Double Tap
Full Access Member
I've found myself in a bit of a quandary lately. I love my truck and it's by far the nicest vehicle I've owned to date. My wife loves the truck almost as much as I do. We constantly get comments on it from absolute strangers and it seems to garner a lot of attention on the road, which is both fun but also annoying at times.
But recently I've begun to reassess some of my priorities as well as how the Raptor fits into our lifestyle. Prior to owning the Raptor my wife and I both owned FJ Cruisers and I really enjoyed the fact that I could take the FJ damn near anywhere -- including doing some medium-duty offroading. The Raptor seems plenty capable of going anywhere that it can fit, but that's one of the problems. It's too damn big for a lot of the trails near us and we're halfway across the country from the nearest desert.
On top of that it's becoming a pain in the ass to find parking places big enough for it and we constantly have to consider whether there will be parking appropriate for the Raptor wherever we might go. I don't mind parking away from the crowd -- and prefer it -- but sometimes even that isn't an option, let alone practical.
Lastly, when I consider the cost of fuel per month, the relatively low MPG the truck gets and the fact that I could reduce my monthly car payment by almost 30% were I to go with a smaller offroad vehicle, and it's seriously steering me to contemplate other options.
I think I may end up going to test drive a 2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited this evening after work. I'm not sure what's going to happen after that. I'm torn between the emotional tug of the Raptor and the practicality of something more economical to own/operate and what might actually fit our lifestyle a little better.
Just had to vent a little. Anyone else facing similar decisions lately?
But recently I've begun to reassess some of my priorities as well as how the Raptor fits into our lifestyle. Prior to owning the Raptor my wife and I both owned FJ Cruisers and I really enjoyed the fact that I could take the FJ damn near anywhere -- including doing some medium-duty offroading. The Raptor seems plenty capable of going anywhere that it can fit, but that's one of the problems. It's too damn big for a lot of the trails near us and we're halfway across the country from the nearest desert.
On top of that it's becoming a pain in the ass to find parking places big enough for it and we constantly have to consider whether there will be parking appropriate for the Raptor wherever we might go. I don't mind parking away from the crowd -- and prefer it -- but sometimes even that isn't an option, let alone practical.
Lastly, when I consider the cost of fuel per month, the relatively low MPG the truck gets and the fact that I could reduce my monthly car payment by almost 30% were I to go with a smaller offroad vehicle, and it's seriously steering me to contemplate other options.
I think I may end up going to test drive a 2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited this evening after work. I'm not sure what's going to happen after that. I'm torn between the emotional tug of the Raptor and the practicality of something more economical to own/operate and what might actually fit our lifestyle a little better.
Just had to vent a little. Anyone else facing similar decisions lately?
