BIG ski SUV - Page 6  

This thread is outrageous - my wife & I have had our whole life in 4 suitcases, 2 sporttubes, 2 boot bags, a helmet bag (for both) and a Yakima 21 skybox (holding the Thule roofbox waterproof bag set and 3 pairs of skis) - basically the contents of our condo and we have managed 3300 miles and 13 ski hills in 12 weeks, in a Ford Explorer (V6).

Despite 40" of snow here and there, closed roads, Teton Pass & Rogers Pass etc etc blah blah we feel bad about the fuel consumption and would love to have something more economical.: For example the V6 diesel engine that I could get in my Pathfinder in Europe that give me 32-36 mpg (which is still rubbish fuel economy).

WTF do you think you need a large SUV for - weekend trips to a hardware store = half a day per week and I doubt that you go every week. get or rent a trailer and learn to reverse it.

Use the roof box - add space to your car for the times you need it rather than drive around a huge space on your own for 90% of the time.

'GF doesn't like it' - look down between your legs! Do you see cojones or a small tail that would better belong to a mouse. If you know what is right like you say you do then do what is right and tell her to live with it or walk. If she meant enough that her opinion should have some voting power you would have married her anyway.

You had better be a racer having 5 pairs of skis or a jib meister. I think my 'quiver' is excessive but I have short all mountain and fat long big mountain/ powder - who needs more than that?!?!?

At the end of the day if you are only going for 11 days they can go in a roof box. And as your GF is obviously as strong as, if not stronger than you, are she can help you lift if off the roof when you are not using it so that you can do what you know is right and get better fuel economy.

Small yappy dogs - scared of the GF - you are a chick. You should have a Toyota Yaris!!! In fact I am surprised you are not too scared to go skiing in case it messes up your GF, your car or your hair!!

That says it all regarding your ignorance. Add three kids to your equation. SUVs and large sedans are about the only vehicle that can handle three or more car seats with 5 point harneseses Besides, SUVs are "cool" I bet I could find plenty of things anybody that considers themselves "green" does that really aren't "green".:

I've owned several SUVs, jeeps, etc. over the years. Unless you drive off-road, just get one of the newer crossover vehicles (Ford below) or even just a wagon like a Volvo XC70 if you want to go up in price range. You don't need an SUV unless you drive off road. Anything with AWD will get you to any ski area on any conditions in which the roads would be open.

Put a ski box on one of these with AWD -- http://www.fordvehicles.com/crossove...rusx/index.asp
You'll get anywhere and have tons of room for crap.

I actually have a Ford 500 (now renamed the new Taurus), as my wife has a Volvo XC70, it has tons and tons of room and gets very reasonable milage, > 25mpg on the highway with AWD assuming you don't speed. No roofrack so we use the volvo for longer trips with more crap. The Ford is fine for three people for smaller trips. The skis, four or five pairs, will fit in the truck with the split seat down and there's still room for boot bags.

This is the most entertainment I've had all year! And the most exercise: I've rolled my eyes, laughed and almost cried from it, and my sides hurt.

RR, I don't think I would take advice from 90% of these people. Some of them can't even manage to find the shift key or the apostrophe. : Some can't understand why a flatlander would want to take a plane ride to ski instead of driving for 24 hours straight. :

Although, they could be right about your spine.




Just remember that smoking was once considered cool at one time,too (1950). You could smoke at work, smoke on a plane, smoke any damn place you wanted, with the exception of church. But was it cool?

With that in mind, I have the perfect ride for you, RR.



The Short Bus.

I did get a chuckle out of the irony of people saying large vehicles are "excessive"....and a few post later, they're posting a picture of their 12+ ski quiver.

:Hey, does that come in red?

I would put some lifters on that thing, some knobby snow tires. Clear it out and put in a platform for a bed, a propane stove, and plenty of storage.

That would be alright.

Worth quoting in its entirety.

You're absolutely right, as I pointed out 3 pages ago...but I would venture that the SUV drivers are plenty guilty as well, if not more so.

If I were you I would seriously consider getting one of these:

http://www.sportsmobile.com/4_4x4sports.html

1998 Durango with 4 studded snows for the winter. Turned 272,000 returning from Killington this past weekend @ 17 mpg with summer tires mounted.

Has worked, wlll continue to work for me !!!!!

PS - no major breakdowns - only 2 tune ups, 1 alternator, 1 water pump.

PPS - mostly highway miles to/from Vt.

Um - maybe 25mpg if you're driving 30mph in the flatlands, and take 15 seconds to go 0-30.:

I've got a 2000 AWD Safari (identical to Astro, just rebadged as a GMC). At sea-level, it got about 17mpg around town, best ever was maybe 20-21 on highway driving unloaded.

At altitude, it gets about 14mpg. Granted, once I go through the Eisenhower tunnel and point it downhill towards Denver, it makes about 25mpg on the downhill run. But you've got to average that against getting it back up the hill. For a longer highway comparison, I averaged 17.5 mpg on my last Raleigh NC to Dillon CO run. Also, due to the (lack of) aerodynamics, mpg goes down drastically somewhere around 85-90 mph (according to its Instant Fuel Economy) display. You actually can get it up to that speed on the eastern CO and Kansas flats.

I agree it makes a good boxy ski-trip hauler; that's why I bought it. Given my other car is a diesel VW, my "fleet average" is reasonably ecologically sound. Take out the middle row seat (or one of the captains chairs if the 7-passenger setup) and you've got a great big area to get into your boots and gear inside the van in the parking lot, or to let a big dog stretch out there.

If you can get one from the last couple of years they made it (2005-2006 I thing), those came with 4 wheel discs, finally bringing it into the late 20th century. That might balance out the brake wear compared to the original front disk/rear drum design - the thing eats front rotors every 20,000 miles. I'm still on my original rear brake shoes but on my 3rd or 4th set of front rotors and pads - the rotors get scored and warped beyond being able to be turned. Really the only major suckage with the thing. Other than it drives like a truck, not like a minivan.

"My Jeep is not an SUV. Your SUV is not a Jeep."

/thread

what to do

Try the Dodge Durango there is a ton of room inside, great engine to get up the mountains, skis in or out plus room for the buds and a price tag that doesn't leave you empty.

I NEVER liked the term "SUV" It's always been a truck to me, be it a blazer, bronco jimmy, 4runner, cherekee, whatever. It's still a truck. A jeep is a vehicle that has a frame and wheelbase similar to what the military used/ called jeeps in the 50s-80s be it AMC, willeys, whaetever.

I know more than a few old legends and guides that drive 'em.

Actually, adding fewer children to the equation might be less ignorant, and your filthy polluting truck is destroying the planet.

I guess we'd have to if all we had was a bicycle and a trailer

I towed five kids in it last week.

Just watch out for my mom when doing it (old blind lady with bullet proof glasses driving a blue Town Car). You've now been warned twice

It was just some neighborhood kids who decided to pile in. Nobody who's safety I was particularly concerned about. Haha. I warned them to keep hands away from wheels, rode about 50 feet past my driveway, then circled back.

We have speed bumps. My vehicle is the fastest on the block.

Bump


So what's it gonna be RR?

Whow. That's an extreme ugly one. I think car taste in the US differs a lot from what we're used to overhere.

Perhaps our fuel prices have a cause on that too.

Petrol is €1,67/liter wich is equal to $9.36/Gallon! Yep. That's right that's more than 2 times the price you pay in the US. Although the dollar/euro rate should make US cars cheap overhere we are heavily taxed. A Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 4.7 V8 Limited will do €74000 on the road wich is equal to $114581! ($40k in the US)

The reason Europe is working harder on the environment compared to the US has nothing to do with free will. It does have a lot to do with goverments overtaxing their people.

Do you mind if I send this around in an email to all of my friends and collegues? Friggin classic I tell ya.

I wonder what color his gf will let him buy it in.

Well, it sure as heck isn't going to be "green"