Ah, the internet. Do we love it or do we hate it? Well, for a 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 owner inside the lines of the state of New Jersey, he hates it. Per reports, New Jersey may be picking through their own on social media to find out who has a modified diesel truck that doesn’t comply with emissions regulations. Mike Sebold, the owner of the Ram, went to Facebook recently expressing his concern.
“Just a heads up for anyone listing diesel trucks on Facebook, don’t put all the details and don’t trust the people asking questions about your truck.” – Mike Sebold
Sebold was warned with a message after he posted a classified ad for the truck on the website with a detailed description of what parts had been installed. Many of which were uncompliant. As one would imagine, the word “delete” raised some red flags. Deleted trucks, for those that don’t know, typically refer to the removal of the diesel particulate filter or Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve. Emissions officials believe that these parts are a vital part of diesel vehicles’ emissions controls and they remove soot and other particulate matter from the exhaust gas of the engine.
While we admire his attempt at warning others, his post caught the attention of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The organization sent Mr. Sebold a letter listing the violations that he allegedly engaged in which include attempting a sale of a non-compliant pickup truck.
“When the DEP becomes aware of such a sale or attempted sale, an appropriate enforcement action is issued to the seller or attempted seller, and the person is required to come into compliance with New Jersey regulations,” the department said in a statement to The Drive. Within this investigation, Sebold suspects that he was targeted on social media. Against the claims made in Sebold’s post, the DEP stated that they do not have the authority to jail him, it can only hand out penalties.
The fines, however, can be intense. Sellers of deleted trucks in this scenario have the option to pay the penalties and return the truck to stock form or send it to scrap. Apparently, Sebold has found another route which is to take it off the road. “As of today, my plan is to take the truck off the road,” he said. “I’m dropping the insurance on it tomorrow, I’m going to my DMV tomorrow. I’m going to hand in the plates, hand in the registration, and I’m going to ask that they title it salvaged or as an off-road vehicle only if they allow that. Then I’m going to go to the fair in town and I’m going to run my truck in the truck pull. If it blows up, it blows up. I don’t care because I’m scrapping the engine anyway,” per Carscoops.
Every day that goes by, things are getting more and more difficult to modify a diesel-powered vehicle and this is just the next step. Eventually, it will be too much to deal with and the rumored phase-out could seriously happen. Maybe not completely, but certainly a noticeable amount.
