Truck Dilemma!!!(Long)

[jorgensensc]

Here's the situation:
I'm moving back to Houston next week from California. I live in a suburb called Cypress. My commute to work will be He!!. Gas will end up eating me alive!!! The wife and I were discussing this and I suggested buying a 2500.00 clunker for work and keep the truck. She suggests I sell the truck and get something else better on gas and use the difference and pay off some of our debt. She keeps reminding me how lucky I've been to own the vehicles that I've had, and that most people don't own a truck as nice as this one until they are in their 40s. Please keep in mind she has been supportive of my truck obsession. We just bought a new house and have a daughter. I'm getting out of the military next week (hence the move) and I have to find a good job.
We are not hurting for money, but like most Americans, we are in debt.
How are the new engines for these trucks as far as gas mileage?
I had an LT1 in an S-10 and it was awesome, but this ain't no light S-10. So MPG's from you LT1 guys would be good!! I thought about an LS1, but that will be an expensive swap. What about the newer Vortecs? How are those MPG's in these trucks?? My 350 now gets about 12 mpg's in city and highway driving with a 350 tranny. If I put a 700 tranny, how much better would my mileage be with the overdrive?? I'm just looking for other solutions other than selling my truck.
Obviosley I LOVE my truck and don't want to sell it, and she hasn't said I have to, but I've spent my whole life going against the grain, and the decisions don't just involve me now, they involve my family. I'm just trying to make the best decision here.
What do y'all think??
Sorry for the long post, and thanks for letting me blabber!!

[Martin64]

Having been in the same situation before and buying a new vehicle to replace the "gas guzzler" just set me off into a worse situation and further in debt. If I had to do that part over again I would have kept the "guzzler" and bought a newer vehicle when I finally got on my feet. I figured out that it took me twice as long to get out of debt and the money gained for selling the old rig was quickly consumed and I was no better off...... I'd keep the truck and be a bit conservative on my daily spending until things get better.

[jorgensensc]

Thanks for the advice and different perspective Martin64. I was going to buy like a '93 s-10 or s-10 blazer and pay it off. But I am worried about the whole smog thing. I just see it becoming a money pit trying to pass it every year. With my '72 Idon't have toworry about smog, and that is one less thing to worry about. Thanks!!

[old Rusty C10]

dont get rid of your truck youll regret it and frankly my ex wife made me get rid of an olds cutlass i had once (1969) and i still am annoyed about that to this day i say keep your truck for your love of trucks and then buy a cheap ricer to commute with as ya can afford it the sconomy is turning around youll get ahead hell i did

[boraxman]

Buy yourself a 10 year old Toyota, Honda or Nissan for your daily driver and keep your truck.

I have a '92 Toyota 4x4 with 153,000 mi. for my daily driver. Runs great, dependable and cheap to drive. Paid $2600 couple of years ago.

[Cat Fuzz]

I would think the overdrive would help alot. I get 12 MPG with my 327 in my truck that has 3.73 gears in the rear and no overdrive. The same engine in the previous vehicle I had that had 2.56 gears got 20 MPG.

[bigvinnie]

keep the truck and find an economy clunker, you can find other ways of paying off debt... I'm in the same situation with my toys and some cc debt, but the wife and I sat down and did a detailed monthly income vs. expense worksheet and found other places to free up money to funnel onto the credit cards... we could see exactly where every penny was going each month and it helped alot.

roast vs. steak and blockbuster vs. going to the movies, etc...
slight changes in lifestyle added up to a lotta money we could channel toward debt reduction...

[jorgensensc]

Thanks for all of the responses!! We are going to sit down tonight and look at our budget. I hope some of our expenses will disappear when I move back home. Right now we have extra expenses with my food here (Cali) and her food there (Tx) and all of the other things involved. I'm really leaning towards the clunker idea, but we really don't have the extra 2500.00 right now either. We spent a lot of our savings when we bought the house (that's what savings is for, right?) Oh the pain!!!!

[Palf70Step]

Not exactly the same, but my 96 with 350 & overdrive I average around 14 in town 18 on highway. (3.42 rear gears) I think I would keep your truck and see how it goes for a while. Don't know what you have for gears but if you go to a 3.08 or even to a 2.76 I think you'll get more MPG bang for you buck than another tranny. If it turns out you need something later, then invest. I wouldn't go in debt anymore to get better MPG. The difference in MPG and a car payment is a big difference.

[1970blazin]

Buy a little Honda or Toyota car to commute in and keep your truck in a garage or under cover storage. I have always had to worry about gas mileage and have owned Honda's- You can get an old Civic or Accord for real cheap and keep your truck nice too!!! DONT SELL IT!!!!

[Steven Sellers]

Man dont sell the truck look hard in the country and you will find a cheap rice mobile. i bought a 88 Toyota pickup in Feb for 200.00 it gets 28 miles per and I can haul stuff in it. i know you dont find these deals everyday but they can be found cheap.

I dont have a digital cam or I would take a pic of it you would S^&T yourself at the deal I got and I am no good at talking down peeps on their vehicles so keep your mind open and you can keep the real truck.

Steve

[Truck Hippy]

I think you could get upwards of 20 mpg with some fine tuning and easy driving out of your truck. What kind of milage are you want to get out of a beater? If it were me I would give up a few mpg to beable to drive my truck vs. a import or something I wasn't happy driving. Good luck. Wes.

[PanelDeland]

If $$ is the prob with a beater.Wait until you have a job and figure out your commute.If you do have a long commute do the pay by the week beater for anecono-box and keep the truck.

[cableguy0]

unless you want to beat yourself up over it for years to come DO NOT sell the truck you will regret it for a long time. i dont mean to sound ignorant or rude or anything like that but just out of curiousity why did u buy a house without having a job lined up that was fairly close to the house

[frogsmakr]

I say embrace "the sickness" with a 71 or 72 6 cyl 3 tree shorty outta your beloved TX. Thatta way your still driving a cool truk with allright mileage if you drive right. If you dont like it (yeah, right) it will ALWAYS sell.

[lolife99]

I sold a sweet '72 2wd Blazer about 10 years ago, just to pay some bills. To this day it's the only vehicle I wish I still had. P.S. You will always have bills.

[dtlilly]

If it was me in your shoes, with a family, house, no job, I would sell the truck in CA where you most likely get more for it than in Houston. I know it's an unpopular viewpoint, but trucks can be replaced...wives can be replaced too, but at a much higher cost.

[StingRay]

I sold my new car and bought my 72 when I bought my house. Yes it sucks gas compared to alot of other vehicles but when I bought it with 62,000 original miles a bit over 10 years ago I only paid $2800.00 Canadian for it. It was easy to justify the gas when you consider the cost of money for anything more modern. Another payoff is that it costs less than half of most vehicles to register/insure here. Repairs are strictly DIY and I was able to save tons over the years there. We have 5 licensed vehicles now (way too many) and I still drive my truck to work most days.

[krue]

If you are trying to get out of debt try this site. here He has some really good advice that helped me a lot.

[smitty62]

First of all, forget getting any good mileage out of your truck. Keep in mind that the main reason that new trucks get better mileage is because of better aerodynamics--our trucks are like pushing a brick or billboard sideways! Proponents of OD transmissions tout the improved mileage--at best this is a whole 30%. What's that? 3--maybe 4 mpg? Forget it!
However--KEEP THE TRUCK!! You may think there are plenty of others you could replace it with, but finding good ones FOR SALE is going to become very difficult very fast. You'll never replace it no matter how much you think you will. You WILL regret it if you sell it! Been there-done that!
I suggest you start your new job, wait 2-3 months and then see if you are in a position to purchase a good used economy vehicle. Good used cars are a glut on the market now because of low interest rates and the fact that people can buy a new one for no money down. The silliest thing that people do is justify buying a new car for the mileage. Think how much gas you can buy for $20,000!!
Just my 2 1/2 cents---------- GOOD LUCK!!

[N2TRUX]

jorgensensc, I don't think there is much you are going to do that will get you decent mileage without spending more than it's worth

I have had quit a few GM trucks that go as far back as a 79 Big 10 when it was new, all the way up to my current daily driver of an 02 1500HD GMC. I have never gotten any better than about 17 mpg. That was a 97 1/2 ton crewcab with a Vortec 5.7 and 3.73 gears. Just about every other combo I have had netted around 13 mpg. My 77 Cheyenne with a 350/350 combo and 3.07 gears gets about 10 mpg.

I don't know where you will be driving to work at, but the good news is gas prices have been dropping around here. Before the holiday hike, I saw regular unleaded at 1.25.

Regardless of your decision, welcome to Cypress. You'll love it out here...

[jorgensensc]

Thanks to everyone who has posted!!! I really appreciate all of the insight and input! We discussed it and I'm going to hang on to it for now, and we will reevaluate the situation in a few months after our routine is down. It is great to have a board that supports the members like this one does!!

cableguy0,
Your not being rude at all!! The reason we bought the house was several:
It is close to relatives
The relatives watch our daughter free of charge ( and I've tried to talk them out of it, or at least pay them, and they won't hear of it)
When I got back from Iraq the interests rates were low, and I didn't want to miss out.
The wife travels alot for work, and one of the airports isn't that far.
Also, I fell in love with the area when we saw it. It has great trees, and such and is not in the middle of Houston!!

Krue,
Thanks for the websight!! I will look into it!!

N2TRUX,
I do Love it there!!! It is beautiful and I love all of the trees. It feels almost like the country, without being too far away from the city!!! I look forward to hangin' out soon!!!!

Thanks again to everyone for the responses!!!!
Shawn

[nu2-72]

A friend and I were talking one day. He told me that he had just purchased a used Honda motorcycle for his commute to work. Great gas saver. Was going to help a bunch on expenses.
I laughed.
Let's see. About $3500.00 for the bike. 7% sales tax. Yearly insurance and personal property taxes. Helmets for two. Oil, filters and so on.
I figured he spent about $4500.00. At gas prices here now ($1.32 per gal.) you can buy 3,333 gallons of fuel. At 12 mpg that is 39,999.9 miles of driving. About 4 years for me.
Figure the extra expense of whatever you are going to buy. Cash out of your pocket or worse yet, a loan with interest. All up front with sales tax and more. Or, watch your driving and make your weekly payment to the gas tank. Drive what you enjoy and keep the banks looking for someone else to bleed.
A second vehicle for gas savings does not really make sense. Make yours the best it can be and enjoy.
What is the return on a 700R4? $1200.00 for a tranny and then the incedentals for the swap. Thats 909 gallons at 12 mpg for 10909.09 miles of driving to break even.
Just my thoughts.

[miket]

Jorg,

I have gone through this once already with my wife. Selling my 61 allowed us to get positioned to buy a house. I now have quite a few nice cars. I "hold out". And I guess what I mean is my vehicles mean "X" to me. So unless the cause for sale means "X" to me or my wife, I don't sell them...unless I decide to.

We really needed to buy a house and so it made sense.....plus the truck was in Anchorage.

The mileage thing. As everyone else said, "forget getting mileage out of your truck". My 94 Caprice 9C1 LT1 gets about 18-20 on the highway light footing it. I would purchase a small compact....either real cheap and pay cash or I believe you can get into a Honda Civic (great gas mileage) for a low monthly payment. Not to mention....if you are driving a distance....you won't want the hassle of a beater and the possibility of breaking down....costing you MORE money. The car payment could almost be made up in the gas you won't be spending on your truck or another vehicle.

When I am faced with a situation like this...I get REAL creative in making things work so I can keep whats paid for and enjoyable as a hobby.

[my new 72]

Hey man, I am selling a 96 Toyota Tacoma Extended cab P/U for about what you are looking to spend. It has the V6 and has been taken care of rather well. It has a few miles on it, but is a strong runner. New shocks, timing belts, O2 sensors and plugs. Gets around 23MPG. It's even in Houston.