Tacoma Helper

Took delivery of my Tacoma Helper today, a Case 1845 Skid Steer. Since my weekend home poses some challenges for the Taco, a Skid Steer (Bob Cat) was need. On its first day, the Skid Steer sunk in the mud/clay. To the rescue comes a Ford F350 Diesel that towed the Skid Steer there since my Taco cannot pull that kind of weight. As a result, I am considering selling my Taco for a truck that can tow about 5 tons. Those who know me at TW know that I’m anti Big 3 due to their reliability and dealer attitude issues. So, I’m going to sit-still, till Toyota irons out the bugs on the Tundra over the next few years. Till then I plan to rent or bum tows unless you folks have some smart options.

BTW, what’s with diesel prices? They cost almost as-much-as gas. In some parts of the world, diesel costs as much as half the cost of gas. What’s with that?

 

I looked up a Case 1845. Looks like a lot of fun. Are those things as hard to maneuver as I have heard? Diesel is WAY more costly here in Kansas. Regular gas is about $2.65 per gallon. Diesel is like $3.15. I remember the days when diesel was way cheaper. What IS up with that?

 

Hard to maneuver? Are you kidding? Not at all. Its a toy for grown ups. It can turn on a dime and has enormous pulling, pushing and lifting power. You can lift about 1/2 a ton with the bucket without a problem. The Case is all joy stick operated hence no foot controls so its nothing but fun fun fun. Can't wait till sun rise to start up the powerful diesel engine and spin its wheels.

Here comes the sun.......

 

Have you considered looking at an older model Tundra or maybe even a T100 can't remember off hand if they can handle that kind of tow.

 

Here is my theory as to why diesel prices have risen. Where i live diesel is the same price or more than 91/93 octane. Keep in mind this is just my theory and is not based on any real world evidence.....

Diesel is the cheapest most unrefined fuel made for the mass produced car/truck. That is why it was so cheap in the past. diesel was the easiest and cheapest, followed by regular fuel (the higher the octane the more refinement, hence the higher cost) However, diesel will always be easier to make than unleaded and as a result it should always be cheaper. So why is it so expensive?

Diesel became more expensive about the same time all gas became more expensive.... shortly after 9/11. Diesel prices shot through the roof along with all the other fuels, so nobody really seemed to notice. However, through the years gas prices have gone back down (not much but some) while diesel prices remain high. I believe that this is soley due to truckers.

Think about it. If gas gets expensive what do we do? we carpool, or we drive less, or we sell our SUVs and buy cars with better fuel economy, or we cancel our vacation. There are ways for the average car driver to cope with gas prices. Unfortunately truckers dont have this conveinience. A trucker cant say "boss, diesel prices are high so i'm not gonna deliever for the next few weeks" if they did that, they dont get paid. Shipping companies can't call up Wal-mart and say "sorry wal-mart, but we dont want to pay the price for diesel so you're not gonna get your shipment of Halo 3". If they did that Wal-mart would find another company. There is no way for truckers to sell their rig for a hybrid, they cant turn down work, they cant just "drive less" and they definately can't carpool.

Once again its supply and demand. Truckers HAVE to drive and they HAVE to use diesel. They could charge $8 a gallon for truckers and there is nothing they could do about it, but if they did that for regular unleaded, the demand would go down because people couldnt afford it or would refuse to pay for it and find alternate means of transportation, but thats simply not an option for a frieght company. Truckers use the vast majority of diesel in America, and thats why diesel prices have not come down.

anyway, thats my theory, if anyone else has a better one or can tell me why i'm wrong i'd be happy to hear it.

 

there are a few holes in that theory, but that's okay. It is right on, but in the wrong way.

The demand isn't just Truckers. Here are some of the factors that play in on Diesel.
(Remember there are just as many, if not more, that play in on Gasoline)

1) The military uses diesel for almost everything that is ground based (save a few gas trucks and gas turbine tanks). In a military theater you really want to only carry one kind of fuel. It makes things more efficient.

2) The Railroad system uses diesel for their trains. Pretty much ANY ground based mass transportation uses diesel fuel because of its availability, reliability, and efficiency.

3) Heating Oil is made from the same grade of crude oil as diesel and it is refined in the same manner. So during the winter, you can expect a ~15% price increase in diesel.

4) ULSD or Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel requires more refining than previous versions of petroleum based diesel fuel. Although it burns much cleaner than what we had 3 years ago, the refining process is really hurting the price more than anything.

The price of diesel in Texas was pretty close until the past few months. In the past several years, however, it has been cheaper in the summer and more expensive in the winter.

I love to remind people that diesel would have to be 200% the cost of gasoline for my old 98 Jetta TDI to not be worth it. I regularly saw 50 MPG out of a car whose gas counterpart averaged 25 MPG.

 

No I have not considered that option and yes the Tundra can haul about 10K. I'll quietly wait for a Taco Cummins Diesel to come by.

 

007: Good points, like i said, my theory was just that, MY THEORY and by no means backed up by any facts. i didnt know that the refining process has changed though.