The thread for discussions on transportation, fuel, vehicles, etc, for all your prepping needs.

So, I can, and have, put diesel in my home heating oil tank in a pinch.

 

Is the reverse the same? If I had a diesel car or truck, could I put home heating oil in it? Would I need an older car/truck to make this work? Having 250 gallons of go juice in basement would be a nice backup.

 

I do not care what the EPA/DEP says as this is a theoretical situation only.

Nuthin' to do with the DEP or EPA, it just comes down to the Motor Fuel Tax per gallon, lol!  #2 is essentially the same as diesel, only with a dye to mark it as untaxed..........

Nuthin' to do with the DEP or EPA, it just comes down to the Motor Fuel Tax per gallon, lol!  #2 is essentially the same as diesel, only with a dye to mark it as untaxed..........

^^^ this..   same stuff..   if i had a diesel vehicle, it would be helpful to me as i have a 300 gal oil tank (but its underground, so would be tough to get at)...

Smokin.50 is spot on. All comes down to tax money. Big surprise. Diesel trucks are subject fuel inspection and if you are caught running heating oil it is a hefty fine. During Sandy I know plenty of people were doing it. It's an emergency and you do what you have to do. If you have an in ground oil tank you could always get a battery powered pump or hand pump to have on hand.

if the roads clog in a shtf ..a autogyro would be nice.

if the roads clog in a shtf ..a autogyro would be nice.

 

A bicycle with a cargo rack might be a more down-to-earth alternative in that situation. It can go off road if necessary, needs no fuel outside of your food. It is silent and non-threatening.

One thing I noticed would be useful is during Sandy there were pockets of areas with power and one of them was a local Shoprite, local people were driving there to get groceries wasting valuable fuel when a simple collapsible wheeled cart would have done the job perfectly and conserved the fuel. 

 

(granted having food on hand before the storm mitigates that need to go to Shoprite, but having something to carry a load in gives you more options)

Cool. I see a diesel VW in my future.

Just remember guys as far as I know all new diesel vehicles are set to run on low sulfur diesel fuel and will not run well on #2

Just remember guys as far as I know all new diesel vehicles are set to run on low sulfur diesel fuel and will not run well on #2

may not run "well" but it will run

It depends.

 

Newer diesels will not run HHO. The sulfur will kill a Diesel Particulate Filter. I don't know if cars have them, but new trucks do.

 

Older diesels will burn anything. I'm talking about Ford IDIs, old Cummins, and whatever GM used.

 

I wanted a 1994 or earlier diesel Ford because they will run on waste motor oil or veggie oil if its prepped right. Plus they have two tanks stock.

I have a 99 f250 diesel. It's a beast. That's my bug out vehicle.

It depends.

 

Newer diesels will not run HHO. The sulfur will kill a Diesel Particulate Filter. I don't know if cars have them, but new trucks do.

 

Older diesels will burn anything. I'm talking about Ford IDIs, old Cummins, and whatever GM used.

 

I wanted a 1994 or earlier diesel Ford because they will run on waste motor oil or veggie oil if its prepped right. Plus they have two tanks stock.

 

Just a couple of years ago I was on a mission to find a 94 or older ford IDI diesel ambulance

 

I looked at quite a few of them but never pulled the trigger --- was gonna strip it and make it the long distance cruiser -- bug out vehicle -- 

 

I'd still consider it if I found the right vehicle

Just a couple of years ago I was on a mission to find a 94 or older ford IDI diesel ambulance

 

I looked at quite a few of them but never pulled the trigger --- was gonna strip it and make it the long distance cruiser -- bug out vehicle -- 

 

I'd still consider it if I found the right vehicle

I'd pass on the ambulance only because vans are nightmares to work on.

 

Build a diesel bronco. You will have 4x4, your choice of trans, and be 100x cooler.

 

If I ever build the diesel I want, it would be an IDI, with the stock front 15 gallon tank and swap the rear with a Bronco 33 gallon tank. Would give me roughly 750 miles of travel on free WMO fuel if need be. Although the front tank would need to be cut heavily with D2 for winter startups.

I'd pass on the ambulance only because vans are nightmares to work on.

 

Build a diesel bronco. You will have 4x4, your choice of trans, and be 100x cooler.

 

 

 

Vans do present their challenges when needing work...

 

I'm not so sure about the cooler thing

 

m_DSCN0484_zps633662cb.jpg

I use a mountain bike.

So, I can, and have, put diesel in my home heating oil tank in a pinch.

 

Is the reverse the same? If I had a diesel car or truck, could I put home heating oil in it? Would I need an older car/truck to make this work? Having 250 gallons of go juice in basement would be a nice backup.

 

I do not care what the EPA/DEP says as this is a theoretical situation only.

yes, you can. if i recall correctly, home heating oil is more refined/cleaner.

No, home heating oil is NOT more refined, it is much less. NY was trying to get HHO refined closer to road diesel, but it would jack the price way up. You could run it in old diesels, but as someone said above, the sulfur would kill the filters and the injection pump in short order in newer vehicles.

ok...i had it bass ackwards.......  but it'll run most older diesel vehicles if necessary.......

Build a diesel bronco. You will have 4x4, your choice of trans, and be 100x cooler.

I really wanted Ford to build a new one based on the recent concept. That thing was bad-ass!!!

So for gasoline fueled vehicles, what's the deal with storing extra gas in a gas can? Is there a "shelf life"? Or can I store it until I need it? Any specialized containers or are the home depot variety perfectly fine?

shelf life - that's why they make stabilization additives like Sta-Bil

yes, always add Sta-Bil to a gas can when you fill it.  Granted, that extends the shelf life from about 3 months to about a year (although i have used stabilized gas that was more than a year old without much issue), its better than the fairly short non-stabilized gas...

 

any red gas can you get at the big box stores will work fine (some pour better than others, but storage is not a problem), but things you buy at HD or Lowes will only be up to a certain size (dont think they actually have the real big ones, like 30+ gallons)..  i may be wrong about that though...  

 

I think something like the Surly Moonlander will take you through almost anything and any conditions.

I was at the park longboarding a couple of weeks ago and saw a guy with fat-tired mongoose similar to that Surly above.  Rolling resistance going over grass/sand in that thing is high, you will definitely want some strong quads.

 

Not sure if the autogyro comment above is just a road warrior referencing joke or not, but those things need landing strips to take off and land from.  They can't land or take off straight up or down, FYI.

I was at the park longboarding a couple of weeks ago and saw a guy with fat-tired mongoose similar to that Surly above.  Rolling resistance going over grass/sand in that thing is high, you will definitely want some strong quads.

True, but I think it would do well in the soft "sugar" sand in the pine barrens.  That stuff is a killer workout on a standard MTB, I think this thing, running about 10-15 PSI tire pressure, would do pretty well.

Walmart sells one with tires like that as a "beach bike".

The Moonlander tires are about 5" wide, and the rims are almost 4" wide (100mm).  Most beach cruiser have about a 2.125"-2.35" balloon tire, and I think cruiser rims are typically about 1.5" or 1.75" wide.  Those Moonlander tires are just huge.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/moonlander

Oops, don't know why I thought this was in the beach bikes. It isn't.

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Mongoose-Beast-Men-s-Oversized-All-Terrain-Bike/22861845

 

 

Kind of want to try one now.