Sequoia as DD/tow rig?

[Fort Knox]

Guys and gals,

Ok, so I know it's crazy to go from daily driving a Honda Accord to a Toyota Sequoia when gas is near $4.00 per gallon and going up. However, I'd really like to be able to tow the 4Runner to/from events, since the only 4wheeling events I seem to go to anymore require a 7-10 hour drive. With 195k miles, a LOT of wheeling, and plenty of non-highway friendly mods, Fort Knox just isn't quite the road trip vehicle it used to be. The last 2 events I've driven to (GSMTR '07 and '08), the 4Runner has not returned home under its own power.

Important considerations:

1. Whatever I get will also be my daily driver. Given garage and driveway space, as well as budgetary constraints, I can't really justify a 4th vehicle to the wife when the 3rd isn't paid off for 2 more years. So, if I get a tow rig, it must also be a dependable daily driver. I spend enough time turning wrenches on the 4Runner and the 40. I want this new vehicle to be a gas and regular maintenance only type of vehicle.

2. I only have a 5 mile commute to work, so going from the mid-20's in MPG in the V6 Accord to the mid-teens in MPG in a V8 SUV wouldn't be as bad as it would for some folks. Plus, when the wife and I go anywhere around town or on some trips, we can always take her 4-cyl. Rav4.

3. My budget puts me in the mid-$20k range. Because of #1 above, I'd kinda like to get something '04 or newer with 50k or fewer miles so that it still has some life left in it when the payments end. Unfortunately, this kinda prices me out of the 100-Series Cruiser range, though not by a whole lot. I'm not 100% opposed to getting something non-Toyota, but since reliability is way high on my list and I'm obviously a bit of a Toyota guy, it would take a hell of an endorsement for me to break away.

4. I have no use for a pickup. I have a utility trailer if I need to haul anything that I wouldn't want inside the truck. I'd get much more use out of covered space than non-covered space.

So.....all of this leads me to the Toyota Sequoia. I took an '04 for a brief test drive this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised at how it drove for such a big SUV. That V8 is smooooooth, and they gave it a slight power boost for '05. I know the Sequoia isn't quite the towing beast of a 3/4 ton Suburban or something similar, but it should be fine towing the 4Runner and it's not like I go wheelin' nearly as often as I used to, so I'd probably only need it to tow 3-6 times per year.

What do you guys think? Am I nuts to do this since I'll really only "need" the towing ability a few times per year, but I'll be guzzling gas at a significantly higher rate the rest of the year?

 

[little_joe]

Financially it makes no sense, but emotions usually play a larger role. If you need to tow your 4R just a few times a year, would it make more sense to just rent a truck (and trailer) those few times? and get the Accord paid off and be payment free?

 

[southerncruiser62]

The plus is at a time like now you can pick up a large SUV and get a phenominal price on it. Actually come out very well if it is something that really interests you, with the economy like it is many dealers are getting stuck with SUV on the lot as they are not selling at even private dealer auctions when accepted on trade for new vehicle.

If it's something you really want/need and are willing to fill up now is probably one of the best times to get an insane deal on a vehilcle such as you have described. In reality you will be spending what you had maybe originally intended but will be getting possibly twice the truck you would have with a more bearable marekt.

Keep us posted if you move forward on anything. I konw I have seen some incredible deals on 100 series lately.

 

[Fort Knox]

Financially it makes no sense, but emotions usually play a larger role. If you need to tow your 4R just a few times a year, would it make more sense to just rent a truck (and trailer) those few times? and get the Accord paid off and be payment free?

True Joe, but financially 4wheeling makes no sense when you think about it. ;p

I thought about going the rental route. The cost would be more than the amount of increased gas cost for the year, but of course it would have the benefit of me having no car payments starting in 2 years, rather than 4 or 5. Definitely an option to consider.

Greg - That's what I'm thinking too. A few of the Sequoia's currently for sale in the area would be affordable enough that I have the choice to either keep my payment about the same (maybe go up $15 or so) over a 4 year loan, or have my payment drop by about $50 for a 5 year loan. That would help offset the additional fuel cost, but would have me making payments for an extra year.

 

[uzj100]

Now is a great time to buy a suv. I would look for a sequioa with the 5 speed auto. I do not know which year they switched. The 100 switched to 5 speed auto in 03.

 

[shinton]

Ok, number crunching on the Accord vs Sequoia

Accord = say 400 a month (you know what real #s are) x 24 = 9600
PLUS rental of Truck or Van x 6 trips = say 1200 year?


Sequoia = 415 a month x 48 = 19920


So over the next 4 years:
Accord = 9600 + 1200x4 = 14,600
Sequoia = 19,920 + fuel difference

The 5,xxx of difference would take another 4 years of rentals to make up to break even cash wise, bit longer because of gas, so prob would take 10 years to really break even on cash and chances are the Seq has 200k on it by that point or more and not as reliable as it used to be.

Whereas the rental truck is "fresh" every year / time you take it out... Accord just has to get you to work / back for reliability (and I suspect for a longer vacation you prob take it and get say close to 30 mpg hwy?)

Personally I am a NO PMT kinda guy, I have 3 cars, all paid for and I can tell you the cash from those car pmts pays for LOTS of fuel or any trips I want to take. Oh, final thought... sell the accord and pay 3-5k for a used REG cab pickup that can tow the 4runner. That saves you 15000 in cash vs the Seq to pay for any upgrades and repairs and the reg cab trucks go CHEEEEEEEAP. You have the Rav for family trips and you will be surprised how often you use the bed of the pickup.

Plus you now have 400ish a month, 5k per year, to spend on fuel, trips, buy a nice trailer, new beadlocked rims, etc etc!!!

 

[NCjeff]

What about buying an older tow vehicle. I have seen a few mid 90's diesel tow rigs on other boards for under $5K. Im in the same boat as having to drive very long distances, and have often thought of buying an older diesel tow rig. Im guessing the major downfall would be more insurance and adding another vehicle (space).

 

[Fort Knox]

Ok, number crunching on the Accord vs Sequoia

......................

Actually, my payments are a bit lower on the Accord and would be a good bit lower on the Sequoia (pretty good equity in the Accord), but it still works out to nearly the same difference that you work up. I also don't put quite as many miles on my vehicles as you're anticipating, but I'd still end up having about 150-160k miles on the Sequoia after that 10 year period. You make some good points on the rental front though.

On the final thought, the thing is that that would leave me with a used regular cab pickup as my daily driver, which probably wouldn't get much better gas mileage than the Sequoia. I really don't think I'd have nearly as much use for the pickup bed as I would for an SUV, since I do have a small utility trailer to haul anything that I wouldn't wanna put in the back of an SUV (mulch, wood, gravel, etc.) Plus, I already have the 4Runner w/ 196k miles and my 40 w/ 130k miles. I don't really want my daily driver to also be an old truck with high mileage that may or may not need regular wrench-turning. Thus the advantage of either the Accord or a newer dependable tow rig as a daily driver.

I've got a lot to think about. Maybe the best option is to wait and see what gas prices do over the next few months and let truck prices continue to plummet. I've only got 1 long-distance 4wheeling trip planned between now and the end of the year. Hopefully I can break the streak of bad luck and actually make it back from this trip in the 4Runner in 1 piece and under my own power. Since my wife has now finished school and will be (hopefully) starting a job soon, money might not be as tight in 6 months and maybe we can afford to look into getting a little older dedicated tow rig and I can keep the Honda.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[Eskimo]

Dude.. no-brainer. Pheery's 2002 Yukon XL 2500. it's a real 3/4 ton, s***-tons of space, the 6.0 isn't that bad on gas. He's dropped the price a million times... He'll probably take $10k for it. I've seen it, it's a damn fine vehicle, and for 10, you can let it sit when you're not using it.

2002 GMC YUKON XL 2500 - North Carolina 4x4 Forum

 

[Fort Knox]

Dude.. no-brainer. Pheery's 2002 Yukon XL 2500. it's a real 3/4 ton, s***-tons of space, the 6.0 isn't that bad on gas. He's dropped the price a million times... He'll probably take $10k for it. I've seen it, it's a damn fine vehicle, and for 10, you can let it sit when you're not using it.

2002 GMC YUKON XL 2500 - North Carolina 4x4 Forum

Whatever I get will have to pull double-duty as my daily driver, so there won't be much "sitting" for it. I'll check out Pheery's truck.