Diesel-Powered Toyota Gets 28 Mpg With Propane Boost
Kenneth Schlabach runs longer for less money in his full-size Toyota truck, thanks to propane injection, a Cummins engine repower, and other modifications. On a recent 980-mile road trip, he burned 20 gal. of diesel and 15 gal. of propane. That gave him 28 mpg. Even better, with propane costing close to a third that of diesel, they were cheap miles.
“The propane injection system kicks in when I am on the road,” says Schlabach, a Kentucky logger. “It gives 30 percent more horsepower and a substantial increase in mileage. When the engine boost goes up, the variable regulator pulls in more propane. In the mountains I burn more propane than on the flat.”
Adding the Power Shot 2000 propane system was actually the second big modification. The first was to swap out a bad motor in the Toyota for a Cummins diesel he pulled out of an older Frito Lay delivery truck. He modified the Toyota frame and the Cummins engine slightly to get it to fit.
“I was able to use the original motor mounts out of the delivery truck after I made some brackets to fit them into the Toyota,” says Schlabach. “The Toyota had an automatic transmission, but I installed an NV4500 five-speed manual transmission from a one-ton Chevy.”
He knew the NV4500 would fit the Cummins with no modifications, but he then added a Gear Venders overdrive. “Without the overdrive, mileage would drop considerably on the road,” says Schlabach.
He had the stage 2 fuel pump tuned at Scheid Diesel, a specialty shop in Indiana. With the pump tuned to maximum flow, he gets an extra 40 hp for a total of around 200 hp. He also advanced the timing to about 21°, which added still more power.
"I just idle along at 1,400 rpm's and 75 mph and do 60 at 1,000 rpm's," he says. On the road, the propane saves about 5˘ per mile. I spend a lot of time on the road, so I'm always looking for fuel savings."
Schlabach asked that readers not contact him, as he’s not interested in building similar rigs. He suggests contacting Scheid Diesel or Diesel Performance Products, maker of the PowerShot 2000, for more information.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Scheid Diesel, 4960 N. 13th St., Terre Haute, Ind. 47805 (ph 812 466-7202 or 800 669-1593; www.scheiddiesel.com) or Diesel Performance Products, 7459 Flickinger Dr, Utica, Mich. 48317 (ph 586 726-7478; www.dieselperformanceproducts.com).
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Diesel-Powered Toyota Gets 28 Mpg With Propane Boost ENERGY Alternative Fuels Kenneth Schlabach runs longer for less money in his full-size Toyota truck thanks to propane injection a Cummins engine repower and other modifications On a recent 980-mile road trip he burned 20 gal of diesel and 15 gal of propane That gave him 28 mpg Even better with propane costing close to a third that of diesel they were cheap miles “The propane injection system kicks in when I am on the road ” says Schlabach a Kentucky logger “It gives 30 percent more horsepower and a substantial increase in mileage When the engine boost goes up the variable regulator pulls in more propane In the mountains I burn more propane than on the flat ” Adding the Power Shot 2000 propane system was actually the second big modification The first was to swap out a bad motor in the Toyota for a Cummins diesel he pulled out of an older Frito Lay delivery truck He modified the Toyota frame and the Cummins engine slightly to get it to fit “I was able to use the original motor mounts out of the delivery truck after I made some brackets to fit them into the Toyota ” says Schlabach “The Toyota had an automatic transmission but I installed an NV4500 five-speed manual transmission from a one-ton Chevy ” He knew the NV4500 would fit the Cummins with no modifications but he then added a Gear Venders overdrive “Without the overdrive mileage would drop considerably on the road ” says Schlabach He had the stage 2 fuel pump tuned at Scheid Diesel a specialty shop in Indiana With the pump tuned to maximum flow he gets an extra 40 hp for a total of around 200 hp He also advanced the timing to about 21° which added still more power I just idle along at 1 400 rpm s and 75 mph and do 60 at 1 000 rpm s he says On the road the propane saves about 5˘ per mile I spend a lot of time on the road so I m always looking for fuel savings Schlabach asked that readers not contact him as he’s not interested in building similar rigs He suggests contacting Scheid Diesel or Diesel Performance Products maker of the PowerShot 2000 for more information Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Scheid Diesel 4960 N 13th St Terre Haute Ind 47805 ph 812 466-7202 or 800 669-1593; www scheiddiesel com or Diesel Performance Products 7459 Flickinger Dr Utica Mich 48317 ph 586 726-7478; www dieselperformanceproducts com
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