Just Paid $120.16 To Fill Up My Pickup Truck

[ThomWV]

Ford F-250 diesel 3/4-Ton pickup, standard single tank. I go thought about a tankful a month these days, we only use the truck when it is needed to tow or haul. I pity the small contractors that have to be out there on the road every day. This has got to be just killing them.

A couple of weeks ago when I stopped in to pay my oil bill the operator of the small company where I buy my fuel told me that they were going to have to cut off credit to anyone who didn't pay up by the end of each month. They had to reign in the credit they have been providing to cover their own costs, which by contract are automatically deducted from their bank account. That meant no more line of credit for fuel for about 150 local truckers. These truckers mostly haul crushed limestone from a local mining operation. Coincidentally the mining operation has not increased its fuel surcharge a penny since the price of diesel started shooting up - not surprising, the company is owned by the Republican scoundrel who ran against Robert Byrd in the last election.

[SOS]

1. Imagine

If Carter's fuel standards had not been scrapped by Reagan in 1985, we would have stopped importing oil in 1991.
With such diminished demand, gas would be much, much cheaper.

Oh well, at least the Texas oil millionaires who went crying to Reagan in 1985 have their money.

[onehandle]

9. And 9/11 wouldn't have had its Saudi financing.

A toast to the Grand Oil Party!

[radfringe]

2. not that anything will come of it

but why haven't we seen any congress critters having hearings on the obscene prices? Usually there's at least one do-nothing-blather hearing whenever gas prices jump

[DFW]

3. I paid that ($120) just to fill up my 4 door small sedan

It holds about 15 US gallons.

[Didereaux]

5. you paid $8 a gallon? Where the hell do you live? Homer Alaska?

[DFW]

11. Not quite that remote

Düsseldorf, Germany

[citizen49]

4. It's killing me....

GMC 2500hd crew cab, 8.1 L gasser, 5 speed allison, 50gal aux tank

Loaded with carpentry tools and getting about 10- 12 around town I have to make every move count especially since I'm not able to charge the rates I used too and the down time between jobs is hurting a little. But I'm throwing a fuel charge on there at the end of the job to help. I don't have another vehicle for my personal errands, that's where it's killing me. Reg. fuel just went up to as high as 3.29 right now where I live x 76 gal = $250 to fill this puppy up.

On edit... One of the beauties about owning a vehicle like this is I can go anywhere in the nation with all my tools and a small trailer with some personal belongings and camp out if I need too..LOL
just have to be able to afford the fuel to get there!

[krispos42]

6. I saw "I Am Legend" last week

In one scene he's manually pumping gasoline into his vehicle in 2012. The gas station signs, which were last changed in 2009 or 2010, was $6.69 a gallon.

I sucked in a breath loudly, then thought "Yeah, that's about right..."

[OzarkDem]

7. Watch those fuel surcharges start creeping up

they always work their way quickly up to higher wholesale and retail prices. Inflation is going to grow even more.

[citizen49]

8. Mapquest shows the highest /lowest 3.97 / 2.38

http://gasprices.mapquest.com/


#1 Highest Price $3.97
MENDOCINO, CA
#2 Highest Price $3.90
BROOKLYN, NY
#3 Highest Price $3.88
KAHULUI, HI


#1 Lowest Price $2.38
ROYAL, AR
#2 Lowest Price $2.40
FARMERVILLE, LA
#3 Lowest Price $2.47
NEW LONDON, NC

[Ikonoklast]

10. $100 for the Suburban, but it wasn't even empty...

Like you, I only need it once in a while, and when I do drive it, it only has to go 23 miles one way, then sits until I get back off the road; sometimes for a week or two. A tank of gas can last a good long time.

I drive my little ZX2 Escort around town. Not spectacular mileage, but I don't really drive much anyway.

Regarding the asshole that owns the sand and gravel pit, all he is going to do is run the truckers that haul his product out of business. Bucket driving is a horrendously expensive way to earn a living, as maintenance as well as fuel costs are tremendous. You can have *one* bad month, and not make any money for the whole year, or worse, just go right under.

The pit owner is betting that there will always be someone there to do the job for whatever he decides to pay. Trouble with that theory is that sooner or later you run out of suckers to bankrupt. I fucking despise assclowns like that; he hasn't one cent invested in the equipment used to haul his product, but is unwilling to pay a fair amount to those that actually expend the capital to do so.

The problem is that as independent contractors, they have no right to collectively bargain or any other job action without subjecting themselves to restraint-of-trade lawsuits.

I am more than willing to wager that he is receiving a fuel surcharge for every load of rock delivered; he's just keeping it for himself and not passing it on to those that actually buy the fuel. There is no law in place that says he has to pass on any fuel surcharge collected; thank the Pukes for killing that on the last Transportation bill, and the Democrats on the committee that just didn't give a shit, bought the lies, and just went along.

The proposed rule never left committee.

"Interfering in contracts between private parties....Unworkable and unenforceable.....Federal government re-regulating interstate trucking...." and other such excuses, while the owners of the shipping companies pocket the money. Seems they have absolutely no problem collecting those fuel surcharges from customers, but just can't see any way to pass it on to the trucker.

My fuel costs for trucking have risen to be the most single expense; more so than the actual cost of the tractor and trailer, maintenance, taxes, insurance, and my drivers' wages combined.

It takes 300 gallons of diesel to fill my tanks, and I have to do that every third day that I am moving. Last time I fueled was in Hagerstown, MD, and I ran in 257 gallons at 3.449 a gallon; that was Dec. 31. My diesel fuel bill alone each month has been averaging between $5 and $6K, depending on how much I work.

And I am one of the lucky ones as the account we service has a fuel surcharge attached, and we revise it monthly.

Otherwise, I'd be out of business. I cannot make enough profit to absorb the ever-increasing cost of fuel.