Propane
 

Hi,

I've read a bit about propane conversions. I was looking at the website below:

http://www.gotpropane.com/p4.html#Toyota

From this it looks like it isn't road legal and it could only be done on 1st and 2nd gen trucks. I wondered if the 2.7 in the 3rd gen could also be a candidate if you could fit a carb manifold to it?

I have read else where that it is possible to make a CA legal conversion, but I haven't found anything conclusive.

Does anyone know anything about this subject?

i think propane conversions are only if you use your rig for offroad only i know the guys at got propane are working on a smog legal setup

i havent heard any way you can put a carb on a 2.7.... i have a 22r in my 81 i'll trade you straight up for your 2.7. :D


like bigarms said. this is for Trailered rigs only. you cannot license the rig for on road use.

Propane is not as efficient as gas will be. i havent seen any reason that you would want to convert a EFI truck to propane. the advantage of running propane on a carbed truck is that it will run at any angle (on its side) and not flood out. EFI does the same thing.

Thanks for the replies.

My interest in the kit, is because of the low emissions and low cost of the fuel. I currently drive a jeep and am looking around for a 4runner so this might have been a factor in which to buy. It sounds like I should wait a while and see if they can come up with road legal system.

Thanks again

I'm looking into this too. I'm not looking for the increased economy, and I know that propane is slightly less efficient than gasoline, but the propane market is MUCH more stable than gasoline, and it costs about 1/3 less depending on the season, and region. I'd rather spend $2.69 on a gallon of propane than $3.19 or more(they are saying that gas will go up over $3.50/gal this spring), even if I get slightly less out of it. Some of the conversions I've seen are for use above 2000RPM, so I was thinking that while cruising on the freeway, I'm usually pulling about 3000RPM, so If I was burning propane, I could get much more distance between fill ups.

I'm assuming that propane might get 10% less economy, so I'll say that I'm getting 18MPG with gasoline right now, average mixed driving. So propane would probably get right around 15-16MPG. Some of The conversions I've seen hold 8 gallons of propane. So I could go an extra 120-130 miles between fill ups. I get around 280 miles on a tank of gasoline, which is about 15 gallons when I fill it up(I never let it get all the way empty, tank cap. is 17.2 gallons, BTW) So I would be able to hit 400+ miles between fillups, which would really save some money in the long run, and propane burns very clean.

I've already figured that the cost per mile of 87 octane unleaded gasoline in my 4Runner is about 17.7 cents per mile.(gasoline is $3.19/gal, and 18 MPG average) When gas is up over $3.49 a gallon, like it has been a few times this year, that number is 19.4 cents per gallon.

With propane, which is currently around $2.79 a gallon, assuming I get 16 MPG out of it, the cost is 17.4 cents per gallon, which doesn't really save that much. However, the price of gasoline is low(relatively) right now, and propane is high(due to seasonal price increases). In the late spring, Propane goes down significantly, I believe it will be around $2.29 like it was last year, the cost of fuel per mile would be 14.3 cents per mile, which if compared to a gasoline price of 19.4 cents per mile turns out to be about 26% cheaper to run than gasoline, and that includes adjusting for propane's slightly lower efficiency.

As someone who drives long distances on highways quite often, I've done a lot of research on this topic. I think the idea of adding propane to an existing 3.0 EFI engine makes sense for on road, as well as off road. If you are taking a long trip to the back country to go wheeling, the last thing you want is to have to head back early because you are low on gas. as long as you keep your RPMs above 2000, you will have extra fuel capacity with the propane.

I hope at least some of these numbers make sense.:con:

i run propane on a 5mge and fill up every 300kms with roughly 70litres. its a dedicated system so its my only option.
havent had a problem yet although im glad i have the engine as it compensates for propanes drop in power. also, i havent had any problems idling (an adjustable choke is mint) or starting in the cold as i have a primer button. runs real well at low rpms actually.