Posted by notjustair on March 11, 2016 at 20:58:01 from (70.195.1.16):
Even though I haven't driven or owned school buses for several years I still get School Bus Fleet magazine. It's kind of like an extension of this website - more technical information on machinery.
Anyway, the current issue is talking about the number of operators and districts running propane buses. There are over 7000 of them in 45 states apparently. When I was still driving I remember talking with a transportation director regarding this. Their district had just purchased two propane buses and through a government program were able to put in the fueling station reasonably. He was extremely impressed with the buses and the maintenance. They were getting 7 mpg, which was better than my carbureted 370 in my bus was getting. If I held my tongue right I could get 5 by the skin of my teeth. This was during the time when lots of new Internationals were making oil and there were headaches galore. He lamented not having more gas buses.
Do you think this will go anywhere? LP had its vogue in ag machines but bowed out to better diesels. We had an LP M&M tractor growing up but we used it so infrequently that I can't recall how it was fueled. That's the big deterrent for me. I use gas tractors for smaller jobs on the farm but would never get an LP because I have no way to refuel it. When I use a gas tractor I typically run over half a tank through at a time. I can't imagine it taking longer than just pulling up to the barrel and filling it.
I know it won't come back to ag for tillage. I'm just wondering whether it will continue to gain popularity in medium duty (school buses). One of the older techs told me years ago he fully expected to see gas motors offered again in the future. I only ran gas buses and really liked them. I didn't run over 150k miles on them - some needed a crate engine some didn't. Replacement around 90k miles seemed within the realm of possibility. That's what I needed for my favorite bus. On the other hand, I had one a year newer and sold it with 139k miles and the engine had never been cracked.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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