Has anyone any experience in propane as an alternative fuel for autos?

Question

I work for a nation wide corporation that has several hundred medium duty delivery trucks on the road. They run on propane. Propane is a very environmenally friendly fuel, but the alternative fuel sticker thatmust be affixed to the windshield costs $300.00 per vehicle anually. Can anyone explain why this is? This is not road tax, this is payed also.

Answer 1

I must admit that I was not aware of this.

I do know several people who use alternative fuels such as propane and natural gas.

I will ask them about that.

Answer 2

i am unsure as to why. i do believe it is considered a hazardous gas, and since your trucks are commercial that the sticker is there to warn people of the fuel that is being used. i have seen those type of stickers on every type of commercial 18 wheeler that either carries hazardous materials or uses a alternative hazardous fuel. i am sure you could look onto yahoo for the answer by typing in your question. i do not know the real answer. but it is definately not as a penalty to drivers, i believe it is there to let others know what fuel is being used or what the vehicle is carrying.

Answer 3

Maybe that was the cost of upgrading the engine to take on propane.

Stickers are placed both as an advertisement and to inform anybody concerned, such as gas stations and mechanics that the vehicle runs on alternative fuel.

Answer 4

Here in Australia Many vehicles run on a propane/butane mix

I have one

98% 0f all Taxi run on LPgas

a growing % of local busses are running on Methane

there are no special charges, just slightly different number plates so that they can be easly recognised by emergency vehicles

Answer 5

The fee is there to recoup the fuel taxes that the vehicle would have paid if were powered by gasoline.  Alternatively, one can pay a per gallon excise tax on the LPG they use.

Answer 6

When I was growing up we had converted all our farm trucks to propane. They ran a lot cleaner and lasted longer than gas. And in a pinch you could tap off the bleed and air up a flat tire.

Not many people do that today. Most of the tractors are diesel.

About that $300 tax. *LOL* It is just another way for Democrats to get your money. I'll guarantee you that got stuck in at the last minute under cloak of darkness. It sure made a lot of farmers mad.

Answer 7

Yes, many cars/trucks have been converted to propane, though usually American full-size pickups (F250/Sierra/Silverado etc.)

http://motors.search.ebay.com/propane_Ca...

As far as environmentally friendly, propane is a mixed bag.  It's very low in HC, CO and NOx, which cause "Los Angeles" sort of smog.  However it still has a lot of carbon, so it doesn't help that much with CO2, thought to cause global climate change.   The less carbon in the fuel, the harder it is to handle.  Just look at CNG (methane), which requires a large tank... it's stored as vapor at extremely high pressure, 3000-3600 psi.  Hydrogen is even worse.  

Charging $300 for alternative fuel vehicles makes no sense in today's political climate.  Maybe it's an old law, if so, lobby your state congressmen to get it repealed!

Answer 8

The way i see it is they don't charge what gas is worth but what miles are worth . Some geniuses figured out how to charge tax by miles . Anything we do today we have to pay . Who are we paying ? I don't know i think there is a bigger force then what we can see going on and we are all blinded to the real truth . Take a look around middle class is being fazed out . .Somebody thinks that we are all blind for sure.