Diesel Prices!!!!

[kamerad47]

:beatsme The price of diesel has jump from $1.60 to $2.08 in about a month!!! My trucks & equipment don't move anymore unless there getting paid top dollar for there work! I just don't know how these guys are still working on rates that are 4 years old !!! Insurance & fuel are my to biggast expense how about you??? :confused:

[Cat420]

I get all excited if I see $2.08, it's $2.30 by me. Not too much fun filling a 35 gallon tank.

[Paul]

we've seen about a 30% increase in price here over the last 6 months. But as a real bottom line effect it's not that bad. I ran it thru my last years numbers and it would have just been a bit over $5000 more. Labor increases run much more than that.

[Steve Frazier]

I paid $2.29.9 this morning! It cost me $85 to fill my truck! 3 winters ago, diesel hit $2.33, that's the highest I've seen it.

If it's this high now, it will only get worse as it gets colder.

[CT18fireman]

When it gets really high like this, I like to keep the truck full by topping it often. I know I spend the same amount in fuel but it makes me feel better to only spend $20-$25 instead of $85.

I am afraid to see prices in the winter. Looks like an increase for services then.

[kamerad47]

:confused:How many of you guys are running big diesel trucks & equipment ? I'm runnig a tandem dump, tri axle rolloff, komastu 150 , cat D5, cat 426 , bobcat & 2 diesel pickups. I work this equipment the last 10 days & the fuel bill is around $2,000,00 that probably a $500.00 them 2 months ago!! :usa

[Steve Frazier]

I secured a lock in price of $1.49 for my off road diesel. Found a station at $2.25 today, guess I'll be stopping there for now.

[CT18fireman]

Steve, do you have a tank at your home?

I do not use much off road diesel so I pay. I wish I could get off road gas for mowers and such. I would keep it on at home and that would be convient.

[Cat420]

Originally posted by Steve Frazier
I secured a lock in price of $1.49 for my off road diesel. Found a station at $2.25 today, guess I'll be stopping there for now.

The only downside I have heard to off road diesel is that it can stain your tank. This would be bad news for me if I was running on road diesel in my backhoe with a stained tank and pulled over and got a false test result.

[will_gurt]

Well, I have been fueling the tantum I drive about every two days. This is at $2.29 a gallon for a average of $150 per tank.

Kinda makes one think about Digger242J's thread about idle time.

[kamerad47]

:beatsme I didn't think they still sold off road diesel ? how long are you locked in to that price? Don't get caught running off road in trucks you will be sorry!!

How many of you have increased your prices because of fuel??

I have!

All the Quarrys , Asphalt & Concrete 0perations by me starting 10/1/04 have told customers 8 1/2 % increase on delivery's on there products!!
:usa

[Steve Frazier]

I've got a 500 gallon tank to fuel the machines with. Cat420, why do you fear failing a test in your backhoe? I don't think you'd ever get tested, a backhoe is considered road building equipment and not subject to road taxes.

I'm locked in through April '05. I'm glad I did it!

[Cat420]

Originally posted by Steve Frazier
I've got a 500 gallon tank to fuel the machines with. Cat420, why do you fear failing a test in your backhoe? I don't think you'd ever get tested, a backhoe is considered road building equipment and not subject to road taxes.

I'm locked in through April '05. I'm glad I did it!

Occasionally I take it on the road to get to close jobs. 90% of police would probably not give you a problem on the road, but I wouldn't want to deal someone having a bad day. Do you happen to know off hand the regulations about driving a backhoe on the road? (registration, insurance)

[Steve Frazier]

The only thing you need is "Special Commercial" plates, they're pretty cheap. Insurance is not required, but is not a bad idea.

I don't think road building machines are required to pay road use taxes, you can run dyed fuel in them. Save yourself a few bucks!

[Cat420]

My impression from the DMV website and some phone calls, is that you need to get it inspected and registered (which turns out to be a long process) and my thought was that they treated it the same as any other vehicle on the road in regard to the fuel you run. The problem with registering it is that backhoes have a PIN # as opposed to a VIN #. I was told that you had to contact the manufacturer to get a VIN # assigned or to get a letter stating that they would not assign one. You also have to trailer it to be inspected for road worthyness, as if it was a custom made vehicle. Sorry to ramble on, but this is what I get told by DMV.

[CT18fireman]

Can you only lock in the Off Road? I have my home oil locked in. If I could get over the road fuel locked I would.

[Steve Frazier]

Cat, when I registered my backhoe, the only thing I needed was the bill of sale. That was 15 years ago though, maybe things changed.

I'd try calling a different DMV office, you can get different answers from different clerks, the one you spoke with may not be real familiar with the process

[digger242j]

Disclaimer: These things do vary from state to state. That being said....


I was told just the other day that the police here are being much more strict about roading unlicensed equipment than they were a few years ago. And it's not the police who are interestd in which fuel is in your tank, it's the Department of Revenue.

I've heard of them stopping someone trailering his excavator over the road and keeping them their for an hour while they tested the fuel not only in the truck, but in the machine as well. Why they'd need to test the machine, I have no idea. I've also heard of them visiting someone's yard and testing every diesel powered truck that was there.

I was also told years ago, before they even started to dye the fuel, that if you had a license plate on a machine, you'd better be able to document that you'd been putting taxable fuel in it, not fuel that had not had the tax paid on it when you purchased it. By "document", I mean that you'd need receipts that matched the amount of fuel the machine would have burned for the number of hours on the meter.

Fortunately, I've never run into any of these situations myself, but the people who told me about them, I consider credible.

I'd try calling a different DMV office, you can get different answers from different clerks, the one you spoke with may not be real familiar with the process

Isn't that wonderful? Keep asking until you get the answer you want to hear. Wouldn't it be nice if you could know with 100% confidence that when you asked a question of your government that you'd get the correct answer?

[Electra_Glide]

Isn't that wonderful? Keep asking until you get the answer you want to hear. Wouldn't it be nice if you could know with 100% confidence that when you asked a question of your government that you'd get the correct answer?

Yep...I ran into the exact same problem when I called the DMV and started asking questions about what I could and could not legally tow without a CDL.

Joe

[Cat420]

Thanks for the replies, I was starting to think I was making a big deal out of nothing. It would be nice if more people could think on their own. I guess in our "sue everyone" society, there is little room for common sense anymore, and people want all the answers given to them to be safe from future scrutiny.

[triaxle]

the reason off road fuels exist is to service farm and construction industry equipment.
Some months our off road fuel expenses exceed 6k and we are only a small company.
it is entirely appropriate to use off road fuels in any construction equipment even if that equipment is operating on a road ( in most states, the construction nature of the machine outweighs the tag issues.)
If in doubt call the maintenance shack for your county and ask, or the DOT and Public safety and the tag bureau.

In some areas, off road fuel is only available in high sulphur format. I don't understand why since no diesel engine manufactured in or imported into the US since 1984 burns high sulphur fuels.

More fuel testing programs have appeared recently. Years ago, Missouri was the only state that tested fuels with any regularity. I have over two million miles experience and I have been tested only once.
There is no reason for any fuel inspector or agent to be concerned in any way with the fuel in your construction equipment unless it is leaking out.

Since the off road stuff is about $.50 a gallon cheaper, available at your distributor and even some convenience marts, if you have a tank the distributor can bring it to your site, do yourself a favor, forget you ever put a drop of highway fuel in a construction machine, it was a boo boo.

If you are operating anything without insurance, I suggest you watch "Caddyshack" again, pay special attention to the preacher playing golf...
most contractor insurance packages have a liability umbrella policy, protect yourself, if you work around utilities, raise the amount of the policy.

Best Regardz,