My two cents.
Why tow? I thought MG's were to be driven.
How do you plan on using this tow vehicle? Once or twice a
year for towing? Maybe once every two or five years? When
you're not towing is it going to become a "personal"
vehicle? What kind of gasoline mileage does it get. How
much space does it take up? Will it fit in the garage? If
Bush has his war, what will happen to fuel availability and
the price and for how long?
Ever try parking one of those new big rig honkers? I used a
Datsun pickup for many years. Right now it is in the need
of some major rust repair. In the meantime, I've acquired
very cheaply a 2WD F150 with the 300 CID straight six. It
is taller, harder to get into, wider, and longer than a
cousin's 1982 (1985 maybe?) 4WD F150. At best my F150 gets
17 mpg while the Datsun mormally got 27 mpg up to 33 mpg. I
used the Datsun for a personal vehicle and it fit in the
garage. The Ford doesn't and it is very hard to park as
it's turning radius is quite high. It's very difficult to
see the back when backing up. So, I have to park further
out in the parking lots so I can pull through into the other
parking spot elliminating the need to back up. This F150 is
two wheel drive if the tires don't slip. It also is very
high to get into. My 5'1" mother can't get into it without
a stool. It would need running boards if she would need to
ride in it very often.
Most 4 wheel drives, unless they have limited slip diffs,
aren't much better. 4wd costs more, is more expensive to
maintain, and get poorer gas mileage. 4WD's have a larger
turning radius yet than the 2WD. Do you plan on driving a
lot off the road as that is what they're originally designed
for? My sister's husband has a 4wd F150. He had to add
running boards for her as she couldn't hardly get into it
and she's 5"4'. If you think 4wd is better for snow, it may
be in the first few hours after a 10 inch snowstorm. IN
most areas, the plows are out with the sand and salt and a
road will be passable within 6 hours. It takes a really
fast heavy snowfall to stop traffic in most highly populated
areas.
In SD, 4wd can be very useful as most of our roads are never
salted, and only plowed when absolutely necessary. However
I've known people who've had 4wd and have never used it for
more than 3 years. Many think 4wd allows them to go faster
in poor conditions. It may, but you still can't stop any
better and it encourages drivers to become more reckless and
drive faster than the road conditions allow. I have
relatives living in the rural country and they probably have
need for 4WD to use on the remote township roads during the
winter. I live in a small town and don't really have a need
as all of the roads I travel on out of town are state roads
and kept clean. If the snow gets bad enough that I need 4wd
I shouldn't be out.
What does it cost to rent or borrow a 'tow' vehicle for the
very few times you may need one?
Blake
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