Diesel Shortage

[granvillebarker]

We are about to embark on a 6 week trip and all the media start talking about a diesel shortage today....   I bet we will be reading about people robbing the old cooking oil from all the fast food restaurants next.

 

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Granville Barker

 

[jacwjames]

I read the news daily, multiple sources, and had not heard/read of any shortages.

But I did do a quick search and there were a couple new articles regarding diesel shortages, one saying that "Loves" is monitoring the situation.  One article did say that that the USA is exporting more diesel, attributing the war in Ukraine and the sanctions etc.  So who knows.  And so it begins. 

In the short term if you are determined to go on a trip I wouldn't worry about shortages, just keep your tank topped off, but be prepared to pay for the privilege of being able to use your rig.

I live in E TN, there have been no reports of diesel shortages yet!

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by jacwjames

[nvrtoofast]

South Carolina is reporting shortages due this week. Most semis that are hauling fill up about twice a day on average and that means anywhere from 300-500 gallons per fill-up. Charleston has a very active port with a massive amount of trucks on the road. I figure this shortage will be focused on states with a higher amount of trucks on the road.

You gotta pay to play. Just grit your teeth at the pump.

Not a good thing. I would stay topped off on food and supplies also. Just in case. No diesel in an area means little to no shipping to that area.

Most supply chains are now on a "just in time" model. Few supply chains carry sufficient reserves for a 3-7 day delivery drought.

Please report back when the trip is done. Would like to hear how it went.

I plan on trying to head back out in the fall (August-November) and skip the summer crazyness.

[donbouv22]

I haven’t heard a thing about a diesel shortage, but then again, I haven’t paid attention to the media in over 2 years. 

[Trinidaddave]

Just returned from six week trip California to Texas. Fuel prices were 4.50-7.99 my local prices today is 6.99. 
 

im staying out for the near future.

05 Safari Gazelle, Cat C9.

[Mike B in TN]

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-the-northeast-is-quietly-running-out-of-diesel

 

One article I found on the subject

[birdshill123]

OTR semis do not fill up twice a day. They get at least 6 mpg with newer ones at 8 mpg. Tanks are 125x2 or larger. 600 miles a day means 100 gallons a day. Maybe more. Newer trucks do not idle like the old beasts but cold weather  would require Webasto usage.

Edited May 13, 2022 by birdshill123

[dandick66]

No shortages here in the Tidewater Virginia area.  Not sure where you’re planning on going, but like others have said, top off frequently.

[woodylmiller]

I did hear today about shortages and rationing, not to mention they predict diesel to go to $8 a gallon, looks like it's pretty close now in places.  $5.60 a gallon now in northeast WA state.  I also understand we are exporting diesel to Europe, and don't get me started on that!!  😞   Our 10,000 mile trip for this fall has been postponed.  

Woody (home bound) Miller

6 mpg ISM500

Maybe next year?

[donbouv22]

$7.29 as I came off the highway in Livermore,  CA this afternoon. Over $1K to fill my Navigator. 

[ncsteve]

13 minutes ago, donbouv22 said:

$7.29 as I came off the highway in Livermore,  CA this afternoon. Over $1K to fill my Navigator. 

OMG at that price, I may have to limit my trips. I am complaining about 5.39 in Myrtle Beach. 

[birdshill123]

Although we all feel the pain at the pump think about how this will affect the price of everything you buy. Here is another thought

 Even if fuel goes to $7.00  that is about 3.50 more than say a year ago. That  extra $3.50 dies not create jobs or spread wealth to anyone except the oil companies. Multiply that $3.50 times the millions of gallons of diesel that are purchased. Those  are bucks taken out of the economy and the wallets of consumers. Easily billions of dollars that will not be spent on consumer goods.I am not an economist but the citizens of N.A cannot handle that. We won't  omplsin about the shortage of goods as we will  not have any money to buy anything. The economy will collapse. If Goverments do not intervene soon it will be too late. Chicken little was right

 

 

 

 

 

[jimc99999]

With the price of crude only 50-60% higher than 3 years ago, it doesn’t seem like there’s any good reason the refined product needs to be 100-150% higher. But any hint of price controls will have the refineries cutting production to cause a serious shortage to blame on the price controls.
 

We just drove from DE to FL and a TA in Georgia had no diesel. The Loves one exit north had no problems. 

[6Wheels]

Diesel went up this week from 4.39 to 5.49 in North Georgia.

[Bob Blackmon]

We started in Morgan Hill, CA and arrived in Bath New Hampshire yesterday and there was no shortage anywhere. But man, oh man, it was expensive!

[jacwjames]

My sister works for a family owned manufacturing company in Northern Wisconsin, they have their own delivery trucks.  The fuel supplier has warned them that supply will be tight and hinted that there may be restrictions for essential vehicles only.  Price is up to but I just checked gas buddy and the price up there is ~$0.30 lower then in E TN.  Normally it's the other way around. 

Man this is going to get ugly.

[nvrtoofast]

4 hours ago, jacwjames said:

My sister works for a family owned manufacturing company in Northern Wisconsin, they have their own delivery trucks.  The fuel supplier has warned them that supply will be tight and hinted that there may be restrictions for essential vehicles only.  Price is up to but I just checked gas buddy and the price up there is ~$0.30 lower then in E TN.  Normally it's the other way around. 

Man this is going to get ugly.

I do not enjoy hearing this. Compound delivery issues with the fact that farming is a Diesel intensive process. not good....

[granvillebarker]

We hit the road this week, and for the first 30 miles I was driving 65, fuel economy was about 5.5mpg.   We were not in any hurry and didn't have far to go that day, so I slowed down to 55.   Gas milage went up to 8.4 mpg, and I was able to do that again today.   So for 250 miles of travel, only about 30 gallons.   We were on mostly 4-lane that wasn't busy, so I wasn't slowing anyone down.   Going slower than 55 didn't seem to increase economy.    The allison economy mode didn't seem to make any difference.   

 

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Granville Barker 

05 Dynasty 

[jacwjames]

1 hour ago, granvillebarker said:

We hit the road this week, and for the first 30 miles I was driving 65, fuel economy was about 5.5mpg.   We were not in any hurry and didn't have far to go that day, so I slowed down to 55.   Gas milage went up to 8.4 mpg, and I was able to do that again today.   So for 250 miles of travel, only about 30 gallons.   We were on mostly 4-lane that wasn't busy, so I wasn't slowing anyone down.   Going slower than 55 didn't seem to increase economy.    The allison economy mode didn't seem to make any difference.   

 

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Granville Barker 

05 Dynasty 

What engine do you have???

I kind of did that last year when I went out west to SD & ND, instead of coming back on the interstate I drove up and took Highway 2 east into the UP of Michigan.  I track fuel consumption and miles on my Silverleaf.  But I don't see that big of swing driving 55 to 75. 

Safe Travels.

[jimc99999]

I got almost 9mpg on the first 2 fills on my recent trip to FL; I had a significant tailwind and didn't have to run the generator.  Once the tailwind dropped off and I had to run the generator the whole time for house AC, I was back to 7.5 mpg. 

[jacwjames]

Right after we bought our rig in 2008 we took a trip to Alaska.  I kept expense records on everything and over the +14K mile trip we averaged 8.4mpg.  This was using gallons pumped and miles driven but did not include an adjustment for running generator.  We did not pull a car.

I seem to average between 7.5-8 mpg now pulling a Jeep GC. 

[granvillebarker]

15 hours ago, jacwjames said:

What engine do you have???

I kind of did that last year when I went out west to SD & ND, instead of coming back on the interstate I drove up and took Highway 2 east into the UP of Michigan.  I track fuel consumption and miles on my Silverleaf.  But I don't see that big of swing driving 55 to 75. 

Safe Travels.

I have an ISL-400-2.   I think 8.4 is the best we can get out of the drivetrain.   The coach is well stocked and we are towing a Jeep 4xE.  Taking the generator into consideration, probably 7.5 like you are seeing.

 

At what speed can you maintain 8.4?

In thinking more about it my initial 20 miles was probably much higher because of idling while waiting for air to build and checking tire inflations, plus stop-go traffic getting out of town.

 

 

 

[jacwjames]

Going to AK there are sections of road you just can't go fast, limited sections of interstate, and going through smaller towns etc.  Hard to say what speed I averaged. 

But normally if we are interstate I will go the the flow which is usually higher then posted but I draw the line at ~5 mph over posted.  I used cruise control a lot.  If not on cruise I don't drive with my pacbrake in the ON mode as I don't like it kicking on if I release the throttle. 

[96 EVO]

I usually run at the minimum speed my transmission will stay in 6th gear, which is right about 60.

I would think I would probably do a bit better for fuel mileage if I dropped to 55mph, even though the trans would be in 5th.

[timaz996]

I decided to drive at 60 mph this year rather then 65 so we will see how that goes. Fuel will not be my biggest cost this year as I'm in Albuquerque, NM waiting to have my CAC re-cored. After just replacing it less then four years ago. This time it will be what CG&J calls a heavy duty core. $$$$ don't know yet.

Tim