Alliance AutoGas to perform live autogas conversion of bobtail

The Ford F-750 propane bobtail to be converted to run on propane autogas. Photo courtesy of Alliance AutoGas.

Alliance AutoGas technicians will perform a live autogas conversion of a Ford F-750 bobtail at the 2018 NPGA Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo.

The conversion will take place at 2 p.m. April 7 in the Autogas Pavilion. Observation is open to all convention attendees.

According to the company, the conversion will highlight the advantage of using Ford’s updated chassis and the advantages of exchanging diesel for propane autogas. Alliance AutoGas technicians will use the company’s plug-and-play technology to convert an upfitted F-750 propane bobtail. The bobtail was recently purchased by Conger LP Gas, a propane marketer in Tifton, Georgia, which has been using autogas for the last 15 years to fuel its fleet vehicles.

“I grew up around propane,” says Dan Richardson, CEO of Conger LP Gas. “My dad worked in the propane industry since 1956 and always drove a propane-fueled truck. It was just common sense to me.”

In addition to its own fleet vehicles running on autogas, Conger LP Gas services propane-powered school buses and farming vehicles.

Richardson agreed to partner with Alliance AutoGas for the live conversion because he wants to help other propane marketers feel comfortable with ordering and using this particular vehicle, along with setting the bar for using autogas to fuel industry fleets, the company explains.

“I feel like we need to support our own industry,” Richardson says. “If we aren’t using it, why are we trying to sell it to someone else?”

Richardson says he was first attracted to the opportunity to convert an F-750 by Eddie Waldrop, fleet manager for Blossman Gas. The Blossman Gas fleet currently runs 41 percent of its vehicles on autogas.

“If Eddie was that excited about the F-750, I knew I needed to take a look,” Richardson says. “If our customers see us using the fuel we are selling to them, we become more reliable experts. It will show, rather than tell, that we believe in the clean, cost-efficient fuel we provide. Additionally, the economics of conversion and using your own fuel make it the logical next step for any propane marketer.”

During the live conversion, observers will have the opportunity to discuss the upfitting process and the benefits for the F-750. In addition, Waldrop and other Blossman Gas and Alliance AutoGas experts will be available to explain the cost and efficiency benefits of using autogas over diesel for propane bobtail trucks, the company adds.