Propane or not to propane

[Chewzu]

I am thinking about putting propane on my rig. I tow a 30' fifth wheel and a 18' foot pontoon boat in tandem. The truck pulls it well part sometimes is lags on the hills. I hear that propane improves power and mileage. My engine is stock except for cold air intake, hyper tech III programmer and a 4" cat-back exhaust. Do I need to think about doing the heads w/ studs and what about the tranny?

[dieseldan2005]

I have been thinking about the same thing on my truck. I have access to all the propane i want so i would like to do this. I saw a newer peterbilt on the freeway the other day and he had a vehicle mounted tank on his tractor that went from each side of his sleeper. It was a big one. So even the big rigs must be trying this.

[tech10002]

That's a BIG load you're towing. Studs would be a very good idea towing that kind of weight. An EGR delete would be smart too.

Are you wanting the propane more for mileage or power? I'd think about getting an SCT with a custom tow tune first. You will be a lot happier with the power towing over the Hypertek. That will definitely be better on your tranny too.

You might want to consider water/meth too. Snow has a MPG maximizing system that I hear good things about. I've looked into propane myself, but once you do the math, you'll find the payoff is so far down the road it's not worth it, unless you get the propane for free like dieseldan. LOL

[03f250stroke]

yeah studs would be a good idea..how about water/meth. I had a snow stage 3 kit on my truck for a little while..i dont tow but whenever i took it to the track the egts kicked right down when the controller told it to spray..works off boost or egts

[StrokenUSMC03]

I'd watch out with propane. Your diesel engine is designed to run(believe it or not) with unburn diesel fuel. Thats one of the lubricating elements in ur engine other than oil. Theres no doubt that propane will increase power and fuel efficency. Propane acts as an extra fuelsource, very combustable one, and an excellerant. It increases fuel economy via the atomized mist mixed with the diesel fuel and air. So there will be your diesel fuel+propane+dense cold air. It burns hotter than just straight diesel fuel because everything is burned. When everything gets burned you loose a percentage of your lubrication and increase engine wear and decrease engine life.
I would recomend doing your research before you buy. You don't have to take my word or the dealers word trying to sell you something. Just be cautious.

[winchester33]

yeah. i wouldn't go with propane, it would make your truck run hotter than heck. go with water/meth! just my

[Chewzu]

I was think ing of using the propane for power and mileage gains if it is possible. I have seen other trucks that use it especially when they were towing campers and such. I have seen where some people are suggesting Meth/Water. How often would this used and how long would it last. There are times when we go on vacation and will cover a 1k to 2k miles. I was just wondering which might be better.

[tech10002]

It depends on how much you get into the pedal and what system you use. It can range from just a few pints per tank to gallons. The Max MPG system uses a pretty big tank, but the systems just for helping EGTs and adding power alone only hold a few quarts. For EGTs alone, you can just use water. It will lower EGTs a couple hundred degrees at least. For EGTs, MPG, and more power, you use a mixture of water and methanol. Most people run the cheap blue windshield washer fluid from Walmart. It's a water/meth mix and costs less than $1 a gallon.

[Lone Ranger]

My Customers at Bushtracker in Australia, do big time towing of 3-4 tons in rough going in the Outback off-road... I have done a study on Propane for the past two years and here are my findings in a nutshell...

Problems like pre-detonation hammer on pistons and wrist pins and rod bearings... And some valve train problems. All these problems were long term, but it seemed like the savings was not worth the wear and tear and that explains why the Commercial Trucking Industry on the whole has not shifted over and embraced the technology as a whole. The Propane has a different combustion point than the diesel, so even tuned you are prone to the pre-detonation.

If it were so good, the Truckies in Australia and America would have shifted over, as fuel costs are their NUMBER ONE problem...

My last F-250 was done by the Bushtracker Owner that bought it.. He reported something like 20% more power and fuel economy if you keep your foot out of it..

However, I am not inclined to do it myself, having heard from Engine Builders Shops about the toll on the engine over time. They have convinced me it potentially shortens the life of the engine, so I will not do it, as it appears to be false economy and not cost effective… Only case for it is if you NEEDED more power, and were willing to take the chances… I do not think the risk is warranted despite what the people selling the gas gear say. If it was that great, they would be building the new trucks like that already just for the fuel economy and the Mandatory EPA compliancing for fuel economy… And they are not, even though it restricts them due to the fuel economy on the current trucks.

If it was as easy as the gas addition, they would all free up their production to do it, to increase their Fleet fuel economy, and get the Greenie EPA off their back. And if it were so great the Commercial Trucking Industry would be shifted over to it in a major way... and they are not. I personally have only seen one Semi running it, break even on the equipment was something like 100,000 kms for them.. But just ask yourself, if it was so good, why would we not see more???

Best Regards from Australia.... And God Bless America, one of the last Bastions of freedom.... I can't vote, but I hope you don't become an "ObamaNation" Just a little Satire from a Fan, hope it is allowed.

[RedDye01]

Im sure part of the reason you dont see more propane kits on trucks is because after paying for the kit and DOT tank your 1600 in the hole, which could be a bigger turbo, and intercooler and a chip, a house payment or two....on and on and on. I have a friend with an 02 stroke that is up to 320,000 running with propane and a chip. He runs it pretty much every day and has been on there for at least half of those miles. The only problem he's ever had was a blow head gasket (chip+propane+NOS=boom) but ever since the bottle incident everything's been fine. From what I've seen, propane doesn't have a severe negative effect on these engines and I'd be willing to bet if you could get a propane kit and tank for 500 bucks or so you'd definitely see a lot more people running them.