I've been in the car business for the past 22 years and I've had more vehicles than I can remember. For years I drove mostly sport utilities due to the fact that I had a young family and we always need the room, but now my kids have grown and have cars and trucks of their own. So, now I'm free to experiment, the last four years I've had a Ford Explorer, a GMC Yukon, a Dodge Dakota ex-cab 4X4 and now a Ford Ranger ex-cab 4X4.
The worst off road vehicle was the GMC, great suspension if you're going to drive the highway all the time, but a little soft off road and so you have to slow down. Somehow I just can't do that :) The Explorer wasn't much better but at least I was able to get further down small pathways that I tend to find. But as far as gas mileage goes between the two the GMC was much better. I loved my Dakota for power and size and it handled the off road like now other but it only got 13-14 MPG even with the new 4.7 ltr V8, the draw back to the Dakota was that they don't make the ex-cab with the rear opening doors and the rear seat takes up a lot of room either up or down, so that made for a tight fit of my fishing gear. And now my Ranger, it's okay, gets decent mileage, good room in the back seat area, fair off road capabilities and new BF Goodrich TA's courtesy of Ford. It has a canopy and this way I can keep my fishing gear in the back at all times in a secure environment, it also! allows me to have a sleeping quarter when I need it and keeps me out of the elements when I'm changing. I thought long and hard about which way I wanted to go either a full size truck with a camper or a small truck with a canopy. I still haven't figured that out yet. Maybe that could be another discussion canopy v. camper v. trailer? :) After all next year will be here pretty soon and I need to make my decision as to what I'll get next :) Tim <>< >> From: "Kent Lufkin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 13:52:38 -0800 >> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subject: Fishing vehicles? >> Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Resent-Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 13:52:43 -0800 >> >> Over the years, we've discussed just about every kind of fishing gear >> or strategy imaginable. But it struck me the other day that there's >> still one indispensable piece of gear that every one of us uses: the >> vehicle that gets us where we fish. >> >> I assume that for most of us, our fishing vehicle is also our daily >> driver that spends most of its time making trips to the store or >> commuting. For some of us in a multi-car household, a second vehicle >> may be much more appropriate for fishing. A very few of us may >> actually have a rig dedicated just for fishing, refined over years of >> use. >> >> To get the ball rolling, here's my own 2� on the subject: >> >> I've always owned a pickup. In fact I can only remember a couple >> years when I didn't have one. My current ride is a 1998 Ford Ranger >> XLT extra cab 4x4 with a 4.0 liter V-6 and an automatic. Wish I'd got >> it with the small, half-sized doors to get behind the front seats. >> However, a retractable cover keeps things out of sight back there. >> >> The bed will hold a couple float tubes fully inflated or my 9 foot >> pontoon boat (I haven't tried stacking two pontoon boats back there >> yet.) There's plenty of room left over for gear bags, coolers, oars >> or rod tubes. Plus, the bed doubles as a place to sit and wader up >> without rocks that can tear up my neoprene wader feet. >> >> But having a pickup does pose some limitations. Leaving stuff in the >> back is an open invitation to theft if you leave it there even >> briefly. And relatively light weight stuff needs to be tied down to >> keep it from becoming airborne at highway speeds. >> >> My truck's bed isn't long enough that I can stretch out in it to >> sleep, and I'd need some sort of canopy to stay dry in the rain. The >> space behind the seats doesn't hold very much gear (long rod tubes >> are an especially tight fit) and it's a real pain to get to. Finally, >> if I owned a boat and trailer, my rig is probably much too puny for >> serious towing. >> >> But for the most part, it works well for the kind of fishing I do. >> The 4wd and high ground clearance are a real plus on marginal roads. >> >> I'd sure like to hear how other subscribers have adapted their >> vehicles for their own fishing style. >> >> Kent Lufkin >> >> > > Have you gotten your free email at fishing.com or flyfishing.com? I got mine, come get yours! Visit www.fishing.com or www.flyfishing.com to sign up!
