Eco car and utility trailer instead of Truck?

[BlueRidge]

Has anybody here switched from their full size truck to an eco vehicle with a utility trailer?

When seriously looking at my truck use I see that I mostly carry bulky but light items and hardly ever tow anything. I could do the same thing with a small utility trailer and the two times a year I actually need the full capacity of a truck, I could rent one.

I'm faced with a new 120 mile roundtrip commute for work and don't want to feed my F150for the trip. I have, and want to keep, a small weekend sportscar which gets better gas mileage but running up the miles will hurt it's value. I don't want to own three vehicles, two is enough.

Anybody made the switch?

Thanks, John

[Euroford]

Hi,

I had the same dilema. I switched from a full sized truck to an Escort Wagon (on Ethanol) as a daily driver, and also bought a 4x7 utility trailer for $500 (new) and it all works great.

I can carry small stuff in the wagon, and also when i need to, tow the trailer containing anything from a ride-on mower to car engines, etc, etc.. I don't regret it for a second.

Dave
Florence, SC

[xcel]

Hi John:

___First off, welcome to CleanMPG!

___I went looking for a particular pic I have seen in the past of a Euro 5 or 600 series MB sedan pulling a small utility trailer as the Europeans do all the time. Their diesels are a little bit better for that kind of activity then our small Si-ICE equipped fuel misers but anything under 1,000 #’s is usually an ok tow. Brick (Tim) found a relatively lightweight trailer online and Wri Consult found a rental from U-Haul that will work with his Prius if need be that might suffice for you as well? The following included a decent discussion about the same.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/hardw...body-6498.html

___Page 2 and 3 are where the goods can be found.

___Good Luck and again welcome to CleanMPG.

___Wayne

[BailOut]

Welcome to CleanMPG, John. I haven't made the switch yet but it is planned for the coming Spring. I'll use my Yaris as an example as I'm familiar with its capacities and capabilities, and maybe someone like Hobbit will chime in on what the Prius can do.

By selling our big boat in the Spring we will no longer have a need for the Tacoma. The Yaris will be outfitted with a "Hidden Hitch" model to tow a small "sunfish" sailboat, I will be getting a "Handi Rack" for the canoe to fit on the roof, and our snowboards fit in the hatchback without making any changes.

The hatchback also offers enough space for me to fit a whole lot of computer equipment in there, and household goods. I'm continually and pleasantly surprised at just how much stuff I can squeeze in there when the need arises.

The Yaris is rated for towing just 700 pounds but something like that sounds like it would work for you. A small, open-top utility trailer would weigh about 200 pounds and an enclosed one weighs about 300. Either format will leave you with several hundred pounds of cargo capacity in the trailer.

[NH Titan]

I was running an 05 Hyundai Elantra GT 5d which has a towing capacity of 2000 lbs. Which was the highest I found for a car that size. I towed a Home Depot trailer with it a Pop up camper trailer once. It worked for me but I needed to 2 vehicles to do any camping longer than an overnight especially when you have to take the kids bikes, firewood the coolers and so on.

Depending on you needs you could easily get by with a car and trailer. I lived in Germany 6 years and you don't see pick up trucks there and would be suprised at what cars are towing.

Good luck with your choice.

[BlueRidge]

Thanks for the link Wayne, missed it during my archive search.

Ok link spelled out the considerations well and I think my needs would be met with a small vehicle and trailer. Time to sell the F150.

Now the fun question, which small car!

In two to three years I see myself buying the next generation of diesel car burning BioDiesel, BioD is available in my area, a complete non middle east oil solution.

Not sure what to drive in the mean time.

I'd like to purchase a car that by passes the whole current gasoline economy, BioDiesel is an available technology that meets that standard today.

Been looking for a rationally priced Golf TDI in Nc Sc Ga Tn for a couple of months now without luck. Owners want new prices for a well used car, I'm sure you guys know this. VW doesn't have a great reliability record either.

If I'm going to pay new car prices, I'd rather wait and spend the money on the next generation of diesels.

My next thought is to buy a used Civic HX (03-05), yet to find a manual so far, but think it's a good value while I wait for next gen Diesels.

Prices for used Hybrids are high. If I'm going to buy another gasoline powered car, I'd rather buy an inexpensive used car for now.

I'm facing a 120 mile roundtrip commute, so I want something comfortable.
Where are the Civic HXs hiding? Were they only available in the North East and CA?

Thanks for your help guys, John

[xcel]

Hi John:

___Might I point you to the Reviews for a quick look at something you possibly seek? In a few years anyway

___In the mean time, 03 – 05 HX’s are not cheap in the least either. If you are looking for new but inexpensive to get you through the next 2 years, a soon to arrive 08 Yaris with the safety package would get you through the period with great FE and in reasonable comfort. I bet its easily worth 60 mpg when pushed too A used Ford Focus PZEV with a stick can do pretty well and for a lot less $ outlay. Find a used PZEV Focus wagon and you may never need to haul a trailer?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[BlueRidge]

__ Yes, next gen Diesels like you've reviewed, fueled with BioD are my long term plan.

__ I'm beginning to believe that unicorns drive manual Civic HXs, haven't "seen" one yet.

__ Qs about Focus, Duratec engined are best for FE (2003-2007)?

PZEV is a cleaner version of the Duratec only sold in the northeast and CA? I would
confrim PZEV on the door ID tag for years before Ford started badging them? So far
haven't seen local (NC) used Focus advertised as PZEV.

Top Focus FE guys seem to be driving ZX3s, are ZX5s and ZTW wagons as capable?

EPA figures for Focus are not exceptional, are they just good "gliders", or respond
better than others to SGII driving, M1 and 50psi?

Read about a guy on gassavers with a ZX2 Escort, aero mods, hypermiling, achieving
100mpg. Wild to see an average Joe, in an 8 year old car, outdoing Ford engineers
spending tens of millions of dollars on FE development. And that I know about it in
a small town in NC? Well thats the power of the internet. This is fun.

Thanks, John

[xcel]

Hi John:

___You may not find a PZEV equipped Focus in NC but who said you had to purchase your next vehicle in NC?

___The ZX5 and ZTW’s are just as capable.

___Almost everything can be taken to extremely great numbers. It all depends on the driver.

___Ford Engineers are designing their vehicles for everybody on every road, not a P&G’er. 100 mpg at 50 in a ZX2? Highly doubt it. 100 mpg on a back road P&G’ing? The Ranger P/U has seen 85 so a ZX2 should see plenty more with far LRR tires and 500 + pounds less weight not going along for the ride

___Just passing along a few ideas when it comes to a Focus is all. You can find used ones for dirt cheap vs. anything new although I would still consider a Yaris w/ the full safety package as that is another 100 + mpg driver under the right conditions.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[psic]

Hi, BlueRidge, and welcome

First about the towing: my old Toyota has 106 HP and average torqe (1.8 liter gas engine) and I just recently towed a small utility trailer with quite a bit of furniture with no trouble at all. My dad used to tow up to 1300 pounds with this car (which is it's max. towing capacity) and never had a problem. Sure, you won't be doing 90 or 100 MPH, but hell, I never drive that fast anyway. I didn't tow enough to be able to notice a difference in my fuel economy, but in the long run, smaller car + utility trailer is definitely worth it.

As for the car, Wayne's suggestion of a Yaris is good, though I like the diesel Civic he reviewed much more, though you will probably have to wait for that one

A Golf TDI would also be a great choice, plenty of torgue for towing stuff there. But as Wayne has pointed out, you can get great FE numbers from most cars out there if you try hard enough.