Beginning sometime last fall, I began to feel like my monthly expenses were outpacing my monthly income by just a little. Nothing too scary or extreme, but enough to make me think that maybe over the long term, the effects would be unsustainable and I’d eventually have to dip into my retirement savings to keep going — something I really don’t want to do. Casting about for the cause, after crossing off the usual monthly bills (lights, heat, etc.) from the list, I landed on the truck — my 2016 RAM 1500.

I hasten to say that, save for the cylinder-head covers, this has been a great truck. For the record, the head covers are aluminum and the engine block is steel; the two different metals heat at different rates, and over time this warps the cylinder head covers, allowing engine combustion gases to escape, which compromises mileage and power, and creates an annoying ticking noise as well. Replacing the cylinder-head covers is pricey, and I’ve had to do it for each of them on this big V8 engine. I don’t know if newer models have this issue, but it’s been a known problem for RAMs. So, between the costly repairs, the expensive tires ($300 a pop) and the execrable gas mileage (17MPG overall), I began to suspect that maybe the truck, superlative in every other respect though it is, was the cause for my cash flow instability.

Coincidentally, at about this same time (autumn 2023), I received an intriguing inquiry: would I be willing to sell my Little Guy camper? This was worth thinking about, because without the camper I don’t need a truck — maybe I could sell the camper and then trade in the truck on an electric vehicle, saving heaps of money as I cruised merrily past the gas stations. Thus motivated, I agreed to sell.

However, as it turns out, the buyer — after carefully examining the Little Guy — got cold feet. She wanted to buy it, her partner did not; they reluctantly agreed that maybe the timing wasn’t the best for them, and they ultimately decided that they would wait a few years until they retired before making the plunge into the RV life. Disappointed but undeterred, I found a local used-car dealer who agreed to sell the camper for me in the spring, and buy the truck off me as well. So, as I came into this winter of 2023-2024, that was the plan.

But as we all know, life is what happens while we’re making other plans. Or, put differently, if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. Eldest daughter LJ got pregnant, with a new baby arriving next May! I would definitely want to be spending time with her and her family in Ohio next summer, and remember — her guest room became granddaughter Layla’s bedroom back in 2018! There would certainly be no room for me to stay with them once the second daughter arrives. That also upended our solar eclipse plans, as it seemed most imprudent for her to be traveling to Texas, eight months pregnant, to see the April 8 eclipse. That meant that I would have to see the eclipse from Maine, and with all lodging long sold-out along the eclipse path, it would either be a day trip to Rangeley, Maine and back (a really long day of driving), or — I could drive to Rangeley, watch the eclipse, and then stay in the Little Guy overnight! Moreover, both my grandson and my good pal Steve wanted me to keep the camper as they both have enjoyed its use (Jaxon for camping, Steve for golf trips — you can read about both in previous posts).

So now, with all things considered, I’m keeping the Little Guy — at least for one more year, anyway. That being the case then, how can I do that, have a vehicle capable of towing it, AND bring my monthly expenses back into line? The answer (or so it seems to me!): replace the tow vehicle.

When I decided to buy the Little Guy in 2020, I did a lot of research on RVing and towing, and the primary issue in my mind at that time was to be sure to buy enough tow vehicle to tow it safely. Underpowered tow vehicles are dangerous both in their sluggish acceleration and in their anemic braking power. This being my first experience with RVs and towing, I decided to err on the side of excess. The RAM 1500 that I bought can tow 8,000 pounds, and the Little Guy at its maximum weighs 4,000 pounds. With the RAM, I had twice the towing capacity I would need.

And it worked great! That truck accelerates almost like the camper isn’t there, and I have in fact gas-pedaled my way out of a couple of dicey situations on the road in the four years I’ve been using it. It’s big and roomy and comfortable to drive, and it tows and hauls like a champ — if only the gas mileage were better, it would be awesome. But with the abysmal mileage, the odometer now having crossed 100,000 miles, and the check-engine light coming on whenever the gas gauge gets below 3/4 full, I thought that maybe I’ve gotten the best out of it; maybe I’m now looking at ever-increasing repair bills; and maybe it’s time to replace it with something newer and smaller.

OK, then, what to buy? Conventional wisdom — and this is VERY important! — says that one should use no more than 80% of one’s towing capacity at any given time. This means that, for me to tow my 4,000-pound Little Guy, I need to have at least a 5,000-pound towing capacity. Moreover, after owning a number of SUV-hatchbacks over the years, and stuffing them with garbage for the dump runs, I’ve really come to like having an open bed behind the passenger cabin for all that yucky stuff. This rules out vehicles like the Honda Pilot or the Nissan Pathfinder. So then, what’s the smallest, highest-mileage pickup truck with a 5,000-pound towing capacity available for sale in America today? This:

This is a Hyundai Santa Cruz — basically a Hyundai Tucson SUV with the back end sawed off into a four-foot truck bed, and with Hyundai Santa Fe heavy-duty suspension components underneath, propelled by a turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine. Is it actually a truck? I’m not at all sure. It certainly doesn’t ride like one. And Hyundai itself does not call it a truck; rather, a “Sport Adventure Vehicle”. (!) Marketing-speak, I suspect, but although it can tow and haul at least something (it actually carries as much cargo as a Chevy Colorado), I would not take it rock-climbing up the nearest mountain – it has the wrong transmission for that sort of thing. So, the jury is out on the truck question.

What is indisputable, however, is the contrast in size between this “truck” and my first one. Check this out:

This is reflected in its 26 MPG, and I haven’t even taken it on the highway yet. So I’m hoping that the increased gas mileage offsets the cost over time. How can it not? Plus, with the warranties and complementary maintenance, it shouldn’t cost me anything to run except for gas, at least for a while.

Anyway, I guess that the biggest takeaway from this whole experience for me is that a truck is a tool, and you have to get the right tool for the job. I had too much tool for the job I was doing, towing a small and lightweight teardrop trailer half a dozen times a year, and just running around town the rest of the time.

In case you’re wondering, the local used-car dealer did buy the RAM 1500. I have yet to tow the Little Guy with the Santa Cruz, so I can’t report on that yet. But the new truck (OK, I’ll call it that!) does have a lot of nice new technology that the old one did not have, and it’s overall an upgrade. So the daily driving will be a lot more comfortable (and a lot safer) than it was before.

I could not, however, part with the storm trooper:

So, for those of you who might have been wondering what I have been up to, this is it (along with playing the piano for a number of local high-school and professional drama musicals since last fall). Not exactly blog material, which is why the dearth of posts. However, I have resolved to do less RVing this summer and more motorbike trips, so hopefully I can soon get back to what this blog was about in the beginning. We’ll see how it all pans out.

I will be viewing the April 8 total solar eclipse (and you should, too!) and will definitely post about that. Until then, that’s the news! I hope all who read this are enjoying an early spring!