4Runner vs. Gas Shortage

[4runsport]

Oh man, finally got the power back on followed by the internet. I missed soo many posts so now I gotta catch up.
How are my fellow 3rd Gen Runners doing in the NJ/NY area with the gas shortage? I have only been driving my truck from work to home everyday to cut back on gas consumption. I found that being very easy on the gas pedal and keeping the speed under 55mph have helped. I got about 80+/- miles from full to 3/4. I now have to wait till the next even day to fuel up and hopefully avoid these lines....

Only to find this... :redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick:

 

[4runsport]

Oh and just incase those pictures don't give you the full extent... This is close to my house (not my video tho)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wPF7e48WTOM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[T4R2014]

Never seen anything like this before. I had lines of cars going through my neighborhood for miles.

 

[Stick Figure]

100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com

read up, you guys out there may need the help! Seriously though, I wouldn't want to deal with that problem for anything.

 

[4runsport]

100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com

read up, you guys out there may need the help! Seriously though, I wouldn't want to deal with that problem for anything.

Haha some of those tips were just crazy particular. My fav is this one....
38) Drafting: close behind (not recommended!)

1) At highway speeds there's no doubt that driving close behind a large vehicle dramatically reduces fuel consumption. 2) It's a stupid thing to do.

It's not recommended for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's illegal in most areas, and doing so sacrifices the foundation of safe and defensive driving: your ability to see well ahead.

 

[revenantdead]

I'm doing alright. I carry an extra 6 gallon can for emergency situations. Being that i live on Belmar i really can only go to work and back. The national guard enforces that curfew pretty enthusiastically. However i suppose thats what you get. It looks like a warzone down here. From sandy hook to lbi. There aint much travel to be had. Thankfully work greenlit us for 10 hour shifts this week to make up for the week we missed. So money for gas wont be a problem. I just cant wait to get my electricity back...

 

[Brilliant]

that sure sucks. I saw in the paper today they had price gouging and the AG was going after people in NY.

 

[4runsport]

Definitely big time price gouging up here in Northern NJ. One gas station was charging $5.42 in Paterson NJ for regular before they were shut down. During the first days right after the storm some were even higher. Now that we have restrictions on what days we can get gas the lines are a little shorter. Still no gas in my area tho.

Revenantdead... Sorry to hear about your area down there. North Jersey was spared the flooding from Sandy this time around which was good but you guys got hit the hardest. Especially the shore communities. Pictures I have seen look like something out of a war movie. Hopefully you guys get back on your feet soon. You have friends in North Jersey!

 

[techno]

Question for you Jersey/NY folks.... In hind sight, were you getting adequate warning of the intensity of the storm and high potential for serious infrastructure damage?
In Pittsburgh, it was all you could hear about for days in advance and most people prepared for the worst. In the end we were very lucky, but I still prepared my house as best I could and filled up both mine and my wifes car plus two 5 gallon jerry cans in the hours before the storm arrived. In my mind it was pretty obvious that getting gasoline during wide spread power outages was going to be a problem.

 

[4runsport]

I speak for myself here but I really do believe that we were given fair warning for this storm. We knew about its potential almost a full week before its arrival, and by the weekend prior to the storm the stores were mostly cleared out. Our Gov made evacuations mandatory in the barrier islands, closed the parkway from like exit 130 to exit 0, and opened up shelters everywhere. The problem was NJ is not built to handle such a massive storm. The trees by my house just blew over like sticks. I filled my tank and bought canned goods.
As for the problem now with gas many houses are still running on generators but thats just a drop in the bucket when compared to the massive amount of people flooding the gas stations in a panic to find the last drop of gas. Too much panic buying now. :bash:

 

[theizzardking]

.....does anyone else here keep a fuel drum or two around?....i never thought of things like this, just that i live a good distance away from the gas station, so getting fuel for my lawn equipment is annoying and the power goes out for a couple of weeks at a time during the winter and i need to run the genny....seems like it would be a good idea for things like this and other disasters ....i got mine at the race track up the road for $10, old race fuel drum, and a hand pump with a screen on it was $35 from a yard sale....maybe something to check out.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Having lived through a major hurricane where wind, not water, was the major factor of destruction, I can emphasize with all in NJ/NY. Power was out in my house for three weeks with no AC in 90+ degree temps. Nothing like sleeping with a shotgun next to you to prevent someone from looting one's house.

I wonder how fast phone and cable was restored for 4runsport and others? I was reading in the WSJ where the cell phone companies, not the FCC, dictate the emergency back up protocols they need to implement to restore serviced for disasters such as Sandy. I still have land line service just for times such as these.

I have a buddy in Seabrite. He says if they get power by Thanksgiving, he will be lucky.

 

[fightman80]

Price gouging by the Gas Stations??? F@ckers! The day will come when they meet their maker, and it will be remembered that during a time of great need, they took advantage of people!! DISGRACEFUL!

 

[shadow247]

November 1, 2012
Price Gouging Laws Are Causing Gas Shortages
Posted by James Ostrowski on November 1, 2012 05:53 PM

Contrary to what politicians such as Romney, Gary Johnson, Obama, and Chris Christie would say, it's during emergencies when you need liberty the most. (Thanks to "Baldy" Harper for that insight.) Here's an object lesson. New York has a silly law making it illegal to raise prices during an emergency. It's almost beside the point that the law itself is unintelligible.

The effect of the law is to dissuade firms such as gas stations from raising prices during times of scarcity so that those consumers who most urgently need gas, e.g., cardiac surgeons on route to the ER, can get it, while retired persons with no urgent business, but who merely get a warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of their stomachs from having a full tank, will be encouraged by the price system to wait a few days to indulge their whim.

This theory is being played out in New York City where there are long lines and shortages of gas. Again, the point is, and since Gary Johnson has endorsed FEMA (the horror!), there is no presidential candidate to proclaim this vital principle—it is during disasters, wars, emergencies, and storms that we need liberty the most. Dictatorship does not work except for the dictators.

 

[Stick Figure]

shadow247 I follow the logic, but most people in the situation will just find it insulting when the extra income goes straight into the companies pocket. Now if they raised gas prices a dollar a gallon and donated that dollar back to a real effort to rebuild the community it may play out better.

 

[shadow247]

shadow247 I follow the logic, but most people in the situation will just find it insulting when the extra income goes straight into the companies pocket. Now if they raised gas prices a dollar a gallon and donated that dollar back to a real effort to rebuild the community it may play out better.

Gas station owners rarely make much profit off of the sale of gasoline as it is. I have read anywhere from 8-15 cents per gallon depending on the station. Most of the money is inside the station. Cigarettes and soda are the real profit centers of a gas station. The reality is that no one knows when normal supply will return to the area, raising prices would actually help to increase supply, as gas refiners would be able to charge more for their product, allowing them to travel a further distance to sell their product. Keeping prices artificially low only serves to further the interests of politicians, while appearing to "do something" about the problem, they are in fact the root cause.

Think about it, if you are a gas refiner selling for 2 bucks a gallon, and suddenly you can travel a few states over and get 3.50 per gallon, what would you? Any smart businessman would sell some gas at 3.50 as long as the demand was there!

 

[4runsport]

Having lived through a major hurricane where wind, not water, was the major factor of destruction, I can emphasize with all in NJ/NY. Power was out in my house for three weeks with no AC in 90+ degree temps. Nothing like sleeping with a shotgun next to you to prevent someone from looting one's house.

I wonder how fast phone and cable was restored for 4runsport and others? I was reading in the WSJ where the cell phone companies, not the FCC, dictate the emergency back up protocols they need to implement to restore serviced for disasters such as Sandy. I still have land line service just for times such as these.

You know its ironic you mention the looters because there was one story in Staten Island during this storm that was really tragic. In an attempt to protect their stuff lost during last years storm they lost their daughter instead.SI family robbed during Irene suffers tragedy during Sandy - New York Daily News

Phone and internet was out for almost a week but cell phones for many people were also down because I heard that a large number of cell phone towers within 10 states were destroyed.

On the lighter side of the news entrepreneurship is up.... :biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2:
Hurricane Sandy Fuel Shortage Spurs Sex For Gas Ads On Craigslist

Oh and this guy who got busted for trying to transport 30 five gallon Home Depot buckets of gas from CT to NY. When the cops arrived the lids were starting to open from the fume buildup. olice:
NY Man Charged in Gas Hoarding Case | NBC Connecticut

 

[Ed_C]

Still no internet or even cable at my house,but I never lost power through the whole ordeal. My cell's data plan wasn't even working until ysterday,right I'm using my iphone for my laptop's wireless.

The week of the hurricane my coworkers and I were bringing gas containers since we drive company cars to upstate NY and back,no lines. I brought two containers,one for my parents (live 5 minutes away) and the other for me.

This past Wed night I filled my tank. Thursday started my commute 45 minutes earlier than usual,mainly in case of nor'easter related traffic,but the highway was clear. So I went on the right lane,kept the RPMs at around 2000,then hit cruise control,GPS-verified speed of 62-64 MPH. Did the same going home,then decided to continue commuting this way yesterday and today. The gas light usually turns on below 300 miles with my normal driving style. On today's drive home the light turned on in the 330's,I brought a full 5-gallon gas jug expecting to run out before reaching home,but I did make it - with 367.5 miles on the trip meter. It's funny,I called my coworker (had a 3rd-gen but was totalled) when the gas light turned on,he was joking that I'm probably good till 370...maybe I should have kept driving until I did run out LOL

 

[techno]

What vehicle are you driving? 310 miles pure hwy is the best I've got, and then filled up with 16.9 gallons. You must be getting 23-24 mpg.

 

[Ed_C]

What vehicle are you driving? 310 miles pure hwy is the best I've got, and then filled up with 16.9 gallons. You must be getting 23-24 mpg.

It's an 02 Sport Edition,stock suspension and tire size,V6 auto. This tankful was practically all highway driving,all commuting,no other stops or trips along the way. 87 octane,mix of Valero,exxon,and no-name from the little upstate NY gas station we were hitting up at work. I also threw in a bottle of fuel system treatment lying around from my old job,though I'm doubtful that made that much of an impact on my mileage.