Pearls O' Wisdom

WVO or SVO Run Vegetable Oil Complete Kit Ready To Go

2008-06-25T17:41:00Z

I received several emails about this whole vegetable oil thing for diesel trucks. From the corrections department, yes you can use vegetable oil legally on the public roads. You have to pay the fuel taxes to do so legally. You can even purchase the oil that has been filtered and has the fuel taxes included in the price.

I've also discovered that American Tank has been selling these fuel systems for ten years. They are not in the catalog or listed on the web site. It makes one wonder what marketing genius came up with the idea of keeping your product a secret as a sales tool. Here is some information about one of their systems:

Enhance the appearance and usability of your vehicle while saving a little money with an auxiliary vegetable oil fuel system from American Tank. Vegetable oil can be used as fuel for diesel powered trucks if you use the proper oil that has been properly filtered. You must use 98% non hydrogenated oil that has never been used to fry meat. The oil should not have been used to fry battered foods. The oil most be processed to remove any solid wastes, water, and any hydrogenated oil. Your WVO, SVO, or bio diesel fuel system will need a heater mounted inside the auxiliary tank to heat the oil so that it can flow through the fuel system.

American's auxiliary fuel tanks are constructed of .125 inch 3003 marine grade diamond plate aluminum with a brightly polished finish. This vegetable oil tank features a built in Hot Fox fuel heater and sending unit that will display the fuel level on the factory installed fuel gauge. Fuel slosh and engine starvation are never a problem due to our unique triple baffle system that is built into every tank we sell. Most of our auxiliary fuel tanks do not exceed 19 tall, so as not to interfere with fifth wheel or gooseneck trailers. This tank measures 57” across the bed, is only 12” wide to use a minimal amount of bed space, and has an overall height of 18”.

Don't settle for an inferior quality tank that is designed for fuel storage, or a so-called auxiliary tank that is not offered with an installation kit. This is a complete WVO, SVO, or bio diesel fuel system. Priced here with installation kit, your auxiliary fuel tank will ship pre-assembled for easy installation by the average do-it-yourselfer. Price does not include shipping and handling charges.

This kit includes:

40 Gallon Auxiliary Fuel Tank
Hot Fox Heater
Fuel Level Sending Unit
Vent Valve
Raycore 300RC Filter
Fuel Tank Selector Valve
Wire Harness
Fuel Hose and Clamps
Insulation For Fuel Hose
Heater Hose and Clamps
Fittings and Mounting Hardware
Easy To Use Installation Instructions

This fuel system can be installed on any ¾ or one ton Ford or Chevy diesel truck to 2007,and Dodge diesels to 2003 that do not require an in tank fuel pump. Specify what year and make of vehicle you have when ordering so that we can include the correct installation kit. Please feel free to contact us about other applications. We can be contacted toll free at 877-485-3359, www.auxtank.com.

Mention that you saw their ad on The Custom Trucks Network.

Tire Kickin

2008-06-24T14:33:00Z

I received an email today from my little sister. They walked a car show with Dad and the girls for Fathers Day. One of the girls went around noticing the tires. I say the kid has an eye for detail. Good girl Vivian!

Nothing can improve the look of a vehicle like the tires. Most people don’t realize that the stance of the vehicle is so very important. My first example would be the 2006 Chevy 1500 here at work. It’s the plain Jane WT package with luxury features like rubber floor mats and hand crank window finished off in a beautiful Silver Birch color. Somehow the rear tires were almost gone in no time. I’m sure it’s due to that powerful V6 engine. So she gets new rubber. “Back with General” you may ask? Not a chance, Pirelli Scorpions make the truck. It now stands up proud, knee deep in rubber, and with a big fat aggressive footprint. It’s truly amazing how much better this truck looks.

They can really mess things up too. A buddy has an early 2000’s Caddy. It’s that big sexy two door model and it’s a beautiful car that needed tires. I recommend a few tires and include pictures. He comes back with these skinny little things that weren’t even a 60 series. He said the guy at the tire store told him they were the right tire for the car. They really messed that car up, at least until he needs new rubber.

Now back to the little girl cruising the car show in search of red line tires. She’s on the right track. Look past the paint, chrome, and fuzzy dice, and spend some time looking at tires. You’ll find a look that’s right for you, and the manufacturer who has the best looking tire in that style. After that, you can choose the correct speed rating, tread design, and all that important stuff. It’s a wide wide world of choices out there.

Warning – Negative EBay Feedback

2008-06-18T15:37:00Z

I have this pile of stuff collecting dust on the shelf in the corner. It’s well hidden behind the motorcycle, the trailer, and the fork lift. I decide to do some cleaning and rearranging in the warehouse, but can’t quite bring myself to throw this valuable stuff away. So I spend a bunch of time listing the stuff on EBay hoping that someone needs it to finish their project. If I can get a couple of bucks out of it, then good for me. I’d been giving it away for years. I didn’t expect to make any money selling $200 spoilers for $35 or $100 hardware kits for $25. I just want that crap to go to a good home.

One day I sell an Energy end link kit. I go to UPS, type in the info, slap the cost into an email and shoot her off to chevelle123456789. Your total is $20. The reply:

I really think your shipping and handling is high, your listing said
buyer to pay ups shipping charges the listing didn't say anything
about handling charges if the ups fees are $14.55 I'm ok with that
but if they are less I'm not going to be happy, I'm not trying to be
difficult I just don't like getting into negative feedback wars. 3
similar size items I bought resently were $4.00 to $9.00 for
shipping.

I sold a switch to a customer the other day. It costs $10 to UPS from one north Dallas suburb to another that is 15 minutes away. The customer didn’t have time to stop by and paid the ten bucks. Keeping this in mind it seems like $15 to go across the country seems like a good deal for shipping.

The auction was for a whopping $5. It’s not going to break me if I don’t get his $5. That wasn’t worth my time to list it on EBay. So I tell the guy, don’t pay. I’m not going to spend any additional time to give this guy negative feedback. I have a life. I’ve been stiffed on EBay before. I have never left negative feedback. I’ve got better things to do. I don’t want anyone to have hard feelings.

The guy sends a check. I would have too. You make a deal and you have to honor it. He did and good for him. I think I even took the time to leave him good feedback. Now I get:

I went to ups .com entered the zip codes and the weight and the price
for ground was $9.52 not $14.55 what happened

I think what happened is that life is good. We don’t have to worry about being eaten by a tiger, dying from the plague, or kicking off at age 40 due to a massive heart attack. It’s called natural selection and it doesn’t work anymore. So good for us. Here is some guy who has nothing better to do with his life than surf EBay for a deal, and then spend his time worrying about shipping charges, emailing back and forth. Go to Summit dummy.

A little negative EBay feed back isn’t going to end your life. Try to get some sleep tonight. If you can’t afford $20 to spend on your hot rod, then sell it. I can’t remember the last time I got off for $20 working on my hot rod. But then again, my ride isn’t some junk old Chevelle. I’m guessing your kids will have to go without food now because you got burned on EBay.

My Dad used to ask, “who’s the real dummy? Is it the guy who has no clue, or the idiot who argues with him?” I am guilty as charged.

My Truck Smells Like French Fries - WVO SVO Primer

2008-06-02T21:31:00Z

Did you know that waste vegetable oil can be used for fuel in your diesel powered truck? It’s true, but before you start shoveling Crisco into your fuel tank there are a few things you should know. First of all, it’s not legal for use on public roads and highways. The state and federal government didn’t get their tax money. They put you under the jail if you get caught. Second you should know that waste vegetable oil does not have the lubricants that your engine needs at start up and during cool down.

It can be done if you have access to the grease. Most burger places pay to have that stuff hauled away. If you buddy owns a Hooters, you’re in business. Step number one is to find a supplier for the grease. Next you will need to have an auxiliary fuel system, not a transfer system. Then you need to follow a specific routine when using the waste vegetable or straight vegetable oil.

Once you have found a source for the grease, your primary concern is the auxiliary fuel system. You must be able to select from one fuel tank or the other with a switch mounted on the dash. See www.auxtank.com. The fuel tank itself will need to have some form of heater in the tank to warm the oil and make it into a liquid again. These usually plumb into the trucks cooling system. You have a heat source, might as well use it. You can also purchase a blanket heater to mount outside of the tank, but these typically will not work for more than a 30 gallon tank. You’ll also need a high micron filter such as those made by Raycore. It’ll need to be mounted between the fuel tank and the fuel tank selector valve.

When you start the vehicle, you must do so on diesel fuel. Once the engine reaches operating temperature, you can use the vegetable oil. You’ll flip a switch on the dash and the vegetable oil will start going directly to the engine. You may also notice that giant sucking sound on your wallet get a little quieter at this point. When you get close to your destination, you flip back over to the diesel tank. You want to use the diesel while the engine cools down. Usually about 15 minutes will do.

That’s about all there is to it. The diesel engine needs lubricants during start up and shut down. You also need a good quality auxiliary fuel system with an internal heater, not a transfer system. A transfer tank pumps from one tank into the other. It won’t work. One final thought, don’t get caught.

Tears on my pillow

2008-05-16T16:22:00Z

How did we get here? We are in the middle (God I hope we’ve made it to the middle) of a primary election cycle. We’ve apparently come to the point where if you point out your opponent’s position on an issue, well you’ve just gone too far. Is it wrong, unfair, uncool to simply point out what the other guy (or lady, sorry Senator Clinton) is saying when on the soap box? “Well if you’re a Republican, yes. They’re stupid, fat and ugly…"

I think we should get together and take up a collection. We need to purchase a history book, dictionary, and some Ginkobelowya for our friends on the left. You see Senator Obama, if you’re running for President you don’t get to vote present. You’re going to have to take a stand on something. You pointed out a gas tax holiday was a stupid idea that would do no good. I was one of the first to say “Good for you”. You also said that you would sit down and talk to the head terrorist in Iran. I’m not totally against that idea. Maybe if you made a phone call and explained that the Stealth bombers are over Tehran right about now. We’re about to carpet bomb your country back to the Stone Age. You should hang up and take cover.

The policy of appeasement that President Bush refers to has been tried. This is where the Ginkobelowya comes into play. It allegedly helps your memory. You see terrorists had been blowing up our embassies, our ships, nightclubs full of our soldiers, and building in New Your City for over a decade. What did we do? We threatened to bring these people to justice. We prosecuted a few guys for a few incidents. We dug some holes in the sand, stuck our heads in, and then pulled some excess sand back over our heads. How well did that work for us? Does anyone remember Sept. 11^th?

Now for the history book, prior to Americas entry into WWII, we basically did the same thing. Try to reason with a very sick individual. Tell ourselves that it’s really not as bad as everyone’s making it out. Hope that the problem will work itself out. We probably even threw some money at the problem, but I’m pretty sure no one stooped so low as to pray. We just can’t have that. I’m not exactly sure of the spelling (big supprise), but check out that Nevell Chamberland guy. Know your history people.

Now about that dictionary, you’re looking for appeasement.

I did hear the sound bite from the President yesterday. He didn’t mention any names. Many of our politicians and talking heads from the left, and some from the middle, think and say this should be our plan. It was Senator Obama who singled himself out. Yes he did say he wanted to talk to Iran. Are you backing down now? If the shoe fits, I guess you better sweat in it.

Getting together and talking through our differences does sounds good. You and I can sit down and have a discussion. We may even reach some form of understanding or agreement. They key factor in the equation is that we don’t want to kill each other. Hate is a powerful emotion and is not often overcome by reason or another bong hit.

So man up Senator, you chose your position on this issue. Now you cry foul because someone didn’t agree with you. You feel like you’ve been attacked just because someone pointed out what you had said you’d do in a given situation. How are you going to react when faced with a serious problem? You know the rest of the world may not love you as much as the left here at home. Some mean guy in some far off country may say something that’ll hurt your feelings. Here is yet another reason to vote for Senator Clinton. She can take it like a man.

He's still going off about that?

2008-05-15T17:13:00Z

So I throw my little hissy fit and post her to the Internet yesterday. I jump in the SS and head for home. On the radio some brain dead waste of a carbon footprint is spewing forth about the importance of bio fuel production. Reduced dependency on import product, renewable energy, our only salvation rests in this new technology he proclaims. So help me out here. We’re going to use our food supply to produce fuel that we could be just pumping from the ground? That’s the plan? I thought we had blended fuel in distribution now. I thought we’d had it for years. It seems to me that the price of fuel has only gone up. And have you been to the grocery store lately? Is that price increase due only to the increase in transportation costs? Could it be that the bio fuel market pays more for corn than the taco shell guys?

We hear that Brazil and South America produce large amounts of bio fuel. Unfortunately for us, we have to protect the sugar lobby, or some such nonsense. We have tariffs in place to discourage the importation of these fuels. I guess we have to artificially protect some American businesses even if it helps break the back of the American consumer. Let’s open up our market to these imports. If people can’t afford to buy gasoline, then some day the price may drop. Unfortunately our entire economy would have to collapse before it would happen. It’s a supply and demand thing. Yet you can still find people spouting off about how people in Europe send five dollars a gallon. It’s only fair that we should pay that too. They also spout off about how increased fuel prices will lead to less consumption. Huh?

I stand by my previous rant. We need an energy policy now. We’ve tried to conserve our way out of the problem. That didn’t work. Now we’re using our food to fix the energy problem. I don’t see that one working either. Anyone ready to get serious?

Sitin and Thinkin but not Drinkin, yet

2008-05-14T22:10:00Z

I received a phone call today. It was from a customer who was just “checking to see if we were still in business”. “What did you hear” I asked him. “I am calling all my vendors to see who is left” he replies. Holy Crap! These guys are major players in the truck body and conversion business. He tells me several of his suppliers have gone out of business.I’ve been sitting here trying to stay awake, and praying I don’t go bankrupt. I kind of thought it was just us. I guess not. Now I feel worse. Things really are getting bad.

The talking heads that usually make a little sense to me are going on about definitions of recession. Others go on and on about their theory, some that sound crazy. I feel myself slipping into Charlie Brown mode. You know, when the teacher is talking. Wa wah wa wa wah wahCall it what you want, people are feeling the pinch. I believe most of us, the ones who are not politicians or economists on TV, know exactly what is wrong with the equation. Gas prices are going up too fast, too much. “Great job stating the obvious, dummy.” I know thanks. So what are we going to do? We sit back and expect the politicians to do something. Are we wrong? To me it falls under the whole liberty and pursuit of happiness deal. I think someone’s been stepping on our liberty and trying to define for us just what exactly happiness is. Depending upon just what exactly the definition of the word is is.

I hear in the background, “that Bush…” and “the libs…” I’ve about had enough. I remember gas lines in the 70s. I remember the price of West Texas crude dropping like a rock. I don’t remember anyone doing anything. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Republican, Democrat, Independent (snicker), nada. “Dude, the federal government has continually imposed stricter café standards during…” Blow it out your fuel cell loving, tailpipe. We’re not going to conserve our way to prosperity. It’s not right that the government forces the auto manufacturers to produce better fuel economy. If Chevy could make a Suburban that got 50 miles per gallon, they’d do it. You wouldn’t be able to find one to buy. And about that new fuel cell vehicle, you do realize that you have to drive it down to the station and filler up. You’ll just be filling up with nitrogen. Yes, I said nitrogen. Watch for filling stations while you’re out. Do a little price check.

So we have three outstanding Americans who are promising to fix stuff for us. Rest assured they feel our pain. Mr. Mc Cain is going to suspend the federal gas tax, maybe, for a few months, maybe. All’s well in Suburbia. Mrs. Clinton soon followed, saying she’d do the same, maybe. So my simple mind has two questions. “What the heck good is that going to do, at all?” My gasoline expenses now equal my car payment. “If it’s such a good idea then why not do away with it totally?” Even if the federal gasoline sales tax somehow vanishes, they’ll get it another way. “Well now he’s just talking crazy talk. I think this guy is crazy.” I would like to thank Mr. Obama for pointing out that this promise is simple lip service. Still not voting for him, but he did take a stand for once.

We the American people need to get together and have a little talk. We need to do so with an open mind. The complaints and concerns of the guy on the other side need to be taken into consideration. I say this to both sides. I’m a right winger, far right, gun totin’, God fearin’, Christian Conservative. I guess you could say I’m from the Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter wing of the party. I do not want dirty air. I do not want dirty water. I do not want to trash the planet. See, we’ve got a few things in common already. If you believe otherwise, then I don’t think you are serious about getting anything done.

And on the right, we just can’t assume that everyone on the left is a tree hugger. We also need to admit that being a tree hugger isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I do not want dirty air. I do not want dirty water. I do not want to trash the planet. I also do not want people telling me what kind of car I should buy, or that I should only use two squares of tissue paper.

Can we the people, of fly over country, get together and start having a serious discussion about an energy policy? We all seem to agree that we need to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Reduced usage of gasoline through increased fuel economy is one way. New technology is needed too. Another crucial part of reducing our dependency is to pump oil in our own country. We need to increase our capacity to refine oil here. Anyone who will not admit that increased domestic production is a necessity has no real interest in solving the problem. And I say we can do it without having a pump jack in every neighborhood, or killing off the wildlife.

Again, I’ve had about enough. How about you? What will we do? I don’t see anyone campaigning with an energy plan of any kind. I think I may sit this election cycle out. Can't afford the gas to make it to the poles.

Who is this clown?

2008-04-22T21:44:00Z

I guess I’ve been groomed most of my life to be involved in the automotive specialty aftermarket. Back in the late 70s, while I was but a mere pup, I worked at First Stage Steel. They were a manufacturer of roll bars located in Harrisonville, MO. We’re talking the days when you got to choose between black or white for your new roll bar. Things sure have changed. My primary duties were to keep the toilets clean and the floors swept. Brother, that’s starting at the bottom.

Time rolls on and I’ve moved up. I spent most of my time since then as an aftermarket parts rep in the specialty aftermarket. I’ve done the retail gig. I’ve been a manufacturer. I guess you can say I’ve manufactured accessories, boxed them up, shipped them out, received them, sold them, installed them, and cleaned up afterwards. I think it’s fair to say I’ve paid my dues.

Today I am the President and CEO of a specialty part manufacturer in the light truck aftermarket. Yes that’s a fancy title. We’re a small business who cares more about building the best product than selling the cheapest parts available. We’re always behind in production. We’re far from being the cheapest available. We are however the best at what we do. You don’t have to take my word for it. You’ll find our customers in users forums out on the net saying that we’re the best in the business. I’m not getting rich, but I do get a tremendous amount of satisfaction knowing we help make someone’s life a little better.

I also have this website. CustomTrucks.net started off back in 1995. I wanted to build an online community back before we all knew what one was. Little things like remotely posting to a database on a web server just wasn’t done that much. It cost a lot of money back then. Over the years things gradually got out of hand. I couldn’t keep up, so we sat here and idled for 6 or 7 years.

Now I’m back. We have a new direction and objectives. I have this great new software called Community Server. While it seems a little slow, it works great. It’s also easy to install and set up. I still have some tweaking to do, but it’ll come along with time. The Community Server software was available from Intermedia. They host our website and provide our mail server. I have to say that since we started with Intermedia back in 1995, I’ve never had a problem with their service.

And what’s on the horizon you ask? I want to make a major contribution to mankind. I want to make life better for people everywhere. I see three major problems which threaten human life everywhere on the planet. First we have the “energy crisis”. Since we now use our food for fuel, we have now a global food crisis. People are rioting all over the world because they can’t afford their groceries. And third, global warming will surely kill us all by 2012. The plan? I am working on a new design of internal combustion engine. It’s not exactly as fuel efficient as today’s engines. It does run on a renewable fuel source. It doesn’t produce a cleaner exhaust, but its use will lead to an overall reduction in the production of greenhouse gasses. With continual use, it will lead to more liberty for all people. “So what’s the deal with this new engine” you ask? Simple, it runs on politicians. Mr. Kennedy – we need you.