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Anyone else have one of these for a "farm truck"? (LOL)
I know what many of you are thinking, big ole tough farmer who drives around all the time in a big burly truck but that isn't the case with me at all...I drive a Ford Focus.
I am a firm believer in going green wherever one can, but I strongly feel going green should be economical too. When the price of fuel got high I sold my pick up and opted for A Ford Focus that gets 37 mpg instead of 10 mpg. The sad thing is, I seldom miss my truck. This poor car was never made to move bales of hay, tote sheep or drive up nasty field access roads, but yet it seems to get the job done. Only when there is no other option do I go out and borrow my buddies truck and get stuff that just won't fit in my car or cannot be delivered for a reasonable price.
I am betting I am not alone on this. Is anyone else "truckless" yet use their car as a truck? What are some of the crazy things you have hauled with it?
Eat lamb...because 50,000 coyotes CAN'T be wrong!
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Junior Member
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| If I do something like that, it's not to save the trees or whatever, it's to save money. Some woman cornered me at the gas station barking about the big truck. I drive a 2500HD. We have a family equipment company and a few times a year I need to haul stuff. I've pulled small bulldozers home, large fork trucks, a pay loader. I can't do that with a SAAB... So I told her if she can build a car that will pull heavy equipment or pallets of rocks ect... I'll get it.
Futher more, I recently saw a study showing that many "green" products may not apear to harm the world when in use, but the production of things like bateries for the hybred cars ect is Highly costic.
we could use no oil at all, go back to the horse...but wait, they want to tax his gas as well. I like a farm beater for the cost effectiveness, but not for the save the trees factor.
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I agree 100%...if it saves me money then I am on board for sure.
In my case, it just seemed silly to burn a lot of fuel every week on a truck when the majority of the time I was going somewhere to get me there and not big bulky products. There has been times when I could use a truck, but most of the time I can get around that obstacle.
I could have kept my truck and bought my car, but it seemed silly to pay registration, insurance and inspection on a vehicle I would seldom use. I kind of figured it would be cheaper to rent a U-Haul the few times a year I need a truck rather then have one sitting at the ready in the driveway.
But what this thread was really about was how surprisingly workable a small Ford Focus can be. With some creativity you can get 3 hay bales in the darn thing, a few bags of feed and even lumber. I guess it impresses me that I can indeed get by, burn less fuel doing it and really don't need that big truck I thought I needed. Now imagine if more farmers did this...that is significant reduction in fuel and emissions.
Eat lamb...because 50,000 coyotes CAN'T be wrong!
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Junior Member
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I on the other hand would rent a Uhaul 3 times a week. We tried havening just one large truck on the farm for 2 people..that didn't work. Remember how farming and self employment are both tied to opportunity? When I need it I need it.
Sure the car can be handy. I know many people who farmed with a car on a regular bases. But I farm with a truck as much as a tractor.
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We have an old (1987) Toyota Fourrunner - one of the old style SUV's. Not exactly the most economical vehicle - gets 25mpg - but that's better than a lot of trucks. BUT...we have hauled everything from chickens, to goats (kids and Mamas) to a 180lb holstein calf in the back of it. The calf was the best...we had to get her 20 miles from her farm to ours. I had to sit in the back with her to keep her out of the back seat (where my four year old was sitting)...and she peed on me within 2 miles of us leaving...pooped 5 minutes later...and had everyone on the interstate smiling and waving as they passed us. We laughed so hard...after we got home and cleaned up! Told you I was nuts Meadow 
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Junior Member
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| My grandfather had a big car of some kind... talking 82 or 83. He had to bring hogs home from some place so we put them in the trunk. I've also seen people take small live stock to the sale barn in big boat cars.
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When I brought my first flock of sheep home the owner said I could use her truck and sheep trailer, but when I borrow things they always seem to break so I opted for a Uhaul. Well being an elderly nanny type person the owner was worried about a long ride in a rather hot uhaul so I strapped the roll up door halfway down and halfway up so that they could get air.
All was good until a bump knocked the strap holding the door down and up it went. I knew something was up when everyone started laughing and waving as they drove by on the interstate. In hindsight (pun intended) they must have thought it odd to see a bunch of ewes in a ewe-haul (another pun) with their hiney's all facing traffic. (LOL)
Eat lamb...because 50,000 coyotes CAN'T be wrong!
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Draw I have a Ford Focus and I use it to haul all kinds of things from the trees I added this spring for a small multi fruit orchard to hay. I down sized this spring from a Chevy Venture but that saw use that the focus never will, that was even used as a horse trailer when we had minis and had to get 3 mini donkeys from a farm 8 miles away. The day that really cracked people up was the day I went to the lumber yard with the venture to get 10 sections of 4' picket fence and when the 2 guys came out to load it one of them said there was no way to get 1 section in there never mind 10 and the older guy looked at me and said "well guess we'll just have to show him won't we honey?" and we loaded all 10 sections in then tried to get the 4X8 foot pallet they were on in on top ( I did have to make a second trip to get that  ). You can make any vehicle a "Farm Truck" it's all in how determined you are to get things done with what you have. We do have 3 trucks here but it always seems like when I need something hauled is when I'm home alone.
Lord keep your arm around my shoulder & your hand over my mouth
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| I now have a silverado which I wouldn't part with regardless of how bad my gas mileage is but before I acquired my kids (via adoption) and had to trade it in for a soccer mom van...I had a brand new Prius (WHICH I LOVED!!) and one of it's first duties was to haul my ailing pygmy goat to the vet as well as later a deer I hit...which I just had to try to save (didn't work). It routinely hauled feed and bales of hay home. I don't think that was what they were thinking of when they labeled it "green". Mary Ann
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Junior Member
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Yes, I've put lots of stuff in my little Hyundai Accent. I agree with the 'green' aspect. Awhile ago I heard an interview on CBC about how we have to use our vehicles for 14 years to reduce the footprint. Apparently, it takes so much to produce them that it's better to keep using them than selling and getting a hybrid. And if one trades it in, what do we do with the old vehicle and how much energy does it take to break it down.
I've put chicks in mine along with feed, lumber, insulation, fencing. I have yet to fit a beehive in it, although it would fit. As long as the hive is securely tied together it would work. Not sure I'd want to be driving down the road with a car full of flying angry bees - hehehehe
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