Higher Fuel Prices And Overlanding

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MOAK

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Oh I know! I am an Engineering, STEM, and Robotics teacher. One of my big units is on sustainability and so many people don't realize that the creation of these batteries and electric storage facilities are not any better than fossil fuels. In fact some European countries that have the biggest electric vehicle population are now worse with their carbon footprint than before.

The idea of an electric car being better is because the end user is not now generating the harmful by products but wont they don't see is what all went into making that and that when the battery is at the end of its life they don't see what happens then. There have been numerous studies done that show buying or keeping an old car on the road is actually better for the environment than getting a newer better more efficient vehicle. Thats why when I started my overland journey, i went with a 10 year old jeep instead of trying to buy a brand new one. I wanted my impact to be lessened.
Agreed; the corporate class has been successfully blaming the end user, the citizen, for decades. It is true that each of us can reduce our footprint in little ways and that is all fine & well, however, you and I being average Americans, our carbon footprint is roughly 16 tons per year. Maintaining old vehicles, limiting our purchase of instant gratifications, using natural gas instead of oil, wood or coal to heat our homes, reducing our trash, maintaining our old home, etc etc etc, might get our personal footprint closer to the world average of around 5 tons per person. However !! When the wealthy corporate class fires up a yacht or a jet, or throws a party???? The worlds wealthiest 10% accounts for fully 50% of all global emissions. A single yacht puts out over 7,000 tons. You and I can do our part, but the corporate class needs to be held accountable. Unfortunately, they avoid accountability because they have successfully employed propaganda that keeps all of us at each others throats utilizing religion, politics, greed, and good old fashioned tribalism. To that end, I challenge anyone to show me data on how the cancellation of the XL pipeline has caused petro prices to rise. The pipeline would not have been completed for 10 years and it would have only increased north american production by 1/2 million barrels a day, ( less than a drop in the bucket on the world market 10 years from now! ). The pandemic caused prices to drop, radically, because of the law of supply and demand. The oil companies got caught with their pants down when demand dropped by over 2 million barrels per day and when demand cranked back up found themselves incapable of keeping up with said demand. If anyone has better information on this topic, have at it, I'm all ears and am all about taking in more information, but please, don't add to the tidal wave of misinformation and please keep the politics out of it.
 

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I think you are probably right on that point; most EVs are not designed/built for "overlanding", but my reflection is I believe our love of nature and the escape to it is what drew us to overland, not the type of vehicle you brought. Over time, EV design will be improved, if demand is there.
Oh it absolutely will eventually but it isn't right there right now. An electric CUV can still get you out there but there's substantial risk and far less capability than you can get with other vehicles. It's all compromise one way or the other and while an electric CUV isn't following my Jeep, they're also not getting 15mpg in a noisy ass truck when they drive it every day.
 

MazeVX

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Oh I know! I am an Engineering, STEM, and Robotics teacher. One of my big units is on sustainability and so many people don't realize that the creation of these batteries and electric storage facilities are not any better than fossil fuels. In fact some European countries that have the biggest electric vehicle population are now worse with their carbon footprint than before.

The idea of an electric car being better is because the end user is not now generating the harmful by products but wont they don't see is what all went into making that and that when the battery is at the end of its life they don't see what happens then. There have been numerous studies done that show buying or keeping an old car on the road is actually better for the environment than getting a newer better more efficient vehicle. Thats why when I started my overland journey, i went with a 10 year old jeep instead of trying to buy a brand new one. I wanted my impact to be lessened.
Thank you for speaking the unpopular truth!
Really, thank you!
 

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Oh it absolutely will eventually but it isn't right there right now. An electric CUV can still get you out there but there's substantial risk and far less capability than you can get with other vehicles. It's all compromise one way or the other and while an electric CUV isn't following my Jeep, they're also not getting 15mpg in a noisy ass truck when they drive it every day.
Exactly! They may can get out there but they may not be able to get back. I know cruising down the highway in a fancy electric vehicle would be nice and comfy compared to my loud jeep with lots of wind noise, buffering from the sound bar, and road noise from my tires but....... I can carry some gas cans out into the middle of nowhere and be able to get back!
 
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Jk.Overland

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Thank you for speaking the unpopular truth!
Really, thank you!
The sad part is that it is unpopular. I understand wanting to have an electric vehicle, I want one I actually want to get one for my wife to handle cake deliveries and pickups because it would save on gas, and wanting to do better for the environment, but getting to that point takes time and cannot be an overnight switch. If we all switch at one time, the impact on the world and our environment would be cataclysmic.
 
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Arailt

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Thats why when I started my overland journey, i went with a 10 year old jeep instead of trying to buy a brand new one. I wanted my impact to be lessened.
Nice. I'm going to use this when I tell people I drive a 14 year old Lexus :wink:
 
Currently paying 1,67 US $ per Liter mid quality petrol / gas, about 6,50 $ per gallon.
Diesel is about 10% cheaper.
The effect is people not driving and if they are mostly slow.

Fuel prices are a huge number when traveling, at least for me and yes I sometimes give up on a trip because of fuel cost.
I would like to give some advice but I believe that would have consequences for me...
How much of that is tax?
 
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MidOH

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Brandon is desperately kneeling and pleading OPEC and China to fix HIS MISTAKES by increasing production. Under Trump we were exporting oil and had gas at half the price as current. Idiotic leadership, moronic XO's, and corrupted elections have consequences.

My steel mill has dropped to just one shift now due to mostly energy cost. Not sure if the Trump tariff on steel expired? Was running 24/7 a few years ago with trucks lined up for miles.

In other news, my favorite dive shop in Cozumel has gone under while begging me to visit. Sorry, not happening. Airlines suck, and their fuel costs are up as well. I'll be staying state side. I replied to their email: "'Can't make it, due to travel policies and overall cost. But at least there's no more mean tweets.''
 
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leeloo

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Brandon is desperately kneeling and pleading OPEC and China to fix HIS MISTAKES by increasing production. Under Trump we were exporting oil and had gas at half the price as current. Idiotic leadership, moronic XO's, and corrupted elections have consequences.

My steel mill has dropped to just one shift now due to mostly energy cost. Not sure if the Trump tariff on steel expired? Was running 24/7 a few years ago with trucks lined up for miles.

In other news, my favorite dive shop in Cozumel has gone under while begging me to visit. Sorry, not happening. Airlines suck, and their fuel costs are up as well. I'll be staying state side. I replied to their email: "'Can't make it, due to travel policies and overall cost. But at least there's no more mean tweets.''
The US did not increase production simply because the shareholders demanded profit after 2 lean years where OIL reached a bottom of 20 $ if you remember. Big and small US producers had a lot of debt and now they need to cash in and start giving back to shareholders. Right now any CEO of shale oil company who wants to start drilling again before he pays his debt and does no show respects to shareholders in the form of dividends is gone. What ever Biden is dreaming about CO2 free planet and so on, it is little he can do about that. Those companies are private and it is hard to imagine blaming them for chasing a profit .
Politics can influence the oil price, but not like you imagine. Lets take Venezuela and Iran. It was Trump who teared up the agreement and imposed embargoes, but back than this was actually supporting the price of oil benefiting US producers. Now this decision bytes you in the ass in the form of high prices.

Venezuela, who is considered to be in the US sphere of influence, went downhill on his watch.
So right now if you want lower prices, Biden can come to the table and make an agreement with Iran. There will be price to pay but hell .. if it makes you happy...
So things are a bit more complex.
 
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Jim SoG

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Ok last warning on this thread before I lock it away and or delete more accounts.

No Politics.

No name calling.

No instigating verbal fights.

Original post is about higher prices and overlanding, NOT what country did what, what party did what, it IS about how this affects overlanding.....

Jim
 

grubworm

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yeah, gas prices are definitely going up, but so is everything else. last year lumber went crazy and plywood i was buying for $30 a sheet suddenly jumped up into the $70 range, so the gas prices dont really stick out that much to me specifically. i get how the higher prices can and will effect travel for a lot of folk, but i'm sure people (especially 'overlanders') will find a work-around.

while the high gas prices are a negative...there are some positives that can come from it. some folk might normally travel and stay at campgrounds and spend money doing things like visiting carsbad caverns where entrance fees for a family might be over $100. money dedicated to campsites and tourist attractions might be reallocated for fuel, and then that would lead more people toward boondocking and doing more things that dont cost money, like desert hikes and things that dont have a fee associated with them. people might start traveling to locations and stay put to save gas and do more hiking and canoeing, etc...which is a good thing. if i was on a budget and fuel was an issue but i still wanted to get out, then i would look at more local things to do. i think people seldom visit their own "backyard", so to speak. after the military, i moved to the swamps of south louisiana as a commercial diver in the oilfield (gulf of mexico). at the time, the swamps were a hot and nasty place and i was just here to make money and then move off into the mountains. that was 30 yrs ago. i'm still here, but all my travels have been out of state. during the covid restrictions, i started hanging out more local and i realized there are some pretty cool things to see and do a lot more locally. i'm sure a lot of folk haven't explored close to home and will probably start doing more to save gas.

like i said, i've been here 30 yrs and while new orleans is less than a hour from me, i've only been there work related or to get drunk on bourbon street. people fly from other countries to visit new orleans, so maybe instead of driving out west next trip, i'll spend a few days in new orleans checking out its history and culture. maybe 2022 will be the year to explore my own back yard...
 

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Ok last warning on this thread before I lock it away and or delete more accounts.

No Politics.

No name calling.

No instigating verbal fights.

Original post is about higher prices and overlanding, NOT what country did what, what party did what, it IS about how this affects overlanding.....

Jim
Ok last warning on this thread before I lock it away and or delete more accounts.

No Politics.

No name calling.

No instigating verbal fights.

Original post is about higher prices and overlanding, NOT what country did what, what party did what, it IS about how this affects overlanding.....

Jim

THANK YOU!!!!
 
My Cruiser gets 12mpg and the closest place I can find with minimal amount of people is a 200 mile drive. So gas prices are a bummer, but I have no car payment and getting a more fuel efficient rig with the same capabilities is not worth the cost. Anything close would be $50k or more and I can buy a lot of gas for $50k and still drive a cool machine that I can work on. No computers!!
 

MidOH

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12 isn't bad at all. My Ram Cummins gets 10.1 mpg and I still get to every pipeline trail in the Midwest on time.
 
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