Thomas Built Buses Goes Propane

November 16, 2010

CleanFUEL USA will partner with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. to build and certify a multi-purpose 8-liter General Motors propane engine for the Thomas Type C Saf-T-Liner C2.

The new engine will feature CleanFUEL’s new 8L liquid propane injection system, which will initially be developed for use in delivery trucks and school buses. Freightliner plans to certify the propane fuel injection system to power the Thomas conventional.

“We’ve seen an industry-wide shift to becoming more environmentally conscious, and our customers are requesting more options for green-fleet vehicles,” said Jonathan Randall, director of sales and marketing for Freightliner, in a recent statement. “We look forward to collaborating on this project and keeping with our legacy of providing innovative technologies that benefit customers and the environment.”

According to CleanFUEL, the engine wll be available for 2012 model-year vehicles, which will allow fleet operators to keep up with the stricter emission standards.

“From a fleet standpoint, we see immense potential for this new 8L platform to stimulate additional interest and adoption in the market for propane-powered vehicles,” said CleanFUEL President and COO Tucker Perkins.

Kits will also be made available to convert medium-duty gasoline vehicles to run on propane.

Currently, Collins Bus had the only factory-direct, certified propane-powered Type A school buses in use. Blue Bird has a certified, propane-powered Type C Vision at districts nationwide and s in production with its own certified Type A propane Micro Bird that recently passed a crash test, a Blue Bird spokesperson said.

Editor’s note – Wording in an earlier version of the above article may have inferred that Collins Bus was the only certified manufacturer of propane-powered school buses. At this writiing it was the only OEM to have a certified Type A propane school bus on the market. The Blue Bird Vision had the only certified Type C propane school bus and recently received crash-testing certification for its Type A propane Micro Bird, which debuted at the NAPT Summit in Portland, Ore., earlier this month.