A little bit of background: a friend of ours owns some land about 90 miles from our house that we all use for hunting. DH and I go up there a number of times during spring, summer, and fall to help with maintenance. We currently drive our Prius up, and can "off-road" on his land a little (which is hilarious, I should post pictures).
The situation:
- We are planning to retire in 3 years, so this decision is a little ways in the future
- We'd like to go up to the land >= 12 times/year to help with maintenance in retirement
- We'd like to be able to haul a trailer with our friend's ATV from his house to the land (~30 miles)
- We'd like to be able to bring stone back from his land for landscaping at our house
- We currently rent a truck from HD occasionally for plywood, etc., so there's some other uses
First thought was to buy a used* truck that can haul rocks, equipment, and/or deer, and have a second, more fuel-efficient car for other use. We may want to do some road-tripping in retirement, but we're both pretty homebody and would spend most of our time gardening, etc. Both vehicles would likely last a looooong time.
I'd love some help on the decision-making process. What other factors should I consider? What options am I missing? Are there other kinds of vehicles that can off-road decently and haul heavy stuff? I want to really think about what will meet my needs with the most efficient use of my $$.
*I have no experience in buying used vehicles, since my parents were burned a few times and taught me to always buy new (I'm more than willing to unlearn that behavior!).