Diesel Prices affecting choices?

[BryanHowell]

As a vendor whose livliehood depends on the diesel aftermarket I was hoping you guys would give me some feedback. Are you putting off doing performance upgrades that you had planned on in favor of doing things to help with your fuel economy? Or are you parking your truck and giving up thinking it is just too expensive to drive? How about you RV'ers... Are you guys still planning on hitting the road this summer? Diesel here in Spokane is now around $4. 30 a gallon and climbing. On the other hand we have more sled pulls scheduled this summer in WA than any previous summer that I can remember. How are the rising prices of fuel affecting the choices that you make in relation to your diesel truck? I personally have two of them and am grudgingly giving one up.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[Ducman82]

i plan i keep getting things as i can. just cuz the price of the fuel goes up, does not justify selling the truck, or parking it. i do ride my motorcycle more, but it cant haul all the stuff i need around. exhaust is my next project.

 

[tmh1955]

We will still be hitting the road this summer. Just takes a little more planning/saving.



No major upgrades anticipated, but that is just because I don't need anything.



Probably add a couple guages/pod but that is about it.



I just paid $4. 39 here in Petaluma CA

 

[JMetzger]

Still driveing the truck, not as much. The RV trips are pretty much gone except local areas, what with medical & prescriptions killing my retirement. Going to CT this summer to see our kids & grandkids but are flying ($760. 00 round trip for wife & I). Everything is going up so fast & being retired one cannot rely on any raises.

 

[RRees]

I'm still driving my diesel. Yes, it's too bad that the rate of fuel increases are higher than the average persons wage increases.



But I live 12 miles from work and am way to lazy to ride a bike that far.



I figure my truck gets great mileage for what it is. 17-18mpg (summer blend).



Unfortunately, we are in prime time political season, so I expect things to get worse before they get better.



We'll get through this and add this to our history books.

 

[Cummins Thunder]

I think it was a good excuse for me to put twins on my 02 Hopefully ill see a mileage improvement over my laggy single.



But yes I do drive the trucks less and try to combine errands along with riding my bike when possible.

 

[FLynes]

Not only have I put off getting mods on the truck, to include gauges, I've throttled back to 55MPH AND the Airstream is sitting in its garage and will continue to sit there, until prices go back down.



The only reason I don't sell the Airstream is for two reasons: 1)I would never get out of it what I put into it and 2)That's my emergency home; in case anything ever happens, the family will always have a place to stay.



I will NOT buy anything for my truck, until the price of diesel goes back down, and you and I both know that it never will, but that's for another thread.

 

[DavidGardner]

Diesel 4. 40 a gal in Olympia today. My trk has been parked in the garage and will only be used when I have to tow or haul something. Travel trl. will only be used once this summer to go to family reunion in eastern Wa. Will ride the Golwing as much as posible. My retirement dosent go up. Inflation does.

 

[onestackdram]

I am one of those in the quadry. My day job doesn't require me to have the diesel truck anymore, but I still can't get rid of it, because I can't figure out how to get my cattle to the market or home from the market, I cant figure out how to haul my hay from the fields to the pastures, can't haul grain or basically anything else on my farm without my truck and since i don't have deep pockets, buying another vehicle is pretty much out of the question, so I have just slowed the speed down in the truck, and quit doing any upgrades,



Russell

 

[FLynes]

I am one of those in the quadry. My day job doesn't require me to have the diesel truck anymore, but I still can't get rid of it, because I can't figure out how to get my cattle to the market or home from the market, I cant figure out how to haul my hay from the fields to the pastures, can't haul grain or basically anything else on my farm without my truck and since i don't have deep pockets, buying another vehicle is pretty much out of the question, so I have just slowed the speed down in the truck, and quit doing any upgrades,



Russell

Amen. I need it to haul hay for our horses and to haul our horse trailer. It might take a while, but us guys who DO need to use our trucks are seeing the light; less MPH=more MPG... maybe not much, but every little bit helps.

 

[EGroeneveld]

I have put about $ 8,000 into my trucks in the last year regarding accessaries (including tires) and not sure if I will do any in the next year.



Luckily my commute is only 6 miles so I only fill the trucks once a month if that. We are driving my wife's car (38mpg) a lot more and the trucks just sit a lot on the weekends. We will be traveling some but will take the car and use hotels rather then camp. We will go out riding quads and use the offroad truck some, but it will be closer to home and less often. We will not be driving (or flying) to the midwest this summer to see family, just staying home.



Its not that we cannot afford it but we are trying to live smarter. We have cut out eating out, Starbucks and Dairy Queen treats and just trying to live a lot lower below our means as we have made paying off the truck a priority so we can move onto some acreage. I WANT A SHOP! We paid off my wife's car 4 years early and that felt great. Maybe our grandparents and parents were not so dumb afterall regarding debt. We are also building savings from 6 months worth to about 1 years worth of living expenses. We are confortable and enjoy life but the food prices and gas prices have helped us realize what our priorities are.

 

[onestackdram]

Its not that we cannot afford it but we are trying to live smarter. We have cut out eating out, Starbucks and Dairy Queen treats and just trying to live a lot lower below our means as we have made paying off the truck a priority so we can move onto some acreage. I WANT A SHOP! We paid off my wife's car 4 years early and that felt great. Maybe our grandparents and parents were not so dumb afterall regarding debt. We are also building savings from 6 months worth to about 1 years worth of living expenses. We are confortable and enjoy life but the food prices and gas prices have helped us realize what our priorities are.

That is exactly what my wife and I are doing. We got our credit cards paid off in Feb (thank you tax return) and because of it now we are 1 year away from having both cars paid off, and now i actually have a little saving going towards buying the 20 acres with the house next to the 60 i have for my cattle.

 

[SHobbs]

I have alot of things on hold. Fuel and groceries are costing me $700/month. Not only did my fuel bill go up but the cost of food as well. My grocery bill went up $45 for the same things I purchased back in November. I will not park my truck it's the only vehicle I have and thankfully I am gettin around 18mpg which helps considering its about 64 miles round trip just to get to work.



As stated above I am living smarter too, got to plan my spending accordingly.

 

[2Rowdy]

Still avg. 1400 business miles a month but have throttled back to 65 mph. Just trying to make each mile count.

 

[bigdaddydieseldan]

Absolutely positively fuel prices are starting to affect everyone #@$%!#@$%!#@$%! . There are lots of things that I want to do to my truck but I will just have to wait #@$%!#@$%!#@$%!#@$%!

 

[Regcabguy]

I'm probably about six months away from selling the popup. I'm glad I bought this configuration back in 2000 when fuel was $1. 00/gal. Shouldn't be a hard sell when the time comes. I got a bid on a Gemtop Outfitter today. Still have a few out of the way Baja spots to hit before I croak. Haven't been able to go there with the camper. I just got 16 mpg. all freeway with the beast on my back last tank. Very conservative driving. Sucks bigtime. :{

 

[KDHannink]

High prices?

So, until 2 years ago I drove a 1975 Ford 4x4 with 35's and a very strong 390. Prices for gas kept rising, and they asked me why I would keep going 4 wheeling and other fun things that required fuel. My reply: "If fuel prices climb, I'll be really glad that I did as much as possible while they were this price. If they go down, SWEET!" That was when gas was about $2 a gallon, and I rarely hit 10 mpg in the Ford. Now with the 97 Dodge, getting 19. 5 doing 75mph, I have the same outlook. So, next: bigger turbo, new shocks, fuel prices be ****ed. The biggest pain is the $75 shutoff at the fuel pumps, requiring me to start it again for the last few gallons until full. (PS I do ride my bike several days a week, I hate starting the diesel for a 2 mile drive in the morning)

 

[BryanHowell]

Power and mileage

I think it was a good excuse for me to put twins on my 02 Hopefully ill see a mileage improvement over my laggy single.



But yes I do drive the trucks less and try to combine errands along with riding my bike when possible.

That's what I like to hear as a vendor! I am building an 07 5. 9L with BD Twins, Snow Performance Max Mileage water meth and so on. My goal is 600+rwhp and 20mpg. Attainable? We'll see. Fun? Absolutely! Practical? Absolutely not!

 

[JGilbert]

We are retiring in June and are still planning on hooking up the 5th wheel trailer and seeing the country. We will be heading to Yellowstone in July and plan to be there in September. I have budgeted a minimum of $5 per gallon and we will still be fine. If it goes much over that, I will have to re-evaluate at that time.

Joe

 

[JDiepstra]

I was planning on a built transmission this year but now I am thinking not. I'd rather have the money in the bank just in case...