Anyone else thinking of giving it up?

[al's71gmc]

Mine's a daily driver. About 20 round trip to work. I don't try to figure all the expenses saved/spent. I bought this truck cause it's what I want to drive. I chew Copenhagen(not kodiak) I drink Jack Daniels and Bud(not Early Times and Natural Light) and I drive a Classic GMC (not a Honda). Last year I probably spent over $1500 hunting for a deer. It wasn,t to put meat on the table! I can go to the grocery store and do that. I enjoy hunting. Those are my choices. No one can tell you what's right for you. I spend most of my life working and taking care of obligations, so I spend my leisure time and money on my preferences. It will take alot more than $4 gas to make me park my truck.

Originally Posted by nu2-72

When I guess I see it this way. If I give up everything I enjoy because of price, I would give up everything. How much does hunting really cost per pound, or fishing, or old trucks?
I am going to do what I want. And when I die, I can say that I have no regrets. I did it my way. Maybe not as often as I would have liked but I will not give up.

Well said!
Al

[jhow66]

I am with "Dano" '. Just came back from making a parts run (wife's '99 Cavalier) to get parts for my son's '72 BB Blazer (I have 502 BB '72 Cheyenne) and saw the new gas prices-3.09 for reg--3.29 for 93 (my kind). When I got my 1st car (I am 70 yrs. young) gas was .17 a gallon. You would pull up to the pump and say give me .50 worth and they would clean yor windshield and check your oil. When gas got to be .50 per gallon you heard the samething you are hearing now. I notice that all that are still alive from that era are still driving. So I say "keep on trucking".

[hilljob26]

i dont know,i look at it this way,with my 2004 silverado payment,insurance and gas,i spend about 750 a month on 1 truck,if i just had to pay the gas for my 72,it might reach 200 a month,i dont know about you all,but 200-300 is alot better then 750+ dont ya think,i just get sick of paying for a truck,id much rather pay for gas,i look at it like buying the beer for my truck every week,i mean if beer gets too high,are we all going to start drinking old molwakee,heck no,we going w/ the good stuff,thats just my .02

[LUV2XCLR8]

When gas was $2 a gallon I couldn't sell my Honda, now it's going to $3
for sure, maybe even $4 according to CNN this afternoon, I told my wife
last night, if it passes $3 we are putting tags & insurance back on it and
I will be driving the lil rice b@stard to work and back again, this sucks
& yes you can flame me for this, I Luv my F150 & hate that damn Hond@

[oldsub86]

I just bought a 99 Ford F150 4X4 with a 4.2 V6 and a 5 speed manual today. It is regular cab with the short box. A relatively small truck. It has to do better on gas than my 68 Chevy and it has AC too!

My elder son and I went to look at another truck about 60 miles out of town on Saturday. I put $30 gas in before we left and had to put another $20 in to get home. The old truck runs nice and rides good etc but it is thirsty. I like it but it just isn't efficient to run it any distance anymore.

I also bought a 1976 Mercedes 300D this summer. It runs nice and does about 29 mpg on diesel on the highway. Around the city it is doing about 26 mpg. (these are imperial gallons as I am in Canada) If fuel prices get much worse, I'll be looking at the bio diesel conversions and running some of that too.

I have really been thinking about what we can do with our boats too. Unless I want to replace our older 2 cycle motors with newer 4 stroke versions, it will be expensive to run them. I did a 70 mile trip about 2 weeks ago and it only took about 15 gallons which doesn't seem too bad until you realize that it cost about $75 with the oil. A bit stiff since it amounts to about 5 mpg. We are not running anything outrageous either. This is a 70 HP Johnson that I am referring to and we were travelling throttled back somewhat to an easy cruising speed of about 25 mph. The smaller boat does a little better as it is a 35 HP Evinrude. Fishing is getting expensive. We are 180 miles from our place at the lake so we have fuel costs to get out there for the weekend and then the costs for the boat fuel.

Our world as we knew it is changing and not for the better I am afraid.

[Cat Fuzz]

I won't be giving up my truck, thats for sure. I'm not sure what I'll do though. Gas is stupid right now. I'd drive my 6 cylinder convertible Comet but the top needs to be replaced. I don't know if buying a smaller car for a daily driver would save money or not. I'd have a car payment for awhile, then the added insurance cost then, where the heck would I park it? The Comet stays in the garage, and my truck and wifes car get parked by the curb. Screw it, I'll just stick it out for now.

[SERE]

I drove my 68GMC that restored, for 12 + years. I had $15000 invested , sold it last month for $5500. I figure that at about $50 a month + gas (12.6 MPG) to drive one awesome truck for 12 yrs.

Now my 69 GMC 454 BB LWB 4x4 Stepside 12.8 MPG, that took me just over 7 years to build, it going to bring me a whole lot of enjoyment over the years.

I am in the Air Force and I could get killed on one of my mission's or driving to church????

I for one, am going to drive my old truck and enjoy ever single minute of it,
for I may die tomorrow.

[dion]

As long as gas stays around $3.00 I'll keep driving daily but if it get's up to the 4-5 dollar range I will drive the shop truck to/from work but either way I would NEVER get rid of my truck, that's for sure!

[CHEVYE]

that's what the missus always tells me (she has an 03 pontiac vibe) she laughs at me for hogging gas. she's the one paying a $400+ note per mo., over $1000 per year on insurance, and not to mention high $$$ 16" tires. when she brings that up i tell her i'll glady pay for gas in my paid off truck that i pay $165 per year to insure. then i run the snot out of cheap 15" tires fot it.

either way it usually works out the same in the end.

[CHEVYE]

i don't blame ya one bit Craig. as long as you don't think of getting rid of your bad a$$ blazer, i wouldn't flame ya one bit for cruising a rice box to work.

[68 Stepside]

My truck is on the back burner already, if I were to throw in the towel, I wouldn't have any more money anyway. This whole situation does kinda suck though. I went to chicago twice a month last year, can't afford to now.

[68gmcdually]

I am a little depressed since now that I finally have the truck of my dreams it spends most of its time sitting in the driveway while I drive the LPG powered work truck back and forth to work. I still work the '68 but only for special occassions and just to unwind and have some fun. As stated before we all have to have fun. Gas is the same hear as what 72MARIO said, about $1.20 per litre.

[chevyboy55]

Dont sell it. Put in the garage & wait out the gas crunch. If you sell it you will see one later in life & be like those of us that say "man I kick myself for selling my(fill in the blank)

[panhandler62]

Daily driver is a SCION xB

My kids soooooooo want me to buy one of those.

[HeavyD]

If I had to drive my old bomb daily I would be worried about gas prices, but since I also drive a $2000 Honda the price doesn't bother me that much.
If the truck needs gas, I fill it. The only thing that makes me want to throw in the towel is that d@mned rust. Everything has rust..it needs every body panel. But quit because of fuel cost? Naaah. I really urge those who finding the gas prices too much to handle to not drive the beast as an everyday commuter. For going to the grocery store, kids ball game, etc. get a small or meduim sized car. My Honda is an ugly POS, but it cost me almost nothing and rarely breaks. I pay for gas and oil changes and save the extra $$ to blow on truck parts. Added to this, I just don't worry when I get a door ding or it starts to rust more. Buy a regular car and relax at the movies without worrying if some punk is making off with your new 20 inch rims. Now if you can't do this for whatever reason, then so be it, but if at all possible I suggest trying a cheap second car rather than bailing on the truck.

[chip46wis]

I wont sell mine 69 step or reduce its value-------its not a real money issue as to its worth---if it was for all things we wouldnt do much-----example-------a friend at work is a avid fisherman-----buys a new boat every 4-5 years---we roughly figured his cost-------gas- license--tow vehicle--baits--rods reels----insurance ect ect its very expensive fish-----but like he said I ENJOY IT and will continue to do it------as a thought anyone else remeber the early 70s when musclecars were a giveaway?-------I remember $500 road runners $1500 vettes ect-we got through it and will again-----

[chip46wis]

I wont sell mine 69 step or reduce its value-------its not a real money issue as to its worth---if it was for all things we wouldnt do much-----example-------a friend at work is a avid fisherman-----buys a new boat every 4-5 years---we roughly figured his cost-------gas- license--tow vehicle--baits--rods reels----insurance ect ect its very expensive fish-----but like he said I ENJOY IT and will continue to do it------as a thought anyone else remember the early 70s when musclecars were a giveaway?-------I remember $500 road runners $1500 vettes ect-we got through it and will again-----

[72 CustomCamper]

Originally Posted by Scrubby

With gas prices to hit $3/gallon this week and no end in sight, is anyone else thinking that it is not too wise to throw money into an old truck that gets 10 mpg?

I wish I could get 10 mpg. Try a truck that gets about 4 mpg...


Chuck

[Longhorn Man]

This is why I live about 6 or so miles from work. My morning commute is before most ppl are awake, and my evening commute is normally after everyone is home and watching the stupid reality shows.
like anything else I enjoy that is expensive, I try not to look at the price too much. It's like when i was asked how much the bottel of jack I just brought home was... I said I dunno, if I looked, i probably wouldn't have bought it, and what fun would that be?
On a side note, it looks like I am going in the oposite direction. I just drove the longhorn home from work today, been cruising around all evening...and parkled the fuel injected overdrive equipped town car. (it only got 12 - 16 MPG anyways...between the 200,000 miles on the clock and my right foot...it wasn't too friendly at the pump)

[hilljob26]

look at it this way,at least we have something to put gas in right now,i feel sorry for all those that there beloved trucks are 20 feet under water,i think we all need to hunker down and ride it out in fashion,nothin better then cruisin in your truck,

[clay68c10]

The truck is for fun on the weekend and when I need to haul stuff. The 'yota and the tdi get us to work and back at 32mpg.
It will be interesting to see what happens with diesel when the US goes to low sulfur fuel in '07. 80% of all cars in europe are diesel now, that includes the luxo stuff. Mercedes offers oil burners in all their stuff, even the roadsters. There will be more of that here soon. Maybe a Duramax will replace my 454 someday......

[RicksTrucks]

Amen. I hate to add up what I have spent deer hunting and fishing. Definitely by the pound would be way too expensive to justify. But the week in the woods every Thanksgiving is "priceless" as the commercial says. I would hate to think what the price of the parts I have stashed away would have cost for a new car or truck. And the $24/month insurance isn't bad either, with no car payment. Example -my son's wifes Intrepid we think has lost the fuel pump, $200 used and $400 new. That would buy me some fun times gasoline.

[Ogier]

One 1969 LWB truck: $125.00
One Cadillac 472 engine and all the conversion stuff: $700.00
Insurance: $25.00/month
Gas bill for driving daily: $150.00/month

Making some braindead dipshtick in a rice grinder with fart pipes actually stop at a red light because I am able to jump right out in front of him when mine turns green: Priceless!!!

[Russell]

My truck is gonna get finished, and have occasional driver insurance put onto it, I'll drive it only on nasty weather days when a guy gets like 4 feet of snow overnight, or when its really cold and I need a vehicle I know will start. Other than that, she'll live in the heated shop and look pretty, lol. I've got a cheap to run beater that I am dding right now, and it does plenty well for what I need it to do.

When I go to university, she'll still live in the heated shop while I walk / ride my bike to school every day, by the time I get out, gas should be a bit cheaper, and I'll be able to drive her again. By that point she is gonna be getting to be a pretty uncommon truck already, as many of the 73-87s are getting crushed cause their owners cannot afford to drive them anymore.

[Americanrider]

Never giving up here, just changing a few mods. Stick with TALL skinny tires, a higher gearset, triming some excess weight. Plan all my trips, shop by phone & internet, drive with one eye on the tach trying not to exceed 2500 rpm. It all helps. I'll be dammed if anyone would ever catch me in something as FUGLY as those (battery included) rice burner elements, scions, hydias or whatever you call them. I have never owned an import and NEVER will. If it gets that bad I'll buy a horse or walk!