I would be concerned about how long it will be before our lovely chancellor ups the tax on LPG. I'm sure he's only waiting for enough people to convert. Otherwise I would jump at it. It means you have twice the range as well, as you can fill up the petrol tank and gas tank and use both.
If you have a car that is still under warranty you might want to check whether the conversion will invalidate the warranty. Some manufaturers accept the conversion and others don't.
I don't know if it is true but someone told my OH (someone who does the conversions) said that you have to keep swapping back to normal fuel when towing as LPG doesn't have the same power as using general fuel. Ours is diesel so maybe it only applies to diesel.
upto to the beginning of this year- my beloved- had a Mondeo 2.5 v6 we had it converted to LPG about 5 years ago cost £1500 and 28p ltr (42p now) towed a Elddis Tyhoon and a Coachman Amara no problem. You do get a little power hardly noticable. You did'nt say what towcar you have, also if memory allows if car is 3 years or younger you could get a grant of the government towards conversion.Try this website www.autogas.co.uk or use a search engine punch in lpg conversions loads of info Good Luck
I converted a Ford Explorer to LPG just over two years ago and have had no real problems with it - touch wood. Power is very slightly down but hardly noticeable - certainly nothing to moan about. We've got a very heavy van and have no problem getting up to 60 - infact we manage to suprise a few other drivers at just how fast we can accelerate.
I was putting £50 of petrol in every week but now we are putting half that amount in gas so it has easily paid for itself. The only slight problem is that the auto gearbox is reluctant to shift down when you want to overtake but that is easily cured by switching the overdrive off.
I am so pleased with the system that if I ever had to get another car, the first thing that I would do is convert it. The engine seems slightly quieter (I'm told its the injecters making less noise), the engine oil is as clean as it went in a year ago, there are no CO emmisions, my insurers were happy and didn't increase the premiums and with the Explorer the boot is so huge anyway the tank isn't a problem.
In theory LPG vehicles can avoid the congestion charge, pay reduced road fund licences and obtain grants. Out of luck on every count. The grants have been stopped, the road fund licence reduction only applies to newer cars and to obtain the congestion charge relief your vehicle must be in the list of approved cars - I wouldn't even bother looking to see if your car is on there.
If I could change one thing it would be to make the tank bigger - its a 90 litre tank which will hold about 70 litres of gas. That will take us about 250 miles which at 40 p a litre is about 3.6 miles per litre. Thats roughly 16.2 miles per gallon which doesn't sound too clever until you realise that that we're paying £1.81 per gallon (petrol is about £4.30). Working it out on pence per miles it is equivalent to doing 38 mpg - not bad for a 2 1/2 ton 4x4!!
i've had 2 cars on lpg and wouldn't hesitate to get another,the duty has been frozen till 2008 so all the cynics can relax and look elsewhere,anyone who is thinking about i would say,do it now!i worked out at a very conservative estimate i save £100 every 1000 miles,that was the figure at the time of my conversion exactly a year ago,petrol was 75p at the time,gas has gone up 2p in that year,petrol about 16p!!!!
I have a 2.9ltr volvo s80 and have a 60ltr tank fitted in the spare wheel well,the conversion cost £1750,please don't skimp and go for a cheap option or you'll have trouble,use a qaulified fitter with good references,worth the few extra hundred.I get 250 miles around town,and about the same on a run with the van on,maybe a tad less.It costs £18-£22 to fill,depends where you are in the country.
I took the Explorer in to an Auto Gearbox specialist and after I described the problem he asked if I was running on gas, so I guess he knows of others with the same symptoms. He suggested flicking the overdrive switch.
Was buying gas at Morrisons in Grays for 33p a litre but they have recently put it up - it made the numbers even better.
Just remember you might have problems going to Europe in the tunnel, I believe the ferries are ok with lpg tho'. That is if you intend to go to Europe.
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Topic: Conveting to LPG and towing
