2014 Purchase(s) Discussion (Cause I'm bored for a few hours)

About to go fire up the smoker, and go sit and wait on the Colorado Contingent to roll in tonight. I told 'em to wave when they go through Tulsa. Wrapped most of the presents, and so........here I sit, thinkin'. I always get in trouble doing that!!

Y'all give me a ton of grief, but after the smoke clears, I do get a lot of good info here. Most of y'all are WAY too "Brand Chauvinistic" and think only your brand is worthwhile and the rest are all crap. But after I weed through the B/S, I still get a lot of good info here.

I have two purchases that are on my radar for the next year or two. One is a must..........and the other is a pipe dream. But I'm more than interested in any opinions. I know (or used to know) telecom and networking. I don't know diddley about much else.

First is a truck. I can't help it, I'm a Chevy guy. I have had amazing good luck with them, and very poor luck with Fords and Japanese trucks. So unless the moon falls out of the sky, I'm going to buy a Chevy.

I waited on this new gas engine and "max towing package" that was due out "Fall 2013" but it is a fizzle. I have researched trucks, in general, and towing capacity. Towing capacity turns out to be a way more complex issue than the simple numbers the manufacturers publish about how many pounds Unit X will pull!!! The most important number turns out to be GCVWR.........the weight of the trailer, truck, and EVERY pound of stuff that's in it, including gas in the truck!! No other number is more important, and it makes the towing capacity number meaningless if the GCVWR is too high. And nothing can answer what that number is short of putting it on a scale.

With that said, you got to start somewhere. The Tahoe has close to 200,000 miles. It runs like a freaking oiled sewing machine, still......but nothing lasts forever. Couple that with the fact that I need to tow that trailer and go camping.........and I've decided to go ahead and get what I need to cross the Rockies with!!! I am going to get a 3/4 ton truck, and most likely a diesel. Heck with it. Mama might go nuts in 5 years and "demand" a 5th wheel or something. Who knows with her. Got to keep her happy, it's in my best interest. So I'm tired of trying to push the envelope. I'm going to get something way ahead of the curve.

Well.......dang. Now, Chevy announces the 2015 Chevy 2500's, due out "1st Quarter 2014". Stupid as that is, I don't care what they call them, but these new 2015's have some neat trailering stuff that might make it worthwhile for me to wait 2-3 months. Integrated brake controllers, integrated sway control, and more pulling power out of same Diesel and Allison Tranny. So I am going to try and wait. I know, the Dodge truck is the Max at pulling, 30,000 pounds with diesel in 3/4 ton. But I ain't buying a Dodge in this lifetime, sorry. Ford is about same as Chevy and looks like a box. Anyway, I can't imagine getting anything other than the Chevy. I just don't know if it's worth it to wait on these new ones.

But that's gonna happen in next 6 months sometime. Then Mama can drive my truck and we'll trade in the Tahoe. Or give it to Charity (known as one of my kids).

Any comment thereunto is welcome.

The next purchase probably will never happen. But I'm getting old and driving to deer stands, driving around the farm, doing pre-season work, and general piddling around......makes it harder and harder to enjoy being in the 'open' of a four wheeler. These new side by sides are nothing more than little jeeps!!! Cost a mint, so probably not feasible. Heck, I'd have to have a bigger trailer, another two grand!!! Ouch.

But......I do like to keep abreast of what's out there. And man.........I have never seen such A) brand loyalty to whatever a man bought....almost as if everyone is trying to justify to themselves having bought that brand, OR B) total buyer's remorse of having bought a lemon.

There is something wrong with every one of them. I have gotten on the actual forums for that manufacturer and read actual customers' complaints, and every one is full of 'em! Others RAVE about their machine. If you read between the lines, it's clear it's a matter of how they are used.

I'm open to any make. But for now, my very preliminary research has led me to the Gator 825i, Yamaha Viking, Kawasaki Teryx, and Can Am Commander.

I know Cappy loves his older Gator. But having been on his farm, I see why. It's a workhorse, on fairly level and dry ground. Pull a house off the foundation. But that's not all I want. I bet Ed has Polaris' on his farm, and I'm guessing (?) he has more water to deal with than Cappy does. My cousin has an older Honda "Big Red" side by side, and he loves it but does nothing with it really. No mud, no pulling, no towing, no hauling, just rides it in comfort down a smooth grassy two-track to his deer stand, and gets out and hunts. They are rated worst of all of 'em by ATV Magazine, but again........if you do nothing more than he does, they are very reliable and have few breakdowns. Just don't get them truly off road. I've ruled out a Honda, so don't go there. They just aren't made to do what I want. And I'm not getting another Suzuki unless someone gives me one.

The bigger models are just not nimble enough for me. I do NOT want the 4 seater. I will never have more than one other person in there. I don't need to haul a cord of firewood, just an ice chest and a dead deer. I need to maneuver through thick trees, and go slow REALLY well. I don't care how fast it goes. If I ever get over 30, it'd be rare.

The Gator 825i is the best made it seems. But they have lots of guys with "lemons" and have to get whole new engines. JD won't warranty them. The intake is under the driver's seat, and sucks water if it's over 15" deep. I go several times a year to a camp where big water is always present, so that'd blow a motor, blam! Most guys have to snorkel theirs, and if that isn't done right, it leaks and same problem. Plus the complaint is how loud they are. They use a Chinese car motor.......makes me scratch my head, too.

Yamaha and Kawasaki models are ok.........but just don't seem to have all that it takes. Reading the specs closely, something is always missing.

The Can Am is the coolest. Danged expensive though. It seems they are built for speed, and that's not what I need. However, they have great torque too with those bigger engines, and seem to be built for hard driving. Just don't know first hand anyone that has 'em, though.

Power steering is a must. After market cabs are expensive, but boy, that'd be nice.......if they didn't tear off in the woods. Those "soft cabs" seem stupid........and the hard ones are high dollar.

OK, time to go start a fire.......comments welcome on all fronts. I wuz bored for an hour..........I'll come back and read later.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

:biggrin

Best tow vehicle I've ever driven (2200 miles pulling a 21 foot boat/tandem axle trailer) was a Ford Super duty 250 with a diesel that had some rock and roll chip in it. Damn truck never bobbled and I pulled that boat 85-90 mph almost the whole way. It couldn't make it by a gas stationi without swerving, but other than that it was a sweet sweet ride. I won't own a Ford ever again but if I was you I'd look at that or the chebby equivalent.

BKB

https://www.chevrolet.com/2015-silve...uty-truck.html

Ain't no boat (in the South) weighs what a travel trailer does.....and a TT is big old box......on wheels.

also, on the Forest River owners' forum, website, they all talk about tow vehicles. Many gas models work fine, depending on trailer. But NOBODY that has a diesel and a 3/4 ton has any trouble, anytime, anywhere.

Last two trucks were a Chevy 3/4 and a GMC 1/2 ton, both will be my last trucks made by GM.
My new Ford is light years above what those two were, better towing, better mpg, sweeter ride, just a much nicer truck.
Unless you tow a three axle 10,000 lb trailer 360 days a year a diesel is a poor choice.
Today's gas engines can just about meet their mpg, diesel fuel up here costs about 65 cent more a gal. than gas so it's still cheaper to drive a gas engine. Maintenance on a diesel is big bucks, oil changes alone will empty your wallet. but if that's where you want all your fixed income dollars to go, go for it, but don't ever come back here and bitch about owning a rough riding, high cost maintenance vehicle, cause you've been told this to many times.
As far as your other want, I'd like one too, getting to old carry bait, tree stands and my old body out in the woods, may have to look for one over the summer too.

JB, if a guy has enough money to buy something that big to drag, he can afford a dress truck for around town and a towtruck for his weekends.

BKB

Bubba, you also told me that my current truck should pull this trailer just fine..........and it won't come close.

I can get 8 mpg max out of a gas engine pulling this trailer.........and maybe double that with diesel. I hear you, and I'm exploring all options. I used to say I wouldn't own a diesel, but those who own them tell me that I am crazy to own anything else.......

It's like the Side by Side issue. You hate GMC, and I hate Fords.......both for same reasons. We both have had terrible experience with the ones we hate, and great experience with the ones we like. I've ridden in Ford trucks, and "sweeter ride" is in the eye of the beholder. I think they ride awful!!! Just not made as well as a GMC product, IMHO. Sorta like the difference in my Heritage .22 revolver, and my Colt .22 revolver. Just hold 'em, and spin 'em, and the difference is obvious. I see that same difference in a Ford and Chevy. Chevy is hands down better made.

But of course.........some folks see it opposite. I'd own a Ford. But when I lay a Super Duty next to a 2500, I can't get what I want out of a Ford any better than I can a Chevy......and less in many areas.

I'm open to suggestions....I am thinking hard, and this COULD be my 'last' truck. But dadgum it, I'm not going to struggle pulling this dang trailer around the country the next few years just to avoid worrying with it on the occasional Tuesday that I drive to town. EVERY person I know that has a diesel truck that pulls much, tells me that they wouldn't have anything else.

So......this is why I asked.......... it's amazing to me the range and spectrum of opinions......on both topics. It blows my mind.

Course, Thump will tell me to get a Toyota (they don't make a 3/4 ton) and a Honda. And that's two brands that I won't get, period. I need tanks, not toys.

And my income isn't fixed......it goes down every year.

You're asking the wrong people about owning diesels, don't talk to current owners, nobody likes to admit they screwed up on their purchase, you need to talk to former diesels owners, ones who's owned them and found out what they were really like.
Bottom line, people are free to buy what THEY want, not what others think they should have.
Buy it, enjoy it, and tell all those others to GFT :swordfight

I have talked to two. Friend of mine, and my cousin. Both said they loved the diesels that they had (no longer do), BUT for towing mostly. They said there's no comparison to towing with one. They are (were) noisier, yes. Today's are much quieter.

I can't find anyone who used a Diesel for towing heavy trailers that owns one now, or ever did, that has anything negative to say about the towing aspect.

I CAN find gas owners (me included) that just don't seem to have the towing capabilities that they want.

I admit, a 'town' truck ain't ideal to be a diesel. But we still have my '06 for that! It only has 63,000 miles after 7.5 years! It'll go till the new one is paid for.

Maybe that's all this is, now that I think about it..........maybe I'm just trying to get the BEST towing vehicle and am willing to live with the daily driving negatives of that, just to ensure I can tow easily. I don't know........now that I think on it, maybe that's it.

But I swear, you guys make me think.........and I open my self up to being hammered, all the time. I get that. But it's worth it, cause you guys have some great ideas and experiences, and I appreciate them all.

I think you THINK too much! :D

My SEAL buddy has a term for that ... couldn't tell you how many times I'd be studying something, considering all the angles, trying to make a decision and he'd say, "Kribbs, you're trying to brain-fuck it to death!" ;)

P.S. Bubba is right ... a diesel will milk you dry when it comes to maintenance. Sure, things have changed since I was in the business, but we used to lick our chops whenever a diesel drove into the shop 'cause we knew it would be contributing to our retirement funds!

I think it depends on where he plans to drag that travel trailer to. If he wants to go long distance or get into the mountains, I'd definitely go with the diesel. Its sad that a guy who loves corvettes and a guy that drives a convertible in Siberia are preaching about something being friggin' practical. sheesh. Let me put it this way. If you're the guy behind Bucky as he's out driving and your about to go up Steep Mountain and down around Dead Man's curve on the other side, which would you rather he be driving?


BKB

See why I think Posthole is the smartest guy here? Well, second.......Chilly Willy has a bar ain't none of us likely to reach...

Ummm, to be honest ... I wouldn't want to be following Bucky ANYdamnwhere! :D

Convertible in Siberia??? :confused: (It was a Lada with a hard top.)

I agree with you ... that's why I said (in a way) not to brain-fuck it to death. Ya' want it? Can you afford it? Get it!

No matter what you get ... it will have it's pluses ... AND it's short-falls. There ain't no perfect vehicle made for all applications.

Oh, BTW ... I drove a diesel (NOT my 18-wheeler) for two years ... absolutely hated it. BUT, that was in the late 80's, so it's ancient history.

Of course not. But a wise man gathers facts, weighs objective opinions of others, considers all aspects, and contemplates prior to purchase.

The goal is not to get a perfect vehicle. It's to maximize the pluses, and minimize the negatives. I think your brain-sex analogy is a way to smoke pot and not think about important stuff, and eat cheetos.

NOT that there is anything wrong with that, mind you!! It just ain't the right process to buy high ticket items. It probably applies best on decisions about whether to go to a ball game or go out and eat instead.

I agree ... but you asked for opinions ... and you know from experience how opinions run around this joint! :D

Which I admitted to in the first post!!

Best advice you are going to get right here....
Sell the camper and don't buy no new mackdaddy truck. The money you will save from hauling that thing all over the country in gas, payments, insurance, "camping" fees will pay for you to stay in a 4 star hotel and ordering room service anywhere and any time.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

You apparently have forgotten the cost of a divorce. I lost that argument last May, after 43 years of using it.

Well....if it was me....I'd run right down to the Ford dealer and get the bestest one they have on the lot...THE DAY AFTER HELL FROZE OVER. I HAD several Ford vehicles back in the 80's/90's. Poorly engineered units IMHO...every danged model. Got tired of sending my mechanic's kids to college. But that's just me. My BIL won't have nutin' but a Ford and has had outstanding luck (according to him) with them.

Of the "big three" IF I were looking for the kind of truck you are, I'd prolly be leaning towards the Chevy also.

You could sell the trailer, and tow vehicle and get a diesel "pusher" motorized RV! Problem SOLVED. Mamma can bake a cake while you are tooling down the Interstate. Heck, it's only money.....and you can prolly get a 30 year mortgage on one of those beasts.
:biggrin

Now, about that side-x-side:
MY BIL has the Kawasaki Mule with a diesel engine and absolutely loves it. Of course, that said, he also loves Fords.

I have ridden in Cappy's new Gator. There wasn't anywhere he wanted to go on his farm or lease that it would not go through....and he was taking it slow because of my back. (Thanks buddy!)

I like the looks of the Kubota RTV. I sat on/in one once at the Kubota dealer. That's all I know about them, except they have an engine/tranny that are not connected via a belt.....and they have an optional air conditioned cab.

According to several folks that I have talked to, prolly the best riding unit out there is the Polaris. Ed's got one, so I imagine he'll chime in on here in a little bit.

I've only had Toyotas for the last 20 years and have never had a luck if trouble with them. But, I don't think they play in the space you're looking at. I like the "idea" of the Ford Ecoboost. But, I'll never be towing the kind if loads you're talking about. In general, I'm not sure I like the idea of driving a big honking diesel every day just so I can haul my RV around a few times a year. But, then again I'm not retarded and have as much time like you.

As for side by sides, I don't think they're practical for the kind if riding I do. I did rent a 4 seat Yamaha out west two summers ago and tooled around the Grand Tetons. That thing was the bomb. Top speed pushing 50 loaded with a family if four. It's more like a dune buggy though.

Yep, there's no secret about how I feel about Toyotas ... but when we're talking 3/4-ton diesel rigs, I don't have a dog in the fight! ;)

I was driving to meet Lynn for lunch yesterday and on the way, spotted a 4X4 ... or SxS (?) like you're discussing. (what ARE they called anyway?) Not ATV's. Side-by-sides? (SxS ?) Anyway, this guy was driving it on the street downtown! I never could catch up to him to see what it was (my memory sucks, I think it was yellow), but it had brake lights, turn-signals, etc, so I assume it was street legal. It didn't have a regular tag on it, but looked much smaller, like maybe a motorcycle plate (?). I couldn't get close enough to see it, it "may" have been just a slip of paper (application for tag?) or something. I figured it was somebody's Christmas present. Are those things available in street legal trim? I have to admit, I haven't paid much attention to them. Heck, they're about as big as the old military surplus Jeeps people used to by for a few hundred bucks back in the 50's!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Captain

Best advice you are going to get right here....
Sell the camper and don't buy no new mackdaddy truck. The money you will save from hauling that thing all over the country in gas, payments, insurance, "camping" fees will pay for you to stay in a 4 star hotel and ordering room service anywhere and any time.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

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BAMMMMMM !!!!!

Me too, Cap....I'm glad that my wife's idea of camping is roasting marshmallows in our fireplace. ;)

I enjoy camping, but I'm not much of a "camper" fan myself. If you're going to park in "campgrounds", I could never see how the overall expense could be justified and ya' may as well "get a room". If all you do is camp in extremely remote areas (what I call "REAL" camping), they're the tits compared to a tent. My uncle bought a big Winnebago once and it sat in his driveway all but about 2-3 weekends/year. When my cousins were kids, they used it to "camp out" in the driveway sometimes (their version of camping in the back yard)! I never could understand that. The major shock came when he sold it. Man-o-man, it had zilch for miles on the odometer, but talk about depreciation!! Bucky plans on more frequent use, BUT ... like Larke says, add up ALL the expenses and I see no way in the world it even approaches being worth it to do nothing more than park in a "campground" with a bazillion other "campers" ... especially when you have to buy a high bucks "specialty" vehicle to haul it, but that's just me. Many people can say the same about boats, so it's a personal choice. At least he ain't sittin' at home on his ass watching I Love Lucy re-runs!

That was our argument for many years, but it came down to wife wanting to sleep in her own bed with her own sheets and showering using her own towels. We also like staying in places where looking out your window you're not seeing a parking lot or shopping mall.
Our main use is camping at trap shooting events, it's nice being right on the grounds, being able to take a break at your camper between events, vs. sitting in your truck.
Camping is part being social with your neighbors, cooking, eating, relaxing outdoors, and being just a little closer to nature than plastic plants in a lobby.
My druthers would be owning a big diesel pusher and towing a rag top around, but spending 200K just doesn't work right now.

True Bubba, if you have a regular hobby like that, it is nice. We used to do the same actually. My buddy had a big motorhome that we'd take to the races. At Daytona during Speed Week, we'd LIVE in that thing all week. Then there was the July (Daytona) race. We'd also take it to the Homestead (Miami) race, Atlanta, Talladega and sometimes Bristol or Charlotte. (it all depended on how much time off we could get) I have to admit, it was the cat's meow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

Its sad that a guy who loves corvettes and a guy that drives a convertible in Siberia are preaching about something being friggin' practical. sheesh.


BKB

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That right there is FUNNY

My wife and I have discussed buying a camper. I think it would have been fun to have a little mini-camper prior to the kids. At this point we'd need a decent sized one and the purchase expense, cost of towing, wear and tear on the truck, pain in the ass of fixing shit that breaks all the time, etc., etc., just isn't worth it. If we want a wilderness experience, we'll pitch a tent (we're still young enough to pull that off). Otherwise, if we want a firepit to roast hotdogs we'll rent a cabin in the woods. They usually come with more comfortable amenities than a camper (hot tub, cable, real beds, full showers, etc.) and we save money in the long run over a camper. I think a camper/RV is the WORST investment anyone could ever make. At the rate most people end up using them, it would be cheaper to rent one every now and then if you just really feel the urge to sleep in a sardine can :biggrin

It's a cult, in and unto itself. You either like it or you don't get it. It is something that my wife has literally craved for over 40 years. I did it for her. But the few times I've gone, I sincerely enjoyed it.

I made the same arguments for years. Too expensive. And it is, compared to hotels. But it's what we like to do. Cappy spends his on guns (he has 12,301, I counted in his safe). Ed buys fancy deer stands. Thump buys toyota cars he can't afford. Posthole goes on exotic vacations. Everyone spends money on something, if they have it. Anyone could say "If you stop doing that, you'd have more money", about almost anything folks do. We're an affluent society, even the poor among us. I don't know how long I have......and making the wife happy, and having fun along the way, I don't see the issue. I have to go buy a truck anyway. If we had no camper at all, we'd be trading in the Tahoe for a new Tahoe, and they cost persackly what a new truck will cost. So, same/same.

Niner, the Kubota is diesel only, and a workhorse. Guy at camp has one, cause he owns a resort and uses it there all year.....and just brings it to camp. It won't go in mud, period. It's a 'yard worker'. Flat ground, gravel, it'll out haul, out pull, anything. RTV900. But it's not a woods machine.

Thump, that yellow one was probably a Can Am Commander. No one cares if they are street legal. Cops don't even bother to look at cars' license plates anymore, they couldn't. I see tons that are 2 years out of date. No one pays any attention. In my neighborhood, ATV's are all up and down the street. And the side by sides are called several things......UTV's, SxS's....if I could get parts, I swear I think I'd go buy a used CJ. The idea is to be as nimble and "go anywhere" as a wheely, but have comfort and hauling some stuff. Compromise.

They're all too danged expensive. To get one, my IRA is going to have to take off like a rocket. We'll see. But I couldn't figure out which one to buy right now if I had $20,000 dumped in my lap magically. I just have no clue.

I totally get the RV thng. I'd probably do it myself if I wasn't pretty sure that it'd be parked somewhere for years at a time btween uses. But the people who have them and use them love doing it. I have some friends in Arizona that have an Airstream. Talk about a cult! They have a ton of fin woth theirs though.

BKB

Oh........by the way. Mama says that as long as it doesn't get 'out of hand' and we don't trash it, me and some buds can take it on long distance fishing trips!

Another big old plus.

If Toledo Bend hadn't dried up, I was thinking of going down there in February. Might start learning the "I-55 Crappie Corridor" lakes in 'Sippi.