I'm not into burning tires or twisting axles. My '06 Duramax has served me well towing and pushing snow. Highway mileage, about 22-23 mpg empty, 18-19 mpg with a loaded trailer. Pulling a steep grade or entering an on ramp and being able to keep up with the traffic flow are important. I'm guessing it's pretty flat in your neck of the woods, so some of these things are not an issue there.
when the family was in the car business our dodge pull truck was beefed to the max at 1000 some ft pounds of torque and over 600 hp. we used all that power on a daily basis pulling a 48' wedge trailer with 4' extensions front and back. thats 56' of ramp that we sometimes hauled three ext cab 4x4s on at a time. did we need that much power no but the mileage we got (17mpg loaded) was what we were after. it was like pulling a golf car on a small trailer behind a half ton. the only disadvantage that i saw with that diesel was the cost of beefing everything up to withstand that kind of power. would i do it again no way to spendy and not enough brakes for that kind of power and load. i think thats why they make peterbuilts.
I'd go with steam. burns anything you put into it. You can make it to burn gas, diesel, fuel oil, alcohol, wood, vegie oil, old motor oil. anything that burns. It also burns clean. Doble steam cars ran with very little smoke from exhaust,would meet todays emmission standard. also did around 16 miles per gallion kerosen. Also has a lot of power. You don't need a clutch or transmission, or rear axle. Drive engine and rear axle are one unit in rear of truck. Flash boiler is in front under hood. Would cruze at 70 in a whisper. No one else has one. well just a thought. jbennett
...I'll second that motion jbennett. I've always been intriqued by the steam engine. I think I read where the steam car would go about 40mph, but forgot the figures for how many miles on a tank of water..... and they had units that could heat up and be ready to go in about 10 minutes which would work well since we have to wait "on the little lady" to get to the car anyway!
When I was a youngster growing up in the 1950's, my Dad knew several then oldtimers that played with steam. Strange that none of them had a total of ten fingers and thumbs.
With the mechanical educational level and maintenance record of todays general populace, I sincerely hope steam is not seriously considered for mainstream production.
My opinion, others will certainly differ.
Jon.
Good carburetion is fuelish hot air The most expensive carburetor is the wrong one you attempt to modify. If you truly believe "one size fits all," try walking a mile in your spouse's shoes! The Carburetor Shop
I experimented for a time with an alternative power source. I found my truck, though slower overall, ran much quieter (especially noticed from inside the cab). My fuel cost was zero resulting in a possible infinite MPG rating. However, I was forced to return to more conventional power because, although the truck moved fine on level or slightly down-hill terrain, my wife simply couldn't push the truck uphill!
Other benefits were thus: I no longer had to pay for her gym membership. I noticed my house also got more quiet. And although the heater in the truck didn't work, it got so cold at home that I didn't need to turn on the AC!
Now I'm looking forward to another economical mode of transportaion because if she reads this, I'll be walkin'!!!
Craig
It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility in occupation which brings happiness. - Thomas Jefferson
My uncle has a genuine 1911 Stanley Steamer, I worked on it for about a year repacking all the seals and shafts. It was pretty cool to drive around but also very scary. Stanley's run 500 psi boiler pressure, 125 psi fuel pressure (unleaded gasoline) all with in a few feet of the driver. They fuel is vaporized by running through tubes in the burner, so now you have 125 psi fuel being heated! It had about a 25-30 mile range, and carried 30 gallons of water. Fuel mileage was in the 5 to 6 miles per gallon range, and heat up time was about 40 minutes. It would run about as fast as you wanted and had plenty of power to keep up with traffic. To stop and refuel at the station, you had to shut off the main burners and drive a few miles to be sure they were out, then shut off the pilot light and drive a few more miles. It wasn't a good idea to pull into a fuel station with fires still going! Once fueled, you had to find a close parking lot away from the fuel station and relight the pilot, then once under way, you hope the fuel jets were still hot enough to vaporize the fuel and not flood the burner with raw gasoline. On top of all that, you have to run super expensive oil to keep the valves and pistons lubed.
craig i like your alternative fuel source story matter a fact i told the guys at work. got a big laugh. i think steam would be a great power source for maybe a rat rod. dare to be diffrent anyhow. later MO
p.s. i would really like to see this posting stay active maybe as a group we can figure out the best way to go green in our old trucks.
