Gas convsion on an 05 PA Mitsubishi Challenger

Thanks Les J. After seeing the set up on the other Challenger yesterday I thought I would seek comment. What you say makes much sense. The good old jerry can is a very low cost solution for a lot of problems - and I already own a couple. I am interested in the range you get from a standard tank. I haven't towed the van with the Challenger yet so will be keen to see how far I get. There seems to be a lot of petrol left in the tank when the gage points to empty.
Cheers,
Kevin

Kevin:
I have a 2000 NL Pajero (3.5L engine - same as yours). It has done 240000 km - most of it on gas. 110000 of that towing a 16.5 ft Jayco Poptop caravan as well. I have had problems with the ignition leads, but hopefully have sorted them now. The leads are very skinny and can easily flash over from one lead to another. WHen this happens, if the other lead goes to a cylinder with an open inlet valve, you get a hell of a big BANG, which does wonders for your air cleaner. Other than that, nothing major in the way of engine problems. The 3.5L Mitsubishi engine on the Pajero was 100% LPG copmpatible, and I assume that yours is too. You should check with Mitsubishi about this.

Do the sums yourself. When I had gas fitted in 2000, it was simple. We travel at about 95 km/hr with the caravan, and get around 330 km from a 70L tank of gas when going on level ground. It knocks back to 275 km in very hilly country. If using petrol, I would expect to use around 55 L for the same distances. Depending on where you are, petrol will cost $1.50 per litre and gas $0.80.

Assume you travel 1000 km. You will use 212 Lof LPG ($170) or 167 L of petrol ($250). In other words, you save $80 per 1000 km of travel. You know how long you are going to keep your vehicle, and how much it will cost to convert. You can decide if it is worthwhile.

For me, there was no contest. The conversion cost was $2600, and every 20000 km I did repaid that conversion cost, so I am well in front. Theoretically, I could leave my Pajero on the side of the road and it would not wwe me anything now because of the savings I have made in fuel costs. And NO - I am not doing that! There is also a slight advantage in that you have extended range with both LPG and petrol. We have driven round the block twice now and have used only 2 tankfuls of petrol each time. Mind you, LPG was expensive in places, but overall we were well in front on prices. Typically, we travelled to a spot and left the van there whilst we went out exploring the local area. LPG is available in most of the popular areas, but not in really remote places such as BIrdsville etc.

Hi Erad. Its actually a 3.00 L motor but probably has a lower body weight than your Paj. So I guess your figures are fairly typical of what I would experience in a gas conversion. Thanks for your input.
Kevin

Hi Barry. The ARB web site shows the Challenger with no long distance tank available but the Triton/L200/Strada combination as having a long tank available for the manufacture date range into which my vehicle falls. Their tanks seem to be made by The Longranger so I will drop them a note and see what the storey is.
Thanks for your comment.
Kevin

That's good information Dave. Thanks. My interest in gas was as a possible method of extending range if a long range tank was not available. My preference is to leave the spare wheel where it is and certainly not to lose my luggage space to a dirty big gas tank. A larger replacement tank is a good option for me as a fair bit of our towing will be in remote areas where gas prices will be relatively high.
Cheers,
Kevin