Time to rethink about hunting vehicle

[imskippy]

Here is a good video to watch if you are interested.

 

[Soilarch]

At $25 for 90 miles with $4.00 gas its 6.25gallons for 90 miles so...14.4mpg

So I really don't know if we're talking gas or diesel.  I've seen diesels that low.

Is so, save the money for a second vehicle and buy one of those $400 chips.  It'll pay for itself in mpg long before the extra vehicle will.

Dad's new F250 went from 16 to 20 and I don't know what his older F250 got originally but it got 22 unless we pulled our 20' trailer with a 180horse diesel generator on board...then it got 20.  But it was 2WD

[John3]

Eric,,

What the others have said... I did the math earlier in the year. The opportunity cost was just too high. In my case this was the Diesel fuel. Diesel would have needed to go to around $8.00+ a gallon to make any change cost effective...  Even at a five/six year pro-rate.

It's not all bad as of today on my way home reg. GAS was $3.08 and Diesel was $3.68.. I thought wow I can save $40 a fill up over last summer...LOL

We should all be able to run CNG at $2 a gallon. America is full of natural gas.. Clean, cheap and AMERICAN.

Good luck out there.

John III

[gregg dudley]

Took my wife's shiny new Acura to Georgia two weeks ago and brought a pig home in the trunk.  Her car's 30 mpg beats 14 mpg in my truck.

I tried to get her to buy a hyundai,  I figured that you could get one for $159 per month and we would save $200 per month in gas.  She could have had three of them in different colors to match her outfits for what the Acura cost.  Oh well.

[fowlarcher]

Even if it costs more to get a more fuel efficient vehicle it is worth doing because we NEED to burn less fuel.
If you look around and make an honest assessment you'll see we really are a large nation of pigs. Maybe an unpopular thing to say but it is true.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I used to own a tracker. You can find them relatively cheap ($500- $800) they may be in a little bit of a rough state but you want a hunting vehicle. Easy on gas and with good tires and 4 wheel very hard to get hung up. I know from experience plus I know guys who use them for weekend off-road vehicles. From my experience for what you want a Tracker/ Samurai type vehicle is what you want.

[ethan]

A really good friend of mine (Bear) just bought a Honda CR-V and the gas mileage beats the heck out of my truck and I think it looks pretty cool to boot.  My next vehicle will definately be alot more along those lines.  It may take alot of hunting trips to catch up the expense of getting something like that, but it won't take long driving all year long.

[DEATHMASTER]

In my younger days I went to a mud run in my dads 1978 vw rabbit diesel (58mpg). It rained that day and we were all parked on a hill in a farmers field. The rabbit spun the little tires and climbed out while others in 4x4 was being pulled by true 4x4.
With gas cost iI searched and found a pristine 1980 vw rabbit diesel 54 mpg and have the parts to turn it into a veggie oil burner.

Insurance for my truck and rabbit comes out $10 more because they figure one is parked.
I my not make up the cost of the car but what a great ride and I can go 500 miles befor I think of getting out a little money to fill up.

PARK THE TRUCK AND SAVE THE WHEAR AND TEAR.
I should have my Toyota for MANY years to come I only put on 3000 miles last year.

[Featherbuster]

I used my wife's Lexus ONE time to go hunting, because my truck was in the shop.  Needless to say when she saw the hog in the back, she didnt let take her truck hunting again.  Me and my brother got a good laugh out of it though.    

[jmdavis]

Sixty miles each way for me. I drive a 1993 Ranger 4wd  that I bought new (first and only). Even with the v6, I got 23.4 MPG last trip.

My worst mileage since I went back to a stock tire size is 20.5 mpg. That was with 2 hours of idling in crawling traffic at an accident that shutdown the interstate, one our of idling as I planted an acre of winter wheat by track headlights and 20 minutes of the truck serving as a tractor while I used a chainlink fence gate to cover the seeds. My best mileage with stick tires was 27 on a trip through the Shenandoah Valley.

My point is that there are some American 4wd vehicles that are both practical and relatively efficient.

[rascal]

Yup I feel for ya bud, my lease is 3.5 - 4 hours away from where I live (200+ miles one way)and I have an F250 Super Crew Cab 4 x 4 with....you guessed it the V10!!!!  The good thing is it gets 13 mpg uphill, downhill, loaded, empty, with the wind, against the wind...you get the point.  I share a ride as often as possible with hunting partners to save a bit of gas and we are buying a double wall tent this year to eliminate the hotel cost.  We generally pack our food etc.

Just gotta be creative with what you have I guess cause the extra expense of a "hunting vehicle" makes it impractical even with my big hawg of a truck.

[koger]

I have a 98 Nissan 2WD pickup, 4 banger, 5 speed, 55& under gets me 32mpg, you might want to look around for one of these. Been driving this one to work, 60 miles round trip a day for 8 years, never used any  oil, replaced the clutch, alternator and standard maientance. Just rolled over 220,000 miles. With good off road tires these go like the dickens, geared just right in the lower two gears. Hope this helps.

[bihunter]

I had a 2001 F150 reg. cab 4x4 8Ft. box with a fiberglasscap. I got about 12 mpg average. I averaged $80.00  a week in gas & I don't drive all that much or that far on average. I traded for a Jeep Patriot. Now I get a little better than 25mpg city & a little better than 26mpg highway. Cut my fuel bill in half. I bought a fold-up carrier for hauling deer. Works for me.

[Deff]

I drive a 1990 Geo Tracker 4WD (same thing as a Suzuki Sidekick).  It gets 30 mpg on the gravel  roads and seams to run forever offroad  on a tank of gas.   It has been a very reliable rig and what few parts I have needed seem to be priced reasonably.  
Mine is a two door model -- the four door ones drive better and have twice the  cargo space.

Problems:
The ones with a rag top are a pain ---
Not much room for equipment.
Not a great rig for on the highway.
Will have to go home and get the truck if I stumble across an elk dumb enough to let me shoot it!
Bought mine for $1500 a couple of years ago,  folks seem to be asking a lot more for them now.

[snag]

How about a Norton 750 Commando with a sidecar to haul elk/deer/pack,etc!    

[woodchucker]

Well Eric.....Knowing the fine Master Craftsman that you are.....  

I would keep the F-250 and just put gas in it.

Using the mindset that everything you make yourself (bows,arrows and such) saves you money that you can now put in your tank. Your still WAY farther ahead than guys who have to (or just want to) buy all of their gear.

[Dave Bulla]

I also owned a 96 Geo Tracker and loved it.  got the same 30mpg everyone else did and as a 5 speed, it was just simply FUN to drive.

The 4WD worked great right up until it didn't work at all... Turned out my hubs were rusty.  Easy fix.  I actually thought it was quite roomy.  I can honestly say it had a little bit more leg room up front than my wifes 98 Expedition does as I bought the same exact aftermarket floor mats and there was a good bit more room for them in the Geo than the Ford.  With the back seats folded down, you have a pretty decent sized storage area that would certainly fit a deer.  Ya might have to throw your pack on the front passenger seat but who cares?

Around here the farmers buy old Geo's or Samurais to use in place of 4 wheelers around the farm.  You can get a Geo for about $1,000 and it will go darn near anywhere the 4 wheeler will go plus it's got a radio and a roof.  Then if they need to run to town, it can do that too.

They'll curise cross country at 75 to 80 mph but much faster made me nervous as the rpms are getting up there.

The REAL ride though is to find a VW rabbit turbo diesel engine and put it in the Geo.  I heard they have kits to do it and you end up with twice the torque, about 45mpg and an engine that will go 400,000 miles.  I sold mine to a mechanic buddy and he's thinking about doing it to that one but the gas engine runs so good it's kinda a waste until it goes out.

[Rubiolio]

Put a detroit locker and good tires on the back of a 2wd pickup and it'll go most places a stock 4wd
truck will and get better mileage.

[Clay Hayes]

Trade that Ford in on a Dodge Diesel 2500.  I get 22mpg highway and 16 towing, and it's 4 wheel drive.

ch

[bowmac]

Eric, I understand I have a Ford Supercrew and a Chevy Silverado. I need them in my business but here is what I use for local hunting. A 92 Geo Tracker that I chipped out. I gave $400 for it 2 years ago and fixed it up a bit. For Winter time I lock in the hubs and leave them that way til summer. I have got a look or two for strapping a deer over the hood but it was done that way for years.