Trucks for Maine... (Portland: insurance, buying, inspection)

[doegirl]

I have a Ford Escape, 2wd 4 cylinder. Did fine for NW Ohio, little snow and flat topography. It's mediocre for NY. I have a sneaky suspicion it's not going to cut it at all when I get to Maine. So, I'm looking for ideas, what the locals use, and any "must haves". The truck would be used as a commuter, a hunting/utility truck, and make the occasional visits to Ohio. I would just wait to buy until I actually got to Maine, but I"m sure I would get a better price for my SUV if I unloaded here in NY....

[Acadianlion]

Back about the dawn of time I was a high mile driver servicing my insurance clients all over the state. I was out early,and often would drive more than three hundred miles for my appointments, often during snowstorms. In those days I had rear wheel drive cars, and always used four studded snow tires on all wheels. I NEVER got stuck nor had a problem except for slightly lower fuel mileage and a louder ride.

Your Escape is a light, rear wheel drive vehicle with limited power from its four cylinder engine. I think that for the vast majority of your driving equipped with studded snow tires you will never have a difficulty, and if the driving conditions are bad enough, you will not want to be on the road anyway.

If you want to go off road, then you will definitely need four wheel drive, but if your driving will be on paved or at least properly constructed gravel roads, the Escape should do fine.

Now, if buying a new vehicle is warranted and the budget will allow it, any four wheel drive vehicle will do fine. But the larger the truck the poorer the fuel mileage, and going from an Escape into any full size vehicle with four wheel drive will hit you in the fuel tank. What you actually buy may well be decided by where you live. What you buy may well be decided by where you live. If you are going to live in the parts of Maine closest to Portland or the major cities, buying a four wheel drive vehicle will not serve much purpose. But if you are buying a vehicle or moving to a rural area, four wheel drive will be of great value once in a while.

If you buy a used vehicle, never, ever, ever buy a used vehicle that has spent its entire life in Maine. Maine officially sprays the most obnoxious rust producing anti ice/anti snow stuff on its roads in winter, and if you buy a vehicle that is a few years old that has had more than one or two Maine winters, the undersides will have begun to rust, and you may have to replace brake and fuel lines relatively quickly in order to pass state inspection.

Maine is a very hard place to be a motor vehicle.

[maureenb]

Hi doegirl,

I have a 2WD Escape with all-weather tires and didn't have any problems driving it last winter. A couple of times I had to go out before the plows had been through and the road conditions were pretty sketchy, and it was fine. Course, I drove responsibly . Folks get around in cars I would never think could leave the dooryard. So much has to do with how you drive on given road conditions.

Before the Escape, I'd always had a 4WD vehicle. In sixteen years of winter driving, I could count on two hands the number of times I actually used the 4WD.

I didn't have the $ to put studded snows on the Escape, which as Acadianlion points out, will make a good car that much better in the winter. I will definitely be hoping to do this next winter.

If it were me, I would hang on to the Escape. Invest in studded snows - if you can afford to have them mounted on their own rims, all the better. It makes for a quick an easy change late fall/ spring.

Escape.........to Maine!

[maureenb]

Originally Posted by acadianlion

[...] maine is a very hard place to be a motor vehicle.

:d

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by maureenb

Hi doegirl,

I have a 2WD Escape with all-weather tires and didn't have any problems driving it last winter. A couple of times I had to go out before the plows had been through and the road conditions were pretty sketchy, and it was fine. Course, I drove responsibly . Folks get around in cars I would never think could leave the dooryard. So much has to do with how you drive on given road conditions.

Before the Escape, I'd always had a 4WD vehicle. In sixteen years of winter driving, I could count on two hands the number of times I actually used the 4WD.

I didn't have the $ to put studded snows on the Escape, which as Acadianlion points out, will make a good car that much better in the winter. I will definitely be hoping to do this next winter.

If it were me, I would hang on to the Escape. Invest in studded snows - if you can afford to have them mounted on their own rims, all the better. It makes for a quick an easy change late fall/ spring.

Escape.........to Maine!

Hi maureenb!

I have the same car! My Escape also just has regular tires and it was fine all winter. The plows kept up so well all winter that I rarely ran into slick roads anyway.... When we lived in WI, I had a 4WD for 5 years and actually used it maybe twice. And WI has some fierce winters! When it's time for another vehicle for me, I wouldn't worry about buying 4WD. I'll probably get another small SUV or maybe a minivan....

[doegirl]

Thanks guys. I like the suggestion to keep the car because I happen to like my Escape

[Submariner]

I do not think that you will have any problems.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by doegirl

Thanks guys. I like the suggestion to keep the car because I happen to like my Escape

Maine is a huge state, so I would think it likely that roads in some areas are better plowed and paved than roads in other areas.

And also winter and mud season might make driving a lot harder in some areas than others.

So I wonder if some of the Mainers giving you adivce here, aren't just thinking about their driving experiences in the part of Maine where they do most of their driving.

(I'm also wondering what kind of vehicle to trade in my 35 year old Volvo for, before I move to Maine. Been thinking of a 4WD Ford pickup, but I'll save that discussion for later)

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

Maine officially sprays the most obnoxious rust producing anti ice/anti snow stuff on its roads in winter, and if you buy a vehicle that is a few years old that has had more than one or two Maine winters, the undersides will have begun to rust, and you may have to replace brake and fuel lines relatively quickly in order to pass state inspection.

Maine is a very hard place to be a motor vehicle.

Any advice on the most rust and rot resistant 4wD vehicles for Maine roads (for example, in the old days Japanese cars were very prone to rust even down here in NYC)?

Does undercoating help and what kind of undercoating?

(I don't mind replacing brake lines every couple years--it's rotting out the chassis, the vehicle's structure--that concerns me the most. Can't hang the brakes, axles, drive train on rust and rot.)

[gf2020]

Maine is no worse than any northern state for rust or rot resistance on a car. If anything, metropolitan areas in MA or NY that put more salt on the roads may be worse for a car than the majority of rural roads in Maine. I wouldn't worry about it.