LPG? What's that? :-)
It's poor man's fuel, a false economy responsible for destroying cylinder heads and headgaskets in 50 miles. It's installed in tanks called "bombs" and isn't allowed on ferries or in tunnels because one spark can lead to a megaton detonation. Don't worry, it'll be phased out soon as everyone knows the price is about to rise. ;)
Morat wrote:
isn't allowed on ferries or in tunnels because one spark can lead to a megaton detonation.
The wife and I went from Newcastle to Amsterdam on the ferry in my old P38 which had a gas conversion with no problems whatsoever. We did a lot of local Island Hopping off Scotland on ferries with no issues too. Is that a recent rule? I was thinking of booking it again so had best change my of vehicle for the trip it if it.
David.
dhallworth wrote:
Is that a recent rule? I was thinking of booking it again so had best change my of vehicle for the trip it if it.
You need to run a wee self-test on your sarcasmometer ;-)
gordonjcp wrote:
dhallworth wrote:
Is that a recent rule? I was thinking of booking it again so had best change my of vehicle for the trip it if it.
You need to run a wee self-test on your sarcasmometer ;-)
I think you need to declare it on your booking so they ensure you are on an open vented deck. Also think they are banned on Le Tunnel.
I knew they were banned on the tunnel hence wondering if there was a rule i didn’t know about for ferries!
If they were banned on ferries, as well as the tunnel, Gilbertd would have to paddle his across on a raft for his frequent continental jaunts!
Sorry, I was just whinging about the level of misinformation out there. The Tunnel especially pisses me off as you're quite entitled to take camper vans with bottled LPG up to 47kg/91.8litres. They also ban dogs on the Eurostar for no good reason beyond the lack of a risk assessment.
Asshats.
I was reading about that earlier, makes you think someone has just said, “ah, gas, yea, that’s explosive, we’ll ban it” without even looking at it properly but not applied the same supposed common sense to campervans.
The attitude of people towards LPG irritates me profusely. On Piston Heads and the FullFatRR forum, people seem to reckon the only reason you fit LPG to a vehicle is because you can’t afford to run it and that because you can’t afford to run it on petrol you can’t afford to maintain it which they seem to think means you’ve skipped a load of important maintenance etc.
That attitude really annoys me. At 13-14mpg average I couldn’t afford to run mine as a daily car doing the 20k a year I do for work, I could afford it as a weekend car and have done when I had my Supercharged Range Rover. When it’s on LPG it means I have more money available for maintenance and repairs as I’m not spending it on petrol every month.
I also like seeing the litres going up quicker then the £’s for a change. Sure enough there are pro’s and con’s to both fuels, but I get the impression a lot of people are quick enough to gob off about LPG without actually knowing the ins and outs of it properly.
David.
No problem with LPG on ferries as long as there is a shut off valve at the tank is what their rules say. I defy anyone to find an LPG system that doesn't have a shut off at the tank (unless someone has removed the guts from the solenoid valve at the tank of course) so not a problem. The same rule applies to underground car parks in a lot of European countries too.
Eurotunnel were asked a few years ago why they will allow people to fill their trains with stinky diesel fumes but those of us running on something far cleaner (and superior) weren't allowed on. The answer from them was that at the time the tunnel was built, LPG powered cars were so rare no risk assessment was ever done to deal with the consequences. So as they have no risk assessment, they have simply banned them. Not that we should be particularly bothered, Eurotunnel is boring (no restaurant or shop to wander around in), never runs on time and bloody expensive.
I stopped using the tunnel when they force you to take the next train. I have usually driven 5 hours solid and would like a break. The ferry allows me to stretch my legs have some food and feel better at the other end. The tunnel is like being on the m25 for another 30 mins.
They have also outpriced themselves.
And, back on topic, a little charmer and it's on LPG
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152883095644?
If you top up with gas, £25 you can get more than 200miles.
Where the hell are they getting gas at that price?!
What the hell have they done to that!! £900 is a bit optimistic!
Nah- it's not on LPG :)
Or concrete. I bet that's a seive underneath :(
Not on eBay but I spotted this today and thought it worth sharing. Reasonably tidy looking but has to be the most expensive GEMS in the country.
Dealers blurb on it is here http://www.buckworthsgarage.co.uk/car-image-page-17.html so you can't even check the MoT history as it's a Japanese import.
Quite why anyone would buy it over the Discovery parked next to it for only a grand more (unless it was someone that really wanted a P38 of unknown history) is anybody's guess.....
Possibly the "legend" of better servicing and more careful looking after associated with "prestige" Japanese re-imports might affect folks perceptions. If you want a P38 you want a P38 so its all down to condition-condition-condition and does SWIMBO like the colour. Mind you at that money I'd want more than a paltry 3 months warranty.
However looked at vaguely dispassionately some sort of case could be made on a pure economics "likely miles per pound" invested basis.
That P38 has 45,000 (ish) miles on it so should be good for 70,000 odd more with normal servicing plus (say) two extra fixes. Normal servicing including a replacement set of air bags, refurb compressor / valve block, suspension bushes and are of the other known gets old parts along the way. P38 is cheaper to fix / service than the Disco by good margin too. Suppose for fair fuel consumption comparison we should add in £1,000 for LPG.
Throw another £5,000 into the pot and you have a 300,000 mile motor. But you know that.
Disco has 75,000 miles on it. Probably only another 40,000 to 50,000 on normal servicing before it starts throwing incidents. I know Disco 3's can do serious miles with no issues but its still bit of a gamble. Not first series L322 "how many shirts would you like to loose territory" but still not wonderful. Lots more complex than the P38 and far more expensive to fix. Maybe £5,000 on extras by the time it gets to 200,000 and odds are you're more or less done. Too much un-rebuildable stuff. Far as I'm concerned teacher was off sick the week that the guy who stayed the Disco 3 managed to attend classes. Can't see ever being desperate enough to drive round in something that ugly!
Still a nonsense price when you can find nearly as nice for half or less with 60 - 70,000 on the clock tho'. But fact is for grumpy old so-n-so like me on 5,000 miles a year over-paying for something unlikely to have real issues for the decade or more could be attractive. I've pretty much settled on doing the mid-life improvements thing to mine and, factoring in the original £4,000 purchase price costs will be getting up there by the time its done.
Clive
Clive603 wrote:
and you have a 300,000 mile motor. But you know that.
I certainly do, this was last Sunday evening.
My car has done 6,500 miles in the last month and the only failure has been a blown front sidelight bulb.
I get what you are saying but you could pick up a low mileage car, with a checkable MoT history so you have an idea of what has been done to it, for half what they are asking for that one. It may have been regularly serviced, but equally it could have spent months at a time parked up going nowhere and still has the same oil in the sump it left Solihull with.
I now they are ugly, it is not without reason that the Disco 3/4 is known in some circles as the Land Rover Brinks Mat. The boxy shape and slab sides do make it look a bit like an armoured cash delivery van.