So pretty soon I'm not gonna have any transportation anymore. I rarely rarely ever drive anywhere. I think the only thing I actually need to buy on a regular basis that I would have a use for is a 40lb bag of dog food about once a month. I need to start thinking about picking up a car or a truck, but know absolutely nothing about the selection/subject, so I wanted to see what some of you guys were using. I've never owned one before, so I'm completely clueless(made it all the way to 27, it was a pretty good run!). I know I've seen 'let's see what you drive!' threads where everyone just wants to show off their cars, which is cool enough, but I was just hoping for some more technical info)

My requirements:

A back seat big enough to hold 2 65-70lb dogs

Ability to move a motorcycle(super rare but I wouldn't mind the option), needs a bed of at least 6 foot, and I don't mind getting that with the bed down as long as it'll hold the back wheel

Ability to move some 4x8 sheets of drywall, plywood, and some studs

Something not so big that it's a hassle to drive in the city



Those are pretty much my conscerns. It would be pretty easy if any one of those wasn't a requirement, but they don't all go well together. I figure I'm probably just going to have to give on the size. If I didn't care about moving big things I would just get a car, if I didn't have the dogs I would just get a normal small truck. with the both I feel like I'll probably end up just having to get an extended cab truck and hope I get used to driving something bigger around town, plenty of other people do it. Not really conscerned with gas mileage since I never drive anyway. Not saying I want an 11mpg army tank, but I'm not looking for 30mpg either. I know they make extended cab trucks that are pretty small, but I've sat in the back of one before, and I don't think my 2 dogs are going to be able to squeeze on that little seat without falling off every time I touch the brakes. I don't necessarily need SUV sized rear seats, but enough room for them to lay down.

I know another option is to get a car and put a hitch on it. Renting trailers is pretty cheap from uhaul and I don't need to move big things all that often, so that's technically a possibility, but I'd at least like to find something with a roof rack so I don't have to rent a trailer just for a few 2x4s.

So what do you guys think? am I missing any options??

I would love something like a Subaru Baha. The only problem with that car is that it's so ugly, I think I'd throw up a little bit every time I got in it. Plus, the bed is about 1 foot shorter than it would take to really be useful. One thing I just thought of... how much work do you think it would just to remove the back seat out of a smaller extended cab truck? The dogs don't really need a seat. They'd be happy if I just had the empty floor behind the drivers seat with some nice blankets. The one my dad used to have just had a flip up seat with storage under it, but if any of the trucks would let you completely remove the seat, or completely flip it up out of the way so the dogs could lay, that would be a definite option.

I'm also just thinking about signing up for zipcar. I looked online last night and it's a $25 application fee, $60 yearly fee, and only about $7 per hour, and you get free gas/insurance. That would be enough for dog food and pet transport. I would just have to look at other options if I ever had to move something large.

If I had a truck with a cap on the back, I could get a bed shaped peice of carpet, let the dogs hang out in the back, and still have the option to remove the cap if I had to pick up something big. I'm pretty sure I'd kill myself someday though when i tried to remove the cap by myself when I needed to go get something and couldn't find anyone to help me, not to mention I'd have where to keep it aside from just laying it in my yard(trashy??)

A guy down the street from me has a Defender 130 hi-cap for sale.  That'll do everything you need.

With all those requirements, you need a minivan!  Seriously.

I have a Nissan Quest (for sale BTW) that has done all of the above. Well, not the dogs, but two kids, so not that different.

F650 looks to be your only option - after the van.

I used to have an 8 seater van. All seats could fold down to form a bed, or take them out to move stuff around. And I did have my motorcycle in their once when I moved interstate. Seat removal was only some bolts. Throw on some roof-racks and you're all set. 

A lot of guys that do track days around here, use the newer shapped Transit Vans (not the old bedford shape) and similar - Merc Vito, VW Crafter or whatever it is.

Michael

The Honda Element? My friend has one and has two big dogs. It does store quite a bit of stuff too. Was amazed at how much it held!

Mary

I think I actually figured out my answer while I was looking through some stuff today. I saw the new ford ranger has two sideways seats in the back that fold up. I have no idea how long they've been doing it that way, but I could either find a truck with seats like this, or see if there are other options for bench seats that are just removable. That way it'll let me get a truck with a full sized bed, room for dogs to fit behind the seat where the seat was, and still be pretty small for driving around town. I'll just need to browse some of the other manufactures websites and see what other options there are for back seats. Until I saw that I had assumed they were all just flat bench seats that would be in the way.

if you go that route, grab a bed extender. teh rangers however ( especially 4x4 and v6) have some horrendous fuel mileage. ( 12-16 usually), can do well with a 4cyl, and can get teh extended cab as well, maybe a used frontier or something? rangers are ok, dont get me wrong, just teh petrol mileage to me seems mediocre

I hope you never ever put a human being back there! They are torturous not very big esp if you got a decent size dogs!

The double opening doors on the Element you can also get a 500 in the back. All, of the seats are removable. Oh, yeah you can hose it out too. My friend says it is her favorite aspect about it because of the dogs.

Mary Sharp

Hell you got that right. it is a torturous ride for midgets, err vertically challenged err whatever teh hell the PC term is nowadays

Haha, I remember how bad it was when I was in my dads when I was like 12, definitely bad news. I looked around at some measurements on different websites and the 4 door trucks really aren't much longer than the 2 door, so I might end up going that route and taking a smaller bed. As long as I can fit the bike in with the tailgate down it's plenty long enough for me.

I don't know if I could own an element. They're probably uglier than the subaru baha.

I'm not specifically attached to rangers, it was just an example. They all kinda look the same to me. I kinda like the Honda Ridgelines, but I'm assuming that the built in storage under the bed means that the bed is probably a foot or 2 higher than most other trucks, which only means it would be a hassle to get a bike in and out. I'm not gonna be doing any off roading, so the load the better as far as loading things in goes. Gas mileage really isn't a huge issue for me either. I'm going to drive it so rarely that I'm not really gonna sweat the mileage. The only time I would feel it is if I took a road trip or something like that, but that would happen maybe once a year if that, and wouldn't be more than a few hours of driving.

I was just playing on geico and was pleased to see that insurance is way less than I estimated. I'm not sure what I did wrong before, but I thought I remembered getting a quote of $500 some for 6 months, but this time around I'm getting anywhere from $150-350/6months depending on what kind of coverage I get. The only way I'd bother with full coverage is if I got a loan and had to. Seriously not even gonna use the thing enough for it to matter.

Hi tt, on a differnt tack with the car...have u considered a Honda Jazz. Super in the city and on the run. Very reliable and lovely on fuel. 5 star crash rating. The interior space is amazing, particularly with the way the seats can fold. Fits our two  55kg bullmasiffs in the back with the rear seats folded. I'm just back from the hardware shop with some 2m timber studs fitted in with the rear seats and the passenger seat folded. Mind u, you won't get anything other than a monkey bike in the rear but u can fit a bicycle! Had ours since 2004 (earlier than available in US and the only real costs have been a set of wheelbearings ($500, gulp), a smashed windscreen, a battery and a set of tyres. Honda Japan have a site at:

http://www.honda.co.jp/dog/honda-car/fit2010/seat/

with picture of the Jazz (they call it a Fit) and it's interior configuration and dogs....they're a bit nuts about cars and dogs up in Nippon....

We actually looked at a Honda Fit, ended up getting a Nissan Versa instead. We could definitely fit a ton of stuff in that car. We ended up trading it in on the outback we have now.

tt, that's a cool Nissan...the Japanese are getting real clever with these little cars....the Jazz reminds me of the Tardis. in Dr Who...it's sorta bigger inside than it should or could be. We've had various bullmastiffs since about '94 and thru the 90s we had a Nissan Patrol 4-wheel drive..I got sick of having to lift the dogs' rear-ends up so they could jump into the back...although one of the big b*tches (content checker demanded the asterix!) by the name of BookerT wld always insist on sitting in the front passenger seat glowering out at any passing cars....with the Jazz and dogs I guess the worst thing is cleaning the dog slobber off the back and rear side windows...yuk!

Quote from: noworries on January 12, 2011, 12:06:29 AM
tt, that's a cool Nissan...the Japanese are getting real clever with these little cars....the Jazz reminds me of the Tardis. in Dr Who...it's sorta bigger inside than it should or could be. We've had various bullmastiffs since about '94 and thru the 90s we had a Nissan Patrol 4-wheel drive..I got sick of having to lift the dogs' rear-ends up so they could jump into the back...although one of the big b*tches (content checker demanded the asterix!) by the name of BookerT wld always insist on sitting in the front passenger seat glowering out at any passing cars....with the Jazz and dogs I guess the worst thing is cleaning the dog slobber off the back and rear side windows...yuk!

I had a friend that got 3 of them. well his navigator was in s carolina, and only other cars were teh s500 and teh maserati. neither could ferry teh damned  canine cows. so i volunteered my old cop car. 1 in front and 2 in  back. that was Überblindspot/s maximus. dogs were well behaved though i must admit. and my car had rubber floormats. ( and leather seats, water cleaned it easily. whatever you choose tt, look at teh inevitable cleanup. it WILL have to happen, second, is interior materials, ( upholstery etc) then getting the dogs into and out of vehicle.

I myself am running round in a Kia Pregio at the moment. Inside the van section is about 9 foot. Back door opening is over 4 foot tall. Is actually surprisingly frugal for a heavy van (1800kgs empty) with a 2.7 diesel. Drives okay for a van, nothing sprightly, but does everything you want. Comes with air, power windows, remote central locking. I've towed a car float with a VS commodore ute on it (including trailer about 1800kgs) and the van chock full of work gear (over 1000kg) and it did it, slowly but did it without seeming to stress. Mine currently has over 300,000kms (186,411 miles) and is still going fine. Don't know about where you are but in Australia they are cheap and parts are actually quite plentiful.

Hey TT, I have a Jeep Wrangler and it's a great cage. Convertible for summer, 4 wheel drive for winter, short wheelbase for city driving, a hitch can be added easily, and the backseat (ridiculously small btw) comes out in less than a minute. Just something to think about.

And in my opinion, Geico will rip you off. When I got my jeep, they wanted over $300 a month to cover it. Granted I was under the age limit (whatever it is) but I've been with State Farm for a while and love them.

Sorry if this has been covered, I didn't quite read all the posts. I think a lot of it comes down to how much you want to spend, and what year range you're looking at. You could get a bigger more expensive suv or truck, but then you're paying insurance and the loan for it to just sit most of the time I'm assuming. Or you could get a smaller not quite so new suv like Escape or Explorer, and buy a small trailer and still save money. I myself own both a Ranger and an Escape. I have the 3.0 v6 in both of mine, but you can get either in 2.5/2.3 I4 that get great mileage. The Escape is definitely perfect for my two 75lbs dogs. Anything smaller would just suck. The ext cab Rangers have always had the flip up seats, and some models have one or two suicide rear doors to make loading easier, but I'd feel bad putting my dogs back there for sure.

Definitely no SUVs just out of principle. A van wouldn't be that bad. Are there vans that let you slide drywall and 4x8 sheets of wood inside? Obviously 9 foot is long enough, but I wasn't sure if it would be wide/tall enough to fit. The dogs would certainly love that.

Someday when I'm bored I'll just go to some dealerships and check out some trucks. I know the space behind the seat is small, but I don't really know how small it is. I know most of them have flip up seats, but some of the ones with bench seats flipped up and had storage under them, so obviously that wouldn't help. I would need one that flipped up and had nothing but the bare floor under it. Most of them, even with a completely removed seat look like they have a goofy shaped floor or mounting brackets, so that's no good. Now that I'm really looking into it I can also just keep an eye out on the road to see what kind of trucks look like they're a decent size so that'll help me narrow it down. It's tough looking online because you don't really have anything to compare the pictures to.

Just quit beating around the bush and get a truck like mine...topper to keep the dogs in the back (yup, rug installed)...remove the topper to take the bike with you (tailgate has to be down...rear tire sticks out about 3" past the gate)...and fuel consumption isn't at terrible as you would think...I average 13-14L/100kms (17-18mpg)...although I have the excuse of using it for work, but if you needed to it could pull your house as well...



In reality for a city dweller...Dodge Grand Caravan with Stow&Go seating...fits a 4x8 sheet of plywood with the rear door closed...comfortable and decent on fuel...I used to get 27-28 mpg with mine (hiway)...the newer ones aren't as efficient (don't beleive the advertising...father inlaw has one)...pick up a used '06-'08 (or when ever it was that they came out with the stow&go)...I miss mine a lot, but the wife says"been there, done that"...??

Later.

Speaking about superminis, we have a 2nd gen ('07) Toyota Yaris (aka Echo, Vitz) in my family.
Don't know which choice of engines you get down there, ours is a 3-cyl 1000 cc gasoline engine - yes, by US standards it's lawnmower territory, but here in the old EU with unleaded at 1,45 EUR / litre (which if my math is OK is about more than 7 USD / gal) small engines are a must.
Extremely reliable so far, 3 years of ownership and not the smallest problem. It just sips on gas (55 mpg are the norm).
Very versatile boot - one of the best in its class. Comes with adjustable rear seat as standard - so you can choose more space in the boot or more rear legroom.
On the down side, some plastics feel cheap and it lacks a bit of flair, but you don't buy a Japanese hatchback for style or coolness. I was stuck on the Toyota last spring when my old car gave up the ghost while I was waiting for my new one to be delivered. To be honest I absolutely prefer to drive my own car, but after all the good little Yaris is OK.
Worth a shot.