I have seen Off Road Diesel Fuel for sale at some stations. It sells for about $1.76 a gal. Is it safe to use in my Cummins 600?






2003 2500HD 4x4 Dodge truck with Cummins 600, 6 spd trans

 

Off road diesel is used for exactly what the name implies...."off road". It is illegal to run the "red" diesel on any public road, I know around here (N. VA) there have been check points just to dip the tanks on diesel pick up trucks and if caught there are huge fines...in the thousands. Other than the red dye used it will burn fine in your truck but why risk getting busted?

 

As diesel fuel prices are steadily rising to 'insane' levels, the reports of roadside "dipping" by state & federal authorities are becoming more frequent.

The few dollars you save vs the fines you'll pay if caught.

Choose wisely.

 

My seabee buddy runs a 01 dodge diesel at his cabin in the woods on nothing but the purple/red stuff and all is well. The dye only tells authorities that less taxes were paid for the fuel: intended for diesel generators, pumps, farm equipment only.

 

Cheating on taxes is certainly an ethical choice. For those who choose to cheat on taxes and run off-road fuel, they should be careful of the high sulfur variant - as offroad fuel comes in low and high sulfur versions. The low is the same as regular on road diesel with dye, but high will be bad for your CTD. Buyer beware. Also the fines are something like $1000 plus another $100 for each gallon your tank holds..

 

I called star the outher day and asked them if it was ok to run red diesel off road. They said go for it no problems I have the email and ref # to prove it if something goes wrong

 

They probobly gave your name and address to the athoritys and are sitting back laffing.

 

i was just thinking that bkrukow, there is no way it is legal, you just got fed some bs buddy, i would watch it

 

TroyH,

Do you hear any police cars comeing your way!!!

 

He's probably waiting for one of us to bail him out.

 

what about this scenario I go out in the wilderness for 2 months. I fill up with 30 gallons of "off road" diesel. I can legally run it since i wouldnt be using any public roads on that tank. I run it down to almost empty and fill up with the "on road" diesel and go back to civilization. I get stopped and they check my tank and want to fine me cause i had traces of "red" in the tank. I wonder if i could be fined for that. What do you guys think?

 

Just depends on the judge's mood!

 

I think someone already posted that if your vehicle is registered and legal to run on the road, it better have "legal" tax paid fuel in it's tank. If they find traces of red, I think you will be presumed guilty.

 

You would have to put alot of miles on in a year to see any real significant savings by running red d/o

Example: .24 state tax .24.4 federal tax = .48.4 = $16.46 savings on a 34 gal tank.
Lets say you put 12,000 miles a year on your truck at 18mpg = 600 miles per 34 gal tank = 20 fill ups. So you have 20x $16.46 = $329.20 a year savings.

Now call department of transportation & ask what the fine is & see if it's worth the risk.

 

I dont know about other states but the odds in texas of getting checked is probable a million to one. No worries here.