Trying to make a difficult decision

petes · Dec 10, 2010

I have a few goals set for myself - one of which is to never make payments on anything but my house. So far (40 yrs old), so good. I drive a '96 Outback (160k mi) and my wife drives a '96 Honda Odyssey (150k mi). We bought both vehicles when they were about 10 years old with over 100k miles, meaning they were well down on the depreciation curve. Because we don't owe anything on them and don't have that much $ tied up in them, we don't need to carry full-coverage insurance, saving hundreds of dollars each a year.

I never wanted to own a truck and managed to get by until just recently with my Subaru wagons over the years that have done just fine pulling my 4x8 utility trailer, pulling my boat, pulling stumps (!!!), etc. I've yet to meet a Subaru that won't do well over 200,000 miles if reasonably cared for.

I do now (unfortunately) own a truck (3rd vehicle, '86 F-250 diesel), but only to tow the horse trailer and (now sold) cabover camper, and only paid $1000 for it.

My advice - get a cheap commuter car with a trailer hitch and a lightweight utility trailer (~1500lb capacity). If you're not hauling livestock, horses or heavy tractors it'll do just about everything else - hay, dump runs, etc.

Sounds like at your current expense burn rate on your truck, a 10 yr old Subaru and a trailer would be paid for in about 3 months, after that you're gaining ground even if you have to buy another one every 6 months (unlikely!)

scoutcub · Dec 11, 2010

I have to agree with petes.
The farm is obviously where you want to be in life so don't give it up unless you're forced to.
I would shop around for a good used forester (or other small suv), and pick up one of these inexpensive 4X8 or 5X10 trailers. You'll save on your vehicle payments, gas, and insurance.
And, it should put you on the plus side of income vs outgo, with some peace of mind as well.
However, I would also continue to look at the rest of the budget very closely and find some other cutbacks/modifications to improve you're debt/income ratio.

Best of Luck!

B2320 · Dec 11, 2010

I vote to sell the truck, but I don't know that a Subaru will fill your truck void. I struggle(d) with the same thing. Currently I drive a late 90s suburban (beater with a heater

) and suffer gas pains in my daily commute, but I get a warm feeling inside knowing the Burban is paid off as I pump $100+ dollars into the tank. I consider repairs a monthly payment (I'm sure Pete does as well) and do many of the repairs myself, but they never add up to what a years worth of payments would be. I do get new truck envy:drool: from time-to-time, but a trip to the online payment calculator always cures me

. When I need to tow there is no substitute for a truck and the Burban fills the need, a new truck falls into fill the want category. Also like you, the wife drives a lake model Japanese van with decent gas mileage and great reliability. Would a late model (10 years or newer) mid-size truck decrease the monthly payment, save fuel, and still serve the farm? Good luck.

jimmyj · Dec 11, 2010

Hey buddy long time no talk! I remember when you got that truck. Get a car and a trailer and in time, a cheap truck. My pickup is only used occasionally but it's paid for and probably would only cost about $3500 if I bought it now. High miles, many dents and dings, but mechanically sound. As a commuter the dumbest thing I ever have done is lose money on vehicles. Now I view them as simply throw aways and want to spend as little per year as possible.

My wife and I moved to the country 15 years ago. Sure we had a mortgage but we also had savings. Slowly, our rural lifestyle caught up with us. Too many toys, too many animals, too many too many's. We suddenly found ourselves going broke. I was driving a new truck 75km (50miles) each way to work every day and between the $500 a month in fuel, plus payments and insurance plus my hobby farm costs were well over $500 a month just for feed. We were building debt and not saving. We cut down on the number of animals on the farm (got rid of the cows, llamas, alpacas and went from about 15 sheep to 5, cut back on the # of chickens, etc). I got a cheap used honda for $2500 and drove it for 3 years and it was just what we needed. Over the next while we paid off the debts and just this last year got my wife a new car (although an economical one).

You gotta get rid of the truck for now.

Good luck!

racolton · Dec 11, 2010

When my wife and I were living in the country, we had to swap vehicles to cut down on how much gas I was burning through. She got the Jeep (around 15 mpg) for heading towards a local small town for occasional shopping, and I got her Intrepid (27 mpg) for my daily commute. Perhaps you and your wife can do the same?

CompactTractorFan · Dec 11, 2010

I think the trailer is a great idea. If your spending $1500 a month on your truck you could get a trailer like this to tow behind a Subaru Forester for less then what you spend in a month on your truck. :thumbsup: http://www.bigtextrailers.com/trailers/images/trailers/15aa.JPG

Bikewanderer · Dec 11, 2010

Do you listen to Dave Ramsey? If you don't - start. Download itunes and you can get his podcasts free, or get his book. His program is one of the best things I have ever done to improve my lifestyle.

Anyway, here's my advice: Keep the cattle for now and sell when you get the most money for them. Sell the truck and get a cheap one. My pickup cost me $3100. It's a diesel dually with a flatbed, perfect farm truck. Get an old truck and a cheap car if you need a daily driver.

For a long term approach, look at hiring yourself and your tractor out next summer for brush hogging or misc. farm related work for extra income. Use it this winter for snow removal in town if you can. You can rent the pasture out for cattle. I just got off the phone with a guy that wants to pay me $10/head to rent pasture and he maintains the pasture and fences. I rent out a few acres to a gal with a horse for $125/month. Point is, you can keep the lifestyle without all the work. It's not a lot of money but it helps.

The only trick is to constantly work on reducing expenses and increasing income.

Marlowe · Dec 11, 2010

I have an absolutely beautiful truck out in the drive. It's got a few dings and a bit of rust here and there, but no payment. Even though it's twelve years old now it still cranks every time and takes me wherever I need to go. That's one of the nice things about a truck built in the last twenty years or so. They last a long, long time. They all use gas but it's so hard to get something that uses enough less gas to justify not having a truck that I just buy a bit more gas. Those new ones sure are pretty though, as long as someone else gets the payment book.

blueriver · Dec 11, 2010

Sell the truck to clear the loan ... buy a less expensive one for the farm. Diversify ... find a way to generate income from the acerage ... sell hay, produce a commodity that folks will buy ... eggs, beef, pork ... a large Garden ... vegtables sell ... just my thoughts.