Shipping Tractors

[sunandsand]

Old Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times!"

We do . . .

Electric cars are coming, with electric trucks and probably electric tractors as well, not too long after.

We're going to have a mixed fleet for years. Cars get replaced comparatively quickly, ten to twelve years or so, after 20 years, most cars are in the scrap yard or up on blocks deep in the weeds. The transition to electric cars will be first. In some cases, people will have both a gas car and an electric car. The electric car is an appliance, it is a grocery-getter, the gas car will be for longer trips and weekends.

Electric (big) trucks will take longer. The range isn't there yet (key word "yet"), and big trucks have a longer service life than consumer grade cars. You'll start to see (and in fact already see) electric trucks in freight yards, for local deliveries and on predictable routes like school bus routes and inter-city transit. School buses are a great use for electric vehicles - they run twice a day and can be recharged at night when the electric rates are lower and demand is lower. Less maintenance will make ANY school board happy. (Fear not, they'll find other ways to spend our tax dollars - they might even start paying teachers a living wage!)

Tractors will take longer. As we know, there are 30 and 40 year old tractors still in use and still going (reasonably) strong. Tractor batteries are going to need some serious KWH capacity but fortunately, "weight is good" in tractors.

This is going to take some serious increases in grid capacity. I have read that if the US went electric everything tomorrow (stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters, A/C and heat, cars and other vehicles, etc.) we'd need triple the capacity that we have now. Barring suitcase size 1,000 KWH fusion power plants being sold at WalMart for $29.95, that isn't going to happen.

You and I can't break the cycle of burning fossil fuel > increasing CO2 > increasing global temperature > melting icecaps > sea lever rise all by ourselves, but we CAN each help a little. When you replace your gas stove, go electric. Same for your clothes dryer. Get a heat pump next time your A/C dies. Add solar cells on your roof. Add a little insulation to your home and get double pane windows - these are little things which get done on the normal replacement cycles. If you have enough ants you can eat an elephant.

Yes, a lot of electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, but the long term trend is towards nuclear and renewables. We still need oil and gas, but not to burn them, we need them for plastics, chemicals and fertilizers.

Another advantage is that electric rates are regulated by various public utility commissions, and they don't like rate increases and surcharges at all. Consequently, electric rates are much more stable than oil (hence gas) prices.

We may not be real happy with the way things are going, but that doesn't mean we can't use our heads and adapt to conditions we can't change. We've been through worse.

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Hay Dude]

I think its time we re-examine concentrating on plans for massive green new deal expenditures and focus on what is happening with the dollar petro/dollar, inflation, wars and nations who are trying to do us harm.
We may be headed for a crash the likes of we have never seen

 

[IndyJay]

AKA the great reset...

 

[sunandsand]

I have two good friends who INSIST there's going to be a revolution real soon now.

They are not particularly specific about who or what they are revolting against, in fact, they are downright vague and say things like "the establishment" or "the deep state" or "them", none of which they define.

I also have not heard anything about what happens after this inevitable revolution (or impending "storm").

Who is going to keep the electricity on? Who will keep GPS working? How about the internet? Who will be refining gasoline, jet A and diesel? What will we use for money? What happens to violent criminals who are in prison? Do we let them go? If not, who becomes responsible for keeping them there? What about private property (land, houses, businesses, cars, tractors)? Will we be one country, or six, or fifty (or more) or will we get total anarchy? What happens if China (or whoever) realizes that the United States isn't united any more and can't or won't defend itself? Who gets the army/navy/air force/nukes, etc.?

Do we get a democracy, or a totalitarian dictatorship, or does everyone become a survivalist and head for the hills with a rifle and as much ammo and as many MREs as they can carry? Do we get a Mad Max scenario? Is there a "shadow" government waiting in the wings and prepared to take over when the present government is deposed? (Answer - nope.)

Sure, there's a lot of dissatisfaction with all the stuff that is going on here and in the rest of the world, and a lot of it is justified. Throwing it all away ("baby out with the bath water") isn't the solution. We have a complex and highly interconnected/interdependent society, and it is also pretty resilient.

Get involved with your local government. Attend city commission meetings (yes, they're mostly boring, but that's how you know what's going on in town). Pay attention to state politics, a little less to national politics because the government WE can affect is our local government. Get educated as to the real issues (in other words, forget facebook and twitter), get on local boards and committees, and most of all VOTE! That's how we change governments. If you're really, really unhappy with the choice of candidates, run for office yourself.

Bitching about everything cures nothing, it makes people avoid you because you become unpleasant to be around, and it gives you ulcers. Get out and VOTE - your vote counts!

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[OzarkChris]

Maybe you missed the fact that production increased in 2021 and is increasing even more in 2022?

I think what you might be missing is that the increase in 21 and so far in 22 still hasn't gotten to the production levels achieved in 20.

<--- As he drags his soapbox out in the forum and stands on it


When it comes to electric this & that I believe that all this garbage must mostly be seen through big city folk eyes. Those of us in rural America will, once again, be screwed by these so called advances. For example, when I go to see my doctor, I have to travel close to 250 miles (248.6 miles round trip). Electric cars are not currently capable of making this round trip without a charge. Maybe some of the new "smartcar sized" vehicles may be able to make this trip without charging; however, show me one of these sized vehicles that will A) hold 4 adults, 2 service dogs and a 500# electric wheelchair. B) be able to hold up going a minimum of 20 miles/trip on poorly maintained gravel roads - usually the tires on these vehicles will go flat when you hit a small pothole. C) not cost more than my house when including a "super fast" charger.

Of course there are other real concerns when it comes to "Green Energy" that proponents refuse to answer - typically they dodge or deflect questions.

Real questions like A) Why is it justifiable to poison the earth with the extremely toxic waste produced by the solar panel manufacturing process? B) Why is it justifiable to have the rare earth minerals (neodymium and dysprosium) necessary for green vehicles & wind turbines to be 80% (globally) supplied by China (or 90% of the silicone chips used in PV's)? Doesn't this appear to put us in an even worse place than getting 10-15% of our oil from Russia? C) what about the disposal of PV'S, is it OK to poison the earth because it's "Green"? D) Why is it okay for wind turbine farms to kill birds (including many bald eagles) when if I "accidentally" hit/kill a bald eagle I could go to jail & have a huge fine? Why aren't all of the animal activists jumping up & down and litigating every wind farm operator for these deaths? Is it because it's "Green"?

I could go on, but if you look at my posts here and in other posts you can find numerous other questions.

The point I'm trying to make is that the "rules" don't seem to apply to the Green Energy folks, but let a fossil fuel company exec get caught scratching his privates, and we have to create new regulations to punish them.

I'm really doing my best to not get "really" political; however, some may find my opinions/experiences political, for this I do apologize.

<--- He carefully gets off the soapbox and puts it away until the next time it's needed.

 

[richriddle]

The thread has gone entirely sideways. This thread was meant to discuss the high rates offered for shipping, nothing more. Please take your political, policy, etc. discussions elsewhere.

 

[IndyJay]

I think what you might be missing is that the increase in 21 and so far in 22 still hasn't gotten to the production levels achieved in 20.

<--- As he drags his soapbox out in the forum and stands on it


When it comes to electric this & that I believe that all this garbage must mostly be seen through big city folk. Those of us in rural America will, once again, be screwed by these so called advances. For example, when I go to see my doctor, I have to travel close to 250 miles (248.6 miles round trip). Electric cars are not currently capable of making this round trip without a charge. Maybe some of the new "smartcar sized" vehicles may be able to make this trip without charging; however, show me one of these sized vehicles that will A) hold 4 adults, 2 service dogs and a 500# electric wheelchair. B) be able to hold up going a minimum of 20 miles/trip on poorly maintained gravel roads - usually the tires on these vehicles will go flat when you hit a small pothole. C) not cost more than my house when including a "super fast" charger.

Of course there are other real concerns when it comes to "Green Energy" that proponents refuse to answer - typically they dodge or deflect questions.

Real questions like A) Why is it justifiable to poison the earth with the extremely toxic waste produced by the solar panel manufacturing process? B) Why is it justifiable to have the rare earth minerals (neodymium and dysprosium) necessary for green vehicles & wind turbines to be 80% (globally) supplied by China (or 90% of the silicone chips used in PV's)? Doesn't this appear to put us in an even worse place than getting 10-15% of our oil from Russia? C) what about the disposal of PV'S, is it OK to poison the earth because it's "Green"? D) Why is it okay for wind turbine farms to kill birds (including many bald eagles) when if I "accidentally" hit/kill a bald eagle I could go to jail & have a huge fine? Why aren't all of the animal activists jumping up & down and litigating every wind farm operator for these deaths? Is it because it's "Green"?

I could go on, but if you look at my posts here and in other posts you can find numerous other questions.

The point I'm trying to make is that the "rules" don't seem to apply to the Green Energy folks, but let a fossil fuel company exec get caught scratching his privates, and we have to create new regulations to punish them.

I'm really doing my best to not get "really" political; however, some may find my opinions/experiences political, for this I do apologize.

<--- He carefully gets off the soapbox and puts it away until the next time it's needed.

To paraphrase Animal Farm... "Some environmental disasters are more greener than others.."

 

[Reddogs]

We are being hosed by inflation and an out of control federal reserve policies

We will just have to 'hose' them out at the midterm elections, it seems the only thing they understand...

 

[IndyJay]

The thread has gone entirely sideways. This thread was meant to discuss the high rates offered for shipping, nothing more. Please take your political, policy, etc. discussions elsewhere.

Yep, because I've never had a conversation on any topic (virtual or in person) that didn't stray outside the strict lines of my question.

The original topic was fully discussed. There were also ideas and opinions expressed as to why we have high shipping rates.That is what I like about this forum, you get a broad range of discussion about a topic rather than just simple answer without context as to "why" and how to prevent the problem being discussed.

When researching a specific topic looking for a very basic answer I usually turn to Duck Duck Go but the results are not unlike this thread. A few solid hits that are exactly the answer that I was looking for interspersed with a bunch of non-relevant links. I usually skip past those without getting too upset about it.

 

[Hay Dude]

The thread has gone entirely sideways. This thread was meant to discuss the high rates offered for shipping, nothing more. Please take your political, policy, etc. discussions elsewhere.

See heres where I disagree. Politics? Yeah ok we can try to refrain from discussing.
But POLICY is different. Its not necessarily politics. It affects us ALL in almost everything we do.
An example would be DST bill passed in Senate. That is POLICY. It affects us all in some way, especially those of us who work outside, which I would say 99% of those of us here are doing.

 

[mred2]

On DST, could we all just get up and go to work when we want to, without someone telling us to.
I love the quote on facebook, by a native American, "Only a white man would cut the bottom of a blanket off, sew it back to the top, and call the blanket longer."

 

[sunandsand]

Another Native American quote:

"White man cut holes in wall to let in the light and the air, then put windows in holes to keep out the air, then put curtains on windows to keep out the light."


Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[OzarkChris]

On DST, could we all just get up and go to work when we want to, without someone telling us to.

For me it isn't "someone" but "something" that gets me up every day. Hint, they Moo.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Another Native American quote:

"White man cut holes in wall to let in the light and the air, then put windows in holes to keep out the air, then put curtains on windows to keep out the light."


Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

"Teepee have slit to get inside and hole in top to let smoke out."

 

[dirttoys]

Clean water regulations have been with us since the 1970s and stars have been enforcing them since then. Oil companies and everyone else that are regulated under those permits are getting the permits as SOP and it has no effect on stopping operations. States have lists of “best management practices” for different activities and the industry is used to compliance. Permits are issued and operations continue. We deal with those in the forestry industry also. Clean water is a good idea.

First time I have heard an "epa" guy called a star

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

What you stated was true at one time. It is still true to some extent but now the term "hot shot" is more often used to name a dually pick up with a gooseneck trailer that runs lighter loads then a semi truck.

Must depend upon the industry as we've used Hot Shot delivery services for years and never had the need for a dually with a gooseneck trailer. Most of our Hot Shot deliveries are hand carried to a waiting vehicle, typically things like governors, control boards, speed probes etc. When production was running making several hundred thousand dollars an hour they'll spend whatever it takes to get back up and running. We've had private jets waiting on technicians if that's what it took to get back up and running as soon as possible,.

 

[Muhammad]

It has been accurately said that low supply and high demand are the cause of inflation.
But one has to dig more to find out why.
For those who believe that it is Big Oil and their shareholders holding back, I would challenge you to read this.


I blue board member just shot down his own parties' nomination for the Fed. Reserve board and now refuses to vote on another nominee. The reasoning was in regards to gas and oil. Read it yourself. I suspect he forgot more then we collectively know about it. Again, it is about policies not politics that is being discussed as the players in this article are all blue.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-manchin-sinks-bidens-anti-fossil-fuel-fed-nominee

Quote:
The West Virginia Democrat went one step further, withholding the nomination of an Interior Department nominee until the Biden administration committed to more oil and gas drilling. Manchin has also blasted the Biden administration and several officials publicly for not doing enough to stimulate oil and gas development.

Please take the political discussion to the front porch: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/the-front-porch/

Politics aren't allowed in the main forums. Thanks.

 

[JethroB]

Must depend upon the industry as we've used Hot Shot delivery services for years and never had the need for a dually with a gooseneck trailer. Most of our Hot Shot deliveries are hand carried to a waiting vehicle, typically things like governors, control boards, speed probes etc. When production was running making several hundred thousand dollars an hour they'll spend whatever it takes to get back up and running. We've had private jets waiting on technicians if that's what it took to get back up and running as soon as possible,.

I remember when IBM would use a taxi cab as sort of a hotshot. Fly a part to Birmingham AL where a taxi was waiting to run the last hundred miles to the boonies. This was before FedEx or Purolator and the like served rural areas well. IIRC, a 100MB disk drive weighed 90 lbs.

 

[deezler]

LOL at y'all arguing about pipelines and oil supply. [ puts on flame suit ]

Consider: Oil and energy prices should be higher. Like, way, way higher. Cheap energy prices is perhaps the single worst part of the history of human existence on this planet.

Wah wah wah about your diesel fuel prices. So raise your price quotes if you need to. If your goods or services are essential, people will pay the surcharge. If they aren't, then good riddance to your superfluous consumption of earth's finite resources; find something more productive and necessary to do.

If gas/diesel prices doubled overnight, we would still drive to work, drive to get groceries, pay more for our food and goods, and run our tractors. Yes, it would hurt, and I understand how regressive this is for our impoverished and low income compatriots. But everyone commenting in this forum has such an insanely high standard of living, it's crazy. And clearly unsustainable for the planet. Reducing consumption is our only chance at saving this place.

 

[jyoutz]

It has been accurately said that low supply and high demand are the cause of inflation.
But one has to dig more to find out why.
For those who believe that it is Big Oil and their shareholders holding back, I would challenge you to read this.


I blue board member just shot down his own parties' nomination for the Fed. Reserve board and now refuses to vote on another nominee. The reasoning was in regards to gas and oil. Read it yourself. I suspect he forgot more then we collectively know about it. Again, it is about policies not politics that is being discussed as the players in this article are all blue.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-manchin-sinks-bidens-anti-fossil-fuel-fed-nominee

Quote:
The West Virginia Democrat went one step further, withholding the nomination of an Interior Department nominee until the Biden administration committed to more oil and gas drilling. Manchin has also blasted the Biden administration and several officials publicly for not doing enough to stimulate oil and gas development.

What Is Holding U.S. Oil Production Back?

Despite oil prices sitting well above the $100 mark and President Biden calling for more oil, U.S. producers are not opening the taps in the same way they did years ago

finance.yahoo.com