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.

[2500HDee]

Great thread, thanks for all the responses.

[MitchF150]

I think the biggest point is if you are making payments on your current TV or not?

If it's paid off, sure it makes sense to have it sit idle until you need to tow.. Drive the econo box inbetween...

But, I'm paying $400/month on my TV/DD so that's why it's my DD! 🙂

I drove my 97 F150 for years with it being paid off, yet it was still my DD.. I just like driving it better than an econo box.. Plain and simple.. 🙂

Your mileage may vary, so do as what works best for you..

Mitch

[billyjoeraybob]

My diesel dually is my daily driver. After having a big rig pull out in front of me totaling my other diesel, a full size diesel truck will continue to be my DD. I am living proof that a lot of mass can be a life saver on the road. I have also become very good at backing into parking spaces with the dually. 🙂

[FishOnOne]

My truck is my daily driver, tows my camper, boat, tractor/utility trailer. Performs great and I usually keep my trucks for 7-8 years ~150k - 180k miles.

Unlike others here their tow truck gets traded every 2 years or it just sits in the garage 80% of the year yet they tout how great their truck is. :R

[AH64ID]

I DD'd my truck for years, and even at ±18 mpg to and from work I save with a ±29mpg Jetta Wagon.

Wear and tear is nice on $$ item's like tires, suspension components, etc.. I don't save a penny on oil as now nearly all the trucks miles are harder so I don't extend the oil as long as I used to.

I average about 10K on the truck for camping/hunting/etc and about 10K on the car commuting.

It also makes me appreciate the truck that much more every time I drive it.

[gtsum]

I have a 2014 ram 3500 megacab and it is also my dd. 3000 miles on it so far and I love it. It can get a little rough u loaded on rough roads but I don't drive those often for work so it works for me

[MitchF150]

Economically, sure it would probably make sense to drive a 40 mpg tin can and save the environment and all... 😉

But, I've been driving an F150 since 2001 and just can't deal with sitting in a little car for my commute where I spend hours in and be happy.. It's a 36 mile round trip and in rush hour traffic is at least 40 minutes each way on a good day.... 😞

If I wanted to save money, I wouldn't even have a truck to haul around a heavy brick around and spend more money on just to get out of doing chores around the house for a long weekend.. 🙂

Life is short and for me I'm going to live it driving what I want and the $$ be damned! 🙂

With no kids and just my wife and I to deal with, this makes the most sense to me... 🙂

Everyone is going to have their own priorities and that's great.. This is a great thread to comment on for all sides and opinions too! 🙂

Thanks!

Mitch

[azwildcat99]

We leased a Nissan Leaf last August and have done over 12k up to this point. Is it better than driving the Duramax commuting? Yes. Did I save any money? Probably not. But I get to dip my foot in the electric car waters and at only $220/mo for the lease I am ahead of the $300+ per month I'd be spending in fuel. I figure I'm probably breaking even once you figure electricity costs (minimal), insurance and down payment over the term.

[pappcam]

My 2011 F150 is my only vehicle and my wife has her little SUV. I have a double garage and they both fit in there so I don't want or need a 3rd vehicle. I don't think I'd want to drive a small car that sits low to the ground all the time anyway. I like sitting up high and being able to see all around me. To each their own though.

[Fordlover]

My commuter car is in my sig. I do about 60 miles a day, so I wanted it to be in something I enjoy driving. The math didn't work out for me since my commuter requires premium and gets about 21mpg whenever I keep it under 85mph. My TV gets about 15. But I enjoy my commute, not everyone can say that.

[john_bet]

Been DD'ing my '04.5 Dodge since Feb.'04. Now have 166+k and am on an extended trip out west now. When it wears out so will I be. A 10 year old low mileage HD truck is worth no more to me than a well used and maintained one. Just today I made a round trip run from Great Falls to Helena,MT. at 23mpg at 70mpg on my 10 1/2 year old truck. That's better than my DD's '11 F-150 gets on same run. JMHO.

[Ram4Sam]

Been daily driving a Dodge Cummins since 1991........:C

Sam

[bikendan]

i drive my Chevy Avalanche daily.
freeway driving i can get around 20mpg.

[Greg_B]

I purchased my 2004 Dodge new back in 04, and due to the escalation in prices/complexity of diesel trucks, I chose to get a second vehicle and use the Dodge as mainly my workhorse. Well, its 10 years latter and i still have a practically brand new truck with only 50,000 miles on it. Sitting in the garage hasn't hurt it a bit. Everything works as it should, and It drives out just as smooth as it did the day I brought it home. Only thing I've replaced are fluids and the batteries. The best thing is its been paid for for 8 years now,

Did I save a ton of money? Who knows, I never really did all the math to figure it out. Replacing a $50,000 truck every few years isn't cheap either. For me it was more about keeping this truck on the road as long as possible. I have arguably one of the best pre-emission diesels ever built and wanted to keep it as long as possible. If I didn't get a second vehicle to drive over our long Minnesota winters, the road salt would have destroyed it inside of 10 years anyway.

[RamTC]

I find that the safety of a large heavy truck as a commuter over a small fuel efficient car is priceless. Although cars/trucks have become safer, those behind the wheel are offsetting those advances.