Hi Anne,
Like others, I am suspicious of electric vehicles. I would not rule them out completely. I do consider the environmental costs …and dollar costs…of those batteries x2. I expect my truck to last me well over 20 years. How long will a battery last in years? What will it cost to replace it? Everyone I have known with an EV trades it in within 5 years. I don’t make trips over 250 miles one way more than once a year …so they carry some attraction to me.
But I suspect a 1969 Impala ( or similar)with a trailer might be the better choice for a low mileage homesteader. If I am only driving a couple thousand miles a year, the mpg has considerably less importance.
A huge impact on the vehicles I do have is that I was driving 50,000 miles a year for a part time job. I was getting reimbursed about O.55 a mile. There had to be zero likelihood that the vehicle would break down, and it had to meet middle class visual standards. I went through 5 vehicles during that period period. But, in two years, the mileage generally covered the transportation costs. If the vehicle lasted 3 years, I was ahead on mileage alone.
Oh yes, since mpg is often a concern, I found I had considerable influence on the mileage. My 2012 truck gets better than 30 mpg on long trips when I pay attention. It gets 18 when I don’t. I had a BMW I would regularly pull 42 mpg from. No, it was not a hybrid.
