Written on: July 30, 2023
Last week, Dave Wager, Executive Director of the 
Minnesota Propane Association summarized on LinkedIn a 3,444 mile road trip he took fueled mostly by propane:
“About a month ago I embarked on what is fondly known as the great American road trip. As you can see in the photo, the trip was made in the Minnesota Propane Associations Ford Explorer with an EPA approved Autogas system installed. I posted a couple times while on the trip but now it is time to share some details.
The car is dual fuel capable, meaning it runs on propane, but can still run on gasoline if necessary. It has a smaller tank for propane, 11.5 usable gallons.
The total trip covered 3,444 miles in eight different states.
I re-fueled with propane 21 times.
3,106 miles were driven on propane, 338 miles on gasoline.
I never had to refill the gas tank until the trip was over.
I did not pre-plan any of my propane stops prior to leaving on the trip. I wanted to experience this trip the same as any other person and have the ability to change plans, destinations en route, which I did a couple times.
I primarily used the Alternative Fueling Station Locator App.
The longest stretch I went without propane was 120 miles along a very remote part of a state with little to no services.
I traveled on flat interstates, back country roads, to the top of Pike’s Peak and back to Minnesota with absolutely no problems with the vehicle.
Prior to this trip, I would tell people that propane is better suited as a fleet fuel, where the vehicles return to their home location everyday to re-fuel. That is true, propane is an ideal fleet fuel for lowest cost of operation and greatest emission reductions.
But after this trip, I now know that propane is also an ideal fuel for any use.
With this vehicles dual fuel ability, the small tank size removed any range anxiety. I also learned first hand how available propane is already in our country.
The added bonus was the many great conversations I had along the way, usually started by someone saying “I had no idea”.
With that being said, that is perhaps one of the biggest hurdles we may face, recognition of our product.
Hopefully I made a difference on this trip as the conversations always ended with “this makes total sense”.
Let’s all do our part to get the word out on all the advantages of our wonderful PROPANE.”
