You're welcome. .We have been doing a lot of camping since covid. haven't really done camping since the 1980s. We have really started to appreciate trucks and big travel trailers when we see them at campsites.
Why not? the benefits are there, especially when towing at speed. It is transparent. It is possible to turn off completely in the Sequoia

That was good feature Toyota added.

 

Yeah man that's a serious camper, love it! You're a camper person like I'm a boat person.

What I like is the 5.7 just won't break, it doesn't have anything fancy and it's just tried and true. Sounds great. I bet you can beat this engine TO DEATH, torture it and it would shake it off.

 

Our family loves to camp! Having a trailer allows us to spend more time outdoors and get out more often, but we have nice beds, a nice bathroom, and a kitchen, not to mention AC in the warm weather and a furnace in the cold. Not the kind of camping I did when I was a kid (tents), but the point is to get away from the craziness of life and to get outdoors, so it allows us to do it comfortably.


It's just not something that I need. The truck pulls the trailer easily in 2WD and I am never at a loss for traction. If I were to do the same drive in 4WD, I'll just burn through more gas than I already do (and it's a lot). When we take the trailer out, 90% of the drive will be on a freeway in summer months where I don't see how running the truck in 4WD will provide me any tangible extra that 2WD will not.

The only place I'd use a full time 4WD system would be in poor weather (without the trailer), which we don't get a lot of. Even in the light snow, I usually just drive the truck in 2WD, and only use 4WD if it's extra deep or we're going up hill. It's just not a big deal to me.

 

I am very excited to go look at a 2009 BMW 528i XDrive in the morning. Not many of these left, sadly, but this one looks in great shape. 102k miles and the base model. Does have heated seats which is pretty cool. Of course, I'm going to need to thoroughly check it out. Going to bring a buddy of mine with me who knows cars inside and out. He can spot if this one was neglected or maintained. I fully expect to have a budget for maintenance/repair costs. That's no problem. This has always been one of my favorite looking sedans, inside and out, but for years I was just concerned about owning one. You hear so much about BMW's online. I'm no expert but I think most of the problems are from their V8/V12 models (specifically that twin turbo 4.4L V8) and the original turbo straight six that debuted in 2008. I would think the NA straight six is pretty reliable and I'm going to service the transmission fluid right away.

Anyone have some tips for me? I heard one can replace the plastic cooling parts with metal. Is that true? If so is it worth it? I hear a lot of issues with plastic parts from BMW and the cooling system is definitely at the top of the list.





I mean, look at that. How is this not one of the most attractive cars out there? I heard there was a lot of hate back in 2003/2004 when this appearance came out but I think it's neat as hell.

 

my brother has a 3 series diesel. 2014 model. He’s got lots of problems. Ball joints, and bushings were the latest issue. CEL light all the time. I rode in it for a long road trip…definitely overrated IMO. But he loves it A LOT

 

Yeah, I would stay far, far away from a BMW diesel. Lol

I'm sure it's a blast to drive when it's operating at 100% but a base BMW like this one here is the only BMW I'd consider.

 

want me to check CR? I have an account

 

LOL...good on you but that's my least favorite 5 Series of all time.

 

Check what? The reliability of a BMW diesel?

 

the 2009 5 series you are considering

 

Oh sure. That'd be nice of you. Thank you.

 

no data. Sorry

 

Eh, it's alright. Thanks anyways. My friend should be able to advise me if it's a good purchase or not. Besides, I'm sure reliability varies quite a bit on German cars. Someone may not even bother to service the oil in 80k miles but someone else might be religious about maintenance. We'll see tomorrow and I'll share my experience.

 

‘I don’t think it really matters at that point. 14 years old. $1000 a year in repairs is reasonable. But I sure as heck wouldn’t be thrilled to have to fill it up with premium fuel.

 

Lol that's because fuel in Canada is much more than here. I wouldn't mind. It was only an extra 5 bucks per tank when I had my Acura TL.