Get truck or fuc...you get my point.

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10-05-2008, 09:57 AM
no_brains_no_worries

Get truck or fuc...you get my point.

With gas prices being at their highest sales EVER (here in my neighborhood I was paying 4.03 a gallon this summer) big gas guzzler trucks are selling for dirt cheap. Now I have always been in favor of trucks, my first set of wheels was a sweet Chevi S-10 which I loved with all my heart till the day I spun a barring. Now I really want to get a new truck, but is it worth it? We are already seeing a decline in gas prices (thank God) but will they ever go down enough to make a truck worth owning? Or, if I am hell bent on a truck, should I just spring for one that runs on natural gas?

Opinions or comments are welcome feedback!
10-05-2008, 10:00 AM
Atmosfear

GM is selling Flex-Fuel-equipped trucks for the same price as regular gas engines.

I sure do love my Sierra.
10-05-2008, 02:47 PM
Vengeful Scars

I drive a 99 Ford Explorer(k, SUV not a tuck, but same idea). It gets some super shitty gas mileage, I drive 70 miles round trip to school and back. That's anywhere from 1/4tank to 1/2tank of gas.

20 dollars(at $3.75) would probably move me 40 miles before I ran out of gas....
10-05-2008, 03:00 PM
Atmosfear

I get 21-22 MPG highway in a fullsize truck.

Ford makes a shitty truck.
10-05-2008, 05:56 PM
Tekk

Truck or hooker, tough choice...

If you can use it (ie move a lot of shit) then sure get one. If you are just getting it because trucks are cool, then you are a hick. Gas prices will go up, guaranteed. Can you weather it? Do you drive far distances daily? The small trucks don't get that bad of gas mileage, so a 4 banger ranger might not be a bad compromise.

Heavy duty trucks were always a waste.
10-05-2008, 10:57 PM
no_brains_no_worries

I had no idea fuel-flex trucks from GM were going for such a reasonable price! I am driving a '98 full size Blazer and looked around to see how much it would take to get a natural gas line and tank installed...for some of the figures I got, I might as well have bought a new truck.
10-06-2008, 09:37 AM
Harner

I am getting a job that is only 5 miles from home next week. My first order of business is to retire my Grand Am and find something larger, 4 wheel drive, and made by GM.

It's worth it, if you use it. Whether I get a truck or SUV, I'd be glad to have the extra space to lug stuff around and feel a little better about transporting my family in a 4wd vehicle.
10-10-2008, 12:32 PM
fm2176

My GMC has the standard 5.3. Average highway is 17-20 depending on speed, city is 15-17 depending on traffic. The Nissan was inexpensive to drive, but I really don't mind paying extra to drive a more versatile vehicle.
10-14-2008, 06:18 PM
sasquash

I can't imagine using a truck as a daily driver, unless you really need it for work or something. Flex-fuel is nice, but I think E85 is subsidized. If they gov't ever quits giving breaks on it, it'll be more money per mile driven than regular gas. And I don't think a flex-fuel engine improves your mileage, it just lets you run on a mix of gas and alcohol. In fact, I'm pretty sure you get less miles out of E85 than you do out of straight gasoline. Natural gas burns pretty cleanly, but do you live somewhere where you can get it easily? Can you even buy a truck that runs on natural gas? I thought that they only sold them as fleet vehicles.

In short, get a sensible car and save lots of money in the process.

Now, if you can find a diesel truck, you have a couple of options. You can run it on used veggie oil (cheap or free if you can get it straight from a restaurant, but you need to know what you're looking for to get good grease), but you'll need a conversion first; or you can run it on biodiesel. Biodiesel is pretty expensive and can be hard to find, unless you get a reactor and make your own (it can be done, but you can't be an idiot). Also, it's been quite a while since anything smaller than a 250/2500 type truck was sold in this country with a diesel engine, so you aren't going to get good mileage out of it. It's not as hard to find old Mercedes or VW diesel cars.

P.S. There is no requirement that you buy a new vehicle instead of a used one. In fact, for biodiese/SVO, buying used is probably smarter.
10-15-2008, 02:23 AM
no_brains_no_worries

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasquash

I can't imagine using a truck as a daily driver, unless you really need it for work or something. Flex-fuel is nice, but I think E85 is subsidized. If they gov't ever quits giving breaks on it, it'll be more money per mile driven than regular gas. And I don't think a flex-fuel engine improves your mileage, it just lets you run on a mix of gas and alcohol. In fact, I'm pretty sure you get less miles out of E85 than you do out of straight gasoline. Natural gas burns pretty cleanly, but do you live somewhere where you can get it easily? Can you even buy a truck that runs on natural gas? I thought that they only sold them as fleet vehicles.

In short, get a sensible car and save lots of money in the process.

Now, if you can find a diesel truck, you have a couple of options. You can run it on used veggie oil (cheap or free if you can get it straight from a restaurant, but you need to know what you're looking for to get good grease), but you'll need a conversion first; or you can run it on biodiesel. Biodiesel is pretty expensive and can be hard to find, unless you get a reactor and make your own (it can be done, but you can't be an idiot). Also, it's been quite a while since anything smaller than a 250/2500 type truck was sold in this country with a diesel engine, so you aren't going to get good mileage out of it. It's not as hard to find old Mercedes or VW diesel cars.

A local shop near my neighborhood is selling converted natural gas trucks for ridiculous prices, but it's only 89 cents a gallon. That sounds fantastic, but four months ago natural gas was only 29 cents a gallon, so I am a little leery about getting a natural gas vehicle.
10-15-2008, 09:51 AM
Atmosfear

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasquash

I can't imagine using a truck as a daily driver, unless you really need it for work or something. Flex-fuel is nice, but I think E85 is subsidized. If they gov't ever quits giving breaks on it, it'll be more money per mile driven than regular gas. And I don't think a flex-fuel engine improves your mileage, it just lets you run on a mix of gas and alcohol. In fact, I'm pretty sure you get less miles out of E85 than you do out of straight gasoline. Natural gas burns pretty cleanly, but do you live somewhere where you can get it easily? Can you even buy a truck that runs on natural gas? I thought that they only sold them as fleet vehicles.

In short, get a sensible car and save lots of money in the process.

Now, if you can find a diesel truck, you have a couple of options. You can run it on used veggie oil (cheap or free if you can get it straight from a restaurant, but you need to know what you're looking for to get good grease), but you'll need a conversion first; or you can run it on biodiesel. Biodiesel is pretty expensive and can be hard to find, unless you get a reactor and make your own (it can be done, but you can't be an idiot). Also, it's been quite a while since anything smaller than a 250/2500 type truck was sold in this country with a diesel engine, so you aren't going to get good mileage out of it. It's not as hard to find old Mercedes or VW diesel cars.

This is spoken like someone who doesn't live in the real world.

Natural gas is unreasonable. It's availability is severely limited, and it's trading one fossil fuel for another. Vegetable oil is just goddamned retarded. Who is going to buy a brand new $45,000 truck and immediately void their warranty?

E85 is obviously lower gas mileage than regular 87 octane. The attraction of E85 isn't driving range, it's mileage per dollar. If you're paying $4 for gas and getting 20 miles per gallon, you're paying $.20 for every mile. If you're paying $1.50 for E85 and getting 10 miles per gallon, you're paying $.15 for every mile. Considering you pay nothing extra for GM's Flex Fuel engine, there's no drawback.
10-15-2008, 12:16 PM
Anonymous D

And to run a diesel on oil you have to have a nice sized filtering setup. And they can cost some jack and take time to get enough to run your truck everyday on.
10-15-2008, 05:36 PM
sasquash

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

This is spoken like someone who doesn't live in the real world.

How so, exactly? Was it the part about alternate fuels being potentially impractical, or the part about driving a sensible car?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

Natural gas is unreasonable. It's availability is severely limited, and it's trading one fossil fuel for another. Vegetable oil is just goddamned retarded. Who is going to buy a brand new $45,000 truck and immediately void their warranty?

Who the hell said to buy a brand new, $45,000 truck? If you want a diesel truck to run on veggie oil or biodiesel, look for a used one. The OP was interested in alternate fuels, so I pointed out that this might be a more viable option than natural gas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

E85 is obviously lower gas mileage than regular 87 octane. The attraction of E85 isn't driving range, it's mileage per dollar. If you're paying $4 for gas and getting 20 miles per gallon, you're paying $.20 for every mile. If you're paying $1.50 for E85 and getting 10 miles per gallon, you're paying $.15 for every mile. Considering you pay nothing extra for GM's Flex Fuel engine, there's no drawback.

Yes, and as I pointed out, if the government subsidies for ethanol ever run out, that cost per mile on E85 is going to be quite a bit higher than it is now. If you're hell bent on a GM truck, and the flex-fuel engine doesn't cost any extra, then yeah, you might as well get it. But it still makes a lot more sense for most people to get a car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous d

And to run a diesel on oil you have to have a nice sized filtering setup. And they can cost some jack and take time to get enough to run your truck everyday on.

Yep, you have to know what you're doing. You need to have a reliable source for the oil, and you probably have to pick it up yourself. You'll have to filter it yourself (not rocket science), and make sure that you have a conversion kit installed. But your fuel is free, so it doesn't take too many miles to make up for the initial investment or the hassle. Especially if you drive a gas hog.
10-17-2008, 02:00 PM
Atmosfear

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasquash

How so, exactly? Was it the part about alternate fuels being potentially impractical, or the part about driving a sensible car?

Both. Alternative fuels are impractical and you're impressing your opinions on him without offering an answer to his question.[/QUOTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasquash

Who the hell said to buy a brand new, $45,000 truck? If you want a diesel truck to run on veggie oil or biodiesel, look for a used one. The OP was interested in alternate fuels, so I pointed out that this might be a more viable option than natural gas.

He did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by no_brains_no_worries

Now I really want to get a new truck

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasquash

Yes, and as I pointed out, if the government subsidies for ethanol ever run out, that cost per mile on E85 is going to be quite a bit higher than it is now. If you're hell bent on a GM truck, and the flex-fuel engine doesn't cost any extra, then yeah, you might as well get it. But it still makes a lot more sense for most people to get a car.

If government subsidies ever run out, then you've spent no extra money and you can run 87 octane like everyone else. Everything you say is one big eye roll.
10-17-2008, 08:31 PM
sasquash

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

Both. Alternative fuels are impractical and you're impressing your opinions on him without offering an answer to his question.

He asked if he should get a truck, I told him a sensible car is a better bet. He asked about an alternative fuel vehicle, I told him biodiesel or SVO would be more practical than natural gas. If you can't connect those dots, I can't help you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

He did.

Christ. I've updated my first post to clarify. I hope you no longer find it confusing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

If government subsidies ever run out, then you've spent no extra money and you can run 87 octane like everyone else.

Yes, and he'll be stuck with a gas guzzling behemoth and have no recourse the next time gas prices spike, which was part of what he was concerned about in the OP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atmosfear

Everything you say is one big eye roll.

And everything you say seems designed to convince yourself that you're the smartest person in whatever conversation you're having. Whatever gets you through the night, I suppose.