Archive for April, 2009
Stuck With A Big Suv? Dont Fret!
High gas prices have gotten just about everyone down especially owners of full sized pickup trucks and SUVs. Sure they knew when they bought these vehicles that their combined fuel mileage was just 15 mpg but that was when gas was still selling for 2.50 per gallon.
This past summer with gas prices surging past 4 per gallon the collective groans from SUV and truck owners everywhere could be heard at gas pumps across the nation. Quite suddenly slapping down a 100 bill to pay for gas was becoming all too common leaving many owners of gas guzzlers frustrated.
Soon talk shifted to selling their vehicles and shifting to a car that could deliver 1015 more miles to the gallon of fuel. But several big problems were soon noted forcing many truck owners to reconsider their plans including:
Huge Financial Loss New cars can lose as much as onethird of their value after the first year but the depreciation rate for some big vehicles meant that depreciation accelerated to 50 or more. The owner of a one or two year old truck was suddenly finding that getting out of a loan was impossible to do without losing several thousands of dollars more just pay off the loan.
Undesirable Vehicle With a flood of big vehicles on the market even people who need a larger truck or SUV can pick and choose making it a buyers market for them. Too many trucks and too few buyers have caused some people to reconsider the sale of their rides.
Inflated Small Car Prices One neighbor of mine who didn’t have the problem of trying to unload a big vehicle was stunned when he checked out the price on the Honda Civic hybrid. Not only weren’t discounts being offered but his dealer was charging a premium price for the car. Get rid of a big truck and buy an overpriced small car and you’ll be paying thousands of dollars just to switch.
So what do you do if you’re stuck? You make do with what you have.
Getting rid of your late model truck or SUV will cost you dearly but holding onto it and riding out the current spike in gas prices could serve you well. Instead of selling try to drive less by combining errands and use the most fuel efficient car in the family for the person with the longest commute.
Also use regular fuel wherever possible keep your truck well tuned and tires inflated and consider working from home one day a week if you have a job that encourages people to do that.
Fortunately gas prices are in a retreat but certainly not fast enough for most people. Likely higher gas prices are here to stay forcing you and millions of other drivers to come up with ways to save gasoline.
About the writer: Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary North Carolina. Matt provides magazine web content and article writing services to clients all over the world serving the automotive human interest and business communities. Matthew Keegan Musings is his personal weblog.
Shopping For Portable RV Generators
So you have just purchased your first RV. Now you need to figure out how to power all the things inside the vehicle when you go on your first trip. You do not want to run the engine all the time to turn your lights on in the middle of the night or just to use the air conditioner. After all this is why you need to look at some portable RV generators. There are certain things you should consider before shopping for one of these generators. And for goodness sakes do not buy the first or cheapest one you come across.
The first question is just how much power do you need? Portable RV generators come in several different sizes which obviously means that some of them has much more power than others. If you have a small vehicle without a lot of electronic devices you probably do not need as much power. Of course the more power you get the more costly it will be. So take a quick inventory of everything in the RV that will need electrical power and figure out many total watts you need. Do not forget about the air conditioning and any televisions or game systems you might bring along on a typical trip.
After you have determined just out how much power you will need you should estimate when and how long you would need to run your generator. For instance will you just run it at night when you are sleeping or do you think you will need it throughout the day as well? Portable RV generators take gasoline and some of theirs tanks are larger than others; generally they will contain one to five gallons. Obviously you will run for longer periods of time on your generator if it has a larger tank but you will also pay more for the generators with the larger tanks.
Can you sleep with the generator noise going on? Some portable RV generators are quite loud but there are generators being manufactured now that is very quiet too. Check the decibel level of the RV generators you are shopping for and see how loud they will be. Higher decibels mean louder generators.
How will you carry your generator? Does your new vehicle have a place to attach it on the back? While some of them do others may require that you build a lift. Some people will put their portable RV generators in the back of their pick up trucks to get them to the camping site. This is fine but if you plan on doing this you will need to make sure that you have ramps. You will not be able to easily lift the generator because they can weigh as much as 200 pounds.
Ease of use is another thing to consider when shopping for portable RV generators. Some of them are started with a pull cord while others have an easy electric start using a key. An electric start generator will be much more expensive than the pull cords type but they are very convenient and they can also be converted to a remote start generator without a lot of problem.
About the writer: C.S.Cox has published many ebooks and websites for various services and products. If you found this article interesting and helpful find out more at Portable RV Generators http://www.portablervgenerators.com
Safely Load And Unload Vans When Moving House
When moving house or flat a large number of people opt to hire a van rather than paying a removal company. When lifting heavy objects there are a few thing you need to watch out for.
When lifting heavy objects in and out of the van it is important to observe a few safety rules to reduce any chance of injury.
Test the weight of an object or box before lifting. If it is too heavy make sure you ask someone for assistance or if possible break it into smaller parts.
Ensure the path is clear from where you are to the van ensure there are no hazardous objects which may cause you to fall. Open all doors in advance whenever possible including the van door.
When liftin heavy objects ensure your footing is firm your feet should be shoulder width apart and you should squat to the ground keeping your back straight. Next straighten your knees steadily keeping your back straight. Don’t turn or twist your body.
Keep the box or object steady and close to your body take short steps and keep your feet shoulder width apart. If you feel tired put the object down and rest.
Wear gloves if possible to protect your hands and when available use a trolley or lifting aid as this will make the process much easier and ensure the objects are securely loaded in the van and that the weight is evenly distributed.
About the writer: Van Hire 3000 offer UK Van Hire at great rates and with freephone telephone support
