3 trucks out there every day and all diesel.
excavators, dozers, backhoes.
spent about 4k last week on fuel.
this is starting to hurt bad.

 

My truck pretty much is a permanent fixture in the garage these days, think I've put 20 miles on it in the last month. Now work trucks on the other hand....lol

 

lets see, I guess I will go out tomorrow and air up my tires a bit, slightly harsher ride, but if it helps, it helps.

 

I hear you.
This will make some mad.
Who:
fuels the ships going to war?
fuels the tanks, planes, all millitary equipment?
sets the prices on fuel?
is in office?
claims they have a ranch with no cows?

What is the relationship to them all?
Does anyone have health insurance?
Research it please, I'm interested

 

I dont do anything to save fuel. I cant change the prices, and Im not avoiding driving my truck because of the prices. Just grin and bare it.

No one bought their vehicles with great MPG in mind.

 

I just slowed down from 75 to 55-60. Helps a lot on the 20 mile trip (each way). I put her in the slow lane and set the cruse control.

 

I useto drive the truck everywhere i went,now`with the fuel prices so high
in bad weather i drive my 92 VW Cabbie 30 mpg,when it's nice out i ride my
m/c FJR 1300 50 mpg.

 

sold my motrcycle to buy a vw jetta. got a sweeet deal on an 02. al power and leather. 28 mpg...3550$. i stole it

trucks under the barn gettin dusty. gas is 75 cents cheaper here and the car gets almost twice the truck mileage..not quite but close enuff

 

picked up a 99 jeep cherokee to do my 110 mile a day commute to and from work.. so far its cut my fuel cost in half.. but its only week 2.. we'll see how it works out in the long run.. at least its saving me some miles on the dodge..

 

The human body is very efficient. If you could drink gasoline, your body would get the equivalent of 100mpg while running.

If you're on a bicycle, it triples your efficiency and you'd get the equivalent of 300mpg.

No wonder it's hard to lose weight, eh?

 

The common complaint here is that fuel is "too expensive" now. Any of you old enough to remember how much gas/diesel cost back in the early 70's? Remember what a decent wage was back then? If you figure in inflation, us Americans just got too comfy with cheap fuel. Now we are starting to feel the reality the rest of the world deals with every day. I was stationed in Italy in the early '90's and I had a Fiat Tipo (little 3-cylinder POS that got ridiculous mileage). It had about a 10-gallon fuel tank and it cost me roughly $60 back then to fill it up. So just remember it's all relative.

Another thing to consider is that petroleum will NOT be coming back down in price. Why? No, it's not GWB's fault. If you need to blame someone, blame the 488,500 Chinese who are first-time car buyers EVERY MONTH. Oil is a world-wide commodity and as demand rises, so does the price. Very simple for anyone who had Economics 101, and no, I don't believe there is a "conspiracy" of the rich or the government. Heck, I work for the Government and the Navy and Coast Guard (and all agencies) are hurting trying to pay for fuel as well, so I don't want to hear it.

It's not all "gloom and doom" though. There are lots of technologies that are coming on-line and we will have fuel, it just won't be what we are used to. It's not all going to suddenly change over to "everyone has to drive an electric", as our infrastructure (and society) can't handle rapid changes like that. For example, General Motors or BMW could sell a Hydrogen-powered sedan in 2009 model year if they wanted as the tech is there, but they probably wouldn't sell too many when people start trying to find someplace to fuel it. Also, if we suddenly had a huge number of 100% electric (plug-ins, not hybrids) on the road, we'd put auto repair shops and all the supporting industry out of business. Change takes time.

I'd bet $100 (or a 1/4 tank of diesel, haha) that in ten years you'll be able to go the the dealership and take your pick of diesel, diesel/electric, electric plug-in, gas, gas/electric, hydrogen/diesel, hydrogen/gas, CNG, etc. People will need to really analyze their transportation requirements very well to suit what types of fuels are appropriate to their needs and what is economical in their area of the country.

In the meantime, I'm keeping my '07 Ram's tires aired up and getting a tonneau cover. I keep the speed under 65 at all times and use the cruise control religiously. I keep a LOG BOOK of EVERY SINGLE FILL-UP and calculate mileage weekly to spot trouble before it gets worse, and to project expenses accurately. I will be running a mix of Biodiesel and regular petrodiesel as prices fluxuate, but I will not be homebrewing as quality control is an issue (I've taken courses in biodiesel production and have a chemistry background and there are as many problems with homebrew as "solutions"). I think we will start to see the aftermarket catering more to us "mileage junkies" and not just the horsepower and torque freaks as well so I am optimistic.

I've noticed in my 2007 Mega Cab 5.9L that if I drive along with traffic (75-80mph) I was getting an average (hand calculated) of 16.55 mpg. Now that I have slowed down to 55-63mph, I am averaging 21.65 mpg. If I can get my average up to 24mpg using aftermarket components (exhaust/intake/chip/whatever) then it negates the benefit of owning a second car (beater) getting 30+ mpg when you factor in additional costs. I've attached a .pdf view of the two spreadsheets I use to keep track of my truck expenses which are part of a workbook that includes all my vehicles. Maybe it will give some of you ideas on how to better manage your truck-related expenses. I know it was a real eye-opener to factor in payments, depreciation, maintenance, fuel, insurance, taxes, etc.

Long winded I know, but I hope this helps.

-David

 

Find out who has all the war contracts. Find out who the parent company is. The Chinese are not to blame. It's the lack of care for our own.

 

Exactly, GW has let his oil cronies bleed us to long. It was just 2 months after he took office that gas prices started the steady climb. Been bleeding us for 7 years now. But the oil companies are doing well.

 

dbandel, why would a person bother to reason and think when it's so much easier to whine and complain and blame GWB?

So when a BIGGER spender takes office, somehow these problems will go away?

 

Haven't driven my truck since Jan.10.











Because my clutch foot has been on strike and refuses to come out of the cast!