What are the estimated operating costs for an O/O?
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Nootherids, Nov 6, 2010.
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crusincsmith1281 and Nootherids Thank this. -
Fuel at $3.20 a gallon in Midlothian, Tx at the Loves yesterday afternoon.
We don't need this upswing in fuel costs.csmith1281 Thanks this. -
What I haven't found though is a confirmation that it is allowed in reefer units. Just legislative mumbo-jumbo that is as ambiguous as it gets. I also called a few Truck Stops to find out whether their "reefer fuel" switches over to off-road/red/untaxed fuel and they all said that the price is the same. They only designate it as "reefer fuel" for accounting purposes basically.
So two questions on that are:
- Are we 100% SURE that off-road/red/untaxed fuel is legal in reefers?
- Where can I find off-road diesel to fill up the reefer? (I can't find anything online that lists locations where it is available, other than suppliers/wholesalers) -
yes its legal in heaters and reefers -- and you can find it at the truck stop generally
the reason it is legal is cause it isnt being used in on road unit---not sure if my explantion makes sense or not--its not being used in a engine that is propelling a vehicle -
I found that most of the off road fuel I buy is at smaller fuel stops, generally the cost is lower,
(about .20-.65 cents less per gallon),
the truck stops do sell it, but the cost is higher,
and most are near truck stops but off the beaten path,
(some are right next to truck stops, say 1000 yards away as in SC).
I record the purchase/gallons of the fuel I use for the reefer as a business expense , but then when I do my IFTA I don't pay the fuel tax;s on the total gallons bought for off-road diesel for the reefer.
Almost all the time I save the locations of the fuel stops on my GPS,
some are hard to find,
and some are hard to get the truck/trailer in, but I won't go in unless I can safely park my rig there while fueling,
there is one place that I go to on a regular basis that I have to go past it by say 800 feet or so to turn around safely down the street in a big parking lot.
I don't go out of my way to fuel there,(except turning around)....
I bet I already saved about $500-$750 in just buying the fuel there,
not including IFTA tax's....
Hope this helps....
crusinLast edited: Nov 11, 2010
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It helps tremendously! I can already see the huge savings that can be had if you run mostly refrigerated loads. I would definitely go out of my way to find some when needed but you are right that they are a bit tricky to find. I guess it's worth making some calls ahead of time to make sure they have off-road diesel available and then go the extra mile. And it is a great idea to save it on your GPS for next time. I wish the ProMiles system would include that as one of the "amenities/features" they list for the stations.
# Canuck ... Yeah that does make sense. I was mostly confussed because in the regulations I found it said that if it's powering the wheels on the road then you can't use off-road. But then it also said that if it was made for "use on the road" then you can't use off-road. I scratched my head cause the reefer is made for use on the road...but it doesn't power wheels....... But it makes sense. -
I use off road diesel exclusively in my reefer, and have been paying around $2.50 per gallon. I buy it localy. My reefer fuel cost (fuel only) is .01 cent per mile.
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Btw, last month in Montana I had a diesel bear check both of my tractor fuel tanks, with a straw suction sample extractor, looking for dyed juice, so as tempting as it is, and easy as it is to fuel your tractor with off road fuel, I wouldnt think of doing it. Maybe *cough* in your pick up. LOL....and just kidding of course!!
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I actually had the tanks in my pickup dipped a couple of months ago. I park on a heavy equipment sales yard though, so that probably makes me a bit more of a target.
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