converting a truck to propane

[Gongshow]

Has anyone done this? been thinking about it with the recent gas price hikes.... How much does a conversion cost? Are there any places in Edmonton that do this?

thanks,
Gongshow

[mommadiesel]

My Uncle did this and created the Big Blue BBQ, ran that truck into the ground without a problem. I don't though, something about being a bomb on wheels doesn't appeal to me.

[Ken07AOVette]

I have had a couple, they are a PITA. Power is down, mileage is down, it is hard on old engines as there is absolutely no lubrication in the fuel, it dries everything out, hard starting in winter, on and on.

Last time I looked into it if you bought a kit they gave you 2 free. I probably still have an underbody tank here you can have....

[FishingMOM]

We have 4 propane work trucks.

I know the guys used some sort of kit.
There is some savings on fuel, harder to find fuel per say.

They tend to be more tempermental when they do break down. When things go wrong they go really wrong.

[lugeboy]

make sure when it's below -30 you drink lots of fluids so you can pee on the mixer as it will need to be warmed up to keep the truck running. And seeing you are in Edmonton I know it gets that cold
IMO not worth it at all
for the money you could just buy a small car and save the fuel that way

[Gongshow]

Thanks for the responses. My buddy and I were talking about it last night and I was curious.
seems like more headache than its worth.

But I just can't bring myself to drive a prius

Get a diesel and convert it to cooking oil! Basically free fuel and you are surrounded by the smell of french fries...

[JB_AOL]

Get a VW TDI...

Once my SUV sells, this is what I am doing.

[lugeboy]

That's what we have, 2 of them and both get over 1100km's to a tank and I have a hitch on one of them good for 1200lbs

[Gongshow]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Get a diesel and convert it to cooking oil! Basically free fuel and you are surrounded by the smell of french fries...

i had a diesel (see my avatar pic) but like a fool i sold it. i looked into converting it to wvo. the cost of the install was around 5G and there was a lot of concerning of heating the oil to a good temperature during the winter months.

man, i wish i had that ole cruiser back!

[artie]

I had a propane truck and was afraid to go down the highway after minus 25. Also had a problem when I filled up in Jasper and drove to the Columbia Icefields. Parked at the tourist lot by the hotel and the pressure release valve started releasing propane. I was waiting for someone to walk by with a smoke and we would all blow up. Someone suggested to drive down to the bottom of the big hill and thats what I did and it stopped releasing propane. I guess at the higher altitude the gas expanded and the pressure caused it to release. no more propane for me. You also cannot go into enclosed parking lots and have to turn the propane off when going on a ferry. Some service stations will not work on them. Also have to find a station that sells propane and most that do close early so you have to be fueled up for night driving. I could go on but you get the idea.

Originally Posted by Gongshow

i had a diesel (see my avatar pic) but like a fool i sold it. i looked into converting it to wvo. the cost of the install was around 5G and there was a lot of concerning of heating the oil to a good temperature during the winter months.

man, i wish i had that ole cruiser back!

I've got a friend that has three trucks that run on KFC frying grease and they work like a charm. I'm not sure if he has a tank heater or not but driving for basically free sure is appealing.

[mustard73]

I had a pickup that was dual fuel. You need gas for cold days but can run propane when it is warmer.

I found that the power was definitely down and you end up burning nearly double the fuel when running propane. So unless propane is well under half the price of gasoline, it isn't worth it IMO.

[huntinstuff]

Ive had two propane vehicles
They are a pain in the ...
Limited places to fill, people have to be certified to do it so even if you do find propane, doesnt mean u get it

I would never spend the money to do a conversion

[Freedom55]

Interesting thread for me as I have been running a big block (454) since early 80's on Liquid Propane Gas and I think that it is the answer. I have had this old motor since it as new, 1979, and it had a lot of wheel spinning power and could be counted on for a good smoke show. I soon learned that rubber is pricey so the smoke had to go . Then I saw that propane was legislated to remain at about half of the price per liter than gasoline. Plus I bought another old pick-up with the propane tank and system installed. It was an easy fit because my girlfriend (now my wife) lived 500 kms away and I could not afford to see her at 12 mpg on the gasoline power of the big block. I had a giant 5th wheel trailer at the time and spent a lot of time camping and fishing.

Instantly went to 24 mpg, at least dollar-wise, because the fuel was half the cost of gasoline. I still kept all the power I once had, except I could no longer chirp the tires. But, the heat created by the clean burning fuel was too much for the valve train so eventually I bent a valve and spun the (plastic) timiing gear.

Plan B meant a trip to the machine shop where the most excellent machinist turned out a perfectly balanced 370 hp 600+ ft lbs of torque with the stainless valves and titanium guides and like that big block that ran exclusively on LPG.

We put a lot of miles on that truck. Still have it. The province wants a little body work done before they will certify it, which is why I am parting it out. Wanna buy a certified tank, condensor, lines and mixer? To fit a pickup.

The naysayers are wrong. It does not fit every application, like a Corvette or a race car, and some places are not big on having a working propane dispenser on the premises, but I never had a problem fueling up in Alberta. Helps to have a big fuel cell. Mine is 240 litres so about 190 is the maximum with the new auto shut-offs as opposed to the old "spitter" valves that let you override the 80% rule, and you need a lot of space for the tank.(that is the only down-side but at 700 kms per tankful, no biggy). Nor is there any appreciable difference in power. I upped the radiator capacity to allow for the increased heat generated by the gas, and I installed a circulating water heater to ensure positive starting in the winter. Only on the coldest days (below -25) was there a problem with cold starts, but every car is a hard sell in the winter.

Great stuff. clean burning and cheap in Alberta. Interestingly. propane in Saskatchewan is only a couple of pennies cheaper than gas, so the conversion and re-certification makes it a losing proposition.

Free (to be ripped off by gas companies @ $1.33 per litre)

[denpacc]

Originally Posted by Gongshow

Thanks for the responses. My buddy and I were talking about it last night and I was curious.
seems like more headache than its worth.

But I just can't bring myself to drive a prius

At the rate things are going, you'll be able to buy an electric Land Cruiser in the near future to replace your old one. Gawd I wish they sold the turbo diesel Crushers here, I'd have one for sure.

[silver]

Been there, done that, never do it again. I had a carb problem on a truck, changed it to propane and regretted it. Power was down, price per liter was lower, however cost per mile was up. I have a plan for the old tanks but you can have the rest for the price of postage.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by artie

I had a propane truck and was afraid to go down the highway after minus 25. Also had a problem when I filled up in Jasper and drove to the Columbia Icefields. Parked at the tourist lot by the hotel and the pressure release valve started releasing propane. I was waiting for someone to walk by with a smoke and we would all blow up. Someone suggested to drive down to the bottom of the big hill and thats what I did and it stopped releasing propane. I guess at the higher altitude the gas expanded and the pressure caused it to release. no more propane for me. You also cannot go into enclosed parking lots and have to turn the propane off when going on a ferry. Some service stations will not work on them. Also have to find a station that sells propane and most that do close early so you have to be fueled up for night driving. I could go on but you get the idea.

Can't park it in your garage either. Popular idea when propane was cheap, but demand soon fixed that.

[Lonnie]

dove lots of vehicles on propane thier are some things you have to remember a bout propane like don't move in cold weather until you have warm air coming from your heater. on a carb system go propane or gas as duel fuel neither run good. on a computer controlled system duel fuel system works quite well the biggest mistake that I seen is that a lot of people hook up there heater hoses up wrong and the mixxer does not get warm enough in cold weather. when on cruise controll at 60mph and switch to propane speed drops to 57 mph. 150 ford 1/2 ton

[Reeves1]

Worry will make you old !
Just put this in and grin each time it's fired up !

http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...KeyField=10356

[Redfrog]

I had a couple wreckers running on propane. It was on the coast so no -40 weather, but I had no issues with propane.

The difference between propane and gasoline in the application was no issue. Propane was 17 cents a liter and gasoline was about 50 cents a liter.

I also had a dual fuel p/u at one time. Natural gas and gasoline. switch back and forth as required. The Nat gas was hard to find and was short range because of the volume, but performance wise it was ok.

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by mommadiesel

My Uncle did this and created the Big Blue BBQ, ran that truck into the ground without a problem. I don't though, something about being a bomb on wheels doesn't appeal to me.

yet you will sit on a tank with gasoline the most volatile liquid known to man kind. as said in previous posts propane is not near as powerful as gasoline.

[Ken07AOVette]

Originally Posted by Lonnie

yet you will sit on a tank with gasoline the most volatile liquid known to man kind. as said in previous posts propane is not near as powerful as gasoline.

Ever hear of hexane? You think gasoline is volatile, 6x more.

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

Ever hear of hexane? You think gasoline is volatile, 6x more.

no I had never heard of it.had to google it hope nobody tries to run engines on that stuff as it sounds like it could poison the earth realy fast I'm not overly green in my thinking or actions but that hexane sounds like it should be outlawed if it is even half as bad as what I read.

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

Ever hear of hexane? You think gasoline is volatile, 6x more.

no I had never heard of it.had to google it hope nobody tries to run engines on that stuff as it sounds like it could poison the earth realy fast I'm not overly green in my thinking or actions but that hexane sounds like it should be outlawed if it is even half as bad as what I read.

[59whiskers]

Had a 1977 Chev on propane for 20 years. You need to run a strong antifreeze mix so your fuel mixer does not freeze off when it is -40 winter tempratures. The truck ran hotter in the summer and colder in the winter and I had to cover my radiator up to keep things hot in the winter. As the truck got older I had more problems with plugs fouling up if the engine ran a little cold. I would not consider a propane conversion unless the cost of propane was 75% cheaper than gasoline. I doubt if I would ever do a consversion again.

[moosemad]

My 95 Chev half ton is duel fuel. I've driven it all over Alberta and a couple of neibouring provinces hauling quads, trailers, firewood etc. Never once had performance issues with the truck on propane, when it hits -30 I do switch to gas. My truck has 240,000 kms on it now. This is my 4th propane vehicle and I loved them all for the price of the fuel. Today in Calgary I can get propane for 49.9 cents a litre, gas was at $1.26 a litre.
Maybe not everyones bag but I'm a happy camper.
Price for a conversion depends on how big a tank you want but I'm guessing your in the $4000 range, and you do need to have your heads done for propane or your valve guides/inserts will dry out and puff blue smoke on start up.

[Kim473]

Thinking about buying an older motor home on propane. How easy is it to find stations that fill propane vehicles these days ? Alberta , BC. Sask. ?

[artie]

I had a propane truck and hated it. Many places like underground parking lot you cannot take it. The carburetor on top is like a bunsen burner and once it wears buy a new one or nothing but trouble. What made me get rid of it was I filled up with propane at Jasper and drove to the Athabasca viewing parking lot on the Columbia Icefields parkway and as I stopped I noticed the safety valve was letting lots of propane into the air caused by less atmospheric pressure so more pressure in the tank. I thought all I need was a smoker to walk by and we will all blow up. What to do to stop it from leaking? Jumped in the truck and drove to the bottom of the big hill by the large bend in the highway and that difference in atmospheric pressure caused less pressure in the tank and it stopped leaking. Drove home and switched the truck back to gas. The government also gets its share of tax money from the propane you buy.

[skidderman]

20 yrs ago when propane was cheap it was a no brainer. Today the price of propane isn't much cheaper than gas so it no longer makes sense. I recall once filling up at 6.9 cts a liter. Those were the days!!!!!!!