Meet the Beast. That is the affectionate nickname we gave to the Eddie Bauer Edition 1998 Ford Expedition my dad graciously offered to loan us for our 4-week U.S. and Canadian road trip. One question that may immediately come to mind when seeing our choice for vehicle is, “Hey I thought this blog was GREEN Around the Globe? What’s with the massive gas-guzzling SUV? Shouldn’t you guys be driving a Prius?” While Amy and I do have a passion for the environment and for businesses that have environmental sustainability as a core strategy, we are also firm believers that economic incentives play a huge role in the choices that we make as consumers. As such, I wanted to detail the evaluation process we went through and why the Beast was the best option.
Need for Flexibility
When we returned from Australia and made the decision to continue traveling closer to home, we needed transport that offered flexibility. After briefly considering the few public transport options, trains, buses, airplanes, etc. we came to the quick realization we were back in the car-centric US. If we wanted to get across the country at a reasonable cost while being able to stop and see places along the way we needed to drive. This was reinforced when flipping through the Lonely Planet USA in a bookstore. In the things to remember section it said, “Driver license, even if you don’t plan on driving, once you see how big America is you may change your mind. “ So we needed a vehicle. We also had to plan for the possibility that we might have to return to the East Coast on short notice and would prefer not to have to drive three days straight to do that. With this as our primary evaluation criteria for transport we had two options: rent a car from a national company or borrow the Beast from my dad. With the rental car, if we needed to we could go to the nearest airport and return the car, probably pay a penalty, and get on a plane. With the Beast, we could go to the nearest airport, lock it up and get on a plane. We’d then have to return when we could to get it back to Cincinnati. However, my dad was not very concerned about when it was returned, increasing the flexibility of this option. With that settled, next we needed to evaluate costs, which called for a spreadsheet.
Cost Comparison
Surprisingly, the Beast was the cheaper option, 30% cheaper in fact. Let me explain how I got to that estimate. For overall trip assumptions we estimated that the 32-day road trip would be about 7,500 miles and that gas would cost on average $3 per gallon. Also built into the detailed assumptions was the cost to offset any incremental CO2 that would be created by choosing the less fuel efficient Beast over a smaller rental car. (Detailed assumptions are outlined below). In the end, with the relatively cheap cost of fuel in the U.S., and the high per day rental cost, the Beast still had the cost advantage. This savings amounted to nearly $9/day. Not to mention the added flexibility borrowing a car from family offered vs. the prospect of dealing with a rental car company in the event our plans changed. Somehow I suspect that Avis would be less understanding than KEA was with our camper van rental in Australia.
Detailed Cost Assumptions
What do you think? Would you have taken the Beast, or rented a smaller, more fuel efficient car? Let us know in the comments below.
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Couple other items I would add to the mix, with the beast you have A LOT of additional room for all the camping gear etc., if you want to stretch out,or take a nap, no motel is needed.
Being a parent one of the top would be the safety factor, that if there is a wreck of any type you should be o.k. Also with bad weather with the weight of the Beast. (When you had all the ten plus inches of rain at the beginning of your U.S. trip)
Glad it has worked out for you and see you whenever you head back towards Cincy.
Love
Dad
Very true Dad, the extra room came in handy the other night when rain rolled in just as dinner came off the grill. Gathering up the food we jumped in the Beast and had dinner in our seats. Finally the roomy seats are great when we have long driving days of 10+ hours. It has been a great vehicle and we are very thankful to have use of it.