Here is a Plan
 

Plan 1:

Buy a Honda Civic GX, fueled by Compressed Natural Gas.
Many taxi's use it because Ford manufactures a big sedan that uses CNG. And they can use the carpool lanes driving alone.
The Honda gets 24/36 MPG......big whoop!
But:
. CNG costs under $2.00 vs just under $3.00 for gas, which will be going up.
. I can get the Diamond Lane pass and the Civic is the only vehicle that doesn't need to pay bridge tolls.....and I spend over $300.00 crossing bridges.
. If I get the home fueling system, PG&E, my home gas supplier will give me a really cheap rate for my gas.
. I can be so very environmentally stuck-up, driving the leastest smoggy car.


Plan 2:


Modify Clyde the Ride.

If I can drive a hundred or more miles a day using CNG I might cut my $40.00 or more daily fuel bill in half.
. As long as I'm doing courier driving, savings should pay off the investment in a couple to three years. Then:cool: Profit!


But I need help.
Where can I find what I need to add CNG to my truck?

How much difference is there between the equipment for CNG and that for propane?

I think jets and regulators, maybe.

The conversion to CNG can't be rocket science. When I was in Peru this Spring, I saw companies offering to convert gasoline vehicles to LPG for the equivalent of $400, and we drove all over the country in a Dodge Ram 250 that had been converted to LPG.

That's what I'm looking for, but I don't want to go quite that far to have the modification done.

Beautiful country. Why were you there?

Sorry Mathematics Involved
 

I understand that Natural gas burns at a ratio of 8 to 1 verses gasoline at 16 to 1 and diesel at 24 to 1. Is there a projected MPG for the CNG conversion, somebody check my math here, but even though CNG is cheaper and allows you to do the Diamond Lane thing, will the almost 50% reduction in gas mileage add up to money saved?

It might be cheaper to fly and house some Peruvian mechanics, than to pay the US going price ;-(.

Here's a link to a SoCal conversion, and the company that did it. Six grand.

I was in Peru birdwatching. Saw about 500 species in 4 weeks there.

Now we're talking. $849 for a 4 cylinder conversion kit. Six cylinder kits are $899, and 8 cylinder kits are $949.

There is also the cost of the home filling system to consider. The system I always heard mentioned with Honda stories was lease only, and required annual replacement of seals and gaskets in the neighborhood of a $1000.

You can also check auto auctions for converted trucks or cars. Heard a story about somebody getting a pick-up for a steal, only to have get it converted back to gasoline when he later learned it was propane.

There is one advantage to using either propane on CNG...less wear and tear on the engine...the fuel is dry, so it doesn't wash oil off cylinder walls, and there is no oil dilution. IIRC, Hot Rod magazine did a test running a car on Butane back around 1950 or so. Ran the car I think for about 50k miles, then tore down the engine...everything was still within factory spec...this was back when an engine was doing good to make 100k miles.