Propane

[68 50th]

I´m just curiuos.
Is there many trucks running on propane in the US. I saw an ad with a truck with propane but I belive it´s the only one I have ever seen in all the ad´s I have been looking at.( I am searching for a 71-72 Cheyenne C10)
See the link below for the the propane truck.
http://www.bjsclassics.com/72-chevy-cheyenne.html
In some countrys in Europe (not Sweden though)I think it is pretty common to run on propane or LPG as it is named here because it is cheaper, we do really high gas prices here.
In Sweden the gas price is about SEK 10,50 for a Litre wich would be about $5,30 for a Gallon, yes it´s the truth.

Mats..

[Alexis]

whats your average hourly pay in sweden, do you guys speak dutch or swedish?

Theres been a couple of trucks that have ran through this board with that setup. It's not a common setup but there around.

[LONGHAIR]

My 1985 Chevrolet School Bus runs on propane. We use it for a tailgater/motorhome for NASCAR racing. It is great for short trips of less than 200 miles one way. It holds enough gas for just over 400 miles, so we can make it w/o having to refuel. The disadvantage of propane is that it is more difficult to find especially at off hours.

It's a 454 with an Allison transmission btw

[68 50th]

Average hourly pay is about $15-20 for a working guy in Sweden.

We speak swedish here in Sweden but I have a friend who also is a board member (Edmond) from The Netherlands, I belive he speaks dutch.
As a matter of fact, he is running he´s truck on propane too.

[LUV2XCLR8]

ONE OF THE BOARD MODERATORS HAS A 67-72 PROPANE POWERED WRECKER.

[68 50th]

Interesting to see there is some propane trucks around.
Is it cheaper to run on propane compared to gas in US or is there maybe some other reason?
I have been told the propane setup even was an option for these 67-72 trucks when they were new.

[72BLAZERDUDE]

I used to work for a guy that bought a pickup from a propane company. They had all their trucks converted to propane. I didnt notice any performance difference but it was a stock 78 chevy pickup. The biggest problem I had was the giant tank in the bed. I think it held a hundred gallons. I always thought that was like riding around with a bomb in the back. Also it can be a bear to find a station that sells propane, not exactly one on every corner in Phoenix. I do remember that when we rebuilt the motor at 200,000 miles it was very clean inside. No sludge from burning gasoline. I think it would be very interesting to see someone hotrod one.

[Rod]

I run propane in my 72 tow truck... but in Canada.

[JoetheMobster]

I run CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) in my truck, as well as gasoline (dual fuel truck) and if I were to fill all the tanks, I get about the same mileage out of both. True, there is a TINY drop in performance with the CNG - but the price difference in fuels OMG!!

Currently gasoline (here) is 88.5/L (Cdn) and though I'm not quite sure about the actual price per unit of the CNG, the last time I filled both tanks (2x60Kg CNG tanks under rear fenders) it cost me just over $15.00! During the summer I've easily put $30.00 in the gasoline tank, and it would have ate more!

One of the unfortunate things around here is that there's now only ONE damn gas station that sells CNG!! (insert pissed off face here) There used to be two, but when one of the gas stations here did a re-model of the store, they decided to annex the damn CNG pump!!??? They had a monopoly over the city (unless you wanted to head out the highway to the next station) and they got rid of it anyway. Hence, I don't use the CNG much anymore. If I am out the highway, I do stop at the remaining gas station that still sells it, and fill up. I thought we were supposed to clean up the earth and take responsibility by using cleaner cars/fuels/etc.??

Oh well.... Propane on the other hand, Christ, here there's a propane selling station on every block!!!

[68 50th]

To run cleaner is of course a reason as good as any and if it is chaeper as well you maybe could live with a little loss in performance.

Maybe more common in Canada than US.

Too bad it´s not an option for me because of the very few gas stations selling it here in nothern Europe, The Netherlands, France and other countrys more south in Europe is better I think.

[stickshift_or_walk]

Propane kits on trucks are pretty common around here, especially in rural areas. I still see conversion kits for sale occasionally. There are still a few tractors running around using it, too.

Lots of folks use propane for heating/cooking in rural areas, and have huge tanks (1000g or more, or multiple tanks) that they fill in the summer when the rates are cheap.

Some folks still have "nurse valves" on these tanks which let you transfer propane from them to other tanks in your equipment.

Propane powered trucks are popular at fish fries since you can run a line to your fish fryer/turkey cooker/etc. Works great for crawfish boils, too!

SSOW

[FRENCHBLUE72]

I have a friend who converted his 4wd to propane seem's to run better and let's the valve's live longer .. The only thing is if you are behind him on the trail it smell's like someone is bar-b q-ing..

[grayw0lf]

Anyone here ever run straight alcohol? I've read up on it quite a bit, but have never known anyone who runs it.

Perhaps one day I'll setup a still & cook up my own fuel.

[Alexis]

Originally Posted by grayw0lf

Anyone here ever run straight alcohol? I've read up on it quite a bit, but have never known anyone who runs it.

Perhaps one day I'll setup a still & cook up my own fuel.

i remember when the board was young that there was a huge topic on this......to the point of people were running numbers on how cost efficient it was.

[Edmond]

Yes I run my truck on LPG (or Propane), and that's mainly to make it financialy.
But it's also cleaner to run it on LPG.
I've just returned from a holiday trip to France and all without any problems.
Filling stations in Belgium and France are no problem, the only thing is,
almost every country has it's own filling nipple, so you have to have them with you.
(They sell them at many gasstations)
I want to come to Sweden with my truck, but because there are very few filling stations in Sweden
(I know there are about 8 to 10 in the whole country) I must rebuild it to run on gasoline again.
The carburator is only used on LPG which dries the gaskets, so if I would put gasoline in it now it would most probably leak as hell.
Also ingition timing would be a bit of if you run on gasoline if I'm not mistaken.

Cya,
Edmond

[68gmcdually]

My work truck (1997 Ford F-250 HD) runs on dual fuel, LPG and gasoline. I personally love it as I have 54 gallons of LPG and 50 gallons of gas at my disposal, it allows for wicked road trips. As my family owns a propane company most of our small trucks run on straight LPG but we have found that the larger trucks work better on diesel.

[70orangeboy]

i live in the midwest us and i run cng and gasoline (dual fuel). I love having it cause it is cheaper and burns clean. it is better on the engine because there is little to no sediment deposit from CNG. There is the loss of performance, but hey, turn it to regular gas. I do. i have a 454, and i had to tune it down a little to run CNG. you have to fiddle with timing as well. one day i'll run it on gas alone and tune it to go faster