Ed, where will you guys go camping out there? Leonids!! that sounds
intense--it's a good light show, I've seen it a few times--once out in
the Mojave.

The thing with the justification is this--and granted, this may just be
me being ignorant of the 4x4 lifestyle so give me some slack there...

It seems like I'd be paying for two or three vehicles. My commuter
vehicle, my wife's commuter and now a 4x4 (toy) vehicle. So wouldn't I
be paying insurance on the 4x4? registration? and maybe more payments
for a dependable off-road vehicle? I have a good job and not
destitute, I can afford a new jeep or something similar. But it just
seems like an unwise use of finances for something I'm not going to use
daily. Or is it one of those things where that's the cost of having fun
and I should just suck it up--I can. I just need to know if there are
more frugal alternatives.

All I want to do is more interesting hiking and not 4x4 rock crawling.
Jeeps are more expensive (>$20,000) than I'd like to spend on this
hobby and I don't trust a used Jeep--or should I?


> 2) Justify the vehicle on how often you go to places where you will
> need/want the extra capability to either drive into or out of your choosen
> destination. I own 2 4x4 vehicles for different purposes. I justified the
> purchase of an economical daily driver buy comparing the purchase cost
> against the improved fuel mileage of said daily driver.
>
> 4) If you are new to 4x4 adventures, look for local clubs. A friend and I
> are going to either Salton City or Anza Borrego Saturday, November 18 and
> staying for a few days to watch the Leonid meteor shower. If you reply to
> my e-mail address before then maybe you can join us and see what it's like.
>