lpg?

[clive griffiths]

Hi.
We are new members and are in our third American, at the moment it is petrol and we are seriously thinking of an lpg conversion. Any thoughts, good or bad?
Thanks.
Clive and Rhiannon.

[andy]

Hi and Welcome to the RVOC,Clive & Rhiannon,sorry cant help you with the LPG enquiry, there are some knowledgable people on here and someone will be along shortly to answer your questions.Happy RVing.Andy&Shirley.

[larryh]

Hello Clive and Rhiannon,

When we bought our Hurricane with Ford Triton V10 it was the intention to have it converted. It cost approaching £3500 and like the extra cost when buying a diesel you never know if you get it back. The big plus is when you fill up with almost half price fuel.
Ours s a treat , stacks of power , never a problem. It does help to plan for locating lpg when travelling, but if you run out push the button and you are on petrol. If you go ahead make sure you get the work carried out by a reputable firm as these are complex installations that require certification when complete
I don't regret it, good luck

Larry

[G2EWS]

Hi Clive,

Welcome to the forum.

I have always been against conversion based on the payback time. However, it all depends on how many miles you will really do rather than what you want to do. I know that is stating the obvious but it is easy to get caught up in the romantic idea of saving money when in actual fact you will not be saving in the long run.

I produced a spreadsheet which you can download from our sister site:

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/Forum.php

It appears to be down for admin work at the moment. Basically go to the download area and it should be obvious.

For example if you drove 500 miles per month (which is probably a bit more than most do!), the conversion cost £3,500 then the payback time is approximately 3 years. It is easy to see that if you only do a couple of hundred miles then payback is likely to be beyond your ownership of the RV. Re-sell value is not increased that much either. Take a look at the vehicles that have been converted and you will see they don't often end up selling for much if anything more than an unconverted vehicle.

However, that all said there are other benefits. If you plan to do lots of European travel then you will find an lpg conversion allows for greater distances without having to worry about re fuelling. A bonus if you end up on one of the many long roads without petrol stations!

For what it is worth a large RV supplier in the UK told me that they think conversion is a total waste of money. But if their customers ask they will of course have it done.

Best regards

Chris

[Londy]

Like Larry we had our V10 Triton converted. Two tanks holding 270 litres full up. It cost £3,400 including VAT. An absolutely first class job. certified knowledgable installer if a bit awkward to deal with.

I would do it again, we have got our money back in 3yrs. The Rv runs beatifully quiet and smooth. We get 9 to the gallon on petrol and 8.5-9 on gas.

I would make sure you get large capacity tanks. Filling up is no problem,we downloaded all gas sites of the net and travel 500mls before refuelling.

Londy

[sandra55]

we bought our winnabago, brave last year and had it converted to lpg. we have 2 tanks the biggest being 160ltrs the second 100ltrs, conversion cost £2,5oo and we have never regreted it, rv runs quiet and smooth and have not had any probs getting hold of it. welcome to the club

[Londy]

Just as an afterthought, we downloaded all lpg sites of the net, they also give you the postcode, tel no, opening times. cash, or cards. We do ring and ask the price as it can vary by 8p litre. Roll on connecting to the domestic tank. Londy

[Olley]

Can't really add much to what has been said, except to emphasize a few points.

As Chris says if your doing it to save cash, then you need to look at the figures, for me around 25,000 miles was the break even point, get a filler either side, minimum 200litres of tank volume, watch the ground clearance.

Try to get a personal recommend from someone on this or another forum, for a converter, their are cowboys out there, I know; one did mine.

Olley

[SUFFOLKBOY]

Hi Folks,

Welcome to the forum i am on me second RV both have LPG conversions and both were done by a great outfit in Wales who i was told are one of the best in the country and so far i believe that.
I totally agree about getting as big a tanks as humanely possible but it really does depend on your chassis and the expertise of the installer as some just fob you off as it means using the old grey matter to configure the best layout!
As has been said if you use the right people to install the system there is no noticeable power loss and it is great when abroad to have that extra mileage under your belt when in the more remote areas.
One point though if you do any winter motoring in years like this LPG does not like the very cold temps coming across Exmoor in January all the lights started flashing and the gas gave up the ghost so i was pleased to have full petrol tanks but it was reading -9 on the gauge.

Cheers
SB

[Olley]

Originally Posted by SUFFOLKBOY

Hi Folks,
One point though if you do any winter motoring in years like this LPG does not like the very cold temps coming across Exmoor in January all the lights started flashing and the gas gave up the ghost so i was pleased to have full petrol tanks but it was reading -9 on the gauge.

Cheers
SB

SB that doesn't make sense, the LPG is delivered in liquid form to the vaporiser, which is heated by the engines hot water, unless the LPG had frozen, which for Butane is -137C and propane -187C so I reckon unlikely I think you must have another problem, maybe the water supply to the vaporiser.

Olley