Ours was just a baby tractor, but it was AWD. We needed it with the hills on the property. Probably really needed ROPs too...

Wait till you get a little older (and out of shape.) ;) :(

So I am thinking of getting wood delivered, but I need a place to stack it. There's a place nearby that gives away free pallets. If you have a vehicle to pick them up in!

Back to wanting a truck already. :D

I have a X340 - and wish it was AWD...

Dude, fucking seriously? You don’t need a truck and you know that.

But I’ll give you $5g for the wagon if it’ll help. And I’ll give you the four seater XK8 for the Cayman if you really really need to do something.

Pretty sure I said want, not need.

Can you carry two 2x4s in the wagon? This probably has enough DIY guy to satisfy you:

http://www.plowhearth.com/adjustable-log-rack-kit.htm

We had one in Rappahannock. Holds a ton of wood. And super cheap.

We bought this pricier rack for our current house: http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Firepl...tate=Woodhaven

Easy to assemble and the cover moves down the unit as you use the wood, keeping the top layer dry for a good burn.

Thanks, I was actually looking at both of those.

My concern for the Woodhaven rack is whether the feet would sink into the ground. Do you have it on a patio or on a dirt area?

It was super handy. Also had all-terrain tires. We had 18 acres, plus a super long undulating gravel driveway to take care of.

I really miss the place. And the tractor.

It is on a patio--I suppose you could put it on pavers. The Plow & Hearth one would not have that issue.

Yes the feet will sink in dirt. I have one of those and a more traditional round tube rack. Both have sunk. The cover on that one is much nicer and easier to deal with than the tarp I put on the other rack.

In my experience, the tarps always blow off. Even when "secured" with bungee cords, etc.

Bungees, ropes, and logs on top. Stupid thing still blows off.

Exactly.

Yep. Same here. I have the same problem with lawnmower covers.

And grill covers.

Sounds like a business opportunity!

This , or Enterprise (they will pick you up)

(I just bought a new GMC Sierra 1500 SLE a few weeks ago :lol:) but only cause I am hauling a bunch of stuff to dumps and landfills and didn't want to pay Enterprise extra for clean ups

I believe it was Motor Trend who did a truck comparo not too long ago between The Big Three's off-road edition pickups. Iirc, the order of finish was:

1. Dodge Ram

2. Chevrolet Colorado

3. Ford Raptor

Man, I'd love to get my hands on a Raptor. I think it's the best-looking rig out there, but can't really justify the outrageous price.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ram/2...0-power-wagon/

Yeah, 70K for the Raptor? Ouch.

Did someone say pallets???

http://www.farmshow.com/images/resiz.../2/16361_l.jpg

Here you go.

https://thegarage.jalopnik.com/how-a...-se-1819508971

So for my serious response...

We talked about this when you were down - if you don't have any roads on which to enjoy the Cayman, I'd sell it. I contemplate this from time to time with the Boxster, but then I get to drive it on a fun road taking the long way to get somewhere and it seems irreplaceable. Your call on that one.

If I were you, I'd sell the wagon. I understand the desire to have something like that as a winter beater, but it's going to be too maintenance-intensive to keep long term as an occasional use vehicle. But, y'know, you own it... can you put a hitch on it and tow a utility trailer? If said hitch bolted in, all the better, because it's going to be ... uh ... challenging to weld to the wagon.

As far as trucks go, the Tacoma sucks. It doesn't ride well, the seats are uncomfortable, and they get pretty miserable mileage. They are also really expensive, but having said that, people love them so it will hold its value really well, so if you do ever sell it it's probably the most economical choice. Did Toyota ever fix the problem with their frames rusting out? One of my coworkers had to have his frame replaced (yes, they replaced it) on a relatively low-mileage truck.

I haven't driven a Colorado, but it's supposed to be really good. It's also a GM, and that brings with it everything you think it does.

The Ridgeline isn't a truck. It's more like a modern el Camino. It lacks the shortcomings of most trucks, but it also falls short on the utility of most trucks. People who hate trucks love them. People who love trucks hate them.

I despise Subarus, but it seems like what you want is a Subaru with a trailer hitch. :dunno:

Re: Hitches for the wagon. We have this for the X5 and it works well: http://execuhitch.com/tow-hitches/bm...ler-hitch.html

I went to school in the Hudson Valley, there are plenty of beautiful roads to drive there. Is there an easy/reversible change that could be made to the Cayman to solve its clearance issues?

Trade it for a lesser Cayman? :p (Or swap the spring/shock package from a lesser Cayman.)

OT: I wish we could get this, which is for sale in Australia.

http://www.toyota.com.au/landcruiser-70

I'd totally buy one of those.

Entertaining review, including quotes such as:

"The first thing you'll say when you see this truck is, 'Hey stupid, that's not a truck.' "

"It's like an El Camino, but it is not just for drug dealers."

Sure it's for drug dealers. Just a different kind.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/30/dd/24/3...phan-black.jpg

I'd swap his suspension for mine... :)

I'll swap his *car* for mine. That way he can even put the top down.

Touch screens in cars are terrible. Why is that a thing.

You should get the Ridgeline.

I'll swap for a corvette. Then he can remove the rear glass and make it a pickup! Someone has to figure out how to get the input shaft from the transmission to line up with the shiny new engine first though, because I can't seem to be able to do it. :(

He hates convertibles

I get everything in this thread but that.

Personally, I would not want the amount of money Matt has tied up in the R if I didn't absolutely love it and use it all the time. If it was me, I'd swap out his entire fleet for cars that more appropriately fulfilled their roles (as I'd want them fulfilled) and allocate the cost % differently.

Here's my understanding of your cars:
1. Fun, engaging daily driver that can hold your bike has a manual transmission and can be parked on the street (currently the e46)-
Since I'm spending 75% of my time in this car, I'd put the majority of my $$$ here as well. I'd buy a good condition e90 of f80 m3 sedan, possibly an m2, rs4, c63, (or because its me doing the buying a 1 convertible or e63 wagon).

2. Winter utility vehicle, lake house hauler (currently the e90 wagon)
I'd want something that I don't mind getting dinged, dirty and generally mistreated. It would either be a Subaru Outback wagon with a trailer (although I personally hate towing trailers) or a cheap old 4wd pickup at $10k or less. I think the e90 is too 'nice' to haul shit and too close to the e46 to be interesting to drive.

3. Fun hedonistic car (currently the Cayman)
I'd personally try to combine car #1 with this car if at all possible, but if you can't/ don't want to drive a m240 convertible everyday, swap out the cayman for something that you can enjoy more regularly (like a z4)

If you're not going to use the wagon as a beater/hauling vehicle, get rid of it and get something of equal value that you don't mind dumping firewood, muddy mountain bikes, wet kayaks, etc into. It does sound like you should get rid of the e90 wagon and get a similar vehicle that better fits your needs. Something like this:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...delCode1=TITAN

yea, I know. Matt is just weird.

Let's not waste time rehashing things everyone already knows. :lol:

E46: It's not going anywhere. I like driving it. I might go back to the more aggressive Koni shocks at some point if I want more sporty.

E91: I wouldn't replace this with an outback. If I want a wagon I'll keep the BMW. I like it more.

If I had to go to 2 cars I could maybe do E46 + SUV that's could haul lots of shit inside, and tow well. This doesn't fully replace a truck but it overlaps more than a wagon.

Cayman: It's not a suspension thing. The car is fine. If I had a base suspension or a 981 with PASM would I be driving it more often? Maybe, but I'm not convinced. Had seats that I loved? Maybe. But my main conclusion from this experiment is that for me, sports cars are like threesomes - better in fantasy than reality.

I will say this, I love owning a truck. When I got my first one back in ... whenever I got it, it was much more of a liberating purchase than I'd expected. I never realized how much I'd use it for hauling crap around. Much more useful than an SUV since I didn't care if I was buying stinky mulch or dirt. The bed gets dirty, you just hose it out. At this point I can't ever see myself not having a pickup.

I get Bren's point about the Ridgeline and similar tinker-toys trucks that can't fit a 4x8 sheet of building material in the bed, and the fact that those trucks aren't much (if any) cheaper than a full-size half-ton truck. But the smaller stuff really is nicer to drive if you're going to commute in it, and the Ridgeline can be effectively used as a car with the ability to haul stinky / dirty stuff and tow a small trailer without any real compromise.

Sell the wagon, sell the Cayman, buy a not-very-used truck and put the money you save into your index fund so you can retire early and spend your free time bicycling or drinking coffee at your lakefront property. :)

I agree with this. But don't put all the money in the index fund. Buy an ATV... and #Sharp: maybe an NC Miata.

Yeah, buy an NC Miata, then bring it to me for "service." I'm looking for a wrecked NC Miata to use as a donor for a proper engine to put in my RX-8 :D :lol: