Re: Subject: [ihc] Musical carbs

["Allan Ericson" <lowvolt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Andy-

I drive my pickup that much because it's part of the job. I need a full
sized truck with a ladder rack for work, and the 67 fits the bill, along
with the added bonus of the utility bed. The t-alls are not used that way,
but are just a portion of the overall driving, used when hauling the family
around, or for Helena's SUV grocery getter.

We've done the math on getting a small vehicle for every day use. The
cheapest thing we can find in a new car with a warranty that I can get into
and out of in a reasonable manner will run us about $150 a month in payments
and another 100 bucks a month for insurance. I have two teenaged drivers on
my policy, which tends to increase my rates somewhat.

That 250 bucks buys me 2000 miles worth of gas each month, which is most of
what we use for the home and business. If I could find a pickup truck that
got great fuel economy, it would be worth the effort, but when my IH trucks
are running well they get better mileage in town than a new ford, chevy, or
dodge. On the highway the new vehicles have a distinct edge, as they can go
faster and get better economy, somewhere around 17 mpg. I'm limited to 55
mph to stay at 15 mpg.

Still, all my binders are a tax deduction, because they are my fleet. Since
it costs me less to own them than to buy new trucks, it's a logical thing to
do.

A small pickup is simply not an option for me, which is sad, because the
dodge dakota I took to pick up the travelall got well over 25 mpg with a
318, and it was a comfortable ride. Any type of fuel injection would be an
improvement, I suppose.

-Allan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Archerzero@domain.elided>
To: <ihc@domain.elided>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 12:17 AM
Subject: Subject: [ihc] Musical carbs


> Allen.
>
> If I drove my TA 20,000 miles a year I'd go broke paying for gas alone.
> You're burning almost 2000 gals at $1.50 each. Good thing you're not
living out
> here in Ca where you would be paying over 2 buck a gal. So maybe 3k/year
in gas.
> Have you considered maybe getting a diesel rabbit pickup to do all the
running
> around or do you need  the lifting capacity of a TA? At 50 mpg the VW
would
> pay back in about a year and a half I would think. I wonder if you would
even
> fit in a VW.
>
> I like these things too but my TA gets driven maybe every two months.
>
> andy