Homestead mailing list

["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

That's why we have "The Boat" which is a diesel Suburban.  Of course, with 
the snow and mountain passes with chains required, we went with the 4-wheel 
drive.  We went with diesel as it doesn't lug down on the ups and doesn't 
use anymore fuel, or at least not enough to be measureable, whether it is up 
hill, down hill, hot, cold or pulling a trailer.  Same mileage when we have 
it loaded to the gills with feed, groceries and "stuff."

We've got it down to one trip a month and we're set.  And, even with the 
HIGH price of diesel, it is still costing us less than it does the folks 
around us using gas!

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Clansgian AT wmconnect.com>
> We are using a Caravan right now.  We are seriously contemplating 
> mothballing
> it and buying a Suburban.  They are practically giving away older 
> Suburbans
> here.  Here is the math.
>
> When we go into town en famile we are taking six passangers, most often a
> large cargo of boxes and such to ply our 'render unto Caesar' trades, and 
> we
> bring back sometimes 500 lbs or more of cargo.  The caravan, with the 
> heafty 3.3
> ltr engine dogs down on the mountain roads under this load of passangers 
> and
> freight.  Or payload is so modest we often have to make a third or fourth 
> trip
> in the month instead of the regularly scheduled two.  Leaving people at 
> home
> isn't an option as this is the day we visit grandparents, go to the 
> library, etc.
>
> When we had a Suburban a few years ago (350 gas engine, two wheel drive) 
> we
> could handle eight passangers and half a ton of cargo.  Now it would mean 
> only
> two trips to town instead of three or four.  The math comes out to using 
> less
> gas.
>
> This is because one has to look at it in terms of passenger mpg and cargo
> mpg, not vehicle mpg.
>
> For the times only one person or two need to go somewhere, we have an old 
> S10.
>
> I'm looking forward to the days when there is a cultural shift to where we
> don't need to personally own a motor vehicle at all, but until then, I am
> calculating the cost of transporting people and cargo on a per unit basis.
>
> And seeing if we can cut that back to ONE trip per month.