Should I get a Prius type vehicle?

Estragon

Lake of the  Woods in NW Ontario, Canada.  The lake isn't all that big (roughly 60 x 60mi), but about 2/3 of it is islands (something like 11,000 of them) and long bays, so lots of shoreline. 

Mostly rock shoreline, though we have a little beach.  The main target fish here is pickerel (walleye), which I think likes deeper water than we have near the dock.  I've seen bass guarding eggs next to the dock in spawning season but otherwise I think it's mostly jackfish (pike).

softdown

Estragon said:

Lake of the  Woods in NW Ontario, Canada.  The lake isn't all that big (roughly 60 x 60mi), but about 2/3 of it is islands (something like 11,000 of them) and long bays, so lots of shoreline. 

Mostly rock shoreline, though we have a little beach.  The main target fish here is pickerel (walleye), which I think likes deeper water than we have near the dock.  I've seen bass guarding eggs next to the dock in spawning season but otherwise I think it's mostly jackfish (pike).

Nice! I figured you were way up north to get that kind of solitude. Then again, only a small percentage of Canada is heavily populated. 

Estragon

Most of Canada is really, really empty.  My son did a two week canoe trip on a (relatively) well travelled route in June and didn't see another human.  There are lots of routes where you'd be hard pressed to tell that any humans had ever been there.

Dave Angelini

I have mostly spent time in Burnaby near Schneider. The west coast up there is also something that will take your breath away. Too many places to list. Freaking expensive to live near Burnaby. I was shocked at real estate prices and cost of living. Much better pricing once you get out of Burnaby into the rest of BC. BC youtubes below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=lKEgBMtqtos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFrZNjs2ng

softdown

I generally thought British Columbia had ridiculous real estate prices when I looked. They don't talk about it but I know that many American have fled for various reasons. Canada and Mexico and Panama being quite popular. Canada is reputed to be very tough about who they will take. 

We spent a week on Shuswap Lake and loved it. Spent three weeks on the Snake Indian river and was disappointed. 

softdown

Interestingly enough - Honda got their automatic transmission issues ironed out by ~2012 while Toyota has been having troubles with their CRV(?) automatic transmissions for the past few years.

Also - Toyota and Mazda are jointly building a plant in Alabama(?). Will they be called Toyazda's or Mazota's? I know of a very experienced car guy that thinks this is a bad move for Toyota. 

Estragon

The BC lower mainland is definitely not one of the mostly empty bits.  With the mountains and the ocean containing sprawl, growth can only go east up the Fraser river valley.  It used to be relatively affordable to live out near Abbotsford, but the traffic now makes it a multi-hour commute.

Canada currently takes >300,000 (legal) immigrants per year, which might be the highest per capita rate in the developed world.  They tend to locate in places like the greater Toronto area and Vancouver though, which makes affordable housing a big issue.

Dave Angelini

I recently heard that immigrants to Canada have to take an oat and actually like the Canadian way of life. What a novel idea!

softdown

Seems to me like the worst weather often sports the best people. Criminals seem to be attracted to mild climates for some reason. Bit off topic here but it is my thread I guess. 

MarkC

South Central Texas - looking out the back porch over the creek onto 70 acres of deer, coyotes, squirrels, raccoons, possums, armadillos, feral pigs, owls, hawks, a 6+ ft. rattle snake, on and on  - gotta love Texas.  Hard to leave!  Do wish we had a lake - so a blow up swimming pool has to do.  Grandkids riding the 70 and 100 CC Honda dirt bikes, learning to drive on back country roads, how to shoot guns safely,  just wish they did not have to grow up!

Back to the subject - my Daughters' Prius can keep one A/C unit, the ceiling fans, lights and a TV for quite some time.

on - 

softdown

Yes, I think it takes a heckuva battery to propel a vehicle down the road for 50 miles. But an older one is not too likely to have a real good battery and it can be hard to find qualified mechanics for them. May have to use a dealer$ship and help pay for the owners indoor pool. 

Nice pic btw. 

icarus

B.C also has a foreign investors tax on realestate trasactons.  Designed to reduce speculative investing, and to some extent it has worked.

A lot of areas in B.C. Most notably the Vancouver metro have been heavily spec invested by foreigners as a way to protect capital.

Tony

softdown

My itch to leave went down a great deal when they quit taxing me at five times the normal rate. They called it commercial for tax purposes which was highway robbery. Things are actually not bad right now that I have gotten out from underneath my worst Florida rental. A non stop nightmare for seven very long years. The one that looked like my best buy turned out to be the worst one by far. 

Still keeping an eye open. And burning with envy when you and Marc K post up your lake shots. I started prepping in 2007 - scenery was not on the agenda. I've had plenty of time to regret that. 

Marc Kurth

MarkC said:

South Central Texas - looking out the back porch over the creek onto 70 acres of deer, coyotes, squirrels, raccoons, possums, armadillos, feral pigs, owls, hawks, a 6+ ft. rattle snake, on and on  - gotta love Texas.  Hard to leave!  Do wish we had a lake - so a blow up swimming pool has to do.  Grandkids riding the 70 and 100 CC Honda dirt bikes, learning to drive on back country roads, how to shoot guns safely,  just wish they did not have to grow up!

Back to the subject - my Daughters' Prius can keep one A/C unit, the ceiling fans, lights and a TV for quite some time.

on - 

Waaay Nice! I was in the pines between Smithville and Bastrop from June 2008 until late 2017. Where is this?

Marc

MarkC

Lavaca County, near Hallettsville - Just far enough North to mollify hurricanes and still get plenty of rain to stay green.  The Post Oak Savanna is so diverse.  Only issue is humid heat all summer, but the fall, winter, spring make up for it (yes - the total of total of 6 months!  ). 

Always wanted to ride at Andrew Shorts' MX track in Smithville, but would probably have killed myself.

softdown

Know stuff about the Toyota Yaris anybody? Found one that looks OK - circa 2007. Very small hatchback and 1.5 liter engine. Should come close to 40mpg highway I would hope. 

LowOnCash

softdown said:

Have a lot more solar than I need. Could use the power to fuel a small electric car battery pack. Maybe even use that vehicles battery pack for the house when the battery falls to ~50%. 

Could take much nicer hikes involving much longer trips. Right now I frequently (every other day) spend about $5-6 for fuel for hiking in somewhat mediocre country. This area is dry, rocky, steep and full of cactus. More bear scat than deer and elk sightings. I like deer and elk sightings but I hardly ever even see tracks. Just bones. I'd like to explore more country without spending a fortune on fuel 

You might consider something more applicable for charging such as a Chevy Volt. While they have a 4 cyl engine they are capable of running around 40 miles just on its battery pack.

mik

softdown

Not sure if the search is done but failed to resist this 1997 Ford Explorer AWD with every option imaginable - and then some. It was quite the car in its day. Now has 258,000 miles and has a shimmy that seems to be the left front. I'll probably take it to an alignment shop - they have to assess a front end to see if an alignment will do any good. Still in pretty good shape amazingly - except for a bumper that needs to be replaced and a crack in the seam of the well worn leather seats. Doesn't that always happen with enough time? Plus the obligatory door dings and scratches.

The good news? Paid $620 - it was from a repo shop that owed money to my gear guy. Part of a $1400 transaction involving lockers, limited slip and some trial and error. It needs something - looking into it. Motor and trannie seem exceptional. 

May not be a fantastic deal but everybody seemed to think so  - to date. Had a couple mechanics look at it - though not in depth. Long story as always. 

Rough couple days - paid $95 overnight shipping twice. Learned quite a lot. Survived. Birthday in two days - yahoo. 

softdown

Meanderings - talking to myself - finally caught a break

This $620 Ford Explorer Limited appears to be the deal of the day. Accelerates very smartly without turning tires on dirt - I think the AWD works.
Engine sounds great - mpg is acceptable for a V8 - about 20 running around. 22 without stops.
Transmission fluid appears newish - it is still red. This never happens unless the fluid is young.
Engine belt looks new.
Thinking/hoping the shimmy was caused my broken shock absorber. 
Got a good salvage yard rear bumper for $45. It attached in spite of the fact that it "wasn't supposed to be compatible". 
Front end can be raised via tightening torsion bars. 
Raised the rear via Monroe Loadadjust shocks - that proved to be difficult.
Shackles will raise it another 2" though replacing these shackles is quite incredible - in a bad way.
Already had four almost new 265/75r16 snow tires - which are also great for off road traction. Increases ground clearance and improves clearance. 
All brake pads look good. 
It still has almost 259,000 miles. Nothing to sneeze at. 

Right now I would say no deal to a $2000 offer. Over three times what I paid - though I have invested a couple hundred already. 

solar_dave

Dave Angelini said:

I had a Chevy Volt here again this summer and I would like something like it. All electric for 50 miles and then a gas engine comes on. Easy to charge on 120 or 240. Chevy Bolt now as the Volt is gone now. Plenty of used ones.

I really want something a bit more like a Civic where the back seat folds flat and 48x62 inch solar panels can fit in. This is nice because you could sleep back there in a pinch. Sometimes I have to go up into the mountains and can get stuck with weather. 

Guessing a small truck with 100 miles range would be nice. At that point one could lose the gas engine and save some money.

All of these vehicles are a bit scary in how they expose you to getting hurt in an accident. I would not want one in the Bay area for sure. Lots of people do.

 Great for rural, in my opinion. You hear everything.

Been driving our Volts now for over 8 years. Great cars so far, minimal cost to own. The wife's 2011 has only used about 30 gallons of gas in its life, mostly from forced annual burn of stale fuel.  My 2012 has used more like 400 gallons, but that car has 65K miles and made quite a few long trips (one over 4000 miles).

Dave the back seats in the Volt will fold all the way down If you pop out the bottom seat cushions. Hauled lots of stuff in the Volts, but I do own a Chevy Colorado for larger items, and it has pretty great milage with its 2.8 liter 4cly.  It has a tow package on it and we have hauled our 6X12 trailer to Sturgis a couple times (with a pair of harleys), but a bit under powered for that!

The battery estimator (guess O meter) is pretty accurate, we still get over 40 miles per charge (no AC or heat usage), about a 10% loss in range over our ownership. 

Actually the Volts are pretty safe, I got T-boned in the 2012, and a couple of doors and a B pillar graft seems to have fixed it up like new. The chassis are very ridged to protect that lithium batter from impact. I was surprised the airbags didn't blow as the impact spun the car 180 degrees.  Should have seen the Toyota Corolla that hit me, I left him sitting there with both front fenders, bumper, lights, hood.  It had to make the rad support and water was pouring out.

As for repairs other than the wreck, just gas as needed, oil changes every 2 years, a new set of tires on both cars (wife's just got way to old looking at 8 years) and my 2012 had front end alignment issue scrubbing the originals a bit to much, only 45K miles out of them. Also 12V batteries at about 5 years.  

The charging is generally covered by the grid tie.