[Rhodes22-list] Advice Please!

[brad haslett]

Nell,

OK, you've asked what time it is so I'll explain how
to build a watch.  The rule of thumb for towing is:
big is good, bigger is better, the longer the wheel
base the easier to handle, and power, power, power. 
That's why you don't see pickups hauling shipping
containers down the highway.  The problem is this; 
most of us just drive every day and seldom tow.  The
best tow vehichle would be a tractor but it would make
for a poor daily driver.  I've owned pickups for over
30 years and the best one ever was my 1965 Ford "Frau
Helga".  It was so ugly I had to park it in the garage
to keep peace with the neighbors but by gawd when you
needed a truck, Frau Helga was the one to have!  My
first new truck was a 1998 Ford 150 that I gave to my
oldest son to take to college.  The replacement was a
new 2000 Toyota Tacoma.  Great little truck, but, well
little.  The first time I drove to work in the rain
and put my suitcase, brain bag, and computer in the
cab, I barely had room to sit.  That one went to my
Dad for Christmas two years ago.  So then I bought a
used Lexus which I dearly love but it's hardly the
vehichle for hauling 2x4's and sure as hell won't tow.
Used trucks hold their value very well, even old
abused trucks.  So here is the compromise I came up
with and it works quite well.  You can buy ten year
old conversion vans with relatively low milage for
less than 5K.  They are the same drivetrain and frame
as a 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup but sell for thousands less
than the same age and condition truck.  Ninety percent
of what you would haul in a truck you can haul in a
van.  If you're going on a long trip they are very
comfortable to drive and have much more room than a
truck.  I bought my 1992 Ford E-150 conversion van
with 58K on the odometer off e-bay for $4200.  It came
with a towing package and lots of bells and whistles. 
It is not something I would want to drive everyday, 15
mpg, takes a football field to park, etc., but it
fills all the squares that the Lexus can't for those
rare needs.  I carry liability insurance only and the
cost is cheap because I'm old.  Having said all that,
I just had to borrow my neighbors 2004 4wd Ford F-150
because my best friend has my van in Illinois.  My
neighbors truck is damn nice but for $38K it ought to
do laundry and cook.  I'll take my $4K van anyday and
drive the vehichle that I really like and need the 95%
of the time that all I really want is a car. Thirty
grand plus for new tow vehichle and the gas it takes
to operate it every day will buy a lot of insurance
premiums and occasional repair bills on an extra unit.
 Besides, I think success is defined by the number of
cylinders on your property.

Brad Haslett
"CoraShen"


--- Nell <nellwolfe at cox.net> wrote:

> To All the Rodies Out There:
> 
>  
> 
> I have waited patiently all winter long for the
> arrival of my newly-born
> 2005 Rhodes 22.
> 
>  
> 
> Soon, she will arrive at my doorstep and I have a
> bit of a problem.
> 
>  
> 
> To digress, when I first moved to western North
> Carolina back in 1975, it
> was the "in thing" for all the PhDs and other
> professional types newly sent
> there by the DuPont Company to buy a truck.
> 
> It seems, it was a way to "blend In" NOT! and it was
> also a sort of status
> symbol to say that the owner "had arrived" in Red
> Neck country.
> 
>  
> 
> Well, I swore and be damned that I would not ever
> own a truck for the above
> reasons, (my then husband was the "professional
> type").
> 
> It felt sort of insulting to the "born and raised
> Southerners" to feel that
> such mimicry was somehow a status thing.
> 
> So. despite owning 9 acres of hay, a stallion that
> required 150 lbs of sweet
> feed every month, 2 home remodeling jobs
> (self-performed), and lots of other
> things like carrying split-rail locust fence posts,
> tons of bricks for a
> patio, and the like, I never came to own a truck.
> (Yes, I bought and carried
> the horse feed, loaded hay on a borrowed truck to
> put in the hay loft,
> remodeled the houses with the help of several
> friends but not my spouse,
> carted the fence posts, come-along, and barbed wire
> (7 months pregnant), and
> laid the brick patio alone.)
> 
>  
> 
> But now I have a good reason to own a truck. I need
> to cart my boat!
> 
>  
> 
> My problem is this: What brand, tonnage, horsepower,
> and extra gizmos should
> a truck have to safely and reliably haul my boat?
> 
>  
> 
> Everyone I talk to is devoted to a specific brand
> eg. Ford, Toyota, Chevy,
> ....
> 
>  
> 
> I am not wedded to any brand. My mind is open and I
> ask humbly for the
> opinions of those experienced in hauling their
> Rhodes 22.
> 
>  
> 
> Your opinions are welcomed and appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> nellwolfe
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help?
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> 



		
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