I just doubled my mpg's

Thu May 19, 2011 7:21 pm by socks

I sold my old S-10 today. It had 236k miles on it and got 19mpg. I know because it fell 1mpg short of the cash for clunkers program. Somehow I never get my share of the governments money, but that's another story.

I will likely be buying a Fiesta tomorrow. It gets 38mpg according to Ford.

This made me wonder exactly how much buffer there is in the system? Of course, we'll never realize all the buffer that is there because stubborn people would rather complain about problems than look for solutions, but if people were to try, how much room could they find? between downsizing their vehicle/ upsizing their mpg's, and traveling less, and riding bikes more... maybe we could put off a collapse for a couple of years. And every year of additional prep time is fine with me. Strangely enough, the guy I sold the truck to was PO aware. He was trying to downsize from his large work truck, although he still talked himself into buying my truck when he found out the gas mileage improvement was minimal.

Next week I will be heading back westward to finish my doomstead. In a similar vein, the doomstead will be a downsized living environment. I'm planning on taking some videos to show what I've done to maximize living space while minimizing energy usage. Maybe I'll get some ideas on how to do things better.

John

Thu May 19, 2011 10:15 pm by EWHM

There's a terrific amount of such waste in the system in the US. Besides upgrading the efficiency of vehicles themselves, most cars are 4x as efficient when you carry 4 people in them. I'm predicting a lot more carpooling and a lot of bulldozing of the legal barriers to lubricating it with automated payments as the average price per gallon goes past 5 dollars in the US. Also, once you get to a certain critical mass of such lubricated carpooling, the idea of going without a car becomes more appealing for folks on the margin---and cars are a huge chunk of the average person's budget, between depreciation, interest, insurance, maintenance, fuel, and the like.

Thu May 19, 2011 10:54 pm by SpockLives

EWHM wrote:There's a terrific amount of such waste in the system in the US. Besides upgrading the efficiency of vehicles themselves, most cars are 4x as efficient when you carry 4 people in them. I'm predicting a lot more carpooling and a lot of bulldozing of the legal barriers to lubricating it with automated payments as the average price per gallon goes past 5 dollars in the US. Also, once you get to a certain critical mass of such lubricated carpooling, the idea of going without a car becomes more appealing for folks on the margin---and cars are a huge chunk of the average person's budget, between depreciation, interest, insurance, maintenance, fuel, and the like.

Second that. Cars are a cash sink like nobodies business. If you can do without, do without. If you can't, stay cheap, pay cash, and park it as often as you can. Someplace free, like your driveway or on the street. And then walk, carpool, take public transit, ride a bike, etc etc.

Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:09 pm by hutoftung

Great to think that, but perhaps there isn't as much as you think. Hard to fit my tools and some materials in a Prius. Believe me, I've tried to work off the back of a bicycle, and it doesn't work well.

So I end up driving the van to work every day, because I never know what tools I'll need or where I'll be during the day. And then sometimes I can't swap vehicles for where I need to be at night, so I drive the van there, too. Can't afford another car, alas, even if I could afford to buy one I'd have to pay through the nose for taxes and insurance. So burning lots of gas driving the van around it is.

Thu Jun 02, 2011 5:06 am by hillwalker

hutoftung wrote:Great to think that, but perhaps there isn't as much as you think. Hard to fit my tools and some materials in a Prius. Believe me, I've tried to work off the back of a bicycle, and it doesn't work well.

So I end up driving the van to work every day, because I never know what tools I'll need or where I'll be during the day. And then sometimes I can't swap vehicles for where I need to be at night, so I drive the van there, too. Can't afford another car, alas, even if I could afford to buy one I'd have to pay through the nose for taxes and insurance. So burning lots of gas driving the van around it is.

I pack a LOT of tools and materials in my prius. It's roomier than you think. Not easy to find a cheap one though, I got lucky
and bought used when the gas price was down and everyone was in a full panic about being too stupid not get off the gas pedal.

I wish I had pics, but I once shoved a 10' kitchen counter in there along with my chopsaw and bags of handtools once. Still had room to
shut the hatch.

never regretted it.

in the mid-80s, when I was in germany, Lots of trades folks used bicycles with trailers to move their tools and some materials from home
to the worksite, others used mopeds. Some drove small stuff. Hell Japan was BUILT with J-trucks small enough to fit into a standard tradesmans
pickup over here.

Please don't take this as criticism, not meant to be. But sometimes necessity is the mother of invention, or more succinctly,
"necessity is a mother!"

Thu Jun 02, 2011 5:14 pm by hutoftung

I've got a picture somewhere of me getting off the local commuter train after finishing up a job without the van. I had a camping backpack full of tools and junk, with my sliding compound miter saw strapped to the back. Yeah, I know you can do a LOT without a van.

But when you literally have a van full of tools that all have to be there every day (and others at home which you add in when necessary) plus materials you need on hand every day, plus 4x8 sheet goods, you can't do it in a Prius or even a Subaru. I couldn't even do it in an extended cab and extended bed pickup truck.

Yeah, we'll figure out a way to do stuff eventually, but until they allow me to pull my van around with a team of mules, I have to power it with gas.

Fri Jun 03, 2011 5:05 am by hillwalker

hutoftung wrote:I've got a picture somewhere of me getting off the local commuter train after finishing up a job without the van. I had a camping backpack full of tools and junk, with my sliding compound miter saw strapped to the back. Yeah, I know you can do a LOT without a van.

But when you literally have a van full of tools that all have to be there every day (and others at home which you add in when necessary) plus materials you need on hand every day, plus 4x8 sheet goods, you can't do it in a Prius or even a Subaru. I couldn't even do it in an extended cab and extended bed pickup truck.

Yeah, we'll figure out a way to do stuff eventually, but until they allow me to pull my van around with a team of mules, I have to power it with gas.

Yeah, true enough. Can't move 4x8 sheet material around in it. I have moved 3x8 steel roofing though, was pretty sketchy.

However, when you are moving your tools around with a muleteam, then 4x8 sheet material will have fallen out of fashion, so be of good cheer!

I just doubled my mpg's

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