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Thread: Wanted to do this with the Lil' Big Rig...

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    Wanted to do this with the Lil' Big Rig...

    Guys,

    Yesterday I worked from 7:15 am to 11 pm moving my son to an apartment for college.

    I wanted to use the recently hitched Lil' Big Rig to haul this load.

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    I'm so obsessed with the Mirage, I want to do EVERYTHING with it. But when I realized there was going to be so much stuff that at some point I couldn't keep stacking it up on the trailer because stuff would start breaking other stuff, I decided to use my truck. My truck is a very useful vehicle. The load in that trailer may not look like much, but it is because it was loaded by someone with high Tetris skills ... me. I'm betting the weight of that is more than most would recommend being pulled by a Mirage. But I bet it would have done it. It was very balanced, the tongue weight wasn't huge.

    However, there was a portion of the bed that was very fragile, and kind of long. And it wasn't going to fit in the Mirage. So after all the mind games, it was decided the truck was REQUIRED. The dark / wood structure below is light and fragile.

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    And it turns out, I filled up the entire cab of the truck. The backseat is totally filed in this picture. And the passenger floor board and seat has all my tool boxes under pillows and blankets.

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    The truck rode like a dream. I took it smooth and calm, as I didn't want to scatter his bedroom furnishings all over the interstate. The truck was smooth and efficient. I'm going to guess the truck averaged a skosh over 20 mpg loaded like that. It has hauled WAY heavier. But I was a little surprised at how the truck seemed to do this with complete ease. It is Cummins powered, has a 6 speed manual and is a 4x4 long bed.

    What a day. I also puked a bunch of times (I know you all wanted to know that), and had muscle cramps. I drank a lot of water during the course of the day (the package of water pictured), but it was as if the water was roadblocked in my stomach. My pukes were just water pukes. Not even gross. Maybe I was having heat exhaustion or something.

    Late in the day I had to make a 2nd run with some things I didn't notice and / or forgot. I did that in the Mirage. Helluva a couple vehicles (truck and Mirage).


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Ahh you went to my neck of the woods. How did you like Kennesaw mountain aka the "Lonely Mountain"? KSU is a good school. It's where I got certified to be a phlebotomist/para-medical examiner.

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    I didn't see me no mountain. My son's apartment is located in the butt-crack of the 120 Loop. He will be mostly on the Marietta (old Southern Poly Tech) campus. Both sons are there. I love that place.

    This was the whole load put together. I drove with the tailgate up. Looks rather ... empty. But it was fairly stuffed. I guess the truck just swallows it whole. Gotta love a long bed. I took the camper top off a couple months back. Not one lick of damage to any of the stuff being transported.

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        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by 7milesout View Post
    Guys,


    Late in the day I had to make a 2nd run with some things I didn't notice and / or forgot. I did that in the Mirage. Helluva a couple vehicles (truck and Mirage).
    Same here - truck and a Mirage. Truck is a 1999 F150 shortbed v6 4x4, though. Over 200k on the truck, 115k on the Mirage.

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    My truck is approaching 200k. No problems. The Mirage is new, 10k. Still to this day, if I had to choose 1 vehicle, it would be the truck. It's just so versatile and fairly fuel efficient. Mirage would be close though. It can now tow that utility trailer with the Mirage, so it is a very useful vehicle.

    Truth be told, I think the Mirage might be the better financial choice to make. Plenty of warranty left, cheaper on the streets. But I've had the truck for nearly 22 years now so I've grown attached.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by 7milesout View Post
    My truck is approaching 200k. No problems. The Mirage is new, 10k. Still to this day, if I had to choose 1 vehicle, it would be the truck. It's just so versatile and fairly fuel efficient. Mirage would be close though. It can now tow that utility trailer with the Mirage, so it is a very useful vehicle.

    Truth be told, I think the Mirage might be the better financial choice to make. Plenty of warranty left, cheaper on the streets. But I've had the truck for nearly 22 years now so I've grown attached.
    You must have bought your truck about the same time that I bought mine - March of '99. And I feel the same, the truck is so handy that I wouldn't be able to function properly without it.
    It gets me to work in the winter, and moves lots of stuff. A bit of rust from road salt but I'm fixing that (or keeping up with it as best I can). Just replaced most of the front end parts (wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints, steering knuckles, etc).
    For light hauling, the Mirage is surprisingly spacious, I've found. Filled the front seat, back seat and hatch with boxes more than once and it handled it fine. Light hauling, that is. I wouldn't attempt to load it with furniture, car parts, cement or cast iron.
    Last edited by tomrad; 08-20-2021 at 05:46 PM.

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    I bought mine in October 1999. Front end parts still good. Well ... I did have to replace the RF hub about a year ago. And just a couple weeks ago replace the RF caliper ... for the 2nd time. But that's about it.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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