Duel Fuel Class A

Many years ago, many of the fleet vehicles we'd use were converted to run on propane. The conversions never worked well. They had noticeably less power, were hard to impossible to start in colder weather without starting on gas and converting once warmed up. Of course the tanks were huge as well taking up half the bed of the truck. For a RV where pulling power is always in need I would think they would be a poor choice.

Again, the trucks I'm discussing were gasoline converted to propane. Had they been designed from the ground up to run on propane the outcome may have been different.

I Oklahoma they run Dual Fuel not duel fuel pickups. Diesel and Propane mix. Works. Trouble is I don't think Diesels have the hard seats and valves propane engines do. Lack of TEL and high heat were causes of burned valves. We ran 20 V8 and 6 cylinder Chrysler and Waukesha irrigation engines on Natural gas and propane and they would put out a blue flame at full throttle you could cut steel with. Our propane pickups got lower mileage but burned cleaner and at overhaul there was no carbon.

Lead free fuel requires harden valve seats.

RLS7201 wrote:

Tal/IL wrote:
It's been a few years ago, but at one time I purchased service parts for a customer who had stationary engines that ran on methane. Valve wear was a problem (lack of lubrication). We had to source special hardened valves and seats and service life was rather short. I believe propane engines share that characteristic.

The lack of Tetraethyl Lead was the reason for valve stem and valve seat failure in converted engines. That problem has since been addressed when lead free gas was introduced in the 70s. All engines designed for lead free gas will convert to propane or other spark ignited fuels with no problem.

Richard

Tal/IL wrote:
It's been a few years ago, but at one time I purchased service parts for a customer who had stationary engines that ran on methane. Valve wear was a problem (lack of lubrication). We had to source special hardened valves and seats and service life was rather short. I believe propane engines share that characteristic.

The lack of Tetraethyl Lead was the reason for valve stem and valve seat failure in converted engines. That problem has since been addressed when lead free gas was introduced in the 70s. All engines designed for lead free gas will convert to propane or other spark ignited fuels with no problem.

Richard

kmb1966 wrote:
Winnebago used to have a dual fuel option back in the 80's (I think the 80's). You could switch from gasoline to propane.

I remember seeing an older Dual Fuel Class A several years ago. I was thinking it was a Holiday Rambler but it may have been a Winnebago.

HR made a factory version in the 80's. Propane has higher octane rating but less of a btu rating hence few MPG. Farmers do this all the time with their tractors. Conversion can be had but you pay.

Two Jayhawks wrote:
Propane would not be a plus for me based on availability and ease of filling. If your set up was originally equipped with a duel set up with gas or LPG I would be careful assuming you can go back to gas. If it hasn't operated on gas in years that may be a big job to do so.

The way the sellers son explained it to me you start it on gas until you come up to temperature then you switch to propane. The owner is in Ireland. I hoped to see and test drive next week. I am thinking it would extend your range between fuel stops especially when traveling through Canada.

Propane prices vary widely, much more than gasoline, at least here in the U.S. Availability can also be an issue. Most newer gasoline engines will run fine as a properly converted dual fuel engine. The octane rating for propane is considerably higher than gasoline but the energy content per gallon is less. Some U.S. states give a break on annual registration fees (Arizona for one) if dual fuel equipped.

Back in the 80's when propane was more popular, it was usually considerably cheaper for the non-fleet user as far as BTU/$/Gal goes. Now it's a **** shoot depending on where you are and the price spread between propane/gasoline. You can find online conversion apps to determine if the price spread makes sense in your area. Everything considered, it's usually not which is why propane has fallen out of use in the U.S. as far as a vehicle fuel. Propane does give you another fuel option though if gasoline becomes unavailable for any reason.

Chum lee

Propane would not be a plus for me based on availability and ease of filling. If your set up was originally equipped with a duel set up with gas or LPG I would be careful assuming you can go back to gas. If it hasn't operated on gas in years that may be a big job to do so.

Propane does have a percentage of oil/lube
I don't remember how much
Methane either from wells or compost, does not contain any oil for lubrication