Wow this is an old thread brought back too life, I was reading some of the old posts from 2 years ago and kinda giffled at some of the $35 a barrel for oil prices comments.

I think I have mentioned it before but there was even one time when we had an OTR truck (with farm plates) pulled over into a parking lot with many other trucks with a Fleetgaurd truck sitting there, DOT guys removed the fliter cut it in half to see if any of the filter element was stained red!! They then reinstalled a new filter. Since our truck was clean, we said thanks for the filter change!

I have a friend who was fined $7,000 for running red fuel after his truck was dipped while parked at a cattle show......

 

OK so if you have to pay a tax on home made fuel then so be it. What happens if you have an electric motor powered by batteries, that are charged by solar power, or possbly a water wheel generator?

 

dont give them any ideas. they'd probably find a way to tax you if you burned methane gas generated from hog waste that you raised on your farm!

 

Fellows, the tax isn't on the fuel, it's on road usage. Basing the tax on the amount of fuel consumed (whatever type of fuel it is) is just a convenient way of assuring that those who use the roads more pay their share of the construction and upkeep. Now, who carries the burden for those who use the public roads but don't feel any obligation to pay for them??

Rusty

 

I did see a segment on the TV a while ago (can't for the life of me remember the program) where hybrid vehicles may have to pay a higher registration or property tax to offset the lower fuel tax.

So can I put the '73 Ford back on the road and get a tax break for a gas gussler?

But back to the original topic, at the NC State Fair, there were officers roaming the livestock parking lot dipping tanks.
I wonder if I need to replace the filter again, I filled up with red fuel in Rocky Mount after Katrina (at the OTR pump), wonder if their in-ground tank is still contaminated?

 

I don't think it's right for an officer of any type to search a vehicle or tank of a citizen's private truck without their presence. If I caught someone dipping my tank without me present I would be very upset.

 

yeah, I'm glad my truck wasn't in the lot at the time, not that I've run red illegally, but you know...

I wondered what they would do if they came up with red fuel? wait for the driver to come back or what?

 

What about a locking fuel tank cap...high priced fuel draws theives too.

 

Can you buy locking caps for the big rigs? I've never seen any, but then again I havent really looked either.

 

What I'm saying is they'd have to make their pull in your presence if the fuel tank was locked...no claiming a bad pull then hauling your truck away while you were judging country hams at the county fair.

 

I keep my fuel filler cap locked at all times, just so that I'm always present when the tank is open.

 

WOW. Thanks lightman for rebuking the sinners who don't have as high morals as you do. I wish everyone had as high morals as you, I guess it would be kind of like ?????? Heaven.

 

I don't mind them stopping me and dipping my tank, that's part of their job, but, I do wish we could stop paying for a war that's been over for 50 years. Blanky blank Federal Excise Tax!

 

If anybody should be allowed to run off-road fuel it should be truckers. Why only farmers? Sure, farmers grow the food for the country but without the hard working truckers it wouldn't make it to stores. If the government wants to bolster the economy why don't they wake up and start giving the trucking industry some breaks since the transportation of goods is a big part of what makes the economy what it is. That's my 2 cents.

 

I share your distaste for our punitive system of taxation, but in this case at least there's some sense to be found in mandating that Over The Road trucks use only fuel that has been taxed - obstensibly to pay for road construction & maintenance.