I bought my 1999 Ford Explorer with a 302 in it and paid $2500 for it and it is awesome. The original owner bought every bell and whistle there was available for it when it was new, and it still runs great and everything still works, but it has almost 300K miles and I expect it will go belly up soon. I make my twice a year trip from Vegas to Sacramento, I carry a large dog crate, several suitcases (we usually stay a week or more so need changes of clothes, etc.) several coolers for drinks and snacks and my wife makes fudge and cookies and other things to give to her relatives, so my 1999 Explorer is packed. It has around 87.8 cu. ft. of cargo space. I had a trailer and sold it and plan on getting another one, so the EV needs to tow a trailer. My Explorer has a tow weight of 6520/6520? I saw where the new Silverado is going to be available, but the price is over $100K. I bought my house for $94K so I will be damned if I pay that much for a vehicle. So, do I have any options without robbing a bank or just go with a gas vehicle?
Given that the median home price in Las Vegas is $475,000, I'm pretty sure you couldn't buy your current house for even double what you paid for it. And current gas-powered Explorers can easily hit $65K or more. The world changes, and expectations need to adjust along with it.
So, I guess there are no low-priced EV that would fit my needs. I guess I will just rebuild my motor and keep my Explorer.
Take a look at the VW ID.4. It is smaller than your explorer for sure but it can tow a small trailer. Not 6500lbs, but a couple thousand. That’s about the closest currently available. Your best bet might be to keep your explorer running until the Blazer EV is available. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
For the amount of space you want you’l be spending a lot of money on a new gas vehicle also. Not sure that you need a new Silverado in any case. But if you feel you do need a truck why would you not get a Lightning for under $60k vs a $100k Silverado? The only real you have is the towing part. Also, buying a huge car based on a twice if the year trip isn’t the most financially sensible way to go. A car that fills your monthly needs makes sense and you just rent a larger one for your trip. That works out way cheaper! Or buy a smaller daily/weekly/monthly EV and a second used gas vehicle for the space/towing stuff infrequently.
TLDR (Too long, didn't read) version: Consider what you'd be doing with your next vehicle on a daily basis, basically when you're not doing that Vegas to Sacramento trip. Don't pick your next car solely because of said trip's requirements. ----------- You should consider a Tesla Model Y. While it doesn't have the same amount of cargo room overall, it still offers around 76 cubic ft of cargo space with the back seats folded over, along with the trunk, the smaller sub-trunk (unless you get a 7-seater), and the frunk, or front trunk. You can option a tow hitch from the factory when you pick your specifications, and it's rated for 3500 pounds of towing. You can also get roof racks as well to add some cargo room up top at the expense of reduced range. But a really nice thing with long range travel with a Tesla is the Supercharger network. This will allow you to recharge the battery back up to 80% in around 20-30 minutes, which is usually good for another 2-3 hours of driving. And with Autopilot doing most of the mundane Interstate driving, it'll make the trip more relaxing overall. I also keep a small 12v cooler in my trunk to hold water and perishable food since it has a 12v outlet in the back along with one in the front. I met a retired guy driving a Model Y at a supercharger in Utah on my way back to Wisconsin after touring California (loved the drive through the Avenue of the Giants). He loves driving it around in northern California due to the relatively mild climate, the speed and lack of maintenance costs compared to a gas vehicle, and regularly visits his children in Colorado. He said he loved letting Autopilot do a lot of the driving, and stops more often due to his bladder than the car needing a charge. For my daily work commute of around 38 miles, I charge it in my garage. Takes seconds to plug/unplug the cord, and it charges overnight while I'm sleeping, eating, watching tv, surfing the web, gaming, reading, etc. When it's hot out, I can remote start the a/c. In winter I can turn the electric heater on safely in my garage without carbon monoxide worries or someone driving off with my car because I left it running unattended outside. Teslas aren't cheap, but for most people, they're usually worth the cost, especially if you plan to keep it for a long time. And you also don't have to play dealership "let me talk to my manager" games with the price. The price you see is the price someone in California pays, or Florida, or Ohio, minus state specific benefits of course. The Model Y should also qualify for the renewed Federal tax credit of $7500 if you buy it in 2023, so that'll be some extra savings you can get compared to buying a brand new gas car. If costs are a concern, you might find that you'll be fine with a Chevy Bolt EUV or VW ID4 for short trips/daily commuter, while saving your truck for that Sacramento trip. But just a heads up. You might find that the EV is so much more fun to drive that your truck essentially sits in your garage unused to the point that you may end up just wanting to get rid of it to free up that garage space. I hope that I was able to help you make a more informed decision, no matter what vehicle you end up with.
The truck has depreciated and the engine worn out. Use it for trade-in and never look back. Bob Wilson
