Vehicle Shopping - What to Pick, Then What to Expect

[spurofthemoment]

The time for me to purchase a new used vehicle is approaching. I’ve driven the same 2-door Honda (purchased new initially) for 14 years, and have had great luck (only paid for normal maintenance things). While it’s not on its last leg, I’m mentally and financially preparing to need a vehicle to replace it.

Here’s my thing: do I buy a 1/2 ton pickup as a daily driver OR do I buy a crossover or sedan as my daily driver and then buy a hoopty truck later down the line to tow an eventual 2-horse bumper pull with a small dressing room. I do not currently own a trailer, but have the ability to move my horse should there be an emergency.

I like the idea of a truck because I’m a horse owner and home owner. I see a lot of utility there. I just have no idea what to expect with the maintenance and upkeep of a truck vs the maintenance and upkeep of my tiny Honda. It’s pretty fuel efficient for a 14-year-old vehicle (about 25 mpg combined).

I also like the idea of only having one vehicle payment for a few years then none (whether it’s a lump sum or financed) for a REALLY long time. One insurance payment is also pretty nice.

So, fellow horse people who drive - what’s a girl to do? Is there anything else I need to consider in my pros/cons list?

Anyone who has gone from driving a car to driving a truck daily - what should I know? Is there anything that’s normal about the experience that you didn’t expect?

[NancyM]

I’ve driven a one ton Dodge diesel flatdeck truck as my “daily driver” for years. It’s very economical to run, and the short deck makes it adequate to park. It hauls hay, and a horse trailer, no problem, and fits in the grocery store parking spaces… Look for an OLDER one, pre DEF. The cummins diesel engine goes forever, some go a million kms and are still good. I bought this one new in 1997. We’ve just bought another one, a 2001 3/4 ton Dodge 4X4 (which mine is not- I didn’t need a 4X4 in 1997, but we do now), for $7000. It also is old, has some cancer issues, has 500,000 km on it, but runs just beautifully. Did some outstanding mechanical repairs and new tires. Tons of power. Very economical to run. A real workhorse. So much safer to drive a good solid truck.

[spurofthemoment]

Diesel is a completely different ballgame - any big differences between maintaining a diesel engine vs a gas engine? We’re pretty temperate (no super harsh winters, some days below freezing but not many), and my area isn’t mountainous.

What would be nice is that I could get more truck than I need, and then upgrade the trailer down the line if I want to camp out of it (which I would love to do but is not a NEED 5 years into the future. 10, maybe.)

[George_T_Mule]

Hi Spur.

You’re used to driving a Honda. Any truck big enough to handle a horse trailer will feel huge. Prepare for stress, particularly in crowded parking lots. I hate my Tundra in a parking lot.
Any truck big enough to pull a horse (trailer. of course.) will get crappy fuel economy.
Brace yourself for ~15-16MPG daily, more like 11MPG with a heavy trailer.
A Diesel truck will do a little better, maybe 18/15, but Diesel (at least around here; Colorado “Front Range”) is about $1/gallon more than Regular. And modern Diesels have other issues; an expensive to operate, and more expensive to maintain emissions system for one; do some research.
I would suggest planning for an Electric car, if your lifestyle will accommodate it, and as far as getting electrified I’d suggest holding on to your Honda for the time being. New battery technologies are right around the corner, and are slated to start hitting the market over the next couple of years. I want a new Tesla S, but I’m waiting. So, probably should you.
As far as a replacement ICE car I’d suggest biting the bullet for a new car. Buy whatever tickles your fancy and suits your budget, but make sure you can also get a factory extended “bumper-to-bumper” warranty for it, and plan on re-homing it before that warranty runs out. Maybe when the new batteries arrive. (My plan.)
My reasoning runs thusly:
For most drivers, a car is mobility; gets you to work, gets you to the store, gets you to recreation. It needs to start, get you there, and get you home. Every time without fail. A new car fulfills this 'cause the dealership has to honor the warranty, and generally has to offer you a loaner if they can’t effect a repair in a reasonable time. Read their warranty provisions. In any event, this fulfills your mobility requirement with minimal interruption, and minimal cost to you. And peace of mind is, for most of us, priceless.
Car repair has gotten expensive; I read somewhere that the average cost of a visit to a service facility was ~$1,000.
Finally, on any newer vehicle, resign yourself to intrusive “Nannies”; driver monitors, collision avoidance, lane departure, Automatic engine stop/start (We say ASS), stability controls, traction control, ABS, etc, etc, etc. I’m a Geek, and have most of the Nannies in my new '22 Outback disabled, but it’s not something most drivers will want to DIY, and rest assured the dealership won’t do it for you. There might even be legal repercussions. I keep a '97 Subaru around as my “recreational vehicle”.
I gotta go feed; hope this provokes some thought. Questions, feel free.

[2DogsFarm]

@spurofthemoment

buy a hoopty truck later down the line to tow an eventual 2-horse bumper pull

Hard NO to the iffy & thus potentially undependable truck.
IIWM, I’d spend more on the truck & either hang on to your Honda or get a cheaper daily driver.
For years I had a Monster Truck - F250, V10, long bed, crew cab.
I hated that truck, but it came as a package deal with a GN/LQ trailer.
Truck did not fit in my garage & before I had a gravel pad, parking on grass rusted the brake lines.
Parking in lots was not fun.
The only “good” thing was gas mileage was pretty much the same hauling as not.
Not great @ around 15mpg.
I had a PT Cruiser at the same time & LOVED it.
Now I’m down to a single vehicle for everything:
2016 Explorer that easily pulls my 16’ aluminum Stock BP.
I bought it in 2022, so new to me.

If money were no object, I might look for a 3/4-ton Silverado, as neighbor’s fits in my garage & get something compact (with a high deck) for daily use.

[Texarkana]

My half ton has been my daily driver since I got it, even though that wasn’t the intention.

I mean, my only gripe is lack of fuel efficiency and the cost of replacing tires which are more expensive than any car I’ve owned. Otherwise nothing is different than any other vehicle.

[endlessclimb]

I agree with NO on the hoopty. Nothing worse than questioning the tow vehicle with horses aboard.

I wouldn’t do a diesel. The parts to repair are quadruple the price. (I own a diesel, and won’t buy another when this one craps out). To get pre-emissions, you’re talking a 2006.5 which is getting up there in age if it’s been used hard, and even if it hasn’t - rust.

[clanter]

get rid of the horse idea, get a dog, keep the Honda

[NaturallyHappy]

OP, for years I had two vehicles. I never drove the truck enough and had to redo brake lines twice from sitting. My diesel 2015 F250 is now my daily driver and it’s worked out well.

[2DogsFarm]

I hope you were kidding
How does that help a horseowner vehicle shopping?

[kaya842]

No, big NO, on the hoopty truck. BTDT let’s see 4(?) times in 10 years give or take. In the end, truck always bites the dust (and hard) or I lose all faith in truck to perform its towing or farm duties or both. And usually somewhere between purchase and end of useful life is $2000-5000 worth of repair. Just no.

When do you plan to buy a trailer? What trailer do you want? What will you be using the trailer for (quick trips around to local shows vs hauling across country to destination shows or rides)? How often will you be trailering?

In almost all cases, it makes little to no financial sense to have a truck and trailer if you have access to reliable transportation for your horse already (even if you have to pay for it). The purchase costs ($10k trailer + $30k truck) and upkeep (at least $1500 for both a year) would cover years of paying a pro hauler for your horse.

Are you open to buying a European trailer? If so, it would open up your tow vehicle options greatly. You could have a more fuel efficient SUV (between 20-30mpg, not towing) and the trailer and no truck. Unless you are needing the truck for farm or other duties beyond towing.

We purchased a new daily driver and tow truck in the past 2 years. We purchased 2 separate vehicles vs just the truck for a few reasons. 1. We need the truck for other farm duties besides horse hauling as we live on 10 acres. 2. The truck gets 16-18 mpg (2018 F150 Ecoboost) and the SO was driving 50miles round trip to work each day so we needed something more fuel efficient. 3. While we have a Euro trailer that the daily driver SUV can tow, we also want to buy a human camper and would need a truck for that.

IIWM, I’d go the SUV and Euro trailer route, especially if you commute for work. If you decide you must have a truck, I’d get a gas and not mess with diesel until you need to.

[PaddockWood]

I have a Tundra and an Accord and wouldn’t want to only drive a truck. Drive my Accord to work where parking gets tricky and/if I need to run errands. Yes, hate driving a truck where things get tight.

Dependability matters period.

[steelerino]

Gas trucks aren’t anymore expensive to maintain then a gas car IME. My 2017 Chevy 1500 was really good on gas even when hauling BUT we own a diesel shop so now I drive a 2007 GMC Duramax lol I’m a sucker for an old truck. If it wasn’t for the free lifetime repairs I would NEVER buy a diesel truck.

[FitToBeTied]

Don’t worry about the truck until you are ready to buy the trailer. You are a home owner, not a farm owner. We have a horse farm and our two vehicles are a Prius Hatchback and an F250. The F250 only moves when we really need to use it.

Be kind to the environment and get a really good car that is high MPG and low emissions.

[LCDR]

No question that a half ton pickup would do the best job hauling cargo. But if your planned truck cargo would be bags of feed, boards 8 feet to maybe 10 feet long, all that could be done also in an SUV. Plus having room for passengers and out- of- the weather cargo space. And you can load cargo and leave an SUV parked and unattended with less anxiety about pilfered things in the bed. Sure, there are pickup bed covers of various types if you want covered cargo space.

But no pickup or SUV will likely never be as fuel- sippy and easy to park as your Little Honda. I spent 30 years pulling my horse trailer and commuting to work in a series of SUV’s. To me an SUV seems the best single vehicle choice. To tow a 2 horse bumper pull you don’t need something of Suburban dimensions.

I finally bought my first pickup 8 years ago. But I found myself still choosing the SUV for almost all my horse trailer excursions. About all I’ve really needed the pickup for are buying 16 foot fence boards and a few big power tools. But in the long run, I could forego the pickup and simply have boards delivered for far, far less money than supporting the truck insurance. As I said, my pickup is now 8 years old and has only 8,400 miles. Five thousand of those were the first year I owned it .

[George_T_Mule]

@LCDR

As I said, my pickup is now 8 years old and has only 8,400 miles. Five thousand of those were the first year I owned it .

Yes; just this. My 2010 Tundra is a working truck. It is a rarity in that it has a flatbed, which is a good part of the reason I brought it home. I do prefer a flatbed.
That said, it just provides driveway decoration unless I have something large/heavy enough to justify driving it. I doubt I’ve put 10K miles on it in the 5 or 6 years I’ve had it. About once a month I’ll drive it to lunch, or to the grocery store just to keep a charge on the battery.
The truck had issues when I got it, and I got a bargain price because of that. A long story, but I do all of my own work, and The Tundra presented some naively unforeseen challenges :-P. It would have been at least $4K to have a dealership do the work. I managed it for around $100, but I did have to purchase an OBDII diagnostic tool. Not a scanner; a bootleg counterfeit factory diagnostic tool, from China, no less, via eBay. “Thanks guys; I’d never have managed it without that software/interface.” (Was about $400 if you’re curious. I don’t even wanna think about what the Toyota “Factory” tool would cost, much less the license for the software. For a Subaru, the factory tool is about $3500, plus $1500/month for the license. “Spare change it ain’t.”)
Also: Hauling your Large Children is, IMO, one of the most mission-critical applications you will encounter for a tow vehicle/trailer. Most anything else, if it dies, you can leave it parked on the side of the road until you can retrieve it, but with your horses involved, a breakdown is catastrophic. Just sayin’ . . .
Wait until a real need arises, and then start looking for a solution, not the other way around. Except for hauling horses, then get a backup plan in place before the need arises.
My $.02.

[aregard]

When we had the ranchette (up to 6 horses), we got a stock trailer and a tow vehicle. It never pencilled out for us, even tho we were in Pony Club and went to shows, rallies and things. We lived in a very horsey area, with lots of trailer rigs, lots of trails (that we didn’t have to trailer to). those are factors.

I also had a small truck nearly the whole time. While it could not safely pull the trailer, it was useful as all get out. Unfortunately, they don’t make 'em anymore.

Seems to me you have a tough decision between ‘want’ and ‘need’. IIWY, I’d take the price of gas where you are, and double it. See if a truck as a daily driver makes any sense to you.

[NancyM]

The safety aspect of a truck is important to me. The cummins diesel engines are known for their reliability. As for working on them, the DH does what he can, when he can. For what he can’t do, we take to a local shop, and it hasn’t been expensive. There are NO computers in these older trucks, easy to work on.The older Dodges are extremely reliable, it’s a fact. We get farm fuel, we are a farm, makes things cheaper for us. Take a look around for a local 3/4 ton, and go test drive it. See what you think. Again, if you can find a short box without a back seat (extended cab) that would make it easier to get into tight spots. My one ton does not have a back seat. Short deck too. Very handy.

If you have plans for a bigger trailer (gooseneck?) be advised that the NEWER trucks will often not fit under gooseneck horse trailers. The sides of the box are too high. I have the horse trailer I have now because the past owner’s husband traded trucks, and the trailer would no longer FIT, so they had to sell it. I got a “smokin’ deal”. My flatdeck fits under anything.
Happy shopping!

[TheJenners]

@2DogsFarm

I hope you were kidding

I took it that way, and honestly some days it’s true

[TheJenners]

I had a truck forever. Started with an F150, moved to an F350, got a Ranger as a daily driver, traded both for a Chevy 2500 gas (oy), then kept that forever and got a Hyundai Elantra, which I outgrew quickly and traded for a Santa Fe, found a screaming deal on a Dodge 2500 diesel that couldn’t be beat and after a year of two car payments sold the Santa Fe.

Honestly the Dodge as my daily isn’t awful. I don’t have to worry about it sitting and getting the oock from that, no more “crap I left my work keys in the other car” moments… And it’s twice the fuel economy of the Chevy 2500, which got 8 around town and 13-17 highway and I refused to calculate while hauling horses.

Trucks are more expensive than the average car. Full stop. Any truck. My BF’s little Tacoma or my truck. Trucks are stupid expensive. But our whole hobby is expensive, no real way around it unless you mean Breyer horses.