Tag Archives | Diesel Trucks

?How To Green Your Move

About 40 million people move every year. (U. S. Census Bureau, 2005-2006)

Millions of individual moves generate millions of driving hours and truck mileages consuming millions of gallons of diesel and tons of packing materials.

The outcome is harmful to the environment: Pollution, waste filling up our landfills and massive consumption of non friendly energy.

We should all make effort to green our move. Although your move seems like a small step, 40,000,000 green moves every year will have a great impact on our planet.

Three simple steps to green your move:

Step 1: Green Preparations

Step 2: Green Packing & Moving

Step 3: After the move

Step 1: Green Preparations [reduce, reuse, recycle]

We all have unwanted items. This step will assist you in getting rid of them the [green] right way and save money on your move. Remember, the fewer items you have, the smaller your move is = less moving cost.

About a month before you plan to move, go through your house, apartment or office and list all your unwanted items.

Divide the list to groups, for example:

[furniture], [electronics], [computers], [clothes and linen], [disks, DVDs and records], [books, magazines], [documents].

Now, as you have the list, try to make the most out of it:

Make some money. sell your stuff:

1. have a yard sale or an apartment sale

2. take pictures and email to your friends, neighbors and colleges

3. use your networking skills to spread the word

4. use online websites like ebay, craigslist 

Do some good. donate:

You can donate many of your unwanted items to goodwill and charity organizations.

1. contact your local charity organization: the salvation army , red cross, homeless shelters, women and children shelters and others

2. search for charity online

3. use charitynavigator.org to learn more about your charity

Recycle:

Recycling means taking a product or material at the end of its useful life and turning it into a usable raw material to make another product. http://earth911.org/recycling Here you can find information about how, why and what to recycle.

Another fun way to recycle is posting your items at www.Freecycle.org a volunteer-driven Internet movement committed to the notion that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. It is a free cycle of giving, which keeps good things out of landfills, reduces waste and saves resources.

Junk removal

If you still have unwanted items you may have junk removal companies take them.

Make sure to contract a green junk removal company. They should either donate or recycle. As a last resort they will dump your items to the dumpster.

Step 2: Green Packing & Moving:

usually there are three types of moves: locally (within the same state or less than 150 miles), interstate (across the country or over 150 miles) and overseas.

Although the moving process is a little different, no matter where you plan to move you have to begin with packing, protecting and preparing your shipment.

Green Packing – [pack, protect, prepare]

Packing your items the [green] right way will save you money. Professional packing will protect your items from damage during the move and reduce the size of your shipment and your moving cost.

The idea of green packing is to pack your items with:

[used and recyclable packing materials]

[stuff that you already have like plastic containers, blankets, towels]

[instead of new boxes and petroleum based products like bubble wrap, shrink wrap].

Regarding safety, my suggestion is that you pack the items you can by yourself and let professional packers do the rest while using earth friendly materials.

How to get used boxes?

1. ask friends, family, co-workers and other people in your network if they have any from their last move.

2. local stores.

3. local companies which receive shipment and items regularly.

4. buy online. Search for used boxes or used packing materials.

5. you may also have professional packers pack your shipment]. Make sure your packing company is green, earth friendly and follows the principals of green packing.

Green Moving:

Moving your shipment from your old location to the new one is the essence of your move. Whether you move across the street, across the country or to the other side of the globe, make sure you have a green, earth friendly and energy efficient move.

When hiring a mover make sure you choose a green, earth friendly and energy efficient company which follows some basic ground rules:

[less trips, less energy. choose the right size of truck for your move, avoid unnecessary mileage].

if you have a small move (studio or 1 BR) a small size truck 18ft or 20ft will be enough. If you have a 2-3 BR apartment ask for a 24ft truck. Bigger size of houses requires bigger trucks 26ft or 28ft or even tractor trailers (48ft or 53ft). Please consult with your mover what size is appropriate for your move.

[use alternative earth friendly energy like biodiesel for the trucks]

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made which is primarily made from any vegetable or animal oil source. In the United States the most common source is soybean oil. Waste vegetable oil (left over from deep fryers) can also be used.

[efficient logistic – consolidate shipments]

if you move across the country your mover should practice green logistics by efficiently consolidating shipments to save energy and delivery your shipment on time.

Step 3: After the move

in the next couple of days you will probably unpack the rest of the boxes and put every item in place.

When you done, you will have used boxes and other packing materials:

[used boxes in good shape – reusable]

you can keep for your next move, find someone who needs them for his or her move, find a moving company which will take your used boxes or recycle them.

[used tapes, bubble wrap and other plastic materials]

recycle. Do not just dump them.

Want to do more?

[Clean you house, apartment, office the green way]

your should green your cleaning as a way of living (not only after the move).

There are many resources and websites on green cleaning. Here is a couple:

Care2.com Green Living (Healthy solutions, real impact).

Healthy Home, Nontoxic Cleaning

How to Green Your Cleaning

by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 01.30.07

TH Exclusives (how to green your life)

[carbon offsetting]

offsetting greenhouse gas emissions by paying for emission reduction to take place elsewhere instead of reducing your own emissions.

carbon offsets generally refer to voluntary acts by individuals or companies that are arranged by commercial or not-for-profit carbon-offset providers.

Until recently, most carbon offsets were commonly done by planting trees. currently, a wide variety of offset methods are in use – renewable energy, energy conservation and methane capture offsets have become popular.

?An Insight to the Chevrolet Silverado

The all new 2009 Chevrolet Silverado falls under the category of the large-size pickup trucks. The vehicle will be powered by the latest V8 turbo diesel engine, but its release has been delayed due to the weak financial position of the General Motors. There won’t be too many extra changes in the 2009 Silverado and comes in three different styles like the crew cab style, extended and the regular cab style model. The models shares most of the features from the GMC Sierra.

The extended cabs come with the rear hinged doors that do not independently open the fronts. The regular cab model comes with the 3-passenger capacity while the crew and the extended models provides up to 6-seating capacity. The new Silverado provides two different types of interior designs, luxury inspired and the pure pickup styles. Based on the model and design configuration of the model, it offers 4.3 liter V6 that produces 195 hp, 4.8 liter V8 that produces 295 hp, 5.3L V8 that produces 315 hp, 6.0 liter V8 367 hp and the 6.2L V8 that produce 403 hp. The 5.3 liter V8 versions and all the 6.2 liter V8 engine models come with the capability to run on the E85 ethanol blended fuel.

The rear wheel drive will be standard in all the models. Different types of suspensions will be made available to provide the added comfort. The proposed safety features in the vehicle include traction control system, ABS, curtain side air bags and the anti skid system. Other features expected in the 2009 Silverado are wireless cell phone link, remote engine start and new navigation system.

Here are some sizzling Chevrolet Silverado Pictures released by Chevy in last few weeks.

?How To Convert Your Car To Run On Water – The HHO Gas Car Kit Hybrid To Increase Gas Mileage

Convert your car to run on water or HHO gas or and you could increase gas mileage on average 15-40% or more saving thousands of dollars in gasoline over the life of the car. You could purchase a hybrid car but these often cost much more than a conventional internal combustion engine because you now have two power plants under the hood. A gasoline engine and an electric engine.

With the recent increases in gas prices people are looking for ways to increase gas mileage. One of the more innovative ways is an HHO gas car kit or water fuel cell as they are sometimes referred to. One experimental vehicle was recently seen on a national news station showing this technology in use. The inventor has even used the gas for high temperature welding applications. This technology has been around for some time but no one has really jumped on it an besides who would believe you could convert your car to run on water! Many new discoveries have been met with the same resistance or ridicule until they became proven or everyday solutions to solve everyday problems.

When you make the conversion you will not have a true water car it will be a water hybrid. The gas generator system is sometimes referred to as a hydrogen fuel cell car kit or hydrogen on demand system and is supplemented through your intake manifold through vacuum hoses. If you have a large 8 cylinder engine it may take a couple of fuel cells to notice a marked increase. Even on a smaller engine a person who is wanting to get the best gas mileage may want to try adding more than one or two fuel cells to get the best fuel savings. The size of a fuel cell is about the size of a quart jar and it is not uncommon for people to use these when they construct one.

How does HHO gas get made. Well through the process of electrolysis the fuel cell filled with water and a catalyst such as baking soda is introduced to electrical current. This current is supplied by your vehicles battery and hydroxy or HHO gas is produced as the electrical current passes through usually stainless steel wires or plates. It is that simple. It is amazing how much energy water can store because on average driving the cell only needs to be topped off about once a month or less.

Many people who want to know how to make such a product and can find a wealth of information online and in forums supporting this technology but finding ways to improve it. In most cases it is just best to buy a manual or guide with plans, instructions and pictures that way you have something consistent to follow. Most plans online are not always clear or are incomplete. If you are handy with your hands or like to build things or are a back yard mechanic building a HHO gas generator should be a relatively easy to build and install.

The advantages or benefits of building your own kit is saving money, if a part breaks or needs to be replaced you can do it yourself. Some people are even trying these on riding lawn mowers, tractors, motorcycles and push mowers. If you have multiple cars or trucks or even a fleet of vehicles you could imagine the potential savings each year! People who live in countries such as the UK who often pay over 6 bucks a gallon for petrol would benefit even more. Petrol prices or fuel prices in other parts of the world may make this technology more attractive to experimenters or commercial interests.

The benefits of a HHO gas hybrid technology are increased gas mileage in some cases doubling it, increase horsepower, better or smoother running engine and less emissions. When you buy a kit you often pay hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars and eventually it will pay for its self. This kits can actually be made at home for under $100 dollars per vehicle now that is cheap. They can be used on cars, trucks gas or diesel engines and take up very little space under the hood and require no major modifications. If for any reason such as the sale of your car you would like to remove the system it can be removed in several minutes without leaving a trace.

?How to Find Used Diesel Pickup Trucks in 3 Easy Steps

If you don’t want to buy a new vehicle and you’re looking for information about used diesel pickup trucks then you’ve come to the right place. This article will help you to find what you’re looking for in three easy steps and help you to avoid any potential problems that could arise from getting it wrong.

The first thing you need to do is to be totally clear about the exact model that you’re looking for. Heavy duty of semi trucks come in all shapes and sizes and soda pickups. Many of the leading manufacturers including Mack, Freightliner, Sterling, Dodge offer a wide range of pickup trucks in their catalog. You need to be clear about your load requirements and what size of engine you need to do the job effectively. This first step is vital as it is so easy to get carried away what you’re presented with a few different cheap vehicles online. Many people go for the 4×4 option nowadays as it offers a lot more capability over rugged terrain, but again you can be totally clear about what your needs are.

The second step is to be clear about your budget and what is the limit to what you want to spend. You want to avoid spending too much. This is particularly relevant if you’re intending to get involved in online auctions where you can get carried away in the heat of the moment.

Lastly, check out some of the main online dealers who specialize in used diesel pickup trucks. There are quite a few of them about nowadays and you may even find one in your local area. If that’s the case, it’s great, as it means that you don’t have to travel miles to check it out and you may be able to negotiate a better price when you’re face-to-face with the seller.

Keep to these steps as outlined above and you should find it quite easy to find used diesel pickup trucks without too many problems. Try to stay clear of the traps that have been highlighted and find yourself a vehicle that will serve you well and could last you for years to come

?How to Avoid the FALSE PROMISE of the Madison Avenue Lifestyle

The Madison Ave lifestyle is everywhere we look. You know what I’m talking about…Fast paced… Beautiful houses, beautiful new cars, two new motorcycles in the garage, a hot tub next to the swimming pool, fancy restaurants every night… Everything you ever desire right there at your beck and call. Advertisers are experts at tapping into our dreams of having the ability to live like this. (The glamor of a shiny new car on wet pavement at night is a sure sell.) but there is one group of advertisers that is especially good at making us believe that the Madison Ave. lifestyle is attainable by everyone of us… The credit card companies.

Let’s look at just a few of their advertisements. There is a major credit card that you are all familiar with. Their tv ad slogan? “”It’s everywhere you want to be!”” And it usually shows people who are traveling the world, enjoying everything that life (with credit cards) has to offer. Now what is this company trying to say here? They are trying to make you believe that this credit card will take you anywhere and everywhere you want to go in life.

I just received a pre-approved credit card application in the mail. The headline said “”get the credit you deserve!”” Makes you feel great doesn’t it? …To know that you deserve something. It makes you want to stand up and fight – because it implies that right now you’re not getting what you deserve. After all, credit is a constitutional right, isn’t it?

Here is an excerpt from another one that I got in the mail just the other day. Part of the sales letter said: “”only a select group of people will ever carry the gold card. It instantly identifies you as someone special – one who has earned a superior degree of financial freedom (emphasis added) – and one who expects higher levels of financial flexibility, convenience and service in all your dealings.””

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Especially the part about financial freedom. After all, isn’t financial freedom what we all desire?

All of these ad campaigns are built around one premise: “”You can achieve a better lifestyle by using credit than you can by spending cash.””

There is a problem here…. This premise is a lie!

Here is the reality: you can live better for a few years by using credit, but then you will spend the rest of your life living below your means trying to pay it all back. It’s all an illusion.

Credit makes you believe that you are well off (or at least doing pretty well) because you have all these “”things.”” But here are the facts: if you make a $2,000 credit card purchase at 19.8% and make only the minimum payments, it will take you 31 years to pay it off and you will pay $8,202 in interest! That means that by using credit, you are paying five times as much as if you used cash.

Go ahead. Buy all those nice things on credit, and I will use only cash. Let’s see what happens. At first, you will have a nice car or two, a nice boat, nice furniture, and great stereo, etc. And I will drive older cars. I will have “”early American garage sale”” furniture and clothes. And I will probably deprive myself of that motorcycle that I would really love to have, because I don’t have the cash to buy it.

By all appearances, it will look like you are much more successful than I am…At first. But what is really happening here? In a few years I will not only catch up to you, but pass you by and leave you in the dust financially. That is because, when you paid $10,000 for a $2,000 purchase using your credit card, I saved until I had the $2,000 to pay cash for it. Then I was able to invest the extra $8,000 that you spent on interest. You had compound interest working against you, but I had compound interest working for me! (And that’s where you want to be!)

ten or twenty years down the road, you will be up to your earlobes in debt, still trying to live the illusive Madison Ave lifestyle. But I will be driving 4 or 5 year old cars instead of new ones, while I quietly watch my investment portfolio grow into the millions – literally!

By then, I will be working because I want to, not because I have to. And I will be able to afford to buy just about anything I want…Cash! …While you’re sweating out the economy and the next downsizing or looking for that next $50 pay raise – just so you can stay on top of all those credit card payments you’re making for things that you bought years ago and have probably forgotten all about by now anyway.

Are you beginning to get the picture? Credit does you no good. It promises (and delivers) short term gains. But it always brings long term pain. By chasing the Madison Ave lifestyle using credit, you are actually getting further away from it. Wealthy people understand this principle. That’s why they’re wealthy. There is a fascinating book called “”The Millionaire Next Door,”” written by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. (Published by pocket books, a division of Simon & Schuster inc.) the authors spent many years interviewing the affluent. (Those with a net worth between $1-5 million.) and some very interesting things have emerged from their study.

Let’s look at the automobile purchasing habits of the affluent. What type of car would you expect a millionaire to drive? An expensive, luxury car, or a hot, foreign sports car? Well, Stanley & Danko have found that this is not at all the case. They have found that the most popular make driven by the affluent is ford. And the most popular models are f-150 pickups and explorers!

Here’s what Stanley and Danko have to say: “”How do millionaires go about acquiring vehicles? About 81 % percent purchase their vehicles. The balance lease. Only 23.5 percent of millionaires own new cars. Most have not purchased a car in the last two years. In fact, 25.2 percent have not purchased a motor vehicle in four or more years. How much do millionaires pay for these vehicles? The typical millionaire (those in the 50th percentile) paid $24,800 for his most recent acquisition. Note that 30 percent spent $19,500 or less.

Also note that the average American buyer of a new motor vehicle paid more than $21,000 for his most recent acquisition. This is not much less than the $24,800 paid by millionaires! Moreover, not all of these millionaires purchased new vehicles. How many indicated that their most recent vehicles was used? Nearly 37 percent. In addition, many millionaires indicated that they traded down recently – that is, purchased lower-priced vehicles than they had before.”” (Pp.112-113)

in other words, millionaires drive average vehicles! Why do they drive average, older cars instead of brand new, luxury cars?

1. They’re rich *because* they drive older, average cars, and they know that if they purchased new luxury cars all the time, they wouldn’t be rich.

2. They don’t feel that they have to maintain a status symbol or “”keep up with the Joneses”” because they know that they are worth much more than the Joneses could even dream of.

My wife recently spoke with a mechanic who had a dream of buying his own facility for his car repair business. But, for him, it was just a dream. He could never afford it. Yet, in his driveway sat a beautiful, brand new, turbo charged, diesel 4×4 pickup truck with king cab and etc., etc. In fact, he even joked about the “”mortgage”” on his truck. But what he didn’t realize was that if he hadn’t bought into the allure of that beautiful new pickup truck, he could have purchased his garage and owned his own business.

If he had driven an older truck and purchased his own business instead, he would have eventually had the freedom to be able to drive whatever he wanted! Reaching for the allure of the Madison Ave lifestyle was keeping him from attaining the Madison Ave lifestyle!

To live the Madison Avenue lifestyle, you must first avoid the Madison Avenue lifestyle. Don’t spend $10,000 for a $2,000 purchase because you bought it using a credit card! Instead, save $2,000, buy it cash, and invest the $8,000. Eliminate all you debt – including your mortgage – and then invest the money that you are now wasting by paying interest.

If you do that consistently, you will have compound interest working for you instead of against you, and twenty years from now you will find that you have a new address on Madison Avenue!

?American Car Manufacturers Are Either Blind, Stupid, Or Too Stubborn To Change!

They remind me of the big dumb jock from high school…he was good for something at one point in time…but now that a few years have passed…what good is he?

Recently Edmunds.com published a story about the top 10 most efficient 4-door cars available. They ranked the cars based on EPA fuel economy numbers. And would you guess that not one car from an American manufacturer made the list!

With gas prices on the never-ending rise…it’s clear that foreign automakers have their finger on the pulse of the car buying world.

Do American car companies just not care about what consumers want?

We do know that there are domestic hybrids out there…such as: the Ford Escape, Saturn Vue, and Chevy Silverado. But these are not cars at all! They are SUV’s and Trucks. It seems that American car makers have decided to take aim at areas outside the hybrid car market.

So the Japanese have such a stranglehold on the hybrid car market, and the big American manufacturers won’t even give it a try. Actually Saturn does have Aura and that’s about it!! But now there is hope on the horizon…

The Chevy Malibu Hybrid is coming out late this year. Horary for all you Bow Tie fans out there. But wait….just how good is the Malibu Hybrid…well according to the EPA; 27 MPG is the average you can expect to get out of this car. That is absolutely hilarious….my Nissan Sentra which is 8 years old, tops that number by 3 MPG and I don’t even practice gas saving driving.

But what about Ford all the Blue Oval fans out there shout? Nope…sorry…Ford doesn’t make a hybrid car. But the Escape hybrid SUV gets 32 MPG which is still better than the Malibu hybrid.

So 9 out of the 10 most fuel efficient sedans come from Japanese auto makers. The tenth comes from Kia. Kia……a company that is tiny compared to the big American Automakers. The future does not look good for domestic vehicles.

Of course the reigning champions are still there…the Civic hybrid, the Prius hybrid, and the Camry hybrid are all on the list. The interesting thing is that 6 of the 10 most fuel efficient 4 door cars are not hybrids at all. They are small gasoline powered cars such as the Corolla.

Fuel Efficient Sedans…Not A Domestic Insight!

This information was gathered from:

edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/125477/article.html

fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2007_Hybrid_Vehicles

?How Do You Measure Turbo Diesel Engines?

When the performance of diesel-powered vehicles is made an issue, diesel engines would always be a paramount consideration. Diesel cars and trucks deliver great fuel economy. They are 20 to 30 per cent better than comparable vehicles with gasoline engines. And while today’s diesels may not be impeccably-clean, they are most certainly a far cry from the noisy and smelly pollution hogs that they used to be.

Turbo diesel engines, for one, are made up of sophisticated parts that are engineered to blend horsepower and torque gains for the vehicle. According to auto experts, fuel savings on a turbo diesel is so impressive that owners make up the extra cost of the engine in just a few years. “”People that own them love them and tend to spread the gospel about them,”” said Tony Fouladpour, a spokesman for Volkswagen of America. “”First and foremost, it’s the fuel economy. On the New Beetle it’s almost 50 miles per gallon. You can drive from Chicago to New York without stopping for fuel. They’ve got tremendous driving range.””

In connection with Ford, its turbo diesel engines have established supremacy in performance. Any driver who likes to zip away from a stop sign would love the automaker’s diesel engine programmers’ pep. An auto expert said, “”It will be noticeably peppier and more fun to drive. So not only do you have better fuel economy, you have better performance, more of a sporty kind of drive.””

Diesel programmers contribute appreciably to make vehicles great at towing. This is the reason why “”real truckers”” choose diesel-powered Ford trucks. Diesel vehicles handle heavy loads a lot better than comparable gasoline vehicles. Larger, heavy-duty pickup trucks from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Dodge and Toyota are available with diesel engines to boost overall performance.

Some aficionados are hesitant to use diesel because of its annoying noise. However, according to recent studies modern diesel engines are a lot quieter than diesels 20 years ago. “”The engine is slightly noisier than a gasoline engine but they’re getting real close now. It’s really tough to tell,”” said Robert Larsen, director of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratories.

Another bother about diesel engines is fueling up. Finding a neighborhood service station that sells diesel fuel may be difficult to some drivers. According to Diesel Technology Forum, only 30 per cent of neighborhood retail service stations sell diesel fuel. Hence, in purchasing diesel, it would be reasonable to consider diesel fuel availability in a particular area.

Only few automakers offer diesel engine in their lineup. In fact, in the United States, there are only 3.6 per cent of diesel-powered passenger cars. The list includes the Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, Passat, Beetle, Mercedes E-320 sedan, Volkswagen Touareg and Chrysler Jeep Liberty.

However, the biggest downside of diesel vehicles has to do with emissions. They are dirtier than gasoline cars and a whole lot filthier than hybrids. “”What you see and smell out of the tailpipe is typically worse than with a gasoline engine,”” said Larry Webster, technical editor at Car and Driver. Diesel cars emit more particulates like carbon (soot) and more oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which contribute to local smog.

?How Does Gasoline Get Into Your Car?

Oil issues has defined and shaped political history such as wars raged by world leaders over oil that brought disruptions to economies and hostilities among nations as it is considered one of the most important element that runs a nation. The United States for example consumes about 840 million gallons of petroleum each day wherein approximately half of it is consumed by over 200 million motor vehicles that when combined, travels about 7 billion miles a day, accounting the US consumption of about 44 percent of the worldwide gasoline consumption. In 2006 alone, America consumed about 510 billion liters. Thus oil has become the defining catalyst in the 20th century.

Gasoline is made from crude oil, which was formed from remnants of organic elements like tiny plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. These remains, which were covered with layers of sedimentation, undergo chemical formation brought about by changes in extremes of temperatures composed of hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons, known as crude oil, then undergo refinery process to breakdown it to several by-products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, LPG, lubricating oil and among others.

For an ordinary person, the process of getting a gasoline from the gasoline station pump into his car is nothing but an ordinary endeavor but the process of getting the gasoline from underneath the earth’s deep cores is another issue. How do these elements, where countries are fighting claims just for a piece of territory believed to contain oil deposits, come up from thousands of feet below the ground among rocks?

Oil is drilled from the ground using oil drilling rigs, which can be portable or mounted on trucks or on more permanent structures and are made of steel that create holes in the ground. The rig is connected to motor drilling pipes in the surface to pump mud or tiny chips of rocks back to the surface. After the oil is extracted from oil spots and pumped into the surface, it is piped away from the rig to waiting boats, oil tankers or refineries. The movie Armageddon, for example perfectly pictures how a black crude oil gushed out from the ground using marine-based structure rigs.

The oil is brought to refineries where it is processed to a more useful form such as gasoline, kerosene LPG, lubricating oil and many more by-products. Oil refineries are mostly composed of complexes of huge and numerous pipelines and pumps filled with oil connecting one structure to another as oil undergo from one refining process to another. The end products are then divided into categories such as light distillates where LPG and gasoline fall, middle distillates for kerosene and diesel and heavy distillates or residuum where heavy fuel, lubricating oils and asphalt belong.

After refining, the by-products and end-products are packaged in different forms for commercial use, and brought to legitimate distributors such as gasoline stations, ready for the market. When you drop by at the gasoline station, you will notice that the gas that is pumped out is already clear as a result of the complicated process that oil refineries have.

The oil industry is proving to be a lucrative business as oil is becoming as vital to life as water. Almost every tool that we have is being powered by oil or gasoline. For such, gasoline stations are found in almost every corner and intersection in an answer to the growing rate motor vehicles plying major city thoroughfares.

?Home Diesel Generator – When it Comes to Back-Up Power, the Home Diesel Generator is the Best Choice

The Home Diesel Generator is becoming the generator of choice for many discriminating buyers and there are a good number of reasons why. It’s already known that diesel engines have a long life and low operating costs. When it comes to the home diesel generator, you can expect your unit to easily operate over 40,000 Hours.

Research reveals the average gasoline generator provides around 4500 hours and then it will start needing repairs. And that of course is the quality generators. Cheap generators and low quality generators are probably around the 1500 hundred to 2500 hour ranges. As you can see, there is a major difference in how much service you will get out of a diesel generator versus a gas generator.

Not only does the home diesel generator provide you with longevity, it also means that you will require less maintenance. This distinction makes it the hands down choice in the minds and eyes of a lot of homeowners. Simply put, these units are built to handle the rigors of daily operation that would cause numerous gasoline generators to shut down.

Think about this, when we ship heavy loads across the state and across the nation, what do we use? Diesel trucks! Why? Because they are like the old Timex commercials, “”They can take a licking and still keep on ticking.””

The next and probably most important facet of the home diesel generator is the fact that is has a lower overall operating cost if you compare it to a gas powered generator of the same wattage and class. That means you’ll be saving money where it counts, over the long run.

Don’t get me wrong; there is a variety of back up generators and they are powered by various means; gasoline, natural gas, propane and even the wind and each generator has its place. What I am saying is this; pound for pound, comparing apples to apples for the purposes of providing emergency back up power for your home, the home diesel generator rises to the top of the list as the generator of choice

Let me put it in perspective; if you live in a part of the country where your generator is going to see considerable usage, such as up North, on the East Coast or in areas where inclement weather reigns, you want the assurance that your back up power is going to be instant on. This is what diesel generators provide; they come on when the power goes and they run quietly seemingly forever.

If you opt for a professional home generator installation with the sound proof enclosure, your home diesel generator will look like an air conditioning unit and be just as quiet.

The home diesel generator brands you want to look are: Generac Generators, Kipor Generators and Onan Generators. There are others, but these three make the top of the list because of their long standing reputation of delivering high quality products.

There are two ways to approach this purchase. The first way is to have a professional home survey to determine your power and installations needs. This service usually runs less than a hundred dollars and provides you with a detailed breakdown of your home diesel generator power demands and install requirements.

The second way to approach this is perform the survey yourself. This assumes of course that you understand generator sizing and can handle computing for an automatic transfer switch. With that information in hand, you can move to find the best suitable generator for your home. Just remember, whichever approach you take do your homework. Research the generator brands. Take into consideration your location, weather issues and any other special needs.

?Air Should Be Free and Gas Should Be American

I only visit gas stations with free air and fuel from the USA. Yes they exist my gas station of choice gets the idea, don’t “” nickle and dime”” your customers. The Federal Government and Barack Obama need to take volumes of pages out of any small business handbook. Reviewing some of the news headlines this summer, some more notable then others

Truck Economy News

The federal government’s own Barack Obama signed off on a program last month that would see U.S. consumers get as much as $4500 (USD) towards a new car when they trade in an old car with an automobile that gets poor gas mileage. This translates to taking and crushing old cars (pickup trucks) and future classic automobiles for the sake of saving the planet.

In addition to this reducing the market size of the old autos, reducing size of the aftermarket truck parts, accessories market, AND uses your tax payer money to pay for your neighbors new car?

But Wait There is More!

The Obama administration also has slammed through an increased in the CAFE standards on all cars and light duty trucks. Is it logical to spend billions of dollars to bail out GM and Chrysler, let them go to bankruptcy, (say goodbye to your billions) Then add a piece of stupid lawmaking that makes it harder and more expensive for US manufacturers to produce a truck that can be competitive. In addition to this US manufacturers will have a harder time

1. Competing with the imports,and non union US truck Manufacturers, Toyota and Nissan

2. We are now seeing trucks  from China and India?

3. Only US, UAW Union made Pickup Trucks will cost more money to produce.

3. US manufacturers will be saddled with more restrictions then the imported competitors

4. This will force the manufacturers to produce diesel engines. This is not a problem except for the fact that diesel fuel production is much lower then gas production which artificially raises the price of the fuel

5. The current environmental movement working on cap and tax scheme is trying to increase the tax on your diesel and gas emissions

6. Implement Tire rolling standards ( for increase fuel efficiency) This is coming from California, New York, Oregon and other state legislatures. This translates to more expensive tires from the manufacturers which will have to pass those “”fees”” on to you ( tax)

Lawmakers Have No Plan

It is clear that the Federal Government and lawmakers have no clear cut plan for monitoring and managing  these phenomenomes called “”Capitalism”” and “”Global Warming””. Causing small manaufacturers economic harm through moron legislative actions will and has cost jobs.

More On Legislative Actions

The NHTSA ( National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) Has increased their vehicle roof crush rule to 3 times the weight of the vehicle increase the 1971 standard of 1.5 times the vehicle weight. This ruling is estimated to cost an additional $69.00 to $114.00 per vehicle. GM (Government Motors) is still trying to climb out of bankruptcy?

UAW now owns a minority stake in GM and Chrysler? what the?

Increasing Truck Fuel Economy?

The Oregon House Environment and Water Committee approved an alternative to legislation that originally sought to stop the sale of aftermarket parts if the alternatives parts are available “”decrease greenhouse gas emissions”” Oregon is also looking at setting tire rolling efficiency standards as is New York among others.

The Answer

The only current watchdog over stupid state and federal government legislation is SEMA. Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association, SEMA Political Action group actually steps in to help eliminate the individual state patchwork of hacked up legislation. If you like American Made products, cars, pickup trucks, and aftermarket accessories then I urge you to pay attention and even get involved.

Not only does the Federal Government not have a plan to manage this phenomenom but the legislative branches at the state level have no clear cut plan as well. The amount of junk legislation being thrown up against the preverbial barn wall is incredible.

The point is you cannot pay attention to your state legislative action, contact SEMA (Specialty Equipement Manufacturing Association). SEMA is doing an absolutely wonderful job staying on top of all of these issues and working at the state and federal levels to keep this madness in tack. These laws and many more will do anything but.. increase the real truck fuel economy of your pickup truck.

?High Gas Mileage Cars – Finding a Fuel Efficient Car Or Truck

When an individual used to go shopping for a car, the features that would be at the top of the list would include the style, the latest in technology and the extras that would allow the ride to be more enjoyable. However, the rise of fuel costs and the need to work towards protecting the environment has altered the priorities for choosing the right vehicle. If you are ready to pick your next set of wheels, than one of the major considerations that you will want to add in while you are shopping is with the capability to find high gas mileage cars. This will allow you to make the best decision on what will save you money and what will continue to protect the environment as you continue to travel on the road.

There are several ways to look for a high gas mileage car to ensure that you are getting the most when you are pumping gas at a station. Typically, this will be linked to the year that the car was built as well as what the make and model is. You will want to research the differences between these so that you can make the correct comparison. For instance, if you are looking at a model from 2002, it may not be as fuel efficient as one from 2008. At the same time, a Toyota may be more fuel efficient than another make and model. Understanding these basic differences will help you to move towards finding the right fit of car.

The next qualifications that you will want to include when comparing the best gas mileage is the type of car that you need. The smaller a car is, the less fuel it has to use. This is because the engine doesn’t need to burn as much energy in order to run. If you need a truck, SUV or van, you will most likely need to compare a different set of numbers than you would with a car. Knowing what these differences will be and figuring in how it will affect your pocket book can help you to make the right decision with finding the correct vehicle.

The rising cost of gas is one that will not only show a difference in cars that get higher or lower gas mileage, but will also be compared to the type of gas that is being used. Typically, this will be the difference between regular fuel and diesel fuel, each which will come at a different set price. You can expect that any type of diesel fuel will be slightly higher than regular fuel, but will be needed for specific types of engines. Understanding this before you choose a car or truck will also provide you with savings when you begin to invest.

If you want some of the highest gas mileage from cars, than you not only want to consider these characteristics, but will also want to factor in other alternatives that are using newer sets of technology to help with savings. For instance, there are now flex-fuel vehicles, which will allow you to alter the types of fuel and energy that you use. There are also hybrid and electric vehicles that will combine fuel with an alternative source of energy to keep everything running correctly.

If you don’t want to keep pumping out the prices for gas, but need to find a way to get to different places, than trading in your current vehicle for an investment that will save you money is one of your best options. Before you decide on a vehicle, you will want to make sure that you have investigated the differences for high gas mileage cars. This will provide you with alternatives to saving from your pocket book so that you can get the best deals for driving.

?Hino Trucks

Hino Motors, LTD, or as it is known in the trucking world, Hino, manufactures diesel trucks and buses. The Japan based company has been the country’s leading provider of medium and heavy-duty diesel trucks for the past 32 years. This company is a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation. It is not surprising to see this brand in the Dakar Rally. Since 1991, Hino has provided vehicles for the event and has always finished in the top 10 for the Camion Category.

Hino has a very colorful history with its roots going back to the very founding of the Tokyo Gas Industry Company in 1910. The very first vehicle produced by the company was in 1913. In 1937 the Tokyo Gas Company and Tokyo Electric Power merged together to form the automobile division of Tokyo Automobile Industry. In 1941 the company’s name was officially changed to the Diesel Motor Industry Company and eventually became known as Isuzu Motors. The very next year in 1942 Hino was born.

The trucks are modeled into two different categories. The light duty trucks include the models 145, 165 and 185. Medium duty trucks include the 238, 258, 268 and 338 models. These models have a GVW range from 23,000 to 33,000 pounds. MDT trucks also feature an 8L J08 engine which is becoming very popular. Engine compartments are very roomy and all gauges can be accessed very easily from the driver’s seat. These features, not to mention the three person cab, are helping to make Hino one of the most popularly chosen truck brands in the world for light to medium duty loads.

Add to this the fact that Hino Trucks 2008 lineup features a proven DPR (diesel particulate reduction) system that meets all United States Environmental Protection Agency diesel emission regulations and it is not at all surprising that these trucks are highly appreciated throughout not only the United States, but globally as well. Using the same technology that was implemented to meet the 2005 emissions regulations in Japan, this new lineup is only adding to the billions of revenue producing miles on this system. Trucks with this emission system can be found in all Class 4 through 7 models. If you are searching for a truck from this manufacturer, new and used Hino trucks are easily found with a simple online search or by contacting a dealer in your area.

?Helpful Ideas From a Ford Diesel Truck Owner

I have a 94 Ford Diesel truck and in the last 14 years, I have added a coupe and a sedan to the family line up of cars. Previously, I had not thought twice about keeping the old truck around, but lately the cost of fuel has me thinking about what to do with my truck. I thought about selling it, but saw the price new and old trucks are garnering and decided to look elsewhere for some ways to get more out of my old truck.

1. Offer in town moving services: Craigslist and other online classified services are chopped full of people selling furniture, mechanical equipment and other heavy items that are not easy to transport. What’s missing on CL is an abundance of people offering moving services to get items from point A to point B. This is particularly true in major cities where there is good transit and many people don’t have cars like NYC and San Francisco. So take a moment post an ad, wake up a few hours early next weekend and make some money and help a few people out.

2. Rent it out: Every once and again people need a truck to move things and you might not have the time to help, but what you do have is a hearty ford diesel truck (any truck will do, but you see where my loyalty lies) and for a few extra dollars a month, you can change your insurance coverage to include business use. As most car/truck rental locations will charge $100+ per day and another arm and a leg for insurance, now is your chance to undercut them and make some money.

3. Short distance car hauls: So this one might not be for everyone, but if you like to do some traveling and can spare an extra day of vacation every month, why not take a few road trips next year. With major auto shipping carriers charging upwards of $500 for short hauls from Vegas to Phoenix, Phoenix to Los Angeles etc. now is time to jump in and tow someone’s car. A simple hitch and a few extra dollars on insurance and you are set.

These are just a few basic ideas to think about making money using your truck on the weekends. For the most part, there might be some cash outlays involved in getting some of these ideas rolling, but if your truck is paid off and in good working condition, you can make some pretty easy money without sacrificing much more than your free time. If you have suggestions or other ideas on how to get the most out of your truck, please drop me a line.

?Additional Diesel Models Heading Stateside

America’s love affair with diesel-powered vehicles is a complex one.

On the one hand, heavy duty pickup trucks from Ford, Chevrolet/GMC and Dodge Ram offer these engines which are prized for their horsepower, torque, towing capacity and decent fuel economy. On the other hand, diesel cars are a scarce commodity, offered in select German models, but not across the entire model line as they are in Europe.

So, why the difference?

That’s easy: diesel trucks appeal to work crews and others who absolutely need the power these trucks can offer. Diesel cars remind most older drivers of the slow-moving and slow-selling cars of the 1980s. Too bad that these diesels are the only ones some people remember.

Clean Diesels

Today’s diesels are a far-cry from diesels of yore. Yesterday’s diesels were slow and smelly, today’s diesels are typically turbo-powered and clean. Indeed, Volkswagen was the first manufacturer to produce a diesel meeting stiff emissions requirements in all 50 states, including hard to please California. Mercedes and BMW have followed suit and both are promising to meet rising diesel demand.

The German automakers have found a way to sell diesels in the U.S. despite what previously had been weak demand. Beginning in 2009 when Volkswagen introduced its current generation diesel engines, American drivers soon discovered that diesels weren’t smelly and certainly had the power to keep up. Importantly, their usual 30 to 35 percent fuel mileage advantage has convinced many buyers to consider a diesel, which are typically priced a bit less than gas-electric hybrids.

Diesel Advantages

Moreover, diesel engines do not have spark plugs, cannot be tuned up and generally last much longer than equivalent gas engines. Diesel fuel prices, however, do fluctuate and as of January 2011 are higher than gas. However, the one dollar price premium seen in 2008 has disappeared with prices about 25 cents more than gasoline.

Other manufacturers do not appear ready to make diesel engines available in the United States. That’s because American clean car standards are the highest in the world, which means Japanese, Korean and other manufacturers have to modify their engines at significant cost to make them compatable in the U.S. Honda was planning to introduce a diesel Accord as recently as 2008, but scrapped plans for its 52 mpg car to concentrate on hybrids and other alternative models.

California Dreaming

Even if California follows through and tightens emissions restrictions again as some have feared, diesels are likely to be in demand and sold in increasing numbers. The Golden State may tighten its standards, but the diesel producers – German automakers and American pickup truck manufacturers – are likely to find ways to stay competitive in all 50 states, no matter how complex consumers or state regulations are.

?Heavy Duty Pickup Truck Battle Deepens

Most consumers in the market for a pickup truck have no need for the heavy duty variety, the type of truck offering a turbo-diesel engine and, in some cases, dual rear wheels. However, construction crews and sport enthusiasts who bring six men to a job site or who regularly pull a large boat or camper can benefit from these larger and heavier trucks.

Raw Power

Turbo-diesels offer owners optimum levels of horsepower and torque, making it easier to haul heavy loads while providing decent fuel economy. All three American pickup truck manufacturers offer them: General Motors sells the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 and GMC Sierra HD, Ford offers the Ford Super Duty and Chrysler has the (Dodge) Ram 3500. Each truck line is diesel-powered, with Ford and GM building its diesels in-house. Dodge procures its engine from Cummins, Inc., the Columbus, Ind. engine and power generator builder.

The Ford and GM diesel engines are V-8s while the Ram features an inline-six. Ram is not a disadvantage as that engine is a smaller version of powerful Cummins engines used in construction grade equipment. The displacement for all three engines is about the same, with Ford and Ram at 6.7-liters and GM at 6.6-liters.

Diesel Battle

A battle for customers began to heat up in the second half of 2010 when Ford announced that the company had tweaked its Power Stroke engine to produce more horsepower and torque via a software upgrade. Suddenly, the Ford engine replaced GM’s engine as the most powerful engine on the market. Ford’s diesel is now rated at 400 horsepower and 800 lb.-ft. of torque, edging out Chevrolet and GMC as its engine is rated at 397 horsepower and 765 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Ram series offers 350 horsepower and 610 lb.-ft. of torque and, on the surface, seems to be operating a significant disadvantage to its chief rivals. However, that disadvantage fades with the introduction of a high output version of its Cummins diesel, an engine option available as of the second quarter of 2011.

Torque Leaders

When equipped with the high output turbo-diesel and paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, the torque rating on the Ram truck jumps to 800, the same rating offered by Ford. Horsepower remains the same with the high output engine, however the new engine calibration provides an extra 40 horsepower when cruising down the highway. That’s advantageous for the driver who is pulling a big load and needs to maintain enough power always.

Ram has two other advantages over its competitors. Maximum towing capacity is a whopping 22,700 pounds, the highest in the segment and the gross combined weight rating is 30,000 pounds. It is also the only heavy duty diesel pickup truck that does not require diesel exhaust fluid, a convenience likely to be appreciated by drivers.

Expanded Battle?

Will GM attempt to match Ford and Ram or will it be content with following the pack leaders? Likely, we’ll see this battle expand, perhaps to eventually include the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan, neither of which offer diesel options with their top of the line pickup trucks.