# How Many Tv's Are Daily Drivers?



## pk8183 (Jul 15, 2007)

Just a curiosity question more than anything...

With as many 3/4 & 1 ton trucks as I see on the boards, I am wondering how many of them are daily drivers and how far you drive them daily....

I drive about 2500 miles a month (for work...thank goodness for $.50 a mile reimbursement) and I ended up getting a Altima (4 Cyl) to drive for work, and then bought the old truck ($5K) just to pull the Outback to and from the lake, as well as the boat from time to time.

Anyways...just curious


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## ColoradoChip (Jan 21, 2008)

Mine is a daily driver three to four days a week about 40 miles round trip. When the kids switch to a new daycare a mile away in July, though, I will probably stary working from home whenever possible, and hopefully shut down my office in October. No reason for a mortgage broker to even have an office these days! That will be a nice relief at the pump for our family!


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

My TV (2008 F350) is NOT a Daily Driver. I love it and find myself driving it more than i need but it sits tucked away in the garage only to be used for utility. The DW and I drive the other 2 vehicles during the week.


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

Mine is also a daily driver but I work 1.5 miles from home. This short commute is what really justified us getting the 3/4 ton diesel when we did. I actually have to get it up on the interstate every week or two just to blow everything out and get a good regen on the DPF.

Brad


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## Stan (Aug 9, 2006)

I just picked up a '96 Ford F350 Diesel to use exclusively as the TV. Get's about the same mileage as my '05 Tahoe the few times I've driven it without the OB, but it's a lot easier to park the Tahoe!


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

My DH uses the truck as a daily driver/ work vehicle. He is constantly pulling trailers with heavy equipment, materials, tools, race cars, etc with it. He is a busy guy in the summer, so sadly, he doesn't get to pull our camper often enough. The good thing about it is that it gets totally written off as a business expense.


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

My Excursion has been my daily driver... until recently... now my daily driver is my bicycle. I live close enough to work that it's a nice ride, and it gives me a chance to get some extra exercise.


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

My truck is a DD. However I only have about 5 miles round trip to work and back. $4.60+ this week per gallon. Otherwise I'd find other transportation as I only fill up once per month $115+

However, I just put 2300 miles on the truck pulling the trailer in the last week and wouldn't change a thing. The power is there when you want it. $~850 in fuel for the trip but the memories are worth every penny.


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

My Avalanche is the daily driver during the cold and snowy months. Once the snow and ice is gone from the roads my Miata is the daily driver. Daily drive 40-50 miles, depending on how many errands need to be done on the way home.


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## Jim Savage (May 27, 2008)

Paul Kilgore said:


> Just a curiosity question more than anything...
> 
> With as many 3/4 & 1 ton trucks as I see on the boards, I am wondering how many of them are daily drivers and how far you drive them daily....
> 
> ...


I drive my 1 ton Chevy Express 15 passenger almost every day. Since I have such a big family there is nothing else out there for us to get around in. I really like the way it handles down the highway my gas miliage is around 22-24 and about 9 to 12 while towing. the only thing I don't like is the turning radius. I have a hard time trying to get it into the small parking spots at Wal-mart it takes up 2 spots because it is so long.


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## 1jeep (Jul 24, 2007)

Mine was until this year, now i commute into the office 4 days a week(146 miles round trip each day) in my 07 Hyundai. Working at home one day a week has helped save me a few bucks, but i find myself putting in more hours at home then i should be.

So now i am on the search to have an even bigger fuel hog parked in my driveway...hopefully soon it happen..lol


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Mine is NOT a daily driver, maybe a monthly driver. I still drive the same ol' S-10 I got used in 1997. Its a 95 with 180,000 on it. If it blows, it gets a new engine. My wife has a Pontiac G-6 and I still have the HD. If I had to drive that gas hog everyday I would shoot myself, even though I go 18 miles to work, it adds up quick.


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## gerrym (Oct 23, 2006)

Daily driver- only 5 miles to work. Truck gets maybe 10,000 mils tops on it a year. Thankfully, the DW being self employed and her fuel being paid for through the business- we use her Caravan for everything that doesn't involve towing, heavy snow or driving off-road. Van's fairly decent on fuel too.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

My TV is also my DD, and these days that's not a lot of fun.

Still... That diesel is getting broken in quicker (50 miles round-trip each day) than if it was just sitting waiting for our next camping trip. Gotta look for that silver lining, right?









I would love to pick up another vehicle as a high-MPG commuter, but when you do the math, anything but the cheapest of used vehicles just does not pencil out. When I look at the cost of acquisition, insurance and maintenance of a third vehicle, I can buy a lot of fuel, thus miles, for the same amount of less. Actually coming out ahead would be years down the road, and then only if nothing big goes wrong with the commuter car in the mean time.

Sure wish I hadn't sold the 'ol Miata a few years back. If we still had that in the stable, it would be a different story.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

My 2500HD diesel is my daily driver. I drive about 40 miles round trip every day.


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## KosinTrouble (Jul 18, 2005)

My 1500 is my daily driver about 60km a day. Most of it is highway and I love seeing that engine kick into v4 mode and run about 8-9L/100km (sorry dont know the mpg equiv)

Kos


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

mine is my daily driver. I drive it 52 miles round trip but only 3 and now 2 days a week. Although I would like a miser gas car the insurance is around $700/year just for liability. That and I'm not sure letting a diesel sit around idle is such a great idea. I then point to the life expectancy of the diesel vs. a gas so if I drive it more then I'm just making use of it. I would love to park them all save a ton of oil so on and so forth but that isn't practical.


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## willie226 (Apr 4, 2006)

Mine is my daily driver I only have a couple of mile to work too

willie


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Until last Nov., the Tundra (19mpg) was my DD for the 96m daily round trip in the winter or all Fridays, but the Miata (32mpg) came out on any non-icy, non-Friday. Kathy's DD was the 4Runner (17mpg) for her ~50m daily round trip until it became a Prius (56mpg) - also in Nov. In just 7 mths, we've gone from BIG miles (just for work) and a huge monthly gas bill to only ~200 miles/wk in the very economical Prius, and all this while the gas prices have been steadily sky-rocketing. In a really odd twist - we're actually saving money by me being retired.


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Whomever does the least amount of traveling gets the 'burb; we try to park it as much as possible.

Lately I've been leaving the 'burb at home whenever possible and walking to work, taking the bus home. I simply shifted my lunchtime walk to the morning and got to park the guzzler at home.

Ed


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## mmblantz (Jul 1, 2007)

I have to drive the burb 1 week out of every three when I have kid drop off cuz DW has to be at the school early. Otherwise, my massive 1 mile drive to work is done in my 1976 Rally Sport Camaro that my mom bought brand new when I was a kid.....sweet. ---Mike


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## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

PDX_Doug said:


> My TV is also my DD, and these days that's not a lot of fun.
> 
> Still... That diesel is getting broken in quicker (50 miles round-trip each day) than if it was just sitting waiting for our next camping trip. Gotta look for that silver lining, right?
> 
> ...


I agree with cost-effective math in whether a vehicle should sit in the driveway. We average about 15,000 a year between camping, carting girls to school, activities, errands. The armada is my main vehicle; however, I don't drive to a physical work location each day yet my miles seem to add up quick. DH drives a honda accord everyday. We plan on getting a truck at somepoint when the miles are higher on the Armada. DH talked about not driving as commuter lately due to gas.(we plan on keeping the honda) but I think why spend all that money on the truck to just park it. Our honda was purchased new in "98" so my thought is he should drive the new vehicle when we get one. We keep our vehicles and get use out of them so why buy a new vehicle and still drive the old 10 or more year old one. Except gas savings. I have mixed feelings new vehicle, higher insurance, sitting in the driveway.... Our dtr is 9 this year and we are not planning on a truck anytime soon, but the deals are there right now.....hmmmm. With all that in mind, we figure keep the honda for the kids first car as we know the up keep done on it etc. and the tags and insurance are cheap. Cristy


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

My truck is driven to work daily, too. But I only live about six miles from work, and real close to Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc. So if I need something from one of the nearby stores, I can usually haul anything home that I want to.

But if I had to drive 20 miles or more one way, I'd be buying something used that gets decent fuel economy.

Mike


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## daves700 (Jun 12, 2006)

my tv sits during the week, then gets used on the weekends... if I had to drive it everyday I would sell it, my drive is 120 miles each day.


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

My '06 Ram 2500 CTD 4x4 quad-cab was a daily driver for the first 16 months of its life. Now it stays in the garage and is used soley for towing the Sydney fiver. My daily drivers are a Honda CR-V and a Honda Civic. With diesel $4.70 a gal, happy to have the 2 trouble free, decent mpg hondas! PCM


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## Acadia Hiker (May 29, 2007)

The Tundra is a DD for the most part. However, I just got my bike fixed and it's only a few miles to work. The Tundra can sit and I can save $ (while getting exercise...







)


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## 'Ohana (May 20, 2007)

My TV is also my DD, and my commute to work and back averages 20 miles a day.
I recently upgraded from a F-150 Gasser to the F-350 diesel and both of the trucks averaged about the same mpg's when not towing.

When I was towing with the gasser the millage was 1/2 of what it was when not towing however as I've only towed with the diesel a couple of times, I've noticed that the millage when towing only varies by 2-3 mpg based on the speed and terrain. Therefore in my mind, gallon per gallon I'm using less fuel than I used to and if the prices should ever go down I'd be saving money









As far as the skyrocketing prices







, well........ that's something that effects us all and the choices we choose in dealing with the current situation is what makes each of us the unique individual's we are.

Ed


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## FraTra (Aug 21, 2006)

I drive mine daily but now I only drive about 5 miles to but I still spend about $50/week on gas. We drive the mini van on weekends and if the family goes anywhere durring the week.

I am actually in the process of getting a donorcycle, uuhhh I mean motorcycle to take the work and around town driving away from my truck. If I go thru with this my Super Crew will sit most of the time.


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## BchBum'sBoss (Jul 24, 2007)

The 2500 USED to be David's daily driver but with with the skyrocketing cost of fuel, it is parked. We purchased a Honda Fit for his new "ride". It only cost him $32 to fill the Honda vs the $125 fill up twice a week for the truck.









I'm looking to trade in my Envoy XL for a Prius. We live a rural area in which getting into your vehicle is at least a 30 minute ride.









Linda


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I work from home and drive wifes Volvo to aiport when I'm traveling. That is one reason our 2004 Suburban only has 24,000 miles. I'd say on average we put 200 miles on the Suburban during none camping months.


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## DieselDave (Apr 6, 2008)

My 2001 Dodge 2500 has been my daily driver since I bought it new in 2002. 110 miles a day round trip, which has added up to just over 176,000 miles. In just the last couple of months I've started carpooling a few days a week. Paying $4.79/gal for diesel, it costs me $30/day to drive back and forth to work. I try to carpool enough to keep my monthly fuel bill down below $500. (not counting fuel while towing the OB, that counts towards the vacation budget)

Like most, I've done the math and it's hard to see a return on buying a commuter car. Not to mention spending 2 hours a day in a car, I'd like to drive something I enjoy. And I do love driving the truck. I'm not sure if it's the 500hp or the 24" grover air horns (tastefully hidden behind the bumper







) that's more fun during rush hour.







(PS I'm use my horn very, very sparingly. I don't want to give the impression I'm not a courtious driver). I tried to convince the DW to let me get a motorcycle, but she'd rather pay the extra money in fuel then to try and raise three little girls by herself.

The funny thing is, for the first 5 years I owned the truck, I never towed anything. I actually bought it to be a daily driver because I knew I was going to rack up the miles.

David


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## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

Mine is not a DD. I use my company vehicle all week and my tv nights and weekends.

It turns out the tv is just short of a years old (3 weeks) and has just over 5000 miles on it.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

The truck is DW's daily ride, I love the looks we get when we tell people it's her truck









She only drives a few miles a day back and forth to work and shuttling the girls around. At first the girls hated the idea of a truck but after a few of their friends got in and said how big and cool it is they changed their minds









I drive a subaru to work, of all the cars I've had over the years it's my favorite.

Mike


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## Colorado Campers (Apr 20, 2004)

My Ram 2500 is only used for the camping trips or when I need the AC,







I have a 75 Volkswagen Bug I drive the heck out of to work and around town. Sure has come in handy w/ the fantastic gas prices.


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## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

| only insure the 2000 ford for 6 months a year. i drive a gmc tracker the rest of the time dw drives a4door dakota. but like the last poster i do drive the big truck once in a while for the a/c. i wrecked my knee last week falling out of my boat so i,ve been driving the ford because its automatic. but its killing me in fuel.


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## nonny (Aug 14, 2005)

130,000 miles on my '05 Durango. I drive 250 miles to work and an additional 500 miles on weekends to care for my Mom. I took a trip to the south 2 years ago and put nearly 4,000 miles on it in 1 camping trip that year. I need a new TV and want to go to a 250 or 2500 pick up but still have too much negative equity on mine plus noone wants an 05 with 130,000 miles on it so a dealer's only going to send it to auction. This vehicle's been rode hard and would probably rather be put out to pasture at this point.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

My Tundra was my daily driver until last week. Kind of sad in a way as I love to drive her. The Tundra with all her mods (i.e., extra weight, 6 inch lift, big tires, etc.) is averaging on my mixed highway\city driving between 13 and 14 mpg. My round trip commute is not bad compared to some of you - 34 total miles. However, it does add up. So, we just bought a 2008 Toyota Yaris 'S' 4 door sedan. The 'S' model cost us only $25\month more than the base model (I wanted something a little sportier after all!







), it's my new daily driver. My wife drives a Highlander Hybrid. I have not even gone through the dealer filled gas tank yet. Based upon all I've read, I can expect about 35 mpg. I'm not a pedal to the metal kind of driver, so I believe I should see that or better. The interior is quite comfortable and roomy. There is still more driver seat adjustment than my 6' 1" frame needs. With the seat adjusted for me, I climbed into the back seat behind the driver and my knees still don't touch the seat! Therefore plenty of room for my two kids.







It is rather weird going from a lifted truck that I could see over almost anyone to something that feels like my butt is scraping the road! Not moving of course, I can open the door and touch the road. The Yaris has very good road manners, is nice and quiet even at freeway speeds and I can almost park it under the Tundra.









Oh yeah, we put enough $$$'s down that our monthly payment including insurance and gas for the Yaris is less than the gas costs alone for the Tundra. Time to give the ol' gal a rest (120,000 flawless miles) and dust her off for the weekend pickup truck work, 4x4 fun runs or camping trips. (Psssst...don't think I'm crazy but I think the Outback and Tundra talk to each while traveling down the highway







).

Over and out.


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

The magic bus was my DW's daily driver, and I drove my f-150 supercrew. The Supercrew got the axe, now I drive the bus and DW has a Ford Escape. Whereas the Bus is paid off, it doesnt hurt so much to fill that 44 gallon tank every three weeks. I'm going to do some minor mods so the big ole girl can dance- like a hypertech chip, a modified intake and an aftermarket exhaust... maybe get 1-3 mpg improvement?


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## jitch388 (Apr 19, 2008)

Drive 3.5 miles round trip to work in my tv. I have to drive across town several times a month. Our town is so small we get around okay in whatever. The dw has a 4-runner so the in-town mpg is not that much better.


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

Our TV is stowed nicely in the garage for the summer (except for camping trips of course).

I drive a Mariner, mostly around town. We also added a hitch to it so that we can use it to haul the bikes for day trips. When Eugene switched to E10, my fuel mileage dropped from 22 to about 19, but since then I have been really watching how I drive and when I figured my mileage this morning I was sitting at 21.5.







My DH rides a used TTR230 dual sport back an forth to work - we paid $2,000 for it. It does not have a speedo, so we don't know exactly how many miles he is going, but we think he is averaging about 55 mpg versus 12mpg when he drives the TV - that bike will pay for itself fairly quickly with those numbers.


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## MaeJae (May 12, 2005)

My Excursion is my Daily Driver...
I work at our Jr. & Sr. High School and
it is only five miles to school and summers off!

MaeJae


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Here's my daily driver:










No, really, it's more like this:










Sorry, I couldn't resist. Honestly, I ride the motorcycle (this motorcycle) everyday. The truck pretty much sits and waits for something to do.


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## mikenkristipa (May 11, 2008)

My Dodge is mainly a TV - I use on the weekends not camping. Work provides me with a GMC Savana, unfortunately they don't pay for 100% of my gas. They do pay my insurance for my family and maintenance so I guess that' s an ok tradeoff. The $4 a gallon thing is taking a toll though. I tend bar every other Sat. and camp every other weekend (just about), the DW wants me to give up the bartendeing gig but I just let her know that camping twice a month is better than once a month and she gives up on that argument.

Bought the Dodge in February and have only put 2000 miles on since. The only thing that it has affected is that we reconsider going to far away. We are still new to the camping so there are probably 50 campgrounds within 50 miles of the house. Til we hit most of them we won't venture to far each weekend unless we have 3-4 day weekends.

Mike


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## ron4jon (Sep 26, 2005)

I just found this thread so here is my late reply. Our TV just sits until we need it to haul something, pull a bass boat or go camping. The 10 MPG is hard to justify for a lot of use - although I do love to just drive it....! It only has 26k miles on it now so for a 2004 maybe it will last a lot longer with less use. I drive it about once every two weeks for a short trip just to keep everything lubed and the battery charged. We are about to make an ~ 2000 mile trip to PA (Somerset County & Pittsburgh area). So I am looking forward to that trip and using the TV which is in great shape and ready to roll...!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

The super duty is a DD for me. ~35 miles/day. Everyone here laughs at me, but I'm getting equal to or slightly better fuel economy than the F150's many of them are driving.


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## TennesseeOutback1 (Feb 1, 2008)

My Chevy HD2500 6.0L is my DD althought I have a 95 bronco I drive sometimes as well. My work is only about 6 miles from the house so no biggy.


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## Rubrhammer (Nov 27, 2006)

20+MPG on my DD so I can't complain. Well, I could but noone would care so why bother. Our Equinox only gets about 24 so it sets there waiting for the wife to exercise it.
Bob


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## luv2rv (Jun 21, 2004)

I bought my new truck this year with the intent only to use it for towing. I drive a 2000 Montana daily and DW drives 2006 Mazda6.

I've had my truck since March and still only have 8,400KMS on it (about 5,200 miles)

Wayne


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

When I purchased my F-250 diesel in 2006, I traded in a 2005 Ford Ranger which was then my daily driver. I didn't want to use my pristine 2001 BRG Miata as a daily driver. After driving the behemoth truck for a year (every parking job is a 3-point turn) I went looking for another car as my daily driver. Fortunately I found a 1992 Sunburst Yellow Miata. So I ended up with two Miatas - my weekend Miata and my daily driver Miata. But in March of this year I found a 2004 Jeep Rubicon, equipped just the way I wanted one, so I got that - without giving up any of my other cars. So, with my wife's Saturn Vue we have five cars for two people - twisted, I know. Oh, I also have had a Yamaha Vino scooter for five years which I also use on my 26 mile round trip commute down the gorgeous Southern California coastline to work when the weather is perfect.


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