Info needed on dual-fuel glider kits
Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by The_Flying_Dutchman, Nov 17, 2016.
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There will only be an extra few hundred pounds over the full diesel tank it'd be replacing, but the empty CNG tank weighs more than an empty diesel tank, so you can't burn that extra weight off when needed.
I got quoted for around $30,000 to do the conversion, so it doesn't really make sense on much other than a glider or a full teardown and rebuild.
In theory it balances the best of both worlds, since it trims diesel at cruise and lets the low power CNG do its thing, then runs up to 100% diesel under full load for maximum torque, but I imagine it has its own flaws in the real world just like everything else. I like it since you can run with the CNG tank bone dry when need be, so it doesn't have the range anxiety of a true CNG truck. The conversion will make more sense when diesel is back over $5/gal and CNG is still sitting at $1.99/dge/gge like it has the last 5 years due to the ban on export of natural gas.The_Flying_Dutchman Thanks this. -
I talked to a salesman at Harrison Truck Center yesterday. They have a Freightliner Coronado dual-fuel kit that sounds interesting. It does add 900lbs of weight, which is quite a bit, but at least it isn't worse. One of the 150gal saddle tanks is replaced by a 150 CNG tank. The base price for the glider kit is approx $120,000, plus $33,000 for the CNG kit.
The whole reason that I am interest in this subject is because my company is starting to get involved in CNG, and yours truly may end up driving one soon. A major customer we haul for wanted to "go green", and an agreement was hashed out in a meeting where one specific lane would end up having two CNG trucks on it. I think it is all somebody's silly idea to do some sort of feel-good, save the Earth kind of thing that doesn't have much real world value or practicality, but oh well...
We tested a Mack CNG loaner before buying one of our own. Our CNG Mack has the 400hp Cummins in it, but it only has the big upright tank behind the cab. The radius is terrible. The truck can only go around 500 miles on a fill up.
Now they are looking at getting a second CNG truck, and I am high up on the list to be a possible driver. I am trying hard to push them in the dual-fuel direction. Seems like a much more practical and safe alternative. I will run a dual-fuel glider in a heartbeat, but I'm not touching a full blown CNG truck. I emailed my terminal manager and our head mechanic all the info I could find on the CNG gliders. Now I gotta hope and pray good sense prevails...
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