poll: low-rider or high-rider?

[Odin's Hand]

It is true that I seem to have to replace tie-rods a lot.

But the expense of that, for me, is much lesser than the problems caused by driving a high-riding vehicle in the Nebraska wind.

Frank, we get the same wind down here in OK. 

A small pickup is not that bad in it as long as you don't have the SOB jacked up 3' or 4'.

[LC EFA]

Frank, we get the same wind down here in OK. 

A small pickup is not that bad in it as long as you don't have the SOB jacked up 3' or 4'.

My first car was a Daihatsu Feroza - They're rather high in comparison to their width and what I guess is termed a compact 4x4.

Rolled it.  They're unstable as all heck because of their design flaws.

My current ride is nice and wide and handles beautifully on and off road.

[franksolich]

Frank, we get the same wind down here in OK. 

A small pickup is not that bad in it as long as you don't have the SOB jacked up 3' or 4'.

I suppose the deal here is one's perception of the major hazard one faces.

In your case, it's the ruts and gullies and crevices and rocks and hazards associated with off-road driving; in my case, it's the wind that's always whirling around with unexpected super-strong gusts.

[Odin's Hand]

I suppose the deal here is one's perception of the major hazard one faces.

In your case, it's the ruts and gullies and crevices and rocks and hazards associated with off-road driving; in my case, it's the wind that's always whirling around with unexpected super-strong gusts.

A little Ford Ranger would do fine in Nebraska. Big enough to clear the potholes and such on rural roads and not high or long enough to catch a lot of crosswind.

[MrsSmith]

I off-road too much to go with a low-rider. Hell, I was driving my truck off-road through the Arbuckle Mtns. just 3 days ago. Like Chris, I can't stand folks who have something like a Hummer or a Wrangler and only drive it on paved roads through a city.

Or those that buy a big, beautiful Dually...then slow to 5 mph to cross railroad tracks.  What is the point of a truck if you drive like an 80 year old lady going to church????   
 

[MrsSmith]

I watch a lot of news and it never fails that during bad snow storms, most of the vehicles they show in the ditches are pick ups and 4WD.  Too many people get over confident when they're in bigger vehicles.

I see all kinds of vehicles slide off the road in Oklahoma every time there is a little ice.  The big vehicles are the worst... if they do make it, they're all tailgating in a single line in the clear lane.  I drive my little front-wheel Toyota right past most of them, if the "dirty" lane isn't just too much for my little car.  Otherwise, I'll find myself stuck in a 2 mile long line of trucks and SUVs, with the idiot behind me following 15' off my tail.  Since they obviously don't know how to ease from lane to lane or leave proper following distance, I know they'll likely smash into me if we have to stop.  

I came over a hill in one ice storm, found an OK idiot parked in the driving lane looking at a car that had slid off the other side of the road.  The road was solid ice, so don't have any clue what he was thinking...it took all my skill to keep on the road and not plow right into him.  I did it...but I have to confess that I did spill my coffee.   

[thundley4]

Or those that buy a big, beautiful Dually...then slow to 5 mph to cross railroad tracks.  What is the point of a truck if you drive like an 80 year old lady going to church????   
 

We see the same thing here, but it's not just trucks that slow down on RR tracks almost everyone does, even when the tracks aren't that bad.   I've found out that they are better to go over only moderately slowing down from the speed limit.

[thundley4]

I see all kinds of vehicles slide off the road in Oklahoma every time there is a little ice.  The big vehicles are the worst... if they do make it, they're all tailgating in a single line in the clear lane.  I drive my little front-wheel Toyota right past most of them, if the "dirty" lane isn't just too much for my little car.  Otherwise, I'll find myself stuck in a 2 mile long line of trucks and SUVs, with the idiot behind me following 15' off my tail.  Since they obviously don't know how to ease from lane to lane or leave proper following distance, I know they'll likely smash into me if we have to stop.  

I came over a hill in one ice storm, found an OK idiot parked in the driving lane looking at a car that had slid off the other side of the road.  The road was solid ice, so don't have any clue what he was thinking...it took all my skill to keep on the road and not plow right into him.  I did it...but I have to confess that I did spill my coffee.   

Nothing worse than being in a southern state when they get snow or freezing rain when they aren't used to it.

[CG6468]

I like the seating in my Honda Ridgeline pickup. High enough to see traffic ahead, but no ladder needed to get into it.

[BattleHymn]

I see all kinds of vehicles slide off the road in Oklahoma every time there is a little ice.  The big vehicles are the worst... if they do make it, they're all tailgating in a single line in the clear lane.  I drive my little front-wheel Toyota right past most of them, if the "dirty" lane isn't just too much for my little car.  Otherwise, I'll find myself stuck in a 2 mile long line of trucks and SUVs, with the idiot behind me following 15' off my tail.  Since they obviously don't know how to ease from lane to lane or leave proper following distance, I know they'll likely smash into me if we have to stop.  

I came over a hill in one ice storm, found an OK idiot parked in the driving lane looking at a car that had slid off the other side of the road.  The road was solid ice, so don't have any clue what he was thinking...it took all my skill to keep on the road and not plow right into him.  I did it...but I have to confess that I did spill my coffee.   

Seems like everyone in this area forgets how to drive in the snow and ice every year.  I'm lucky my parents (from PA) taught me how to drive in the stuff, and I brush up on it every year by getting out in it when the first snow or ice hits.

I used to work about 20 miles from home, and at the time I was driving my Datsun 240Z as a daily driver.  They called off work halfway through my shift, so I got stuck out there with all the 4PMers trying to make their way home.  I made it home in my 30 year old rear wheel drive sports car with sport directional tires without a problem. 

There are always more Jeeps and other such vehicles in the ditches than there ever are cars.  Four wheel drive is handy, but it doesn't make you invincible, and it doesn't make up for a general lack of driving skills. 

[franksolich]

There are always more Jeeps and other such vehicles in the ditches than there ever are cars.  Four wheel drive is handy, but it doesn't make you invincible, and it doesn't make up for a general lack of driving skills.

One of my points about Nebraska drivers, exactly.

There's this delusion that with the "right kind" of vehicle, all's okay.

(Around here, it's usually considered that my choice is the "wrong kind.")

If one has the "right tool," one's a craftsman.

Yeah, right.

A lousy driver with even the "most appropriate" vehicle made for the terrain is still going to mess up.

A good driver with even the "most inappropriate" vehicle is going to adapt, and get through.

[Wineslob]

I drive a minivan.

I'm................sorry.   

[CG6468]

I taught both of our kids how to drive in the stuff, too. Took them to deserted shopping center parking lots and had them practice until they got it right.

Neither of them has ever had a problem driving in the white crap. No hits, no dents, no errs.

[Eupher]

I'm................sorry.   

Don't be. I'm perfectly happy with my vehicle. It carts around my horns, music, and equipment, gets great gas mileage (29 mpg on the highway and 23-24 in town), and has been very, very reliable.

[BattleHymn]

Don't be. I'm perfectly happy with my vehicle. It carts around my horns, music, and equipment, gets great gas mileage (29 mpg on the highway and 23-24 in town), and has been very, very reliable.

That last minivan we rented was a Chrysler T&C with the V6 massaged by Fiat.  We exercised the 0-60 capabilities of the van many times on our trip, and found it to be more than adequate.  I'm not sure how fast it was, but it was definitely under 8 seconds, down in the 7 second range at most.  I was surprised, and so were several of the typical stoplight miscreants.            

[catsmtrods]

I believe in using the right tool for the job. So I have a 2002 Ford Ranger XLT when I need a truck. a 2002 Monte Carlo SS when I need a car, a 1985 Harley FXWG when I want a ride and a 2002 Yamaha Big Bear to plow snow and take to the woods. All run like a to and are ready to go any time I need them.
 If I am driving on the highway I prefer the Monte so I guess I'll vote low.

[JohnnyReb]

Or those that buy a big, beautiful Dually...then slow to 5 mph to cross railroad tracks.  What is the point of a truck if you drive like an 80 year old lady going to church????   
 

Not my duallies....I found the best way for me to across the average RR crossing with them was to clutch the FORD or slip the GMC into neutral and let them free wheel across the RR crossing without slowing down.

Having said that, there are some crossings around here that would have you going  airborne in any kind of vehicle if you crossed them at more than 5 mph.

[MrsSmith]

Not my duallies....I found the best way for me to across the average RR crossing with them was to clutch the FORD or slip the GMC into neutral and let them free wheel across the RR crossing without slowing down.

Having said that, there are some crossings around here that would have you going  airborne in any kind of vehicle if you crossed them at more than 5 mph.

We have a couple like that around here, too.  The crossing that I see duallies slow down for, though, is on the most-used road to Wal-mart, so kept even better than the downtown crossing.  My little-bitty Toyota hardly feels the bump.  One day, I'm gonna follow one of those duallies home, and when the driver gets out, I'm going to tell him he doesn't deserve a truck and needs to go buy himself a peddle-trike.       

[LC EFA]

Not my duallies....I found the best way for me to across the average RR crossing with them was to clutch the FORD or slip the GMC into neutral and let them free wheel across the RR crossing without slowing down.

Having said that, there are some crossings around here that would have you going  airborne in any kind of vehicle if you crossed them at more than 5 mph.

There's a couple of rail crossings outside town here that I gas up to in an attempt to get some air from.