Wayne (NSW) replied:

Joe,
LPG has very limited supply in the outback and because of this very few vehicle use LPG away from major towns.

If you are planning a trip to Poeppel Corner a long range fuel tank would be a better option. It would be cheaper to buy and fit, and can be filled anywhere.

If the Hilux is petrol you will have a very limited range with the standard tank and LPG. Also the LPG tank might cause some clearance problems. This will depend on where the LPG tank it is fitted on the vehicle.

If the Hilux is diesel, again with a standard tank you will have limited range. Gas injection on a diesel is still not proven and I have heard of some owners wanting to have the gas removed. They were very disappointed with the system.

Wayne

KennyBWilson replied:

I found icing over happens when the gas tank is very low on fuel.
Try buying Gas where there is no bitumen

Fab72 replied:

The icing up you are referring to is usually related to the cooling system of the vehicle. If the coolant is running hot or the level is low, the converter can ice up. This used to happen a lot to me on my HQ ute which didn't have an overflow tank, and hence would loose coolant over a period of time.

As for icing up while refueling.....B/S.

I have driven many various duel fuel cars over the past 10 years and to some far away places, agree that supply can be an issue once you stray away from the main tourists routes, but having refueled at temperatures in the high 40's, icing up has never occured.

Things to consider are, clearance, total range (1 litre of LPG is only roughly as efficient at .70 litres of petrol), LPG can't be carried in a jerry can, and refueling is slower per litre than petrol/diesel.

On a positive side, LPG is cheaper per litre, LPG systems don't require a fuel pump to make them work and rarely die, duel fuel gives great range (I go from Alice Springs to Port Pirie without stopping for fuel in a VE Commodore - 1400kms), and saves loose jerry cans having to be tied down.

There are plenty of pros and cons...at the end of the day, the decission is yours, however, if you decide to go duel fuel, DON'T cheap out on the system or the installer. Good luck.

mikehzz replied:

I have a 98 Nissan Pathfinder (3.3 V6) on LPG with a 66 litre tank. The petrol tank has 65 litres. I get 400 kms (if tuned up) from the LPG and about 500 kms from the petrol.
I am very happy with the LPG as it has saved me heaps of cash over 350,000 kms. I have been to Uluru/Alice/Nullabour/Perth during summer and never had icing up or refueling problems anywhere.
Would I recommend it for outback travel....not really. The cost of LPG out there just about negates the fuel savings. You can be paying almost double for your LPG (if they have it) but nowhere near double for your petrol. I've done the calculations many times. Out there I mainly run petrol and leave the LPG full as my reserve. LPG is great for general everyday use and wouldn't think of running petrol in any civilized area. The tank is a major pain as well.
I imagine my Pathfinder would be pretty similar to your Hilux. You need to do your sums and consider where most of your driving will be done.

Mike

Smudger replied:

My first LPG vehicle was a 1990 rangie, then a Disco I, both went very well on LPG, in fact my son still has the Disco and with over 280,000 it's still pulls like an Ox. The setup is brilliant. LPG tank (60 Litres useable) replaced the original tank so it's out of the way. PLUS ULP ..a 30 litre 'feeder tank' in the quarter panel and 2 x 45 litre rail tanks. Gives the Disco a range of 1100kms.
If you're planning to tow with LPG you'll find economy will go out the window, even to the point of parity with ULP - with increased consumption together with increased bush prices for LPG. I also found that under load she didn't have the grunt going up steep or long gradients on LPG, but that's as easy as switching over to ULP on the run. 90% of my kms were in town and LPG gave me half priced motoring, with V8 power.
Prime factor in my favour was ..I bought both cars with LPG installed, so I didn't have to recover the setup cost. Be sure to do your sums.
One last thing, if you go for LPG, my advice is don't go for a big LPG tank, it'll rob you of ground clearance underneath, or storage space in the ute tray - topping up every few hundred kms is no drama, it just means taking a break every 2 hours. A mate put a 90 litre tank under his patrol and he now has an atrocious exit angle.

reversemulletman replied:

I've got LPG on a 01 Prado. Sure, it takes abit more planing on long trips with the van and when out bush. Sure the tank sits an inch and a half lower than the original fuel tank, and sure I had some initial teething problems, but at 49 cents per litre, and given 90% of driving is around town, I dont care. I love the stuff.

Member - Tony V (NSW) replied:

Joe D,

I have a 100 series V8 on LPG, My petrol tank is 95 ltrs and LPG 100 - 80 usable.

I think the big picture needs to be looked at not just the occasional trip outback.

A long range tank is going o cost say $1,000.00
LPG conversion after rebate maybe $1,200.00

Whats your savings against cost over a 12 month period?

When I travel outback, at the last place I can get LPG I top up then use it as my reserve, running on petrol and topping up where I can.
I can get 600 kms on petrol and 400 kms on LPG.

So its a balance.

Bay the way never in 20 years of having LPG had an icing problem.

Member - Warrie (NSW) replied:

Hi Joe, are you going to Poepples from Birdsville? - no LPG available there. Spend the dough on a conversion and govt rebate is $1750 so you might only have to chip in a few hundred if you shop around. If you plan to keep your vehicle, then the longer the better as you will save heaps as above posts show. This year did a Red centre trip in the Pathfinder with my figures being:
10, 200 km, 2147 litres ULP and LPG averaging $1.10/L which cost $2355. This is 23cents/km and I got 4.75km/L towing 1400kg. A mate towed 700kg with a Prado D4D 3 litre. He did 10, 100km using 1268 L costing $1798 at $1.42/L so that's 18cents/km and he got 12.5L/km.
So he's $550 ahead on the trip. But over the next year doing 20,000km I pay 60cpl and he pays $1.20. He gets 10km/L and I get a bit less than 5 so we are close to even.
The only ice- up incident I had was when the tank had rubbed on the hose feeding to the engine. It finally wore through and started leaking- icing up half the towbar. But once I turned the ignition off the tank valve shut off the supply and the remaining small volume of LPG in the hose soon dissipated. I switched to petrol and drove to my LPG installer who charged $100 to fix something he should have done properly in the first place!!!..... W