NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???

Inevitably gas prices will fall at some point. So if you intend to keep it for a while then that will not be so much of a factor.

You could buy the SUV and convert it to biodiesel. It's about $800 for a regular car, it might be the same for an SUV. And then add a bumper sticker: THE BIODIESEL SUV

At that price, as long as its in good shape, you'd be hard to pass it up.
Is it a 4x4? For most of what you say that you want to do with it, you'd be better off it it wasn't.

I'm much more of a chevy man, but I'd get one at that price.

At that price, as long as its in good shape, you'd be hard to pass it up.
Is it a 4x4? For most of what you say that you want to do with it, you'd be better off it it wasn't.

I'm much more of a chevy man, but I'd get one at that price.
My thoughts exactly. No, I don't think it's 4 X 4.

Sounds to me like you intend to use the SUV in exactly the way I think they should be used - in instances where you could not use a smaller vehicle. If you are using it for towing and trailers and using a car with better mileage for most of your travels, it sounds like a good deal to me.

It's the people that drive Hummers on a daily basis that I don't get.

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???

Be careful when driving it around a gentle curve...

Sounds to me like you intend to use the SUV in exactly the way I think they should be used - in instances where you could not use a smaller vehicle. If you are using it for towing and trailers and using a car with better mileage for most of your travels, it sounds like a good deal to me.

It's the people that drive Hummers on a daily basis that I don't get.
That's the same way I feel. I would love to own a Hummer, but I would have to get a loan to buy even a used one and the probability of that approaches zero as a limit. :(

Be careful when driving it around a gentle curve...
Oh? Say more, please.

Oh? Say more, please.
I think he's poking fun at the tendency of SUVs to roll.

Oh? Say more, please.

cus you'll be saying 'Oh shit!'. I'm not kidding...or am I?

I think he's poking fun at the tendency of SUVs to roll.
Ah! Alll righty then! :)

I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

You could just buy a Geo Metro and saw the top off of it.

You could just buy a Geo Metro and saw the top off of it.

They make convertable metros, just have to look to find one.

The reason that, SUVs roll is that idoits try to drive them like sports cars. There are just to many people out there that don't know how to drive.

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???

Buy it. And drive it alot. Do your part to create new Katrinas. That was darn funny to watch.

Inevitably gas prices will fall at some point. So if you intend to keep it for a while then that will not be so much of a factor.

In the short term gas prices may fall, in the long term, what with declining supply, environmental concerns and middle east instability they are going to go up and up.

You ain't seen nothing yet :)

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???
I fail to see why you need an SUV, especially not the "largest on the planet". I am really holding back from ranting, because as a cyclist I have a visceral hatred for SUVs. My counsel is a firm No. You don't need a monster to pull a trailer.

i say buy it and then sell it, make a little profet and buy a small truck, they get good gas mileage and they can tow pritty well too... or you could be like a friend of mine and buy an old car- she has a 29 model A- it drives really well gets good gas mileage- up keep is cheep too!

you have no need for the biggest SUV on the planet. buy a truck big enough to tow what you have NOW and worry about the travel trailers etc when you actually get them.

I fail to see why you need an SUV, especially not the "largest on the planet". I am really holding back from ranting, because as a cyclist I have a visceral hatred for SUVs. My counsel is a firm No. You don't need a monster to pull a trailer.
But what if the price of the monster is really, really good, and you're only going to let it out when truly needed?

I have a bicycle too, but riding it is apparently detrimental to my health! :(

you have no need for the biggest SUV on the planet. buy a truck big enough to tow what you have NOW and worry about the travel trailers etc when you actually get them.
I can't afford to pay much more than $5,000 for a vehicle. I can't borrow anything. Given those facts, this seems like too good a deal to pass up. The fact that it's a massive SUV ( the Hummer is the biggest ) only affects the decision if I elect to not buy. :(

Here's what Consumer Reports has to say:

The enormous Excursion was introduced for 2000. Derived from the Ford "SuperDuty" pickup-truck chassis, the Excursion offers V8, V8 turbodiesel, and V10 engines. The V10 we tested delivered just adequate oomph, but it slurped down more than a gallon of fuel while covering just 10 miles of mixed-road driving. The ride is stiff, bouncy, and uncomfortable. The Excursion's vast bulk makes it difficult to hold in a traffic lane, and its slow and vague steering demands constant attention. The brakes are inferior. A huge interior, a commanding view out, roomy three-row seating, and tremendous towing capacity are among this model's few virtues.

The reliability ratings for the 2000 year are more red than black, so that's good. The worst reliability is in the power equipment and brakes, the best ratings are in the mechanical systems and body. Sounds like a good buy. Get a CarFax, though.

Here's what Consumer Reports has to say:

The reliability ratings for the 2000 year are more red than black, so that's good. The worst reliability is in the power equipment and brakes, the best ratings are in the mechanical systems and body. Sounds like a good buy. Get a CarFax, though.
Thanks. I will, although my son knows the doctor who is selling it, and she has told him that he is free to take the vehicle to a mechanic before we buy it.

I can't afford to pay much more than $5,000 for a vehicle. I can't borrow anything. Given those facts, this seems like too good a deal to pass up. The fact that it's a massive SUV ( the Hummer is the biggest ) only affects the decision if I elect to not buy. :(

If its just a part time use vehical, go you could go older as well. I have a 80 dodge heavy half, fulltime 4x4. Its in relitively good shape ( almost no rust) but does have some personality marks (dents). I use it for hunting, helping out in the fields during harvest and planting, and when I have to get around during an Iowa winter.

I've had the truck for 8 years now. Including 4 new tires, shocks, tune up and minor repairs, the truck has cost is less than $2500 in all this time. I'm a mechaninc and do almost all my work myself, so that helps. Insurance on older trucks is dirt cheap too, and they don't depreciate like newer vehicals do.

Thanks. I will, although my son knows the doctor who is selling it, and she has told him that he is free to take the vehicle to a mechanic before we buy it.
Personal experience with the car is a lot better than the CarFax. All in all, the reliability reports from C/R are better than I expected from the debut year. I guess it's because Ford just put some new sheet metal around one of their trucks.

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???

buy it, sell then sell it for fiar market value --then(and I live in Detroit so I know how bad this sounds)
Purchase a more fuel effcient Foreign SUV.
The big Three SUCK literally on fuel economy.

Fuel will always steadily rise, brief superficial drops do not mean much when you are talking 10 miles to the gallon--and that is good.

Hell buy an Old Diesel and the Home BioDiesel fuel kits and make your fecking Green Gas.
That over priced tank you are getting such a good deal on could finance that idea.

I know the idea of Luxury sounds good though...

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???

Assuming it's well-maintained and mechanically sound, I would buy it at that price only if it was a low annual mileage proposition - I think the high gas prices are here to stay. It does make a good travel trailer towing machine though, especially if the trailers are heavy.

Gas mileage is not critical if it's getting mostly local use and low annual mileage.

Using the following assumptions: 5,000 miles per year over a 5-year vehicle life at $3.50 per gallon

Ford will cost you $8750 in gas

Toyota pickup getting 20 miles per gallon will cost you $4375 in gas

Using those assumptions you might pay $4375 more for a vehicle getting twice the gas mileage, thereby owning a newer vehicle with less use and a longer lifespan. The fuel cost differential is spread out over 5 years, though, and that could affect your purchase decision.

Don't beat me up too bad on the assumptions, they're just there for comparison purposes. Plug your own best guess future gas prices into the equation and see how it works out.

I just took one out of the fleet, a Suburban getting 13 mpg, and replaced it with another model getting 27 mpg. I figure it will save me at least $2,000 per year over 5 years. I'm still running the Sub, but just for local use - a few thousand miles a year

The bio-diesel is a nice idea, but financially impractical. You've got to replace the engine and you're looking at spending as much as you're paying for the vehicle unless you can do the work yourself. Then you have to pay a lot to set up the bio-diesel, up to several thousand if you want to make your own - it can't be purchased in most areas.

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

Forget it. If it was under 60,000 miles or so maybe.
P.S. You can probably buy an Army surplus tank that wil get the same mileage for a lot less. :D

The bio-diesel is a nice idea, but financially impractical. You've got to replace the engine and you're looking at spending as much as you're paying for the vehicle unless you can do the work yourself. Then you have to pay a lot to set up the bio-diesel, up to several thousand if you want to make your own - it can't be purchased in most areas.
How can you say it's so expensive to get set up for bio-diesel? The way I see it, you're just mixing vegetable oil, methanol, and lye together in rough proportions, then filtering and drying the result. For a 50 gallon/week habit, the costs for containers and materials can't be that high. I'd guess a couple hundred for the containers and less for the lye and methanol.

My question is: where do you put the glycerine after you drain it off?

How can you say it's so expensive to get set up for bio-diesel? The way I see it, you're just mixing vegetable oil, methanol, and lye together in rough proportions, then filtering and drying the result. For a 50 gallon/week habit, the costs for containers and materials can't be that high. I'd guess a couple hundred for the containers and less for the lye and methanol.

My question is: where do you put the glycerine after you drain it off?

There is more involved than just mixing the ingredients. Oil has to be heated and mixed with lye, etc. It looks like something you don't want to do every week, and it's potentially dangerous. Here is an excerpt from instructions on how to make a small batch:

"Have all the materials warm, room temperature at the coolest, 130°F at the warmest. Put on the respirator, goggles, and gloves (See Hazards! box). Place 1 fluid cup of methanol in the blender. Measure out 3.5 grams of sodium hydroxide from a new container and place it in the methanol in the blender. Put the top on the blender and blend on low speed for about five minutes. Shut off the blender. The mixture in the blender is now sodium methoxide, a strong base. Avoid getting this on anything, especially yourself.

Measure one quart of new vegetable oil and pour it into the sodium methoxide in the blender. Put the lid on (you may now take off the respirator, gloves, and goggles) and blend at low speed for a half hour. Let the mixture settle at room temperature for at least eight hours. The mixture is now composed of light-colored methyl esters (biodiesel) floating on top of heavier, darker glycerol. Using the hand pump, pump the light biodiesel off of the glycerol.

The resulting biodiesel can be used in oil-fired heating equipment or some oil lamps. Some people use biodiesel at this stage in diesel engines; I recommend washing the biodiesel (see Washing Biodiesel, below). The glycerol can be used to make soap, or it can be poured into a pan, left to dry-out for a week or so, and then put into a compost bin. Glycerol can also be burned as a fuel; see Glycerin Uses in the Resources section.

If you were not successful, make sure you follow the recipe exactly, and try again. Unsuccessful batches can show up in a variety of ways, but if you are using new oil, a batch can fail because you didn't use almost pure methanol, you used old sodium hydroxide, you did not mix the solutions long enough, or the temperature was too low. If you do not have two distinct layers in the blender, you probably did not use enough sodium hydroxide. If you have a solid white material in the blender, this is soap. Study the How-To Resources for help in figuring out what went wrong and how an unsuccessful batch may be remedied. Get comfortable making small batches before moving up to a larger batch."

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/biodiesel.html

Take a look at the link above, and perhaps you'll agree that it isn't practical to make quantities of the stuff at home except for fun or emergencies. If I had to rely on bio as my sole source of fuel I would probably want a kit to mechanize production. The first one I found was $1,995 - maybe there are less expensive ones available, but you are still looking at some tooling up before you can produce commercial-grade fuel at home.

It has to be washed, dried, and filtered to 5 microns just to be useable. There's also the matter of producing fuel that won't harm your engine and void your warranty.

here's a biodiesel kit:

http://www.nrgrev.com/biodiesel.html

Edit: Also, Eutrusca's new chariot is gasoline powered - it will need a diesel motor put in. The cost of replacing engines has to be figured in.

I think he's poking fun at the tendency of SUVs to roll.
Excursions don’t roll as easily as other SUVs. They have a truck frame, not a car frame.

There is more involved than just mixing the ingredients. Oil has to be heated and mixed with lye, etc. It looks like something you don't want to do every week, and it's potentially dangerous. Here is an excerpt from instructions on how to make a small batch:

There's some other stuff missing from those instructions, such as titrating the WVO to determine the fatty acid content. That fixes the amount of lye that is added in later steps.

I started buying it in Marietta, GA, but the quality wasn't that good. There's another small pump in Cabbagetown, but he doesn't sell regularly. That's why I'm probably going to start making my own. I can get more WVO from a diner down the street than I can ever convert.

The guy in Cabbagetown does run a class for folks that are interested in biodiesel. I've taken the class and am confident that I can make biodiesel in my barn. 55 gallon drums are about all that's required to collect, mix, wash and store the stuff. Not that expensive, either. Look at this tutorial (http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/gettingstarted/) for a low-tech solution.

Ok ... I have a chance to buy a Ford Excursion, which is one of the largest SUVs on the planet. It's a model-year 2000, Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles and under 100,000 miles, with a ten-cylinder engine. ***GULP***

The price to me will be $5,000. I will probably be able to pay cash, so no interest, etc. I know the gas mileage will be atrocious, but I only intend to use it for towing an assortment of trailers: an emergency medical trailer for use when I have the opportunity to help with things like Katrina ( use to be an Army medic for awhile, plus a National EMT Certification ]; a trailer for carrying a lawnmower to cut all my kids' lawns; and perhaps later, a travel trailer so I can visit some places I've wanted to visit for years.

For driving short distances, and for visiting friends, I intend to buy a small, good-gas-milage convertible and fix it up.

So ... what do you think? Got any advice on this???

I don't know a lot about cars, but here's my take...

1. V10? Are you serious? I know you don't plan to use it much, and it isn't a bad price, but I might seriously consider looking around for a V8 unless it's an immedeate need situation.

2. You say it has under 100,000 miles, but how much under? If it's anywhere above say 75-80k, I would probably look for something else. That's a lot of miles on a vehicle in under five years. I guess it depends on what kind of driving it was being used for, but again, I'd probably keep looking.

3. I agree with an earlier poster who said to get an import, if possible. I'm partial to the Toyota Tundra myself, but even a smaller domestic truck/suv will suffice. I generally look at both weight and towing capacity. A smaller truck can be more efficient than a monster, even if it can't tow as much.

4. Overall, I'd say get it only if it's the luxury aspect that appeals to you (those Eddie Bauer models are nice :cool: ). I obviously don't know your financial situation, and that isn't a bad price, but the mileage makes me wonder. I'm sure with a little effort you can find something that will work just as well, and even if it costs more it will probably save you money on gas over the long term.

But hey, I'm just throwing in my two cents... :)

There's some other stuff missing from those instructions, such as titrating the WVO to determine the fatty acid content. That fixes the amount of lye that is added in later steps.

I started buying it in Marietta, GA, but the quality wasn't that good. There's another small pump in Cabbagetown, but he doesn't sell regularly. That's why I'm probably going to start making my own. I can get more WVO from a diner down the street than I can ever convert.

The guy in Cabbagetown does run a class for folks that are interested in biodiesel. I've taken the class and am confident that I can make biodiesel in my barn. 55 gallon drums are about all that's required to collect, mix, wash and store the stuff. Not that expensive, either. Look at this tutorial (http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/gettingstarted/) for a low-tech solution.

I'm an inveterate tinkerer and home-brewer, so I could get real interested in this if I owned a diesel. Making your own plant sure makes sense, and I agree that you could make your own processing plant for way less than the price of the kit. The website I linked to earlier had instructions for titration, so I guess one could solve that problem with experience.

Even if the fuel isn't perfect, it could be blended with petro-diesel - provided everything is dried and well-filtered - and still save significant money. Just make sure to keep after the fuel filters on the truck.

How about you let us know how it goes after you make it for a while?

Buy it. And drive it alot. Do your part to create new Katrinas. That was darn funny to watch.

Holy "Ugly heads rearing themselves" Batman !

Eutrusca- I didnt see you mention passengers. This vehicle might be suitable if you NEEDED to carry 6 or more passengers on a regular basis, but if its just one or two people, this truck is way overkill.

The cost in fuel-just around town, will be prohibitive.


There will be MANY SUVs and trucks avaialble for sale as people start to fold under high fuel costs- you need more like a pickup or a pickup with an extended vcab-5 passenger max, right?

And if towing is necessary, diesel will suit you better.

I would let this offer go. I think the market will soon be FLOODED with this type of vehicle up for sale.

how many SUV/truck leases will expire soon and how many people will be jumping out of the vehicles looking for more economical rides? People that just wanted an SUV, but didnt need it?

You'll have another chance.

I can understand the utility of having a large vehicle like a Ford Excursion for emergency uses like the ones you mentioned. However, under normal circumstances, that vehicle would be rarely ever used. If a car is not used at least somewhat sporadically, you risk killing the battery and having to jump start the car.

Besides that, I would think that anyone who buys a SUV when it is not absolutely essential is making a profoundly stupid decision considering today's gas prices, even if they are going down ever so slightly.

You could just buy a Geo Metro and saw the top off of it.

Or, you can do as my Uncle is doing (has done) - buy a Metro convertable with a shit engine and drop THIS into it:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/MrMisanthrope/IMG_3803.jpghttp://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/MrMisanthrope/IMG_3799.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/MrMisanthrope/IMG_3801.jpghttp://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/MrMisanthrope/IMG_3804.jpg

Harley Davidson V-Twin Goodness.

Can you say FAST? I thought you could... :D

I'm an inveterate tinkerer and home-brewer, so I could get real interested in this if I owned a diesel. Making your own plant sure makes sense, and I agree that you could make your own processing plant for way less than the price of the kit. The website I linked to earlier had instructions for titration, so I guess one could solve that problem with experience.

Even if the fuel isn't perfect, it could be blended with petro-diesel - provided everything is dried and well-filtered - and still save significant money. Just make sure to keep after the fuel filters on the truck.

How about you let us know how it goes after you make it for a while?
I tinker at everything, too. Inadequate drying seems to be the biggest problem with commercial B100. That's something I can solve with a small hobby sized operation. Most people blend the two during the cold months to avoid gelling. I suppose an additive could prevent that, too. I'm looking at next spring for the debut of my B100 plant. That's enough time to collect the parts and work out the details with some watery 'dry-runs'.

You're right about the fuel filters. I had to change mine as often as every other tank, it seemed, after I switched to B100. At least they are easy to change in my old Benz (240D). I'd hate to deal with the tank mounted filters that I see on a lot of other cars.

If you're looking for something to experiment with, those old VW Rabbit diesels are still around. So are the 240's. They're built well and what's a couple hundred thousand miles with a diesel, anyway? You ought to hunt for one. It's kinda cool driving a car that smells like french-fries, plus you can get Alternative Fuel Certified in Georgia and use the car-pool lanes solo.

Or, you can do as my Uncle is doing (has done) - buy a Metro convertable with a shit engine and drop THIS into it:

Harley Davidson V-Twin Goodness.

Can you say FAST? I thought you could... :D
KEWL!!!! I could dig that except for the facts that I have neither time, money, equipment, nor ability to build my own. :(

I tinker at everything, too. Inadequate drying seems to be the biggest problem with commercial B100. That's something I can solve with a small hobby sized operation. Most people blend the two during the cold months to avoid gelling. I suppose an additive could prevent that, too. I'm looking at next spring for the debut of my B100 plant. That's enough time to collect the parts and work out the details with some watery 'dry-runs'.

You're right about the fuel filters. I had to change mine as often as every other tank, it seemed, after I switched to B100. At least they are easy to change in my old Benz (240D). I'd hate to deal with the tank mounted filters that I see on a lot of other cars.

If you're looking for something to experiment with, those old VW Rabbit diesels are still around. So are the 240's. They're built well and what's a couple hundred thousand miles with a diesel, anyway? You ought to hunt for one. It's kinda cool driving a car that smells like french-fries, plus you can get Alternative Fuel Certified in Georgia and use the car-pool lanes solo.

Yeah, all that makes sense. Seriously, I'm going to mull all these things over, including vehicles - 240's are neat. I also have a big old Suburban I could stick a diesel into if I felt ambitious.

It would be nice to be semi-independent of commercial fuel, and it looks practical for us tinkerer's. Maybe working with a few other people and sharing labor and cost of materials would make this more viable for some people, just an idea.

Can you get ahold of me when you get started and let me know about working out bugs in the system? I'd appreciate that. In the mean time, I'm going to do some reading and talk it over with a buddy who has been wanting to do this too.

Yeah, all that makes sense. Seriously, I'm going to mull all these things over, including vehicles - 240's are neat. I also have a big old Suburban I could stick a diesel into if I felt ambitious.

It would be nice to be semi-independent of commercial fuel, and it looks practical for us tinkerer's. Maybe working with a few other people and sharing labor and cost of materials would make this more viable for some people, just an idea.

Can you get ahold of me when you get started and let me know about working out bugs in the system? I'd appreciate that. In the mean time, I'm going to do some reading and talk it over with a buddy who has been wanting to do this too.
Co-ops are interesting. Apparently there is a big gray area in the laws regarding co-op fuel production. There was a group in Atlanta that started talking about one last year. As far as I know, they are still trying to figure out what the legal requirements are for a small plant.

As you consider a 240D, also consider that there's no such thing as a cheap Mercedes. I've fixed quite a few things on mine that would run into several thousands of dollars at a mechanic's shop. Fortunately, there are any number of on-line parts merchants that help keep the costs down.

I'll send along some pictures when I get something together. I'm tracking down some barrels this week. We seem to use a lot of them in our assembly area, so that should be an easy scrounge.

Co-ops are interesting. Apparently there is a big gray area in the laws regarding co-op fuel production. There was a group in Atlanta that started talking about one last year. As far as I know, they are still trying to figure out what the legal requirements are for a small plant.

As you consider a 240D, also consider that there's no such thing as a cheap Mercedes. I've fixed quite a few things on mine that would run into several thousands of dollars at a mechanic's shop. Fortunately, there are any number of on-line parts merchants that help keep the costs down.

I'll send along some pictures when I get something together. I'm tracking down some barrels this week. We seem to use a lot of them in our assembly area, so that should be an easy scrounge.

I surmised that government might want to be involved in fuel production. Maybe problems could be circumvented by keeping the group small and unofficial, and not selling fuel for profit? You know, a couple of guys sharing the cost? I did wonder if the government wants the taxes on the fuel, they are substantial.

Anyway, thanks for all your info - I'm going to do some reading on the topic as well. I have an email listed under my name if you want to contact me, I'll look forward to your pictures.