I have about 65k miles on the Tacoma, plan to drive it for 120k or until the doors fall off!

An '92 3.2 V6 Isuzu Trooper LWB. We've had it from new.... It's old, dirty and dented but it's got loads of grunt, we can chuck all sorts of gear in the back and it just goes on and on and on and on.... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've had a run of old vans that I bought for next to nothing to do the job.

First was a 1977 Chevy 3/4 ton work van that had been converted (love that '70s shag carpet) that I bought for $75 and ran it for 10 years. Towed the Hobie-14 and 18 with that, had a lot of road trips to Indy and Summit Point as well, it ultimately rusted into a pile of dust - but that 350 v8 still had enough torque to pull down a house at 200k+ miles.

Pic is of my second old van - $400 from the Goddard Space Flight Center excess property auction. Bare bones vehicle if ever there was one.

Can be summed up this way - 1980 Dodge van, $400, 1979 Hobie-18, $1500, Blowing by racing yachts whose jib cost more than my whole rig, priceless!

My current vehicle is a 2000 Chevy Astro LT, $5000. I certainly went over my usual budget on this one! But, I needed something that would take a car seat now, and could work out for family road trips. 4.3 liter v6, pulls the cats with no problem, Pulls the F-27 pretty well, gets around 20 mpg highway (not towing).

Still have the old Dodge, great work van - anybody want to buy it? Good price...

Practicality had a narrow vote over style. My current tow vehicle is a Honda minivan. I will say that it has a lot more space than my old SUV (Nissan Xterra), and with the double sliding doors, it's easy to get stuff in and out of. And yes, there is a carseat mounted in it now... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The other good things? About two thousand cup-holders, and extra sockets for televisions, blenders, etc.

Pulled a N20 with Galvanized trailer and overstuffed epoxy/wood box (= HEAVY) through the hills of south Georgia and got 22 miles per gallon (regular unleaded 87 octane)at 70 mph.

On the "Flats" in Florida during the summer (air conditioner on) cruising at 75 mph got 24 miles per gallon. Still had some "oomph" to pass a few cars, but I'm not an aggressive driver.

Without the trailer, gets around 26 mph highway.

Best mileage I got with the old Xterra pulling the same stuff was 19 miles per gallon. However, there was NO SPACE in the Xterra after loading all the luggage for a weekend trip with spouse and dog.

At $ 2.98 (USD) per gallon, the fuel savings did add up...

03 Expedition

Jeep

Neeeeeds custom hitch...damn it!

Are you sure that car has enough power to pull a cat? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

2001 Tahoe
-gets 13mpg with double-stacked N20's

1993 Ford E350 Van with the 7.3L IDI diesel. No turbo, so it's pretty smokey going over the high passes. Three captain's chairs and a bench that folds out into a bed. State DOT surplus, and it still has the big amber strobe bar which makes me feel special.

Tornado Alive:

That is one HELL of a truck. I use a 2000 Ford Explorer XLT. Got 22 mpg coming back from Fla when I picked up Mystere 4.3. Get about 15-16 around town.

Doug Snell

Someone asked what kind of mileage I get from my V-8 explorer, in town I manage about 16 or 17 with the trailor but on long trips I get around 25mpg. Granted I rarely drive over 70mph with the trailor and take it pretty easy.

2000 Explorer Sport Trac 4x4. It seats five and has a 4 foot bed. The bed is plastic so I can throw salty gear in it and not worry about the bottom rotting out.

'89 Dodge Mini-Ram van converted to an electrical service van. Company had built in shelving and 6 drawers under a sub-floor, 10' conduit slot up the middle (under floor) great for tiller extension, tie down stuff. Sub floor a great bed for the inflatible mattress on those late night arrivals or when the ground is too wet to set up the tent. Ladder rack on top was used to carry a trailer when delivering the sold 18 to the regatta and double stacked the 16 to race. Really nice to have all the storage space for every sailing and camping thing we'd ever possibly need and leave it the van and out of site to boot. Got us through 4 to 5K miles of regatta adventures this summer.

The drawback? 12 mpg pulling a boat, 14 when not. It's got a 3-litre Mitsubishi V6 that is a total POS. Chasing fuel and ECM problems all summer.

The wish list? Honda Oddessy, 245 hp <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

02 Tacoma V6 4X4. pulls I-20 no problem, and 4 wheel drive is great for pulling off beaches. Mileage is OK but goes downhill fast over about 65.

Good choice for your wish list, John. I will have to say that with the fold down rear seats, I was able to stow all of my sailing gear (clothing, pfd, harnesses, etc.), weekend apparrel (for me, wife and kid), all the child accoutrements (stroller, crib, highchair, bath, etc. etc. etc.) and still have the front and middle (reclining) seats clear for the kid, dog, spouse, etc.

The fact that the sliding doors have windows that go up and down (on both sides) is an added bonus..

Yes, I guess I am a closet mini-van convert... That, and they're $5,000 (USD) cheaper than the similar (cargo room) sized Expedition.

$5,000 is almost 1/3 of the cost for a new N20, so the savings is definitely something to consider....

2001 1.8T VW Passat, 5 sp manual, 135K miles. I've been towing my cats since I bought it. Great milage without the roof rack and trailer. I get about 20 towing the TheMightyHobie18. I have loaded her up with a weeks worth of car camping gear, two bikes, two sea kayaks, and all of my tools to repair the boat. I can't seem to go over 90 mph when I do that. It does look funny towing a boat that is bigger than your car.

1986 BMW 325e - approx. 25mpg on the highway with the boat. A great 6 cyl. with a fair bit of grunt.

Happily tows the F18 on a trailer at highway speeds.

and gets 38mpg around town.

Is that a Peugot ( spelling )? It is obvious that the US loves big gas guzzlers. I think that car would fit in my truck bed.