on one side w/retaining wall, and another wall on the other side with water/sewer/natural gas lines on the other. AND I can't park on the street overnight from Nov. 1 to April 1.

Also. the added mass and probable crash survivability is priceless. I've seen some terrible crashes on my commute. Cars broadsided by semi trucks at highway speeds; cars t-boned and pushed against concrete barrier and then slammed again resulting in all doors being blocked, unconscious driver w/likely head injuries; serious rear-end chain reactions (loaded dump truck lost brakes on a hill, plowed into stopped traffic at a light at the bottom of a 1 mile 6% hill -- they have nowhere to go to crash but the cars -- and that happens at least 1x/year). I could go on. But feeling that my chances to returning home to my kids every night is priceless, to me.

Plus, by the time I wear out a diesel truck drivetrain it would be time for a replacement anyways due to other factors like rust and age related failures.

[mr__ed]

My truck is also my daily driver. It's a 2007 and now has 98k miles on it. I would love to have an older small car to get around in but since I travel often it would be impossible to take with me. If I had a partner that person could drive the car to the next location but I solo so that's out of the question.

Since I often spend entire winters in Yuma, AZ my other thought was using the car only in that area and leaving it there until I return. At least I'd have the use of a car for about 6 months out of the year.

To tell the truth, it gets so complicated that I put these thoughts on hold indefinitely and will no doubt keep using my truck as a daily driver.

[dcb17b]

I drove my 03 150 as a DD for four years till it was paid off. I then bought a 09 Vibe and use it as my DD. The payment was the same and I figure it will be cheaper to replace the Vibe with another gocart than replace the 150. I do drive the truck for truck stuff and just to move it once a week or so. In my situation it is good to have a backup vehicle for the wife or kids if needed.

[JIMNLIN]

With a 660 mile a week commute a second econo car was out of the question. I tried a econo box but insurance/upkeep was simply too much. Lease was out of the question driving that many miles.

Retired now but the last two years I worked I drove the Cummins on that long daily commute.

Most folks math/figures will be different so choose what fits your pocket book or likes and go with it. One size don't fit all.

[JordanH]

What ever is most feasible for you is the best choice! The last 2.5 years my daily driver has been my truck, which is also my tv. In those 2.5 years I've put 133,000km on my truck, which brings it up to 256,000km. I don't consider your 10,000miles a year very much milage, but if it will be cheaper for you to have both, go for that!

[PAThwacker]

PUCampin wrote:
Our Expedition is our "everything" vehicle. It is my DWs daily driver and the family car for going anywhere, it is the tow vehicle for pulling the trailer, it is the cargo vehicle for making home depot runs and can carry 4x8 sheet goods with the 2nd and 3rd rows down, or the full size reclining sofa. We truly utilize it to it's full potential, and use all the features on a regular basis. I just wish it got better fuel milage.

My daily driver is a 2001 focus ZX3, I commute 106 miles round trip to work. It gets much better fuel milage, is reliable, and easy and inexpensive to fix. I just replaced the timing belt, tensioner, idler, serpentine belt tensioner, serp belt idler, and water pump for less than 250 in parts. I have 150k on it now, am aiming for 250k

I just dumped $1300 with new t-belt, water pump, plugs, rear brakes, tie rod, drive axles,and headlight assemblies. 176,000 miles on a 1.8T VW Passat Wagon/utility vehicle.

[PAThwacker]

I have a paid off dedicated TV, and paid off 30mpg commuter.
I average 100 to 140 miles per day. Currently employed in consulting pugatory in global biopharma.

[PUCampin]

Our Expedition is our "everything" vehicle. It is my DWs daily driver and the family car for going anywhere, it is the tow vehicle for pulling the trailer, it is the cargo vehicle for making home depot runs and can carry 4x8 sheet goods with the 2nd and 3rd rows down, or the full size reclining sofa. We truly utilize it to it's full potential, and use all the features on a regular basis. I just wish it got better fuel milage.

My daily driver is a 2001 focus ZX3, I commute 106 miles round trip to work. It gets much better fuel milage, is reliable, and easy and inexpensive to fix. I just replaced the timing belt, tensioner, idler, serpentine belt tensioner, serp belt idler, and water pump for less than 250 in parts. I have 150k on it now, am aiming for 250k

[JamesBr]

My commute to the train station is under 2 miles. I did have a cheap little S10 I used for that trip every day. I lent it out to a friend in need of a second car once he found work to get back on his feet. So for the past 9 months I been driving the truck daily. He has finally just decided to buy my little s10 from me, so I will take that money and go find another cheap car in decent condition to use as my around town driver.