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Mini owner or all-out conservationist?

Discussion in 'Mini Lounge' started by andy_george, Nov 12, 2008.

  1. andy_george

    andy_george Member

    This got a lot longer than I expected....sorry!.......

    I bought my minitruck to replace an atv or utv as my primary mode of transportation to where I work, and most any other destination within 10 miles of my house. My parents always had 2 Honda atv's, and I would use one for my short trips. Last winter, with a new wife and looking forward to having a baby (which is 3 weeks old now and the cutest little girl ever!), I knew the atv's time was short lived, as I would need something to carry all of us in comfort and efficiency. I'm a car nut, and way too overly obsessed with cleanliness, so taking my car out on the gravel roads for every short trip was not an option. So, I bought the Minicab van, and we couldn't be any happier.

    I consider myself a conservationist, and I believe that's the underlying reason I bought the minitruck. Why fire up a larger, less efficient car for little jaunts, when I could use something like a mini with an atv size motor that uses less fuel, warms up and cools down faster, and has no problem being fired up and shut down within 5 miles of eachother for it's entire life?

    I'm no tree hugger by any means, far from it. I have no problem using electricity or gasoline in large quantities, but I really try not to waste anything. Some examples....

    1. I bought a corn burning stove to heat our house 5 years ago. I love it. It looks good, heats amazingly well, saves me tons of money, and has prevented me from burning around 2,500 gallons of Heating Oil since 2004. More work, yes, but worth it to me.

    2. My wife doesn't always agree, but when I do the laundry (I know, she's one lucky lady to have me:) I don't like using the dryer. I almost always hang the clothes outside, or on drying racks in front of the cornstove. It's more effort, but it's free!

    3. I burn any garbage I can. This may not sit well with the epa, but I really think my small fires in the back yard once a week are justified to keep tons of garbage from landfills.

    4. I try to conserve water. This may be because I had a scare of my well running dry years ago, and it still hasn't, so I'm always afraid! The only time I "waste" water is when something needs washing, like one of our cars. And not doing that would just be a sin...:)


    Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man in a younger body, but it makes me happy to feel like I'm not wasting things, and I think that's what convinced me to buy the minitruck. Any other owners out there think that's why they did, also?

    -Andy
     
  2. jtpc

    jtpc Member

    agreed. I wouldn't have a mini-truck if it weren't so fuel efficient. That is the whole point for me is to have a 4x4 truck that is more efficient. (and I also just love these little trucks!) But the efficiency is a part of them that I love, though not the only thing.

    It does feel good knowing you aren't burning through as much fuel in traffic with the tiny 4-cylinder idling away.
     
  3. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    1. i burn garbage in the fireplace because i'm too lazy to take it to the curb, and it gives the house a curious smell without having to spend frivolously on expensive candles.

    2. my wife doesn't agree but i've quit doing laundry all together to save loads of money on the soap, water & electricity... instead i spray them with febreeze and hang them from my neighbors clothes lines (yet another savings by not building my own).

    3. i light small fires in my backyard just to piss off the home owners association and to satisfy my fascination of the flame... one day i hope to be serving a life term for arson, but it's something i'll gradually build up to.

    4. i save tons of water by not showering... no costly shampoos, conditioners, soaps or toothpaste. just a small expense of deodorant, but my wife appreciates that small extravegance.

    5. i try to drink at least an 18 pack of coor's light nightly so that i have more to recycle. i can really chug those new widemouth cans with the vent.

    :D

    actually i'm a frugal guy... i'm constantly walking around the house turning off light switches and being mindful of water consumption (i do live in the desert, ya know). and most of all with the mileage i drive weekly, i have always stuck with motorcycles & fairly economical cars (daihatsu charade, scion xb, lots of vw's) and kept my big gas guzzlers for the occasional cruise. now with the mini truck i have the best of both worlds, half ton pay load and 30+ MPG.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2008
  4. rayallen

    rayallen Member

    1...Wife takes out trash to dumpster.
    2... I put wood pellets in wood stove because wife isn't tought how yet.
    3...I try not to let wife drive truck because I am afraid she will tear it up.
    4...My cattle love the little truck because they think they are bigger thaqn it is.
    5... My other trucks are jelous of little truck because they never get drove now.
    6..Not enough time to say everything I love about the little trucks.
    7..I always hugg a tree before I cut it down.
     
  5. TRAX and HORNS

    TRAX and HORNS Well-Known Member

    "DITO" to all of the above. This is what this site lost for a time. Glad to see it coming back. And Milt, Thanks, I laughed, burped and spit Dr. Pepper all over my lap top.
     
  6. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    TNH

    sorry about the snarf, but, yeah, just happy to be on the team :D
     
  7. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    I'm sorry, but MY two girls were the cutest babies ever. ;)

    We're lucky enough to live in a township that has a great recycling program so what isn't composted or recycled (which is ALL "numbered" plastic, paper, metal, and glass) gets taken twice a month to the "dump". This generally amounts to one not-overstuffed plastic bag of miscellaneous milk bottle tops, plastic packaging and bits of ill-defined flotsam of modern life. For a total of $1.50 per bag x twice a month (at most) = $3.00/month. And the chance to visit with all the chatty farmers and neighbors. (priceless) :D

    I probably would be considered a genuine tree-hugger by most of you though. That doesn't keep me from, as rayallen says, hugging them before I cut them down (yes, we heat with wood).
     
  8. Rural

    Rural Member

    I'm a tree hugger because of my two boys. We're building a home that should be really efficient and nearly self-sufficient (consuming windmills and wood rather than coal and natural gas). We are also growing much of our own food (which is actually a lot more work than I first thought). My main form of commuting transportation is a pedal bike, year-round, in Canada. And have you ever heard of a composting toilet? I have.

    My reasons are more about locking in quality of life than saving Mother Earth. In my opinion, humanity will do nothing to change its destructive practices until it has no choice (ie. oil production falls). My choices will have next to no impact on this. At best, I'll feel slightly less guilt.

    But that's just me.

    The little truck was part of all this. Reasonably efficient, but can haul half-a-dozen sheep and gives me the opportunity to pick up compostables and bedding (ie. bags of leaves or grass) whenever I happen to pass them. Besides, it looks really neat. In fact, I can't help but laugh every time I see it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2008

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