Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/305391
pro pickup | by Bruce W. Smith EquipmentWorld.com | May 2014 43 GREEN SUPER DUTY The 2014 Roush CleanTech 6.2L F-250 4x4 runs like money in the bank ROAD TEST: I t's an odd feeling when you turn the ignition key and nothing hap- pens. At fi rst you think something is wrong. You wait. Silence. A couple of seconds pass and you hear a faint click. Then the sound of an electric fuel pump comes and goes. Then all is quiet again. You wait. Sud- denly the starter engages and the engine purrs to life. Those fi rst seconds sitting behind the wheel of a propane-powered 2014 F-250 would be the only hint there's something different from this truck than a normal 6.2-liter gas-powered Super Duty. The Ford's start-up sequence is nor- mal. It takes about 10 seconds when the engine is cold to get the fuel lines and rails pressurized, and up to 30 seconds after it's been run for a while because the propane is under higher operating temps. Other than the fuel cap being replaced by a threaded fi ller, those two items are really the only immediate clues this truck is a mono-fuel that runs off propane. Of course the longbed XLT I'm driv- ing is plastered with big Roush Clean- Tech logos on the doors and "propane autogas-powered" graphics on the sides, to remind me the big Ford was set up to do its part helping make its place in the work world greener – both environmen- tally and economically. THE PRICE OF PROPANE Being "green" is a good business phi- losophy. But those who shell out $11,450 for the Roush CleanTech conversion option on an F-250 are looking at saving money, not necessarily making environ- mentalists cheer. Propane power does just that when compared to gas or diesel pickup engine options. Even though propane produces about 25 percent less energy per gallon than the gasoline we get at the pump today, its cost per gallon, reduced engine main- tenance and extended oil-drain benefi ts more than pay for the conversion. Propane was selling for around $1.85 per gallon at the contractor level when I fueled up this test truck at Blossman Gas in Gulfport, Mississippi. The sign across the street at a big discount gas chain displayed $3.27 for unleaded and $3.91 for diesel. That savings of almost a buck-fi fty could jump to a realistic saving of more than $2 per gallon if the $0.50 per gal- Propane vs unleaded The difference in fuel price between either gas or diesel and propane autogas is tem- pered by the latter's lower energy content, or BTU. "Propane autogas is about 15 percent less effi cient than today's unleaded, which contains at least 10-percent ethanol," says Roush Clean- Tech's Steve Whaley, director of business development. Propane's lower energy content translates directly into a similar loss in fuel economy in real-world driv- ing with non-turbocharged gas pickup engines. Still, Whaley and others who are marketing gas-to- propane conversions say the bottom line is running propane will save at least 25 percent in annual fuel costs over identically equipped gasoline-powered vehicles – probably considerably more when other factors are considered.