since the fuel prices are so high, do think more people are risking running the off-road stuff to keep their fuel bills lower. we all know its really not the right thing to do here for more than one reason.....just thought I would ask!

 

Don't. Not worth it.

Don't live by the philiosophy of putting a penny before a hundred dollar bill.

 

I don't run red but in Montana most stations have an offroad nozzle right on the same pump as the #2, real easy to save 42¢ a gallon if you want.
One day while I was filling up the tanker pulled in and I asked the driver how much red was used compared to onroad, he said about 1/3 sold at this particular station was offroad. No idea how many people are cheating but I tend to think quite a few since this is a large scale agricultural area where farmers have their own tanks, no one drives their tractor to the gas station.

 

I have thought about it. They dont stab tanks in California yet.
Doug.

 

If they catch you you'll be sorry- the fines are astronomical and the dye keeps in the tank for several fill ups not to mention in your filters. With the rising cost of fuel obviously more drivers are thinking about it which means the DOT is thinking about it too....

 

And then there is the IRS.......

 

Here in the North country, the fine for using offroad fuel is 30k and the station that sells it to you is fine 20k. 4 bucks a gallon sucks, but if you do the math the fine for misuse is a lot more like 794 dollars agallon.

 

Ummmm, YEAH they do. The California State Board Of Equalization Fuel Taxes Division has inforcement officers who set up randomly at CHP highway scales. Granite, at the scales they're mostly checking commercial trucks. But they also set up randomly in or near heavily truck traffic areas, i.e. truck stops, truck yards, construction material plants.

I work in the middle of an aggregate yard. Trucks, including mine, run in and out all day. The state, in conjunction with CHP, set up just outside of our gate. They pull just about everyone thru for general inspection, fuel sampling and stab-idle testing. I've been pulled in myself twice in the last 6 months for a fuel dip test.

 

Our horseshoer is a roper - he has seen WSP sticking people's tanks at ropings. While he does NOT run offroad fuel, he's also pretty certain a few people do. He says that the dipper was dropped in the dirt at least once while he was watching, and opined that was one more reason for locking fuel caps!

 

Alot of the farm boys around town run nothing but red. Theres not to many DOT's around to check them here. Never heard of anyone gettin caught

 

Never heard of anyone getting checked around here. However......if you farm and file schedule F and supporting forms with the IRS, they might be able to infer something from the numbers, especially during an audit. Then they might go looking for proof.

Not worth the risk, IMO.

 

I wouldnt do it, but around here its only 20cents cheaper anyway, not worth the hassle

 

We have visited this topic 497,730,873,634,312,693 times.

Each time with the same result.

Some folks will, and some folks won't.

No matter how many times we discuss it neither side will change the other's mind.