25 years ago I heard about adding peanut oil to a gas tank to stretch the gas, without compromising the engine or performance. That was the subject of a 6th grade classmate’s science project. More recently I’ve heard about veggie powered vehicles making a statement with 99 percent cleaner emissions and pennies per gallon or free fuel. A little research found that Rudolf Diesel designed his engine to run on vegetable oil, and it was later adapted to petroleum. I’m still looking for why and by whom. Listening to the controversy of how long our dinosaur fuel will last, and what it is doing to our earth is mind boggling, and much like religion. Widely varied views, preached by true believers, and contradicting “proof” from every angle.

Chasing hurricanes in 2004 showed me there is no hotel vacancy, if any hotels even standing, in the areas my talents are best used. Then with Katrina and Rita in 2005, with a bed and shower in my truck, I realized my biggest problem was fuel. I had already decided to “veg-my-ride” in the future… like after the 70k mile warranty, it’s paid-off, and when it no longer feels like a $40k technological marvel that I’m afraid to rotate the tires myself.

So a few more factors had to play in before taking the leap of faith. The dealership where I bought it, Thom Nehil, screwed up the first oil change, leaving the fuel pump unchanged, but pulled loose and ready to be swapped out, which caused it to shut down on I-10, downtown Jacksonville on a Friday night, in the rain, on a curved overpass, with narrow shoulder and nowhere to go… having spewed diesel on the entire engine compartment, undercarriage, and exhaust, getting here from the dealership, which did catch fire.

Well the truck has lost it’s cherry, so I’m feeling free to dive under the hood. Anyone thinking I’m exaggerating this for good reading, thinking “how far would the diesel squirt?”, please note: the fuel line from the tank to the common rail runs 65 psi. (Learning that broke two gauges while installing the veg system, the second flying right off the hose and into the neighbor’s yard 10 feet away.)

Back to the fuel problem: In the huge devastated area, where there was power, the gas was gone, and where they had gas, folks sat in long lines hoping the power would come on for a few hours today. There were THOUSANDS of restaurants where oil was sheltered from the storm by the huge concrete walls BK and McD’s all hide their dumpsters behind. All I need is a 12 volt pump to suck up the oil and filter it so I can pour it into my truck.