Can Truckers afford to stay on the road?

[TOMMY RICH]

If all the independents stop deliveries....we're in trouble.

My fishing has almost come to a grind.

Thoughts?

And no finger pointing! We need ideas outta this mess.

I am getting rid of one of the trucks also...somethings gotta give here too.:angry:

 

[Bryan McDonough]

Sure they can. Just charge more per mile. I believe most contracts have fuel sir charge clauses in them.

 

[Jim B]

Yep, and that extra cost will be passed on to the end consumer.



I see the costs of everything already going up with the price of fuel as it is. Im sure that will continue. It sucks for sure, no doubt. It seems as if our way of life is changing. I know i have changed how much and what i spend my money on so i dont have to stop or slow down my fishing.



Tee you may want to think about not getting rid of one of your trucks. If you owe any money you will take a beating on it since the values have dropped like a rock. You may not be able to recoup the cost of trading to a smaller vehicle in fuel savings and it may be cheaper to keep feeding it in that case. And if you own it id still ay keep it for now since whats cheaper? Fuel or payments and fuel?

 

[Mebassn]

Vote the current congress out!! If the congressman/woman is not representing your community and is following party lines or being led around by someone treating them to big benefits... vote them out.:angry: Your only voice is the vote. We will not have gas prices this high for much longer, the economy can't withstand it (people who make under 100K), just wait till Christmas... well that might be ok, but then the credit issues after due to not being able to make ends meet. Finally, auto makers need to produce trucks that don't need the conventional fuel.. ie diesel or gasoline. Thats just my opinion.



Congress both Rep and Dem have only been interested in themselves the past 10 years it's time we made our voice heard and drown out the big money players in Washington DC :angry:



Eric

 

[Jim C]

I think the gas tax holiday is pointless for regular comsumers, but it definitely should happen for truckers/diesel, both federal and state taxes. It's a benefit for them and all of us. They get a break on fuel costs, and the it's passed down to us on the price of goods. Also, not as huge of a hit on tax revenue.

 

[Bruce Freeman]

I agree with MEBASSN, Vote out all the incumbents and let them all know they can and will be replaced. But don't stop at Congress, do it across the board in all of the elections. Out with the old and in with the new, let the player make new friends and then lets Vote them out again in 4 years. Lets put an end to the profesional politican and there lifetime retirement.



Just a thought

BF

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Ditto Bruce and mebassn!!!! That single little vote we have seems to be the only avenue of redress remaining to us. The people IN office just never take "the people" out of office, seriously enough to believe them when they say something.. Like when we say 'ok that's it, we're going to vote all of you out of office.' It's really hard to decide what to do, or try to do that is..



Uncle Billy

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Wife and I do alot of driving, well really her and we need some savings in fuel. Both trucks are paid for and don't need two. I just can't seem to get rid of my old truck so Kim's may be on the block. Maybe...kinda just pokin' around and seein' what I can find.

40 MPG would be nice at these prices...$4.09 really hurts:huh:

 

[Brian Ingersoll]

Our trucking companies are charging a 40%+ fuel surcharge on top of the freight. That means a $1000 run is now costing over $1400:blink:. We just pass it on to our customers and they pass it to theirs. A lot of the independents are already looking at more fuel efficient trucks. Going from six to seven mpg makes a huge difference when you're driving 120,000 miles a year(about $15,000 at current prices).

The real kicker is that diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline when it is cheaper to make and takes fewer production steps and time.

 

[Jim B]

Yep it does hurt Tee. Just do youself a favor and run the numbers before you do anything. If say you drive 1000 miles a month and your truck gets say 20mpg whats cheaper, feeding the truck ~$200 a month in fuel or feed a little car ~$100 in fuel but then have say a $300 note over your head on it? Is rather spend $200 over $400 a month any day.



A friend of mine just went thru the same thing and he didnt think about the car payment part of it and he is kicking himself now since what was "hurting" him in the wallet has now completly drained it since he now has a payment to factor in.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

 

[Jim B]

I dont think i am "missing it" Tee. If you have something that paid for( as in you oew no money on it) then you are only paying to fuel it and maintain it. If you get something else and have a payment now you have the payment + the fuel costs whatever they may be and maint. Add it all up and see what your really spending. In most cases you would have to more then quadruple your fuel milage to come out ahead. You have to figure in the payments(unless you can afford to pay cash but really who can these days) and look at the total cost if your trying to "save" money buy buying a smaller vehicle you normally would not have bought.

 

[Berry Lindley]

As bad as I hate to buy $4.00 gas, of the $.50 a mile to operate a vehicle, at 20 mpg this is still only.20 a mile, or 40% of the cost to operate a vehicle. This is as much a mental thing as a real thing. We can downsize our cars and more than counteract the current increase in the cost of driving, and them some. We just won't be driving out trucks and Trailblazers to go to the store. It does hurt us fishermen/women a little more since we need to keep a tow vehicle around. What I am concerned about is if it spirals out of reason and gets to $10-15 a gallon. That would be a huge problem that would be hard to overcome. I see $6.00 a gas where I go on a regular basis, and poor people can still find a way to pay this like it is going out of style.

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Berry, No disrepect intended but $6.00 a gallon means I can't afford to drive to work. That means no job, where I live and work there is no public transportation, too far to walk or ride a bike. At $4.00 I can barley afford to mow the lawn. I am sorry but greed is driving the price up. Gas sales are way down and the price still goes higher. We the public must do something to force energy cost down. I still think the best to options are. Vote out all the current politicans and boycott one major oil company.

Just my thoughts

BF

 

[Berry Lindley]

I wish it were as simple as voting them all out. A few things for sure politically speaking is to open up the Alaskan fields and offshore Florida. While we work on alternatives this will dump some serious volume and change things. The technology is differenmt than it was when offshore drilling was halted. About the $6.00 gas, it is over $6.00 a gallon in the Dominican Republic, right now, and people find a way. They share rides, travel judiciously etc. Our friend Barack O. thinks gas is too cheap now, he is in favor of increasing taxes to lower the usage. You think it is high now......

 

[Bruce Freeman]

I don't live in the dominican republic, where a home cost you a $2,000.00 to $3,000.00. I live here where it's a 100 times that. More drilling is not the issue, it's all about greed. Something has to be done about the cost/profit of energy. The rise in theft alone should warn people of what is to come. I at least could live off of the land, what will the city people do?



BF

 

[Berry Lindley]

I think you would be shocked if you got out and travelled some, and what housing, electricity, cars, etc cost. Most Americans think things are cheaper abroad. In fact most things acutally cost more due to import duties on items we take for granted. As much as it sounds like we are at odds we, are agreeing to an extent, that something needs to be done, especially since this can get out of hand, and is a national security risk. Until someone figures out a different plan though, we are in a supply and demand world economy, and someone has to put some supply out there. Then the greedy will lose their butts as prices fall. Drilling and pumping our own at least benefits the US, and not making the people that want us dead richer and more powerful.