Going Greener (It's not easy being green!)

oly, good point, but i also agree that while we don't drive the most efficient vehicles and tow campers i feel like living/staying in the camper can be extremely efficient. we often spend a day or more without driving, use very little electricity, etc. how are those 255/85's, didn't you have 265/75's last time i saw you? any difference in economy there? any pics?
I've had teh 255/85's for quite a while now. I'm in need of replacement soon though and I'm going to be steping down to 265/75's.

Gas mileage is starting to hurt, as is the fact that I have not thrown in new gears for bigger tires.

Len, you are right, greener is still a bike, if not walking, but let's all be honest, that isn't that fun.
 
I take it Airbags make suspension adjustable... are they pricey??

Air bag springs are indeed adjustable by changing the pressures, and by keeping them on separate air lines, they are adjustable from side-to-side to adjust for asymmetrical camper weight, fuel in tank, etc. You can even set them up with an on-board compressor to make adjustments on the fly, but that's starting to get expensive.

They do NOT change the GVWR or GAWR of your truck, but they do stabilize it and generally make for better handling.

Basic set for one axle runs $250-300 neighborhood. Installation is generally straightforward.

Firestone Ride Rite Source
 
When my brother was responsible for maintenance of a company's small fleet of vehicles, among his other engineering responsibilities, they had the oil sent off for testing (they were using a commercial version of Mobil One). Those are about the same intervals he came up with based on the tests. Plus it was in Vermont, so the syn oil made for better extreme-cold starting.
 
Diesel Truck with Veggie oil conversion for the ultimate green camper option

Hi Len,

My name is Rich Curtis and I run a Green real estate brokerage and do a lot of green building and alternative energy consulting work. Here's a breakdown of the best way to go green with a truck and camper.

Hybrid - not really an option at the moment. I recently spoke with Toyota Motor corp reps in Japan that said it costs over 2 billion to tool up the factory for a new hybrid so they aren't planning a hybrid tacoma any time soon. To my knowledge none of the other small truker makers have one in the works either.

Electric - you can get an electric small truck but it wouldn't have the power or the range you need.

This leaves Diesel - A standard diesel truck can be converted to run on SVO (straight vegetable oil) or WVO ( waste vegetable oil) and can run at biodiesel without a conversion if you have a station near by.

The conversions cost about $2,400 ish. I'll spare everyone the details here if you want to know more go to the experts at www.goldenfuelsystems.com

What I will say here is that the conversions are easy and very reliable so don't believe the "your truck will never be the same" jargon out there.

Hybrids are great, I drive one but it's still not off the fossill fuel system. Waste vegetable oil is renewable and recycled and free!!!

If you used 1/10th of the land that lay fallow from farming in the U.S. and farmed bacteria in pools which are 90% oil by body weight we could meet the nations current demand for diesel fuel. You can grow in olympic swimming pool of this bacteria in a matter of days, it's totally renewable. You can get more info on this in the book natural capitalism http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Capitalism-Creating-Industrial-Revolution/dp/0316353000/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195064660&sr=8-1

So to me the ultimate Green Camper would be a ford f-350 with a utility bed for extra storage and a four wheel Grandby and a veggie oil conversion running on waste vegetable oil. You get a big burly truck a spacious camper and the guilt free pleasure of travelling on cost free and fossill free fuel.

If you want further information you can e-mail me. If you want information on green building or green real estate you can check out my website at www.greenwayproperties.com

Rich
 
Why Ford?

I forgot to mention why I chose a ford truck. My ultimate would be a diesel tundra which may be in the works for an '09 or '10 model. Until then, although toyota has at least 6 solid diesel platforms for their small trucks they release all around the world, they don't sell them here. Which leaves you the option of buying a grey market car which is expensive and hard to get parts for or going with the big diesel american trucks. In this category the ford is in my opinon the most reliable and best for conversion with a few notable exceptions (when the dropped the 7.3 and went to the 6.0 liter engine, the 6.0's had a lot of touble). My family all own Fords, my Grandfather worked for Ford and I have spent enough time overheated and broken down in fords to be a died in the wool Toyota man for life so I don't take the F-350 recommendation lightly. There big trucks are solid but god help you if you drive a Taurus!

Rich
 
Hey Rich


I'm all in favor of "Going Green".

We are going to install a full solar electric system for our small home in the next 3 months or so.

But, I just don't see the benefit to running vegetible oil in the trucks quite yet.

Check this thread out ...

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=147&Itemid=34

This couple with a truck & camper set their diesel truck up with the vegi oil system and it just sounds like a pain in the (you know what).

If the fuel was available and easy to get, I would say "go for it" !

But good luck finding a Costco or Sams Club out in the middle of the boonies and carting out four or five, 5 gallon gugs of vegitable oil to pour into your truck in the parking lot -- priced at $ 3.00 - $ 4.00 gallon.

I really don't want to stop off at a McDonalds and ask the teenager at the drive-through ...
 

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Plus dealing with the warranty issues. Last I checked Cummins was only willing to go so far as saying B20 biodiesel was acceptable. Sad, in a city the size of Sacramento theres no place to buy biodiesel (yeah, if call soandso and make an appointment and drive to their house you can get it). More power to the people who can put the time and effort into svo or making their own biodiesel, but its far too costly, time consuming and inconvenient for me and I'd say most of us.
 
Here is an interesting map for bio-diesel fueling stations

It looks sparce for fueling stations here on the West Coast

Maybe a bit easier if you live in the Mid West


.
 

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Veggie Oil Troubles

LOL - Yeah the drive through guy would probably give you a funny look to say the least.

You have brought up some good points and the most compelling points against a veggie oil conversion, it certainly isn't for the faint of heart but it is a great option for going green. Here's a few points to think about.

1. In terms of remoteness or difficulty obtaining oil the great thing is the truck still runs on regular diesel, in fact you run it on diesel during the start up and shut down phase of your drive to clean any veggie oil out of your cylinders (to bad we can't do that after the drive through, it would work wonders for the arteries.). So when you run out of veg you just use diesel and you were still running for a significant amount of your trip on veg. A lot of people carry extra with them that they get from their local source, it's just like carrying extra water. Most restaurants pay to have their oil removed so they are happy to give it to you and fast food is not a good idea, just like that oil is bad for your heart it's bad for your engine. Chinese food places tend to have the best veg I hear. At any rate, once you put in the initial time to establish relationships with local suppliers it's just like going to the gas station.

2. In terms of it being a pain in the backside it definitely can be especially if you try to backyard mechanic the conversion or if you try to convert an engine that isn't really well suited for it. Get the conversion done by a professional and be choosy about your oil quality and you should have no problems. Greasel has clients that have gone 100k on veg with no significant issues. It's all in how you do it and what you put in. Ultimately though, veg gives you many fuel options: standard diesel, bio diesel, SVO and WVO.

3. Warranty issues can arise if you convert during the waranty period. A reputable SVO conversion company will warranty the veg system so you won't have to worry about that. I never buy extended warranties nor have I ever bought a new truck so warranties aren't top of mind for me.

Going veg certainly isn't for everyone but it's a viable green option. The main thing with trying to live your values by making value based lifestyle decisions is to do what's right for you. If you are driving an old truck getting 14 to the gallon than buying a Toyota small truck with better mileage is a "green option" or "green decision", if you already drive a small truck with good mileage maybe a hybrid car for all of your daily driving is your "green decision" and if you live close to public transport maybe ditching your daily driver and taking the bus is the right "green choice" for you. Whatever it is do what makes sense for your lifestyle and as long as you are moving in a better direction that's what counts. Don't be daunted by the top three green misconceptions though:

1. It will cost more

2. It will be more difficult to use

3. It will look wierd

These are misconceptions rather than realities, once you jump in it's just a matter of where you are putting your energy not whether it's harder or easier.

Happy Camping,

Rich
 
Ok here I am opening my big mouth again. First of all after a lot or reasearch it seems Cummins is just hedging their bets by only allowing B20. Just like we all know the engine will go for way more than the warranted 100 grand. I've run B100 several hundred miles a number of times and the truck just doesnt know the dif. Cummins knows it's not going to hurt the engine and so does Dodge they just dont want to take the chance on the law of unintended consequences. '05 and newer Dodges have all the right stuff for Bio. Lots of commercial operators run entire fleets on B99 or 100 including a number of government entities.

Next the absolute biggest draw back I can see in running veggie is the extra tank and where to put it. From the reasearch I've done the tank goes in the bed of the truck. Last I time I checked this was a camper forum. I dont know about you guys but I keep my camper in the bed of my truck. Some companies make a tank that fits where you now keep your spare. That presents quite another problem and I like the securtiy of having a spare tire.

There are a few German companies that make a so called Single Tank systems. I cant find one for the Ram and its long drive to Gemany for warranty work.

My take on the inconvience of the whole thing is that when you cant find veggie you use D2 no problem. I know a number (actually 3) of folks up in Ojai that drive diesel rabbits. They have regular places where they collect their fryer grease. They get a lot of it once of month or so and love the idea of free fuel. But they dont put a camper in the bed of their truck.

Considering the price of Diesel (It's only $3.25 at Safeway near me in Tucson) In California you would probably payback the cost of conversion in less than 2 years. And thats if you bought bulk veggie oil by the drum but that tank thing is a real drawack.
 
Yeah, that tank thing is a problem. I'd happily run b100 if I could get it. I'd just put regular diesel in the tank before I had any service done just in case.
 
Going green without even trying!!!

When one thinks about it, FWC types are green automatically. Heres why:

My Tundra with a hawk gets about 16 mpg at 55-60 on regular gas. Not great but better than premium fuel in those pocket rockets getting 20mpg. We'd really be happy if we were allowed to buy Toyota Diesals 22-24mpg, (Unobtainable in US and Canada due to environmental regulations)

Plus the truck and camper are probably good for at least 200k miles and ten years. (Keeping out of the junkyards)

Staying in the Hawk instead of a hotel. (saves water and electricity.)

Maids don't have to wash our sheets and towels, again saving water and electricity. (We use sleeping bags)

Too cold outside to shower at the campground (So no hotel water used)

Lights are run off recharged battery so not using hotels electricity.

We eat premade sandwiches and brew our own coffee on the road.

We use our own stainless cups (saves McDonalds paper and foam)

Bring refilled bottled water from home

My daughter watches her DVD while in the truck (we are saving energy not driving back and forth to movie theaters)

3 of us traveling in Truck (carpool potential, no wasted space)

We only take up 19' of space on the road, little more than a car.

So we are green without even trying in our FWC's.
 
Veggie Tank Location not a problem

Hi Guys,

I'm jumping in again. I should say that veggie oil conversion is just something I know a lot about but typically not something I run around championing. I am only posting here to make sure that there is accurate information out there for people to make an informed choice - I'm really not a veggie oil zealot.

I too was concerned about the tank location because even without a camper on my truck I do a lot of just sleeping in the back and I didn't want to sleep with my head at a big greasy tank that smells like fried won tons so I talked to the guys at greasel and they can install a 35 gallon under the truck tank that doesn't compromise your spare. If you are wondering where look at the tank placements on the early 90's Ford's that had duel gas tanks. My brother gets about 18 to the gallon in his F350 Diesel but let's go more conservative and say at 16 miles to the gallon and 35 gallons you have a range of about 560 miles before you need to start running on regular Diesel or refill with veg from five gallon water jugs that you are carrying. Either way that is almost 600 miles of fossil free, money free driving on a tank that doesn't interfere with your camper and works just the same as your normal gas tank. The ones you see in peoples truck beds are 100 gallons or more and take up 11 inches of space. So even if you used a 100 gallon tank mounted at the front of the camper you would have an 11 inch hangover in the back which would be less than putting a long bed camper on a short bed truck. The gap at the front would also allow you to front mount some tools and give you extra storage. The only mod would be the placement of the bed mounts for the camper and then you would have a range of 1,600 miles on veg. Not bad - did someone say baja for free!!!

Rich
 
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