Thoughts on reconfiguring my vehicle fleet

[drooartz]

I've been thinking lately about my little fleet of vehicles -- being forced to sit on the couch with a leg up for 5 weeks will do that to you. I've come to realize that I may need to do a bit of reconfiguring to meet all my needs. This is directly related to the ankle injury, actually, in the form of this question:

"Is it really wise at my age to be planning on spending lots of time on a motorcycle in the desert by myself."

This is the first time in my life I've ever had the term "at my age" come up in my thoughts. First popped up while I was in the hotel just after the bike crash, glad as all heck that I made it that far. I'm a decent off road rider, but not particularly skilled (obviously ). I do love to camp and explore the desert, though, and often go by myself. And though I'm not particularly old (38) I'm also not 20 anymore. The consequences of errors/accidents are both larger and more apparent.

So all that said, here's the current fleet:

2002 Isuzu Rodeo Sport (wife's, must stay)
2009 Honda Fit
1959 Bugeye
1973 BMW R75/5

The original plan was to use the BMW as my desert scout -- I'm mostly just on roughish dirt roads so even a standard motorcycle can generally handle them. The Fit is our daily driver, with my wife's truck as the spare (we commute together almost every day as we work one building apart). The Fit is no good on dirt roads (ride is really rough and no clearance), the Isuzu does really well. The complication here is that my wife can't drive a manual car (which the Fit is) and has *no* desire to learn. So if I take the Isuzu for the weekend, she's without a car. Not good for the longterm health of our relationship, or for my ability sleep in our bed and not on the couch.

So I'm left with potentially shuffling the lineup a bit. Here's my current set of options, and I'd love some thoughts or other options:

1. Sell Honda, buy basic cheap automatic car

This replaces my Honda with something Jenny could drive. Basic cheap transport to function as a second car. Doesn't have to be nice, just functional (think late model Corolla). We'd drive her truck daily and just have this for when we need a second car.

Pro: cheap, simple.
Con: boring choice, means taking wife's pride and joy into the desert and risking damage.

2. Sell Honda, buy 4x4

This plan is similar (wife's truck becomes primary vehicle) but trades the Honda for some sort of 4x4. I'd be tempted by a FJ40 Land Cruiser or Series Land Rover for maximum interest, but could be swayed by a Suzuki Sidekick or Jeep or ??. Would need to be reliable enough to be occasional daily driver, including some use in the winter. I currently really like this idea -- I had a '76 FJ40 years ago and I had more fun with that truck than with any other vehicle I've owned.

Pro: most fun option
Con: most work, as adds another potentially needy older vehicle. Have to use a classic in the winter (think road salt, poor heat).

3. Sell Honda, Tunebug, BMW, buy better 4x4

This gives the most money for the 4x4 purchase, but I really don't want to sell the Tunebug or bike at this point.

Pro: Most resources for better vehicle
Con: No Tunebug. :frown:

 

[JPSmit]

can't sell tunebug - sorry.

option #4 find a friend with a bike who likes camping and use the buddy system. BTW leg schmeg you need happier thoughts on your birthday!

 

[Silverghost]

If you sell Tunebug, 11,773 unhappy BCF members will show up at your house and smack you with a dead wet tuna! :laugh:

Speaking from personal experience, trade in (or sell) the Fit for a certfied pre-owned Pilot. We have one and absolutely love it. The certified pre-owned warranty covered everything that needed to be fixed. Something to think about....

 

[14dna]

I'm with Peter. Trade the Fit for another Honda as that will get you your best return on it. Just a thought, Ridgeline. Has all the features of a Pilot and some neat storage places inside the box.
Also, JP's idea of a buddy rates lots of consideration.

Now is that enough fatherly advice for one birthday?

Dave

 

[DrEntropy]

I jus' wet meself.

Do what Pete 'n Dave said.

 

[aeronca65t]

In case I forget, happy birthday!

Anyway....My tech support guy was in the same boat as you.

He dumped his manual trans Subie for an autobox Fit and now Mommy is happy. By the way, his daily driver is a new MINI and he told me he is starting to prefer the Fit, even though it's a slush box.

Swap the Fit......All other vehicles should stay the same.

BTW, I almost never did any off-road riding alone (even when I was in my 20s). There's <span style="text-decoration: underline">gotta</span> be dual-sport riders in your area. Even here in NJ, I have 3 D/S rider groups nearby.

 

[drooartz]

Just so you all can relax, I'm not really considering selling the Tunebug at this point, though I can't say I'll own it forever -- there are a lot of LBCs I'd like to try, and I've really only got space/finances for one at a time. So you can all breathe easy for now. It'll only ever be replaced with a different LBC.

I've been going into the desert by myself pretty much since I moved here in 1994. While I do enjoy going with friends, the solitude you get out there by yourself is quite magical. We've also got quite a network of dirt roads near my house that I want to explore.

The most likely plan right now is to sell the Fit next year and find myself a fun 4x4. I really miss my old FJ40, may just be time to have another. I'll miss the Fit as it's an absolutely fantastic car, but it really just doesn't, well, fit with what I need anymore.

Or I could just pick up one of these:
https://www.imz-ural.com/gearup/

 

[Sherlock]

...

The most likely plan right now is to sell the Fit next year and find myself a fun 4x4. I really miss my old FJ40, may just be time to have another. I'll miss the Fit as it's an absolutely fantastic car, but it really just doesn't, well, fit with what I need anymore.

Or I could just pick up one of these:
https://www.imz-ural.com/gearup/

You could... Don't forget that a Ural motorbike is actually a very good winter vehicle from what I've been told by friends of mine, very stable on the ground being a side car unit... :thumbsup:

And you probably didn't know this, but a guy from Utah who used to hang around here on the forum is big into Land Cruiser's, some of you may recall Brian (aka Vitesse 6), he might be able to help you track down an FJ40... Can't seem to find his profile on here, unless he deleted it...

 

[eschneider]

Option 4:

Keep everything, add a Suzuki Sammy or 'Kick. $1500, no stickin' payments!

And if'n ya scrape a rock in Moab, no harm done.

The Sammy / Kick community is almost as active as the BCF crowd - make friends, attend group events.... (Half of which are centered around Moab) They are easy to work on, fairly cheap parts, lots of aftermarket goodies. In "you-tar" (hey, I spent 8 years in Ogden) I'm sure there are plenty available with off-road modifications already included.

I have a '92 tracker with 200K+ miles. Mine is 2WD (I prefer paved roads, thankyou). Seats 4 comfortably. "Tinny" interior and body, but otherwise mechanically & structurally very well built - seperate chassis, aluminum block engine, simple EFI. I even towed a camper with mine for a while.

If you want to investigate further - try zukiworld.com and check out the events page, and the vendor links (calmini is the biggest)

 

[drooartz]

Option 4: Keep everything, add a Suzuki Sammy or 'Kick. $1500, no stickin' payments!

I had a '94 4 door Sidekick for a couple years. Great truck -- I've really been considering getting a 2 door to meet this need.

 

[Silverghost]

Just so you all can relax, I'm not really considering selling the Tunebug at this point

<whew!...calls Tuna-R-Us and cancels the order for 11,773 dead, cold, wet fish! LOL>

 

[Silverghost]

Just so you all can relax, I'm not really considering selling the Tunebug at this point, though I can't say I'll own it forever -- there are a lot of LBCs I'd like to try, and I've really only got space/finances for one at a time. So you can all breathe easy for now. It'll only ever be replaced with a different LBC.

I've been going into the desert by myself pretty much since I moved here in 1994. While I do enjoy going with friends, the solitude you get out there by yourself is quite magical. We've also got quite a network of dirt roads near my house that I want to explore.

The most likely plan right now is to sell the Fit next year and find myself a fun 4x4. I really miss my old FJ40, may just be time to have another. I'll miss the Fit as it's an absolutely fantastic car, but it really just doesn't, well, fit with what I need anymore.

Or I could just pick up one of these:
https://www.imz-ural.com/gearup/

Couldn't you literally call that a Ural Mountain Bike? :laugh:

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Lift the body off Tunebug and the Beemer.
Swap chassis.
Make a desert scout outta Tunebug and you've got both.

Boy, am I gonna catch some flak over that.....

 

[drooartz]

Complicated to do, as the BMW is a motorcycle... would make the Tunebug really tipsy.

Most recent plan is now to possibly trade the Honda in on a modern SUV of some sort. We're having another of those winters where a 4x4 is *really* nice to have for a daily driver.