LPG Falcon dilemma

[Tonz]

Have a good solid FG11ute gas motor 2012, 260K


my concern is the dying supply of LPG.
where do I go from here, sell/trade in. For what?
I need the box and 6 cyl for a few more years, the wife is not comfortable with a 6cyl 4x4 or SUV.

An option I see is remove the box, add a tray and hock it off quickly, buy a petrol FG or back to BF11 and stick the box back on. Mind you there is a very tidy AU11 XR6 for sale locally.

Id appreciate your thoughts and maybe ideas I havent thought of.

[stock1991]

Mate I wouldn't dare to presume I was in any position to give you advice, but, from what they say, can't go wrong with a good AU. Best wishes whatever you decide but since LPG availability came up I have been checking and noticing where LPG is available and it's not easy, even in metro areas

[GasoLane]

How many LPG tanks on it?

If only one why not get a second one fitted so you can do your place to Adel in one go.

[Tonz]

its an FG11 dont think 2 tanks fit, pleased to be proven wrong.
I dont do the long Adel runs anymore but we have Woolies and independent in town, rumour is Woolies will pull out when licence needs renewing and the independents pump is along side high flow diesel. The gas pump has been out of commission twice in past 12 months. next LPG is 50k away thats what scares me.

[Late braker]

Excuse my ignorance but is the LPG issue of impending doom because the taxi fleets are hybrids now?

[arm79]

Originally Posted by Late braker

Excuse my ignorance but is the LPG issue of impending doom because the taxi fleets are hybrids now?

From my perspective its something that has been coming for a long time. As a vehicle fuel source it fell out of favour long ago. Whereas once people used it to power big engined cars like Falcons and Commodores, these people moved to diesel vehicles. And with the end of local cars taxi's have moved to Camrys and hybrid vehicles. Same with tradies and their gas powered utes.

Government grants meant LPG conversion costs soared and haven't come back down as did the price of gas, so the incentive and cost benefits to move to LPG disappeared. Plus the intrusion of a gas system was always an annoyance.

Plus its become expensive for retailers to maintain gas pumps at their servos. Like every other tank they need regular inspections and alot of places were scrapping their LPG pumps when the next inspection was due. Not enough customers to wear the cost.

I remember looking at a really nice BF gas wagon maybe 4 years ago. It was going cheap because it needed a tank inspection. So I rang the 2 inspection joints in a 80km radius and was told to forget it because the only 2 places at the time in Hervey Bay and Maryborough were both discontinuing gas supply within the next 12 to 18 months when their tank inspections were due. And true to his word they did.

Both Hervey Bay and Maryborough got a gas outlet again in the last 2 years when they levelled existing servos and completely rebuilt them. Must have been cheap to install new tanks and everything as part of the rebuild. 18 servos in Hervey Bay and only 1 has LPG. 14 in Maryborough and 1 LPG. I cant remember the last time I saw an LPG tag on a numberplate.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Late braker

Excuse my ignorance but is the LPG issue of impending doom because the taxi fleets are hybrids now?

It's because your average person is a moron.

LPG is cheaper, simpler, cleaner, produces less carbon emissions, less nitrous emissions, runs more reliably, and Australia has an abundant supply.

So naturally people would prefer to buy expensive whybrids and battery vehicles.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

It's because your average person is a moron.

LPG is cheaper, simpler, cleaner, produces less carbon emissions, less nitrous emissions, runs more reliably, and Australia has an abundant supply.

So naturally people would prefer to buy expensive whybrids and battery vehicles.

True with your comment on gas but gas outlets from servos have been on the decline since 2012, go travel Australia and try to find a servo that has gas for customers can very difficult hence the reason I would not own lpg vehicle in this day & age.

To Tonz I would suggest a second tank but I do believe your ute may have a large & small one fitted as this is what I have always seen on some utes.

[danzvtil]

Have you considered buying a petrol FG from a dealer, and getting them to swap over the trays as part of the deal? Used to do this when I was changing utes every 2 years, the larger dealers and commercial specialists do this stuff everyday.

[Gothefalcon]

I've been running LPG on my BF2Wagon for about 12yrs now, and it has saved a lot of money in fuel for me, in that time. My previous BF1 Egas Wagon was great too... but traveling more remote regions was always worrying due to lack of LPG in some towns or broken pumps etc at the only outlet etc.

For these reasons/experiences, I made sure the BF2 Wagon was dual fuel. Having both fuels on board, gives me a greater level of confidence when traveling outside of the city.

I recently bought a BA1 Ute, and I made sure I found a petrol version, especially due to the ever decreasing availability of LPG outside of the city.
I might still fit an LPG system to it... maybe...but a dual fuel set-up would be the only way I would consider running LPG these days.

Having said that... my BF2 runs mostly on LPG, and will continue too until LPG becomes too scarce.

If I was you... I'd trade the Egas Ute for a Petrol version, and then consider an injected LPG conversion, if the numbers stack up etc !??

Or... keep a look out for a Ute which is already fitted with a dual fuel conversion !??

Someone who only drives around the city, will still consider buying an Egas Ute, as LPG is still widely available (in Sadelaide at least).
Now, with petrol prices as high as they are, would be a good time to sell LPG/buy Petrol vehicles IMPO.

An outside option could be to convert your Ute into a petrol Ute, with parts from the wreckers/a donor wreck/etc !??
I would double check this option with Regency first though !??

D

[Tonz]

arm79, danzvtil, Gothefalcon

good points, appreciate your views, now the research.
first I'll hit Regency Park see what they say.

[Franco Cozzo]

Still worth owning in Melbourne if you just drive around the metropolitan and semi-rural areas like 99% of people, might be a bit of a problem if you use your car for long trips.

Still plenty of life left for LPG vehicles here I reckon, EcoLPI Falcon utes still fetch a premium here in Melbourne over their unleaded brethren it seems as well.

OP given you live rural and its starting to become difficult to get fuel, maybe move it on, you'll probably still get decent coin for it as its in demand here and use the premium price you'll get for it towards something unleaded or diesel.

Would advise going for something diesel without DPF or SCR though, so Euro IV (some) and prior if you're buying used.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Still worth owning in Melbourne if you just drive around the metropolitan and semi-rural areas like 99% of people, might be a bit of a problem if you use your car for long trips.

Still plenty of life left for LPG vehicles here I reckon, EcoLPI Falcon utes still fetch a premium here in Melbourne over their unleaded brethren it seems as well.

OP given you live rural and its starting to become difficult to get fuel, maybe move it on, you'll probably still get decent coin for it as its in demand here and use the premium price you'll get for it towards something unleaded or diesel.

Would advise going for something diesel without DPF or SCR though, so Euro IV (some) and prior if you're buying used.

Certainly, agree with you with plenty of lpg outlets in around Melb/Surbia or most other capital cities, year ago son in law sold his FG xr lpg ute sight unseen for $16,000, average condition.

[prktkljokr]

When I purchased my RTV 5 years ago, there was 8 places I could buy LPG near me, now I have 3 places and 1 seems to have intermittent problems with the pump being out of order, but there is at least 12 new petrol stations that have popped up, I'm pretty much 20 minutes from Perth so definitely metro.

As the system is aging I would say its not as reliable as it was, I would not take it on a long trip just for this reason, plus at $1.40 a litre its not as cheap as it used to be, also its range on gas is not as good as the petrol variants anyway

I have cheaply collected most of the parts I need to convert mine to petrol when needed, just now waiting for some fuel lines and tank straps to pop up then I will throw it on the hoist and get rid of the LPG system for good.

My suggestion is to start looking for the bits to convert to petrol, people wrecking them will sell you odd bits rather cheap if you are willing to pull them yourself, I scored the full cab, dash and engine wiring harness from a petrol ute for $20 (just in-case I need to change the cab and dash harness), fuel tank for the price of the pump $40 and a petrol ute ECU for $50, so parts wise quite cheap, I have the intake, throttle body and injectors from a Territory I wrecked years back.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

When I purchased my RTV 5 years ago, there was 8 places I could buy LPG near me, now I have 3 places and 1 seems to have intermittent problems with the pump being out of order, but there is at least 12 new petrol stations that have popped up, I'm pretty much 20 minutes from Perth so definitely metro.

As the system is aging I would say its not as reliable as it was, I would not take it on a long trip just for this reason, plus at $1.40 a litre its not as cheap as it used to be, also its range on gas is not as good as the petrol variants anyway

I have cheaply collected most of the parts I need to convert mine to petrol when needed, just now waiting for some fuel lines and tank straps to pop up then I will throw it on the hoist and get rid of the LPG system for good.

My suggestion is to start looking for the bits to convert to petrol, people wrecking them will sell you odd bits rather cheap if you are willing to pull them yourself, I scored the full cab, dash and engine wiring harness from a petrol ute for $20 (just in-case I need to change the cab and dash harness), fuel tank for the price of the pump $40 and a petrol ute ECU for $50, so parts wise quite cheap, I have the intake, throttle body and injectors from a Territory I wrecked years back.

Wow, gas price at $1.40, here at my local servo in Melbourne presently 84¢ litre, has not gone over 99¢ in the last 4 years.

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by Itsme

Wow, gas price at $1.40, here at my local servo in Melbourne presently 84¢ litre, has not gone over 99¢ in the last 4 years.

Here in the West we get a new @$$hole ripped each day, we have a boom here and the price of everything goes up.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

Here in the West we get a new @$$hole ripped each day, we have a boom here and the price of everything goes up.

Lol, here in the eastern states we are being told Mark McGowan is the best premier of Australia for having reserves of energy and lower prices for all living in WA, apparently not hey.

[Tonz]

my standards on engine repairs is the standard 'why have I got parts left over'.

[.:4:.]

Depending on capital. If you are dead set on going from lpi to petrol, find another mk2 fg in white to match your box, swap the tub or tray over then sell the lpi ute. Main issue being money tied up in 2 cars whilst you try to offload the lpi ute.
Theres nothing wrong with a good au or bf, but they are kinda getting old, so things start to perrish. My brother has an au3 ute, i have a bf2 sedan. Both good cars, but my brothers had a few minor issues to do with aged stuff, to a degree so have i.

[stock1991]

Saw this pump today looking decidedly unloved in Virginia, if you know where that is Tonz. Not rural but way past suburbia. At half the price of unleaded I agree it's worth trying to make it work.

[Tonz]

over here $1.29.9 L

[stock1991]

Originally Posted by Tonz

over here $1.29.9 L

sell it, sell it in vic sounds like

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by stock1991

sell it, sell it in vic sounds like

Yep, you'll get good money for it here, LPG available lots of places and its 85 cents.

[Tonz]

[Citroënbender]

…So we can have an “I bought a pig in a poke” thread about its replacement?

Get a quote on conversion from a single donor.

[Tonz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

…So we can have an “I bought a pig in a poke” thread about its replacement?

Get a quote on conversion from a single donor.

will chase up regency Pk on Monday see where we go from there

[J Arthur Rank]

My brother has the same ute mate, it has 2 x tanks from the factory - one big and one smaller as I recall.

A few years ago, Sprint Gas had their workshop close to where I worked and I asked the bloke about long term lpg availability etc - he seemed confident. They moved to a new location a bit later and a year or 2 after that, are now no longer in Qld. That wasn't all that long ago really.

I've taken all the gas stuff out of my dual fuel sedan since then and while that wasn't the sole reason, it did factor in. I would think people in that line of work would have more knowledge about what is going on or is going to happen than the average gent on the street.