I have some acreage in Northwest Pennsylvania and I was contemplating building a small cabin there to use for a couple of weeks each summer and the occasional hunting/playing in the snow trip. I had determined that it would cost me about $30,000 to build the cabin and then of course my property taxes would skyrocket. So... I thought I would be clever and I decided that it would be better if I bought something like the toy hauler in the video below. My thinking was that we could use it for when we traveled anywhere instead of only to NWPA.
Well... then I discover the wonderful world of GVWR and GCWR so I find myself testing a Ford F250 Super Duty for a couple of days courtesy of the local Ford dealer. This one is a Lariat trim package and has way more bells and whistles than I would like (including leather which Mrs. Parallel hates), but it's a decent deal at about $50,000 for one with the crew cab and the 6.7 L Powerstroke Diesel engine.
Then I'm hearing that I don't REALLY want to tow that particular toy hauler with an F250, some are saying that I need at least an F350 and that an F450 would be better. Well, we have decided that it's just not worth the hassle much less the amount of $$ involved. For one thing I just can't stand having a vehicle loan now that I've been without one for nearly fifteen years. I had about half of what would have been needed to put down... but I still couldn't stomach the loan terms. Mrs Parallel made a salient point a couple of nights ago that drove this decision; she said that if we bought this toy hauler and a truck capable of towing it we'd be working way more than we had to to pay for it and therefore wouldn't have the time to use it. This rings true to me and, as someone pointed out to me somewhere... you can stay a lot of nights in a Hotel for $100,000+.
So, I took the truck back and said thanks but no thanks and then I bought a new 2014 Triumph Scrambler to make me feel better.
So now the plan is to enjoy the scrambler, NOT build anything on the land, put enough money into my old Chevy Z-71 to make her a reliable toy hauler sans the travel trailer aspect and just LIVE LIFE instead of working to pay for stuff. Sounds like a good plan to me.
Well... then I discover the wonderful world of GVWR and GCWR so I find myself testing a Ford F250 Super Duty for a couple of days courtesy of the local Ford dealer. This one is a Lariat trim package and has way more bells and whistles than I would like (including leather which Mrs. Parallel hates), but it's a decent deal at about $50,000 for one with the crew cab and the 6.7 L Powerstroke Diesel engine.
Then I'm hearing that I don't REALLY want to tow that particular toy hauler with an F250, some are saying that I need at least an F350 and that an F450 would be better. Well, we have decided that it's just not worth the hassle much less the amount of $$ involved. For one thing I just can't stand having a vehicle loan now that I've been without one for nearly fifteen years. I had about half of what would have been needed to put down... but I still couldn't stomach the loan terms. Mrs Parallel made a salient point a couple of nights ago that drove this decision; she said that if we bought this toy hauler and a truck capable of towing it we'd be working way more than we had to to pay for it and therefore wouldn't have the time to use it. This rings true to me and, as someone pointed out to me somewhere... you can stay a lot of nights in a Hotel for $100,000+.
So, I took the truck back and said thanks but no thanks and then I bought a new 2014 Triumph Scrambler to make me feel better.
So now the plan is to enjoy the scrambler, NOT build anything on the land, put enough money into my old Chevy Z-71 to make her a reliable toy hauler sans the travel trailer aspect and just LIVE LIFE instead of working to pay for stuff. Sounds like a good plan to me.
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