Fuel prices....how are you making it??
 

We just filled up the truck here in AZ 190 gallons 611.00.... :shock: :shock:

I was waching CNN the other day and this guy was on there saying that if the oil goes over 100.00 a barrel then by next year it may double!! If that happens we will be paying around 7.00 a gallon for fuel.

How on earth are the small O/O (under 10 trucks) going to make it?? Is this where all the O/O get squeezed out and the big carriers take over?? Just wondering how you guys are making it....

tootie

yeah no relief in sight huh.....were 3.50 here at TA in Ontario....think its gina be $4.00 by xmas i bet.

Wonder what my dirty lil secrets runnung?.....Royal truck stop at I-215 n I-10

They were 3.00 all summer when everyone else was 3.20

20% fuel surcharge

yeah biggest reason im considering leasing now.....f'n brokers always keep it!

Funny thing is even though they are much higher here on the East Coast then when I started a few months ago, coming from out West where I saw the prices at $3.69 then $3.11 seems cheap now. But that's only due to what I call the mattress effect.

I read once that when the Palestinian prisoners start complaining for more things, the Israelis go in and take everything out of their cell. So when they get things like their mattress back they are happy and stop complaining for what they were complaining for in the first place.

Always stuck in my head that thing, so now it's like I'm happy to be paying $3.11 which is crazy.

On October 10 2004, for the first time in my life, I've poured in my fuel tank, $2...a gallon.
It took's 3 year, and 20 days, for $3...a gallon turn, and i do remember fuel was under buck a gallon, just 8 years ago....trucks still running.... :wink:

$3.50 seems cheap for Ontario, Ca. They always have ridiculously high fuel prices there... I'm surprised they aren't milking it for $4/gal as it is.

Re: Fuel prices....how are you making it??
 

It's easy... Run your truck as a business not a sightseeing mobile....

It's an easy fix, (even the hollywood writers have figured it out), all the independents go on strike for one week, and then we'll have the undivided attention of the politicians, namely GW. GW then gets OPEC on the red phone and tells them to increase production, or else, we'll annex them.

Some will say the independents don't have that much power, but they're wrong. The big companies only make up a small percentage of the industry, some say around 5%. Even big companies are forced to outsource some of their freight because they cannot get enough drivers to drive for peanuts.

Plan B would go like this...... We all go to Laredo and block I-35 with a few thousand trucks. That would shut down a lot of industry (especially the dope industry),lol. Or maybe the ports. How about nothing gets through but oil tankers. That's right, no lead painted toys, no fireworks, no imported beef, etc. etc.

Bottom line is, we're just not desperate enough yet.

jonboy

Re: Fuel prices....how are you making it??
 

Not that it is any of your business....we WORK first and then make the best of whatever situation we happen to be in....and NO we DONT haul cheap freight!!

I never said the high price of fuel was affecting us personally....although it most likely will no matter how smart we run.

What is the average idle time on your truck?? How about the one you have drivers for?? ours is less than 3%.

tootie

There really hasn't been that much change in 8 years. They blame the loss of refinery production to an explosion in Texas and Katrina, but that has been two years ago.

There is no excuse for oil to be as high as it is. Our country has enough power to change it if we had the guts.

If the oil producing countries keep it up, they'll cripple our economy through high oil prices and the weakened dollar. The Islamic nations have had this as their objective for years. Saudi Arabia could increase production tremendously, but they are walking a tightrope, trying to appease both sides, and stay in power.

There is going to be a war, but it will be over ideology more than resources.....Ezekiel 38-39.

I pity our next president, they don't know what they're really in for, but we all know, Hillary can fix it all by reasoning with our enemies..... :roll:

"People who are obsessed with power and position are rarely able to handle either." jonboy wisdom

sorry for the hijack, back to the topic....

jonboy

I agree jonboy....I wont get into the biblical part of what is going on.....but a good study of Revelation wouldnt hurt anyone.

Everyone knows oil is a non-renewable resource....what I dont get is why have they waited so long to think of alternative fuels?? The technology is there....we need to use it now.

tootie

Re: Fuel prices....how are you making it??
 

[quote="tootie04"][quote="BigDiesel"]My trucks have ThermoKing Tri-Pacs installed on them.... They don't idle.

Re: Fuel prices....how are you making it??
 

[quote="BigDiesel"][quote="tootie04"]Still uses fuel....Not idleing at all uses no extra fuel and it is a known fact that drivers and O/O use the APU more than they would normally idle their trucks so how much of a real savings is an APU?? I am not saying they are not nice to have, and can save alot of money over the long run but they still use fuel.

Tootie, I had a close friend that was in the oil business for years (British Petroleum), and he worked everything from offshore to African oil producing countries. He died in 2004, but he had been telling me since the late 90's that we'd see $3 gasoline, and it would never go back down, despite plenty of oil in the world.

He told me there is so much oil in the former Soviet Union, that it is running out of the ground. I can't remember the country, (Khazakstan?),but it is one of the ones that broke off from Russia.

They estimated it as more than the all the Mideast countries put together. The problem is, it's inland, and they haven't developed a way to transfer it. I think they'll have to build a pipeline to the ocean.

It's a big lie that the earth is running out of resources, not to mention global warming and all the rest of the lies. I remember a few years ago the environmentalists were saying overpopulation was the problem, because the world was too small to support everyone.

Any truck driver, driving across the west and midwest, and seeing all the resources, knows that is a pack of lies. I saw about 500 deer in west Texas the other night. I put my spotlight on the shoulder and I couldn't believe it. Fortunately, they were staying on the shoulder. In Kansas yesterday, I saw them grazing on the shoulder just before noon. Our country is full of resouces.

Of course deer season is open in Texas this week, so that should fix some of that.

Bottom line is...

There is going to be real global warming at some point :wink: , but hydrocarbons aren't going to be the cause.

I see you guys are just relaxing this weekend as well. I'm in Plainview, Texas, and I'll probably get another load of those nasty cowhides tomorrow just to get out of here.

jonboy

Could Get a really strong rope, and when the good Rev rolls by lasso his bumper!!!!!

I heard the CEO of BP talking a while back. He stated that the largest reserves in the world are thought to be in the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida. However, the envirowhacko's have prevented us from drilling because they don't want to see oil rigs off the shore of Florida. Well, guess what.....China is has reached a deal with Cuba to drill for oil. So they get to drill in our back yard while we cow to the environmentalists. Keep in mind that it is in the best interest of our government to have high fuel prices. The higher the fuel price, the more tax revenue they get to collect. Tootie is correct about alternative fuel sources. We have had alternatives for decades. We simply have not used them. I think the oil companies have done everything they possibly can to keep them off of the market. I also think it would be in the best interest of everyone to keep the oil companies out of these alternative fuels. We need true competition. Lack of competition is the real cause of these high oil prices. There is little competition among the oil companies. Until there is competition prices will only go higher. We should also keep in mind that we get little of our oil from the Middle East. Most comes from South of our border, such as Mexico and Venezuela. I say we go to Mexico and Venezuela and annex them. Make them part of the U.S., take the oil and tax them. :P

Re: Fuel prices....how are you making it??
 

I think it is great that you are keeping your idle time so low, Tootie. If everyone would keep their idle time as low as you and Bo, then we could all save some real money. If you idle for 8 hours you will spend more than $24 to idle. That is over $150/week just to idle. :shock:

Do a search for sustainable oil, there's some interesting articles on it.

Are we being dooped?

The oil thing and fuel prices have me worried. You sure don't see the freight matching the fuel increases. I am saying "no" "no" "no" to a lot of loads. I asked one broker if her shipper still wore leisure suits and watched "mork and mindy" at night??? i.e., the 70's are OVER baby... buck a mile freight was then, not now. Yet, some dumb forkers are still hauling it for that. Not me.

In any event, I agree with Gman, let's annex Mexico, then we can all run back and forth and some of the Mexicans here will go back home to collect their benefits! :wink:

Just out of the shop after four days in Bend, OR getting a new $2661.51 clutch and associated parts put in the truck. It'll take me awhile to pay for that with my hi-dollar loads.

And Gman, I don't idle. I have a $150 per week booze habit; can't afford to idle and drink both!!! So I just sit in my cold truck drinking cold beer, then pass out in a stupor... OK I am exagerrating a little... but seriously, I don't idle enough to warrant an APU. I am thinking more along the lines of a small gas powered generator just to recharge my batteries. My inverter does most of my household chores- free (more or less-- I do have to start the truck periodically to recharge batteries).

OK, back to Mork and Mindy.......
:roll:

I am sure we are being dooped....i read that the oil in the Gulf is as much or more than what is in the middle east all together.

I feel sorry for the people, like the O/O who have to pay for this twice....once at the pump then again in all the higher prices we pay for everything else.

It is going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out in the end, but in the meanwhile we all have to survive.

tootie

tootie

Mountain Flyer, I was talking with someone earlier today about these apu's. I am not sure that they are worth the money and extra maintenance. I am glad to hear that you are trying to stay away from these fuel money loads. If these prices continue to rise, those prices won't even cover the cost of fuel. I fail to understand why people haul freight that has no profit. I guess they don't teach math in school any more. :roll:

GMAN, what were some of the reason this person or you feel that APU's aren't worth it? I know you are one of those old time truckers that are more indifferent to the elements :) but us new school truckers are a bit more, shall we say, less tolerant of certain things.

I have no idea how anyone who lives in Idaho doesn't use this thing. Good God man I just passed through there and froze my a** off. I slept 2 inches away from the heat vent.

Anyway, someone made a comment here one time that stuck in my head. That the bean counters at Walmart are installing them and I'm sure they know what they are doing.

Mountianflyer....what shop were you in?? We lived in LaPine for a year and there was a shop we used in Bend.....cant remember the name of it right now though....

I LOVE central OR. I would move back there in a heartbeat if one could make good money there.

tootie

I am not indifferent to the elements. I really don't care for cold weather, but I will go where the rates are best. It is expensive to idle all the time. With fuel being over $3/gallon in most areas, it will cost $3/hour to idle your truck. At first look the apu seems like it makes sense. The problem is that these units cost about $7-8M. They also need maintenance. Oil needs to be changed more frequently than on your truck. That takes time, but not necessarily a lot of money if you do it yourself. It is one of those things which we all need to weigh. When I look at expenditures I want to see the cost benefit and a payout. Unless I see a way for something that expensive to be cost effective, I won't even entertain spending the money. You burn fuel whether you idle or run an apu. It is a matter of how much fuel you burn. I have heard of some who have had to idle along with running their apu to stay warm or cool. At this point, I doubt that I would go to the expense of having one installed on my trucks. However, I might give serious consideration to buying a truck with one already installed. Some states, such as California, are even looking at legislation to prohibit diesel powered apu's. I don't recall the entire story, but I would be seriously upset if some government who wanted to force me to install an apu would turn around a year later and tell me that I could not run the apu. :x

Tootie, I was at Brattain International, right next door to Mermo? Freightliner. Found them at 1 a.m. when traffic was light and I made it in to their dealership with no clutch by using judicious "red light rolling" and jamming in and out of gear. Good folks there; they treated me pretty fair and were very polite and nice.

Bend is a beautiful town. Reminds me of Boise 25 years ago, before the Californians took over. Same thing is happening in Bend... being overrun with rich folks. :x

Leave it to the flipping Californians to come up with something like that Gman. Would not surprise me one bit... probably if your dog was in the truck, you could idle to your hearts content so as not to be accused of animal abuse. Yet its OK for YOU to sit there freezing or cooking. Don't even get me started, man... this world is so upside down; right is wrong, wrong is right, and if it's insane, it makes perfect sense.... :x :x :x :x :x

Seriously, though... I think an APU is great IF you have money burning a hole in your pocket. I sat down one day and did some math, and it would take me about six years to pay back the cost of an APU. I simply will put on a sweater or crawl under the blankets most of the time instead of idling in cold weather. I have found I can stay quite comfy in my truck unless it is less than 20 degrees outside.... at least for awhile... by the time I wake up in the early morning with my teeth a chatterin', it's time to turn the truck on, cost be damned!!!

It is a shame that we can't be comfortable without breaking some law those who passed it would not obey themselves. :evil: These types of idiotic laws will continue to get passed until people begin to stand up to the politicians and special interest whacko's.

Same feelings here. Whatever they charge, we will pay. Pass on a percentage fuel surcharge to the customer, 20-30% works good for us. Stay away from brokers that cant pay better. They are taking a large cut of the linehaul and all of the fuel surcharge. When you go under for hauling that crap (Pepe), they find another sucker.

Politics is not about common sense or doing what is right. It's about pleasing the most amount of people and when your dealing with such a small group as truckers, who gives a sh**. Why waste your time when there are much bigger problems to solve.

Now Gman...you done went and "vocalized" what I have felt for years! Annex those 2 countries and we increase the size of our natural resources reserves, increase the size of our agri-busniess production, increase the country's tax base...and eliminate 80% of the illegal immigrant problem!!!!

well........I saw $3.699 in Detroit today.When is enough, enough?

7..

For me how i handle the higher fuel prices is i get a good fsc i think this week is like 41 cpm and i slowed down to 61 and im averaging anywhere from 7 to 8 mpg

For us owner/operators that are on with a good company paying FSC, we PRAY for high fuel prices.

The FSC is based off 6 mpg.

The calculations are as follows:

Todays pump price - 1.25 / 6 = FSC

Don't ask me who came up with this 1.25/gallon number. But I'll tell you what, if you get more then 6 mpg, and the price goes up, you MAKE MORE MONEY!

o.k. i am going to weigh in on this. my resources tell me that we have more oil in just the 3 states of utah, colorado, & wyoming than the entire middle east put together. it is in the form of brick shale. another reason i'm told why the crisis is what it is because we have not built any new refineries in over 20 years, but the demand has increased over the last 20 years. last but not least... if we had all the oil right here & the capacity to refine it, the cost added on by our government & the epa & other beuratic agencys would make it more expensive than importing it. that is why we have always increasingly imported more. it cost less. perioid. kinda like china goods.. we can & do produce the same goods here, but prices on a product maufactured by a union will cost more to buy here. look at the price of a automobile from one ot the unions big 3. the labor cost including taxes, epa, benefits, e.t.c. all add on to the total price. so if we ever develope alternative fuel here, the gov will say... hey if these peoplecan afford & paid 3-4 dollars a gallon before then we will charge the same. private co's & competion is the only way to lower prices.

That "new refinery" thing is sort of a myth. Yes there has been no new refineries, but some of them have quadrupled in capacity.

If you guys would just kick off the heating oil habit, we wouldn't see this huge increase of 50-100 cents every fall. We don't run heating oil in Canada. We don't see this increase.

Diesel prices here have increased 5% in the past month.

If you guys would just kick off the heating oil habit, we wouldn't see this huge increase of 50-100 cents every fall. We don't run heating oil in Canada. We don't see this increase.


we dont use heating oil here. we use elec & gas.[/list]

I was talking more in general :P

I was talking more in general.


we dont have generals here either. robert e lee died long ago. :lol: