Diesel or petrol and LPG

[lloyd]

Have gas.
Always wondering where to fill next.
Lost storage with gas tank.
Expensive to get installed.
17-21mpg

Find a good diesel to start with... maybe a little more expensive than a petrol but not as much more as gassing.
No worries about where to fill next.
No lost storage.
32-45mpg

[New Kentish Campers]

here we go....

You can't run your interior gas appliances from your main fuel tank, has to be a seperate leisure tank, but you can dual fill.

OK I must have dreamed that.

A Q&A from an email I sent to a supplier:

And could I also run my fridge/cooker from the same tank, or is it necessary to have another - no would have to be separate as the cooker needs vapour off-take rather than liquid as the engine needs. If the latter, could it be refilled at the same time as I filled the main tank, via a diverter valve or something?- yes – can simply T the fill lines together.

[lloydy]

I think where the confusion comes from, is the fact that no-one sells a tank in the uk with a dual take off. It can and has been done, i don't know whether it's uk regs that stop it being used here? As mentioned above, two tanks with one fill point seems to be the way people go. I went with two fill points, because i wanted to be able to fill them seperately

[AdrianC]

For us, it was simple - the 1.6TD was just gutless and loud. Compared to the 2.1 petrol, it was quite honestly unpleasant, even for a short test drive. A 1.9 may well be a different story, but there weren't any for sale at the time. LPG was a more difficult decision, but came down to the loss of storage being the killer, wrapped up in a preference not to have an extra layer of stuff to deal with for maintenance/repairs.

Fuel's probably our biggest single cost on the trip, but not by much - and lately, it's not even been that.

My suggestion? Buy the best van you can, for your budget, regardless of fuel.

[kevtherev]

I don't get this "loss of storage"

here's a picture of the space under the bench seat/bed with my LPG fuel tank



That's a 72 L tank and it has taken up a very small amount of space % wise compared to the vans capable storage %

during a recent interior refurishment I took a picture..here's a view showing the rest of it, a third of it, occupying the dead space under/next to a cupboard



Me, I pay 57p a liter and I have rarely used it on petrol. My MPG is a lot higher than any diesel or petrol van, in price per gallon.
Simply put, I never EVER have to think about the cost of a trip or where I get my gas, because gas is not just sold at expensive filling station forecourts..

[kit]

I didn't realise you could get it that cheap.

[kevtherev]

I didn't realise you could get it that cheap.

read and weep brother.. http://www.carvergases.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kit]

That has to be worth doing at that price.

[New Kentish Campers]

Trouble is, that if you look at the small print at the bottom of their webpage, it mentions a service within a radius of Wolverhampton.

I can't find such a price darn sarf, sadly

[AdrianC]

Kev,

Now try in a Westy. There's none of your "dead space". When I spoke to Gasure, the only viable places are under the rear seat (full of tools, 25m hookup, spares) and instead of the spare wheel. For half-sensible range, both.

[kevtherev]

Kev,

Now try in a Westy. There's none of your "dead space". When I spoke to Gasure, the only viable places are under the rear seat (full of tools, 25m hookup, spares) and instead of the spare wheel. For half-sensible range, both.

well there's an argument for a poor German layout.
That dead space did not exist until I created it. Autosleeper bench/bed seat is around 6" further back from the factory, I moved the whole lot forward to accommodate the tank.

I devote.. and create, as much space as I can to use the cheapest fuel.

I have shoe box sized tool box and in that a replacement aux belt and a bulb kit and .. regular checks and maintenance mean I don't have to carry a scrapyard about that's all at home, so an AA card is in order, I don't use hook up because I use a van capable of camping (without the aid of the national grid)... I carry a spare tyre because it would be silly not to in my opinion.

Not having a westfailure I am not chained to the westy mentality of resale value, originality and kudos.
If I did have one I guess I would be saying the same thing Adrian, so I thank my lucky stars that I can rearrange my van to how the hell I want.

[AdrianC]

Kev,

Now try in a Westy. There's none of your "dead space". When I spoke to Gasure, the only viable places are under the rear seat (full of tools, 25m hookup, spares) and instead of the spare wheel. For half-sensible range, both.

well there's an argument for a poor German layout.

Without wanting to divert this into any kind of "My conversion's better than your conversion" willy-wave, when we get back, how about we swing past Wolverhampton, unload, and we'll see if all of our stuff will fit in your van...?

That dead space did not exist until I created it. Autosleeper bench/bed seat is around 6" further back from the factory, I moved the whole lot forward to accommodate the tank.

Umm, that's just blocked off the RCD, mains socket and a cupboard full of food, as well as meaning we'd have to have the bed deployed to fold the table out, which is needed to get to the other two food cupboards. However, with the bed out, the fridge'd be blocked off. Cooking just became quite difficult...

...that's all at home...

So's all the stuff under our back seat. This is our home, remember? No real passengers in there, either - the main parts we've got are a spare oil filter or two, and a spare pair of front pads. <thinks> I really ought to get it all out and make an inventory, so we can have a "What's missing, what's surplus?" thread.

Not having a westfailure I am not chained to the westy mentality of resale value, originality and kudos.

I'm with you on that - I'll happily change anything that helps to make this van a better place to travel and live.

so I thank my lucky stars that I can rearrange my van to how the hell I want.

I'm open to suggestions. Over on TheSamba, they've got regular "Oh, look, we've found some space we can use better" threads about the Westy interiors. It's all small stuff, like an extra door in the side of the wardrobe to make the space easier to get at. The only real "We found a lot of wasted space in a Westy, so re-worked it fully" was the guys at http://www.drivenachodrive.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - and that's WAAAAAAY too much work for me.

B'sides, none of that addresses the fact that for at least seven months of the thirteen we've been away, we've been in countries where LPG's been a bugger to actually find, so roughly half our mileage would have been on petrol anyway. Staying petrol was the right decision for us. Others, who use their vans differently, may come to different conclusions.

[kevtherev]

Adrian

Not having a westfailure I am not chained to the westy mentality of resale value, originality and kudos.

Ok

I'll happily change anything that helps to make this van a better place to travel and live.

I'm open to suggestions.

really?...
If you want something badly enough you'll do it, and not whine about the work involved the or the time it takes.
But it would be far easier for you to buy a van to suit the country and life you lead... There comes a point where the T25 comes to the end of it's practicality, what ever you do to it, A lot on here have realised that this is a campervan, not a motorhome and moved on to motorhomes.
Ain't no crime in that.

B'sides, none of that addresses the fact that for at least seven months of the thirteen we've been away, we've been in countries where LPG's been a bugger to actually find, so roughly half our mileage would have been on petrol anyway. Staying petrol was the right decision for us. Others, who use their vans differently, may come to different conclusions.

So your comments about LPG are worthless to our friend using his van here.... this post was not about your foreign lpg problems

So's all the stuff under our back seat. This is our home, remember?

Nope, because strangely your life does not figure on my "remember this" list

[AdrianC]

But it would be far easier for you to buy a van to suit the country and life you lead...

We did. That's why we've got a T25 - because it's by far and away the best house-on-wheels we could find that fits inside the footprint of a car, meaning we can go anywhere without worrying about whether it'll fit. The fact it has character is an added bonus. There's four T25s on this small campsite tonight, out of maybe ten campers and motorhomes total. Three are Westies (two hightops), one's a homebrew tin-top.

This is our home, remember?

Nope, because strangely your life does not figure on my "remember this" list

Being immodest, have a look at our blog. You might enjoy it.

[VW T25 Feuerwehr]

[/quote]Being immodest, have a look at our blog[/quote]

Just seen this had a quick glance looks can't wait to have the time to have a read!