The Vehicle

We're riding in style. Our 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee may be more than ten years old, but she's flush with creature comforts - and they all still work, suprisingly. All, that is, except the airconditioning, which probably just needs to be recharged. She's got electric windows, locks, sunroof, and seat control. If those aren't enough, she also has electric headlight adjustment, heated seats, cruise control, and leather upholstery. Brilliant!

We got the Jeep on the cheap from eBay.uk. It cost around $600, plus what we've spent on repairs, some of which have been fairly major. The labor for these repairs was nearly free, however, as a friend of Randall's has helped us out immensely. Thanks to Dave, who has rally experience and an awesome shop in Evesham, England, we have a running vehicle.

The best part about the Jeep is that she runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is the same propane that you use to fire up your gas grill at home. LPG is nice for an endeavor such as this because it costs about half as much as gasoline, and burns cleaner. Petrol and diesel emit particulate matter into the air, whereas LPG emits virtually none.

Filling up the tank. The petrol tank has been reduced in size and the LPG tank is mounted alongside it.

The LPG runs from the tank under the Jeep to a modulator, then to a heater, then into the fuel injectors. We must start the vehicle using regular gasoline, then when the engine heats to 40 dgrees celcius, it switches to LPG. The transition is seamless and we never even notice.

This is one type of pumps. We have adapters for two additional types, because the standard is different from country to country.