Driving cars to work

[CascadeScaper]

Alright, quick question here guys. Who drives a car to the site? I know ideally a truck would be best, but with gas prices the way they are and the likelihood of me having to drive 60-70 miles a day next spring to the jobsite makes owning a truck, even a small truck, look like it will be expensive. Seems like most jobs I've been on never really required me to do any serious off road driving, just park the truck near the pavement most of the time anyway. I know some of you guys are carrying lots of tools, etc., but as a union apprentice I don't really know how much wrenching I'll be doing. Even then, if I end up with a car, I'd probably fill the trunk with basic tools anyway, just couldn't carry as much or as diversified as I could with a truck. Looking for thoughts/ideas, I've been tossing this around in my brain for about 3 months now. Pondered getting a Toyota Tacoma, but 20MPG on the freeway isn't anything spectacular, I had GMC 2500HD with a 6.0 Vortec that got 17-18 on the freeway after a Flowmaster exhaust and K&M filter.

 

[DuraMaxMan66]

yeah....i cant really afford to be driving my truck right now so im mainly driving my subaru wrx everywhere....hate driving it to the job getting it dirty....i dont see a problem with driving a car to the job expecially when it comes down to a long drive with high fuel prices.....unless you have alot of tools/etc to take with you

 

[rino1494]

I have a 99' chevy 2500 4x4 with a 454. I get 9-10 mpg. ointhead

 

[TRACKHOE71]

i have an 04 f350 6 liter diesel and a 92 golf gti, even though i enjoy drivng the truck id rather much keep the miles off of it as much as possible and keep some money in my pocket has much as possible and drive the car strickly to work and keep the pickup as a weekend type deal


jordan

 

[CascadeScaper]

Yeah, I've been thinking about getting a VW GTI. I'm a German car fan, have a handfull of friends driving MKII GTI's with great results. Parts are cheap and they're pretty easy to work on. And easily 35 MPG on the 8 valve motors, my buddy has a '91 Wolfsburg with a 5 speed that is an awesome car. You gotta tinker on them a little bit, but he bought his for $3200 with a motor that only has 35K on it. Still looking for more insight.

 

[TRACKHOE71]

ya i have had mine for a month now, and i like it, has 68,000 miles on it and paid 1800 bucks for it, needs a new mufler to pass inspection but i couldnt beat the price

 

[Squizzy246B]

Yeah, I've been thinking about getting a VW GTI. I'm a German car fan, have a handfull of friends driving MKII GTI's with great results. Parts are cheap and they're pretty easy to work on. And easily 35 MPG on the 8 valve motors, my buddy has a '91 Wolfsburg with a 5 speed that is an awesome car. You gotta tinker on them a little bit, but he bought his for $3200 with a motor that only has 35K on it. Still looking for more insight.

Try a Golf Turbo Diesel, go like a rocket and better than 50 mpg, unbelievable little car.

 

[CascadeScaper]

Yeah, the 1.8 liter TDI's are pretty awesome, but I'm concerned with the cost of diesel.

 

[Smarty]

I believe you will start to see Smart cars in the US soon.
I've had mine for 3 years, it's a diesel and gets about 70 mpg (imp gallon)

 

[Demoguy324]

I have a related question about the larger trucks: what kind of differences are there in MPG between say a F-250 diesel and a F-250 gasoline pickup? it's my understanding that diesel burns cleaner and more efficiently than gas, so theoretically the diesel counterpart should get significantly better milage. right?


Currently i'm driving a 4 cyl, manual 2000 Chevy S-10, which was the most fuel friendly american truck made (And coincidentally the only trucks i've owned as long as I could drive). then for some ungodly reason GM decided to do away with the S-10 in exchange for the POS colorado which gets a meere 1-2 MPG better than a real truck (v-8 silverado) and even worse than the 6 cyl silverado. my truck is in fact getting old, and will need to be replaced shortly (dropped $600 into it just this morning) , but man i'd like a hybrid truck.


here's an interesting discussion I found on the topic:
http://www.hybridcars.com/trucks/gm-hybrid-pickup-trucks.html

 

[busdrivernine]

I like to drive our Dodge but the diesel prices have got too high to buy almost, and the car get a bit better gas mileage than the truck does So I have been doing all my running around in the car .

 

[Dirtman2007]

I have a related question about the larger trucks: what kind of differences are there in MPG between say a F-250 diesel and a F-250 gasoline pickup? it's my understanding that diesel burns cleaner and more efficiently than gas, so theoretically the diesel counterpart should get significantly better milage. right?

I drive an 04 f-250 at the time and get an average of 14- 17 mpg. Hard to really tell because i'm always pulling a trailer. All I know is when I hook the tri axle trailer and the 10,000 pound skid steer to it the best I can get is about 9-11 mpg. Probably towing 14,000 pounds though, I don't think its that bad.

I've talked to a few people who has the F-250 v-10 gas motors, shortly after they all bought a f- 250 V-8 diesel. I would never buy a gas truck larger than an F150.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I had a '94 F-350 dump with a 460 gas engine and automatic. The best I could do with that truck was 6 mpg. I replaced it with a '97 F-350 with a Powerstroke and 5 speed, same rear end ratio of 4.10 and consistently got 12/13 mpg.

There are more BTUs in a gallon of #2 vs. gasoline, that is the reason for the increased fuel mileage.

 

[YoungOne]

As far as cars go. Driving to the worksite. As long as you show up on time, and ready to work. The owner/superintendent shouldnt say anything.

I just bought a 2006 Kia Rio with 2033 miles on it, 5 speed 40 miles to the gallon. For 10,000.

Love it so far.

-Michael-

 

[Pigseye]

Work Car

1990 Cavalier Station wagon, rusty and trusty, 4 cyl 28-30 mpg with all my tools in it, paid 2000 cash for it 7 years ago, and have stuck about 800-1000.00 in it and have put 90,000 plus miles on it during that time, best work investment to date for me so far.

 

[sbrem]

I believe you will start to see Smart cars in the US soon.
I've had mine for 3 years, it's a diesel and gets about 70 mpg (imp gallon)

How do you like your Smart? I have always thought they were a cool little car and would consider looking at one when they go on sale here although I don't really know if I would buy something quite that small for myself.

 

[stumpjumper83]

Myself and several other operators have taken to riding our bikes to work. I aquired a 79 yamaha xs11 runnin and inspected for a days work and ride that when I can instead of the f-150. Bike gets almost 50 mpg, and it has hardside bags that I can use for tools and stuff. A small car might be a better overall deal, but the bike is what I found for a gas saver. Who else rides a bike to work?

 

[Smarty]

Hi sbrem

They are definetly a commuter car, there is a small space behind the seats. Mine has been great, comfortable and safe (so far). I have 72,000 kms, mostly highway (90-110 kmh).

Speaking of diesel or gas, it seems the US market prefers gas so once they start importing Smart cars for the US they won't import anymore diesel Smarts for Camada.

 

[sbrem]

Hi sbrem

They are definetly a commuter car, there is a small space behind the seats. Mine has been great, comfortable and safe (so far). I have 72,000 kms, mostly highway (90-110 kmh).

Speaking of diesel or gas, it seems the US market prefers gas so once they start importing Smart cars for the US they won't import anymore diesel Smarts for Camada.

Thanks for the reply Smarty. I'll be curious how they make out selling them here. Hopefully they do well.

 

[Dozerboy]

Diesel is the way to go my GMC 2500 Crewcab 4x4 gets 20 MPG daily if I keep my foot out of it, but I love to hear that turbo and a manual TDI will get 50 MPG. My truck is my commuter it beats the heck out of the BBC and even the V6s I've had in the past.:usa I wouldn't ever drive a car no matter how far I had to drive, and 60-70 miles a day ain't nothing.