*Sigh* Alternative Fuel Sources? I guess not.

[LandyLover]

The bastards are making record profits each year because today I was one of many who paid CDN$1.202 per liter (US$3.95/gal). Most of Canada is disparate, which means we burn more fuel to get places. We pay more taxes (and fuel taxes) than other similar countries... and our Prime Minister says 'Suck it up' with regards to gas prices. A honda civic won't work for our family because we regularly haul a trailer, and I work 16 miles from home. Gas prices have increased by 36% in the past 4 months. I truly enjoy my cruiser, but there is a breaking point, and that point is getting closer daily.

Is anyone else seriously considering the future of their 80 series.

Will the fuel companies ever compete or will they continue to collude?

Will there be alternative fuel sources for our 80s so we can continue to inexpensively use them as trucks?

Some rhetorical questions here, but the point is clear. The future of our trucks using affordable traditional fuel sources appears to be short. And so is my interest in paying oil companies making regular record breaking profits.

Cheers all...

Bitter in B.C.

 

[Ocelot]

Sell the FZJ-80 and buy an HDJ-81... problem solved You can even make your own fuel for it if you are so inclined.

 

[Mike S]

I tend to agree that diesel is one answer.

I am considering selling my Ford Expedition (big box tow vehicle) and buying a small turbodiesel vehicle for ALL my driving except for trips where I would use my 80. I also work at home, and try to minimize the number of miles I drive on errands, etc. Another savings is to expense vehicle operating costs so the they are paid with pre-tax $$.

Fuel prices are not going to go down.

M

 

[Rookie2]

I tend to agree that diesel is one answer.

Why is that? Do the deisel 80's get much better gas mileage, because deisel around here actually cost more than regular now days.

 

[wallstrum]

i am not sure if i did the math correctly back then, but i went to spain last year and became really interested in trying to import a lhd diesel cruiser. i found a apanish info site, and calculated through a bunch of conversions that they get ~25 mpg. i found another thing intriguing as i passed a gas station this morning on the way to work... regular: $3.24, diesel: $3.15. if that is a trend that will continue, then diesel has just become even more attractive...

wally

 

[450 Cruiser]

Maybe Ih8mud.com - with all its clout - could sway Cummins to create an I6 turbo diesel that would be a direct replacement of the 1FZ-FE and include a kit for us DIY's? How many would they sell?

Why is it that Europe's solution to high fuel costs was more efficient diesel and the US's solution (so far) is over-priced hybrid technology (which makes fuel savings a push finacially). If you want a diesel in the States, it's either a big-ass truck or a VW. I want the option to buy diesel on any vehicle. Are you listening Ford? GM? Toyota?

 

[re_guderian]

Maybe Ih8mud.com - with all its clout - could sway Cummins to create an I6 turbo diesel that would be a direct replacement of the 1FZ-FE and include a kit for us DIY's? How many would they sell?

Why is it that Europe's solution to high fuel costs was more efficient diesel and the US's solution (so far) is over-priced hybrid technology (which makes fuel savings a push finacially). If you want a diesel in the States, it's either a big-ass truck or a VW. I want the option to buy diesel on any vehicle. Are you listening Ford? GM? Toyota?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=91531

down near the end, you get to the reason why not...

 

[Kalawang]

Maybe Ih8mud.com - with all its clout - could sway Cummins to create an I6 turbo diesel that would be a direct replacement of the 1FZ-FE and include a kit for us DIY's? How many would they sell?

Why is it that Europe's solution to high fuel costs was more efficient diesel and the US's solution (so far) is over-priced hybrid technology (which makes fuel savings a push finacially). If you want a diesel in the States, it's either a big-ass truck or a VW. I want the option to buy diesel on any vehicle. Are you listening Ford? GM? Toyota?

Dino fuel is seeing it's end. The long term future is probably electric and the hybrid fuel vehicle will probably be the intermediary, depending on how soon electrics and their batteries can be made more practical.


Kalawang

 

[Aussie]

Well right now I have parked the cruiser in the garage, since gas is hovering around $3.00 a gallon I'll drive my Maxima instead.

 

[RavenTai]

Dino fuel is seeing it's end. The long term future is probably electric and the hybrid fuel vehicle will probably be the intermediary, depending on how soon electrics and their batteries can be made more practical.


Kalawang

So where does the electricity come from?

You have not stopped burning fossil fuels just moved the location they are burned at with a lot of losses along the way.

nobody want a nuclear reactor anywhere near them ( myself included ) , coal gets a lot of resistance also, the left wing is even fighting wind as wind farms are unsightly, photovoltaic is very expensive per watt created, it is coming down but not commercially viable yet. Hydrogen is made using electricity back to square one, So we are left burning fuel oil for a large part of our electrical supply.

At least with hybrids braking energy is recaptured making them the most efficient vehicles for stop and go traffic.

pumping near ready made chemical energy out of the ground is still be cheapest way to do things.

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Not to start the fuel economy wars again but back to viable other options.....
Jim C had an 80 wich was converted to lpg, could run gas or lpg if memory serves, It was cheaper for him in england, not sure about here.
The other option (one that I chose and works for me in my limited application) was to buy a cheap commuter car. I drive around a look at wrecked cars for an insurance company for a living. I picked up a 92 subaru loyale for 1900.00 and just in the difference in mileage (at 44.5 cents per mile reimbursed) it will pay for itself in about 6 months. the added cost of insurance is minimal as I only cary liablility for the veh. 30 mpg feels good on days like today where I have already driven 120 miles.
Dave

 

[Ocelot]

Why is that? Do the deisel 80's get much better gas mileage, because deisel around here actually cost more than regular now days.

If you visit the international forum you can find many trip reports from HDJ-81s, at their most efficient highway cruising speed of about 90kmh they get about 28 mpg

 

[RavenTai]

Not to start the fuel economy wars again but back to viable other options.....
Jim C had an 80 wich was converted to lpg, could run gas or lpg if memory serves, It was cheaper for him in england, not sure about here.
The other option (one that I chose and works for me in my limited application) was to buy a cheap commuter car. I drive around a look at wrecked cars for an insurance company for a living. I picked up a 92 subaru loyale for 1900.00 and just in the difference in mileage (at 44.5 cents per mile reimbursed) it will pay for itself in about 6 months. the added cost of insurance is minimal as I only cary liablility for the veh. 30 mpg feels good on days like today where I have already driven 120 miles.
Dave

Propane is one the cleanest burning fuel for an engine, it has a lot of advantages, unfortunalty in the US it is more expensive to run a vehicle on propane than gasoline,

I am not sure why there is such a price diffrence, it may have soemthing to do with the much higher price of petrol in europe making LPG more attractive.

 

[cruiserman]

Strangely enough, diesel is $0.50 higher than regular here in Boise.

 

[landtank]

Recently I bought a 1996 Camry because of this situation. I was spending 500.00 a month for gas in the truck and I needed to stop the hemorrhaging. I got it for 2600.00 with a 5 speed and 4 cylinder, it gets 35 mpg and what a relief.

While these cars were rare to find on Ebay 6 weeks ago they seem to have dropped off the planet since the higher prices recently.

I still have the truck but it gets used much less now and won't get put back on full duty until the snow comes back around in NOV.

 

[rgsiii]

Why is that? Do the deisel 80's get much better gas mileage, because deisel around here actually cost more than regular now days.

I think most modified FJ40's get about 10mpg iirc and going 60mph is pushing it. I have a BJ42 (3B diesel) that is turbo'd and gets 22mpg and can drive all day at 70mph and the top speed is in excess of 85mph. The economy and power is there--unfortunately, I don't know how many people in the US will like using that stinky diesel.

 

[LandyLover]

Diesel is an option, I suppose. I had one in a 60 series and I liked it (not turboed though). Diesel is usually more expensive here. Its stupid, its less refined and its more money. I have a K car that Im going to replace with another cheap car. Anyhow, the cost of insuring a second vehicle offsets the savings I have in running the cheaper car in fuel. BTW, the diesel smell doesnt bother me NEARLY as much as a poorly running or old gasser.

Cheers

 

[notyourmomslx450]

I've been driving my 4runner around town running errands. it's nice to have something on 36s that gets ~20mpg. Too bad there's no A/C in it, though. That's a big problem in this hot assed town.

 

[Kalawang]

So where does the electricity come from?

You have not stopped burning fossil fuels just moved the location they are burned at with a lot of losses along the way.

nobody want a nuclear reactor anywhere near them ( myself included ) , coal gets a lot of resistance also, the left wing is even fighting wind as wind farms are unsightly, photovoltaic is very expensive per watt created, it is coming down but not commercially viable yet. Hydrogen is made using electricity back to square one, So we are left burning fuel oil for a large part of our electrical supply.

At least with hybrids braking energy is recaptured making them the most efficient vehicles for stop and go traffic.

pumping near ready made chemical energy out of the ground is still be cheapest way to do things.

There are multiple sources of electric power including hydro, and geothermal. Granted that some of the sources are undesireable, that's a part of learning. The important point is that it appears to be the most sustainable source of needed energy. At one time Dino fuel was looked at in much the same way and the reasoning then was that there truly was a great deal of oil in the ground. It's been much reduced by both time and demand. These days it's an impracticle necessity driven by technology that is oil driven and oil based.

We are experiencing the displacements of reality finally shattering the pipe dream that was built on oil. I'm seeing that politically and economicaly the many nations with good goverment administrators will look for a more sustainable source of energy and to my mind, electricity, because of it's multiple ways of generating, will be the most popular road to be taken. It also helps that regardless of source, the end product is the same.

Whatever solution is finally taken, it need not be the best. It just has to be the most popular to become accepted. I expect there will be multiple roads taken for electric generation. Areas with volcanic sources will explore geothermal generation and areas with large water flows will find hydro electrics attractive. Need will drive this exploration and. The political need to have home grown sources of energy will force goverments to look to their natural resources within their own borders and some clever inventor out there will eventually be found with the more efficient battery and electric motor.

You are correct that at the moment some of our generating capacity is problematic, particularly the oil driven ones. But that too will pass with time and need.


Kalawang

 

[Nay]

The near term solution, if we can get businesses to wake up, is broadband.

I cannot justify my commute to sit in front of my computer and on the phone in an 8'x8' cubicle when I have broadband and am on a VPN for full access from home, so I don't do it anymore. It wastes my time, it wastes my money, it wastes energy...and most importantly to those who employ me...it wastes their time and therefore their money. I spend more time with my family, I work more, and I waste less. Win-win-win.

There is no solution anywhere near coming to market that is going to keep us driving the way we do today. Hybrids are irrelevant until the difference in mpg in terms of real dollars exceeds the premium cost of the hybrid over the vehicles battery life (6-8 years), hydrogen is not energy (it is a means of storing energy), and the chances we can just burn coal with no effect on our planet are looking pretty dim.

I'm gonna drive an 80 while it's still fun. What's a Prius gonna do for you when you have a 50 mile commute and gas is $10 a gallon? Oil companies don't set oil prices, and neither does OPEC. Futures traders set oil prices...and it is worth wondering why the economic enterprises that need to consume oil are willing to pay such a high price right now when we haven't experienced a supply disruption.

One answer is that there is no such thing a supply problem. There are only demand problems.

Nay