Cont: Electric Vehicles II

[sinnikal]

I understand why they do it. That is hardly a secret. Road maintenance is paid for by gas taxes.

I just wonder how often those with access to red dye diesel sneak it into their trucks. Seriously, how would the authorities know? Seems to me that unless you snake some kind of dipstick into the tank they wouldn't. What am I missing?

In rural areas of the UK HMRC officials and the police set up road blocks every now and then. They just use a simple siphon into a container. The red is unmistakable. In severe infringements your vehicle (or boat) can be confiscated - and your card will be marked.

ETA: removed unnecessary words.

 

[catsmate]

There are some solitary bees and wasps that just love to lay their eggs in small holes. Electrical sockets are a favorite, because the holes are just the right size. Some mud wasps also just go crazy for the slightly fruity aroma of acetylene, a constant battle for torch users. If you have something critical like an electric car plug, you'd do well to find a cover for it, even just a sandwich bag and a rubber band.

Fascinating.

 

[catsmate]

I drove for AAA as a tow driver and changed many a tire on the side of the I-15 freeway.
Only time a had to take a pause was when an inattentive semi truck driver took a pen out of my back pocket while installing a tire. With the trailer tires.

I had all the tools because most people didn't have even basics in the car.
I even had a big selection of locking lug nut sockets, because the owners usually lost thiers before the trip.

Prepare people, at least know the basics and carry the required tools.
Even AAA can't save everyone from themselves.

Several countries have laws mandating such.

 

[catsmate]

It's not just EVs that don't have a spare wheel these days. Similar thing happened to my friend in her Nissan Juke.

There's also the issue that a lone female driver may not be able to change the wheel without help.

That happened to a friend of mine last year, and she has mobility issues due to six kilos of metal in her back. A couple of Gardai stopped and did the necessary, had here mobile in ten minutes.

 

[catsmate]

For wheel changing I find an extending spanner (wrench) invaluable. If the last people to work on that wheel were a garage there's every chance thay used a pneumatic spanner to tighten the nuts and they can be buggers to loosen.

Damn right. Last time I did it I socketed the spanner on the nut and jumped down on it to loosen the damn thing.

 

[catsmate]

Must be great to be a man. To have all the tools built for your size and your strength.

My SO is significantly bigger and stronger than me ....

 

[acbytesla]

In rural areas of the UK HMRC officials and the police set up road blocks every now and then. They just use a simple siphon into a container. The red is unmistakable. In severe infringements your vehicle (or boat) can be confiscated - and your card will be marked.

ETA: removed unnecessary words.

I don't think they can do that here. Sort of violates the 4th Amendment. They can't blanket search the passing public. But we do have State Patrol manned weigh stations for commercial trucks where they check the weight per axle of the truck, check the manifest etc. They might check them. But I owned a Ford truck with a 7.3 diesel engine for almost 20 years and it has never been checked.

 

[Dabop]

The Hilux EV concept car has been seen (and driven) by journalists in Australia at the Toyota test track at Altona over a year ago, with yet another preproduction one being trialed in WA with BHP at Port Hedland currently (lol, used to work there... wish I still did, be interesting to drive it...)
2023 one at Altona

https://www.toyota.com.au/news/fully-electric-hilux-achieves-milestone-in-australia

Although they say they aren't looking at introducing it that soon (2028 at the earliest) I suspect that with BYD and several others actually selling utes in Australia (most currently hybrids but the full EV version of the BYD Shark is looking like early next year) and Hilux having been relegated to third place in the sales stakes (it was the number one selling vehicle in Australia for over a full decade until 2023) Toyota may look to push that timeline faster if they don't want to lose any more market-share...

The one in WA

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/electric-toyota-hilux-lands-in-australia
(been trying to figure out what model they pinched the charge port cover from- thats it on the passengers side front mudguard with the outline decaled around it...)

 

[Trebuchet]

There are very few people in Australia that even use the bed on most 4wds here anyway, as most people buy a Hilux or similar, with the crewcab body the bed is only 1.5m/5ft long anyway, only the singlecabs (2 seater tradies utes only for the most part) get the 2.4m/8ft bed... you simply cant put a full sized tub on a crewcab chassis...
View attachment 60509
View attachment 60511
Anything bigger than that, we use a trailer...

(US style ones are very rare here indeed, too big, too thirsty and too expensive to buy, with a 'less than stellar' reliability record- to put it politely... as well as a poor reputation for finish/quality)

For the very few large US 'trucks' here like the Ram 1500 (only available for a few years, poor seller) or the F150 (no longer sold)- it isnt uncommon for a 3 year old one to be on its third or fourth owner lol and they were only sold as the crewcab here with the same shortbed back- anything longer and you cant park it most places...

Add in the whole 4.5t on a car licence here (which means that for a car licenced owner ie the majority of people) those huge US 'trucks' are either sold as 'car licenced' but can't legally carry any weight at all in comparison to the lighter Hilux/Ranger/BT50's (in fact considerably LESS- that big heavy body is counted as part of the vehicles gross weight LOL), or require any purchaser to spend several thousand dollars to get a 'truck' licence (LR or MR required) which also comes with other restrictions when driving it... (0.02 BAL limit for example- no alcohol for you...)- plus it means that EVERY person driving it needs that truck licence.... no 'driving down to get a loaf of bread' for you unless you have it....

View attachment 60510
https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/payload-limits-ram-1500-towing-capacity-114369/

People soon soured on them- despite their 4.5t towing capacity ('eats utes for breakfast' ads on TV lol) owners quickly found out that they couldn't in fact handle heavier loads than the usual Aussie utes... coupled with their high price (you could buy two Hiluxes for the price of a single Ram) and poor fuel economy made them a poor choice indeed- hence why so many have multiple owners in only a few years...
30 sec 'eats utes for breakfast' ad

They should have eaten less utes and gone on a diet PMSL

I actually recently purchased a Toyota Tacoma, base model "access cab". I've no need for four doors in my truck. This one has a 73" bed and fits in my garage.

 

[bruto]

I understand why they do it. That is hardly a secret. Road maintenance is paid for by gas taxes.

I just wonder how often those with access to red dye diesel sneak it into their trucks. Seriously, how would the authorities know? Seems to me that unless you snake some kind of dipstick into the tank they wouldn't. What am I missing?

I think it's pretty easy to check in the tank. I have heard also that some red fuel might have UV dye in it, allowing it to be detected by traces, leakage, etc. without going into the tank. The red is conspicuous. From what I've read, they usually just stick a tube or straw into the tank and pull out some fuel. It's legal for cops or MV inspectors to do this. I think at truck inspections and the like it may not be all that uncommon, and the penalties are severe enough that few if any trucking companies will try it. Farmers sometimes will, and there are some ambiguities if the delivery of fuel gets any cross contamination. I never had a diesel car checked, though.

 

[EHocking]

It's really hard for me to respond since we use the imperial system. Diesel is usually more expensive than regular gasoline here, but often it's not. And the diesel vehicles are usually much more fuel efficient. They tow a bigger load as well.

The difference b/w Oz and Yank prices is.mostly down to taxes. Much higher proportion of Oz cost is tax,

International Price Comparisons | Australian Institute of Petroleum

www.aip.com.au

 

[acbytesla]

The difference b/w Oz and Yank prices is.mostly down to taxes. Much higher proportion of Oz cost is tax,

International Price Comparisons | Australian Institute of Petroleum

www.aip.com.au

View attachment 60539

Thank you for providing this. I kind of knew this anyway. My State of Washington has some of the highest gas taxes in the US. Especially since they lowered the license fees. (Essentially, they made the tax system more regressive. Yearly license tabs use to be based on the value of the vehicle value. So if you drove a Ferrari worth a million dollars your license tab could be as much as $5,000 per year. Now it's a flat fee. You pay the same amount whether it's worth a million or if it is a junker worth a $1000. So the state raised the gas taxes to make up for the shortage this caused.

 

[novaphile]

Coloured fuel was an issue with railways and other organisations too.

I can't remember the colours, but I used to purchase fuel dye for Woomera.
(Alongside the fuel I was buying).

(We had large diesel tanks and also avtur and avgas tanks for the airport.)

 

[Dabop]

I actually recently purchased a Toyota Tacoma, base model "access cab". I've no need for four doors in my truck. This one has a 73" bed and fits in my garage.

My Hilux here is a single cab, there is the Space Cab, but the most common is the Crew Cab

My singlecab...


Mates Spacecab... (popular with a lot of the tradies as they can lock tools in the cab behind the seats, but you lose tray/tub length in the process)

 

[Dabop]

The difference b/w Oz and Yank prices is.mostly down to taxes. Much higher proportion of Oz cost is tax,

International Price Comparisons | Australian Institute of Petroleum

www.aip.com.au

View attachment 60539

I was driving when they introduced the 'road tax' on fuel back in the eighties, it was originally separated from general tax revenues and designed to fund road repairs and upgrades ONLY...... (it paid for the east coast highway as well as many other roads, it was actually good to see roads at the time being improved- these days.... not so much...)
Anyone else remember 3x3???
3 cents a litre, for three years....


These days I wonder how much actually still goes into that purpose (plus Howard introduced the GST which effectively 'double dipped' fuel for tax)

 

[The Don]

Anything bigger than that, we use a trailer...

What a sensible approach. That way you don't end up driving a far larger vehicle 95% of the time when every once in a while you have a large load to haul.

Except it's rarely about utility, it's usually about projecting an image.

 

[TomB]

My SO is significantly bigger and stronger than me ....

Not a direct response to you. More directed towards the quote from Rolfe.

It doesn't actually take that much arm strength to loosen or tighten lug nuts, as long as you are in fairly good health. Squat, hold the wrench with your hands and stand up, using your legs to break the nut free. If a healthy adult of either sex can't break it free, find a new tire shop because they overtightened them. (Usually only supposed to be around 100 foot pounds.) Same technique can be used for the final torque.

The hard part is getting the spare in place.

I get a little annoyed with the idea that women can't change a tire. I made my daughter do it in drivers ed. (Something that should be part of the drivers ed class.) She can do it and she's pretty small. Of course, when she had a flat last week and her husband was at a job site, she called me to change it. Not because she can't, but because she won't.

 

[TomB]

You guys have been talking about electric pickup trucks, but no one has mentioned the Rivian. There seem to be quite a few around here. Maybe because they are made nearby.

Anyway, they seem to be well built and look good (unlike the cybertruck) although they are kind of expensive. My understanding is that they are built with both luxury and off-road use in mind. Bed is still to short for the trebuchet, but you can get more space with the tailgate down.

 

[TomB]

What a sensible approach. That way you don't end up driving a far larger vehicle 95% of the time when every once in a while you have a large load to haul.

Except it's rarely about utility, it's usually about projecting an image.

To be fair, car choice is also about projecting an image. That's the major selling point for BMW/Mercedes/Lexus/Porsche etc. in the U.S. I think truck owners are kind of overly singled out in this regard.

Most families have two vehicles (one for each adult). A lot of the time one will be a large suv or pickup and the other a smaller car, which is a practical consideration. The pickup or suv addresses the maximum need for hauling, towing, or transporting the softball team. The second car has more flexible requirements.

Different people have different needs, and you can't tell what those are without knowing the people.

If you have a large boat, like the ones I used to have to pull for work, you might want something sturdier than an F-150. It'll make towing a lot more pleasant.

Or a camper. My parents had a 27' camper they pulled with a suburban. I killed my Explorer pulling it here. (It was old...transmission blew seal, but was pulling it fine.) My coworker pulled it the rest of the way home for me with his brand new Dodge Ram, which could barely pull it at all. (Seriously, the 6-cylinder Ford had less trouble than the V-8 Hemi. I think it was because of the transmission gear ratios in the towing package.)

I used to play bass in a band. If I still did, I would have bought something bigger than what I drive now (2024 Trax) because I would need the space to haul amps and stuff for gigs.

My daughter has a Jeep Compass, but is looking for something bigger because it's too small for her, her husband, their two kids and two dogs. Also, they would like to pull a popup camper.

Anyway, given that most of us cannot afford a fleet and it's really not that simple to just rent a tow vehicle when needed, people buy to their maximum need. Which might be different than your maximum need. People buying big trucks are no more "projecting an image" or "compensating" than the people who buy BMWs. Or for that matter the people around the corner who had Smart Cars.

 

[dirtywick]

i agree, i have a truck because i want 4 wheel drive and a bed, things i need frequently enough, and it’s the vehicle i take to work and back. plus there’s just not a lot of used small trucks available. unless you’re willing to go to some lengths to track one down, you’re kind of at the mercy of what they’ve got at the lot when you’re buying.