Gov Liquidation pulled all 2.5 and 5 ton trucks.

[BobbyD]

All the "big" trucks disappeared off the http://www.govliquidation.com site yesterday. Anyone know why? They left a polite banner though.... http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/s ... ary+Trucks

[Jim LaGuardia]

Can you say re-deployment
Just thinking out loud again

[David Dunn]

Can you say re-deployment
Just thinking out loud again

Nah, most are old , worn, parts falling off and and out of shape... just like me.

The government doesn't want the citizens to have a bigger army than them.. they just may have to become responsible for their actions!

[ExpeditionImports]

ding ding ding....EPA......ding ding ding

[undysworld]

There's a thread on Steel Soldiers about new EPA regs for large trucks, but it goes back a ways - 2012. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread ... -Emissions

As is typical of political topics on SS, it got carried away and shut down. Interesting read nonetheless. Other threads there also point to EPA.

[stiffler4444]

Well that's wonderful news, maybe now they'll start selling them to Canadians......Not. scrap metal.

[undysworld]

It was fun while it lasted. This just in from Steel Soldiers:

See link below. This is coming from the state of Oklahoma forestry service as an official source. Not a real good sign of things to come on our side of the house either.


http://www.forestry.ok.gov/Home/p/52...rnUrl=LwA%253d




Rural fire departments across Oklahoma and the nation will be devastated by an agreement between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which stops making available excess DoD vehicles that are critical to rural fire departments’ ability to fight wildland fires.


Through two long-standing federal excess property programs, Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) and Firefighter Property program (FPP), Oklahoma Forestry Services has been able to assist rural fire departments by providing no-cost military trucks that are then re-manufactured into wildland engines and water tenders through its Rural Fire Assistance Program. Without access to the vehicles and other equipment, many rural fire departments will find it difficult to operate, as commercial trucks are cost prohibitive for most departments. Currently there are 8,812 vehicle and pieces of equipment, valued at over $150 million, being utilized by Oklahoma’s rural fire departments.


The stoppage decision by the US Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) is based in an old agreement between the DoD and EPA aimed at reducing emissions. Under the agreement, vehicles not meeting EPA emission standards would be destroyed instead of sold. It is unclear why the agreement is being enforced at this time.


“This action will ultimately result in increased exposure of communities to loss of life and property associated with wildfire, as well as increased fire suppression costs,” said George Geissler, State Forester and Director, Oklahoma Forestry Services. “The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the vehicles are marginal at best compared to emissions of an uncontrolled wildfire.”


Local fire departments are the first to respond to most to most wildfires. In many states, including Oklahoma, local departments are first on the scene for more than 75% of all wildfires . Quick initial response protects lives, property and reduces fire suppression costs for local, state and federal entities.


Oklahoma Forestry Services is working with state and federal officials, the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service to gather more information and seek a long term solution to resolve the issue and make this equipment available.


Oklahoma Forestry Services, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry, is committed to conserving, enhancing and protecting the forest resources of Oklahoma for present and future generations. To learn more visit http://www.forestry.ok.gov or call 405-522-6158.


Me again. So, my deuce & 1/2 is still for sale, but now the price just went up...

[berger]

They cannot see the forest for the trees....or what will be left of them....bloody morons.

[stiffler4444]

Every government agency operates in a vacuum. I think they should start holding their legislative meetings in the forests of Oklahoma.......

[undysworld]

Edit. This is a better link to an article written by David Doyle, The End Of SURPLUS VEHICLE SALES: http://www.mvpa.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... _email.pdf
It's more of an update, than any final decision.

FYI: I just received this from MVPA. No real new news, IMHO:

[Dreadnought]

It is not that the people who make the decisions are stupid......it is that they are from an entirely different strata......they possibly have no idea and not a care that some people collect old military trucks or that old military trucks can have a second life and become an offroad firefighter.....indeed to their thinking? why the hell would anybody do that? like collecting old used pieces of toilet paper??? Now if you want to talk golf!!!! These are the grown up incarnation of the kids who when the teacher asked around the class what you all want to be when you grow up...one kids says firefighter, another fighter pilot......another says I want to fly to the moon......then it comes the turn of the kid at the back who has just wet himself yet again!!! he pipes up and says I want to be government administrator!!!! these are the kids that become the people who make these decisions.....they legislate to ban off roaders because they do not even understand why anyone would not want to drive an electric car on a perfectly smooth road?? to them we are strange creatures...if they acknowledge that we exist at all......and yet our system needs these creeps, just as much as we need the guys who pick up trash manually or dig holes manually......we just should have beat them up at school a bit more so that they still know who is boss. And yes I am saying that somehow they lost a part of their soul that we still possess!!!! or maybe they are the poor sods born without that longing to know what is just over the next hill???

[cascade.king]

...we just should have beat them up at school a bit more so that they still know who is boss.

Come on Dread, that's a bit much. If you were thumping heads in your school days, I'm sure it wasn't to rid the future world of government administration.

Frankly, I see as much crap-tastic private sector middle management as I do public sector.

Let's not get too Steel Soldier-y on this forum. Once the problem as to why the restrictions were implemented is confirmed, the public can mobilize to have the proper corrections implemented. In have no doubts.

[GenevaPinz]

This topic covers news that are very far from my home turf, but here is my personal view on this:

In general, with the trend of less abundant oil and growing environmental concern, I consider every day that I can drive my Pinz or my daily driver (6.4 liter Jeep SRT... ) as another day closer to the time when I will have to convert them to static display or sell them as scrap to buy a Prius (or a pushbike...). So far I can still afford the gas and I can legally register them and drive them, but I know that at some point the local authorities will make it unbearable to drive such a vehicle.
When? Your guess is as good as mine, because this is akin to killing the golden goose to the tax man, and such measures would annoy as many people as they would please, which is never good when your first and main preoccupation as an elected official is to be re-elected...
So this said, I can understand that official decisions will come on such subjects, and that they will hit closer and closer to home.

Now this specific decision leaves me a bit perplex, especially from the rural firefighting angle. Why straight to scrap? Usually, government bodies can get exemptions pretty easily when it makes sense, and this would be a good opportunity to make an exception for firefighters. It's not like forest fires are not in the news all the time, every summer.

As for "casual" users of such ex-military trucks (most of the people on Steel Soldiers, and here as well), what is the issue with selling these trucks and filling a tiny part of the budget deficit? The issue with EPA is not ownership of these trucks, it is driving them in their current condition. But why can't they let people buy them and park them in a museum (or in their front yard... ), or install a cleaner engine, or -let's be crazy here- drive a limited number of miles per year?

Well, why I understand more and more of such decisions will come our way, this one is extreme to the point of being plain stupid IMO.

[undysworld]

From what I read in David Doyle's article, govt. agencies have already secured an exemption, and those vehicles not currently being sold are being stockpiled until a decision is reached. Everybody I've heard from is urging patience.

[Dreadnought]

Well maybe I was a bit harsh, but in UK and a lot of Europe all of these silly decisions are pushed by a 'Green' and very Left Wing Agenda aimed at eventual minute control of every aspect of everyday life, so you can bet I am a bit angry at the people who make these decisions. As has been said they are closing all of the Lanes and tracks to 4x4s of any kind, slowly but surely, eventually there will be no point in an 'offroader' of any kind, because unless you own your own land...there will be no 'offroad' to drive on. I am very lucky at the moment in that I live in a very poor part of a poor European country who are something of an enigma.....The government will extoll the virtues of the EU to the High Heavens at every chance and would love to implement all of the EU edicts like banning offroad driving and just plain making it hard to own a 4x4.....But!!!!!! they just can't....the country is too poor, for, proper yearly safety tests (the ones here are a joke) for emissions controls (the buses all pour out black smoke) etc etc etc a lot of the roads are actually just dirt tracks impassable to anything but a 4x4 when it is wet or snowing!!!! this my friends is 4x4 heaven for me...well away from those snotty pen pushers who's hobby is collecting buttons or pictures of old churches!!!! ha!!! I reckon I have another 10-15 years healthy off roading in me.....and it will take about 30 years for this country to catch up with the rest of the EU (if it lasts that long) so even when I retire my 4x4s I will still be able to sell them on!!!