A longtime fabricator thinking of building a daily beater for a 45 mile trip to work then back home. I own a 94 1500, with no bed, a strong motor, tight transmission and a good rear end. The cab is fair, missing trim on the instrument cluster and the heater box is a mouse house. I have access to 55 gallon drums, 40 gallon hot water heaters, a couple of stainless steel washing machine drums and a few other parts. Which gas setup will provide the cleanest and most reliable gas?
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Hello Johnson and welcome to the DOW site .
A truck that size works very well for working around the farm and short trips running totally from wood. When you are considering driving 90 miles a day it may create a problem . Your speed will be held to 50 -60 mph without over heating the gasifier . If more speed is needed you will have to blend in gasoline.
A truck that size driving hyway speeds will consume near one and half pounds per mile. ( lot of wood )
If you drop down one size on the trucks to the dakota you can expect to drive 60-70 mph and use about a pound of wood per mile .
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Hi Johnson, you have the most valuable asset, your fabrication skills! My advise is for you to purchase the book “Have Wood Will Travel” follow the steps and you will never regret it! You have the truck, the skill, and the “want to”!! The book is easy to follow presented in a plain humble way by a likeable expert! Herb
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Hi Johnson, and welcome. I can only speak for the Wayne Keith design. It works! The standard 12" x 18" firetube is reliable and proven. Some interesting updates are on the horizon even now. Build by the book, with updates, (don’t go crazy with unproven modifications until you have driven some) You will save a lot of money on gasoline, but you’re looking at 90# of wood a day! If you’re “up north” cold weather adds some special challenges. Hilly of flat? State roads or Interstate? Have you ever driven a slightly under powered vehicle? Welding skills?
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Thanks for the welcome folks, and the advise. The reason for the full size is it is what I have on hand, I took it in trade for a welding job. A top speed of 55-60 is fine as the road is two lane up and down a few hills with a few flat spots. Only the last 4 miles to work is 75, they will just have to deal with me being slow the last couple of miles. 90 pounds of wood a day does sound bad at the moment, will make a note of that the next time I split for the stove. I live just north of the Alabama line, so winters aren’t too bad. I’ve owned a lot of 4 cylinders, mostly sticks but a few automatics so how under powered are we talking? With the current collection I have an 18" diameter X 45" long tube, the stainless basket is 20" diameter X 18" tall, a few 55 gallon drums and a 35 gallon drums. Welding skills exceptional.
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An eight cylinder will act more like a four cylinder. On a good day, maybe a six cylinder. You’ll have your foot in it a lot more, but it’ll still keep up with traffic just fine, on back roads.
Another note on the wood consumption, you may end up using more than a pound per mile with that full-size truck. Divide 16 by the gas mileage you get now, that’ll be close.
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Good morning Johnson.
If you will drop by sometime I will show and tell and give you some rides .
Also just north of the Alabama line seems to be a good area for wood truck prospects . I have bought 4 there and 1 just south of the line ( Huntsville ) 
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Wayne, Thank you for the invite. I just started a new welding job and with the holidays coming up it will probably be after the first of the year before I can take you up on it. Is it possible to run an engine with carburetor problems on wood gas? I’ve got a 1100cc. 4 cylinder with a bad float in a fork lift.
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Good morning Johnson.
If you are running wood gas you will need a way to kill the gasoline going to the carburetor . If the gasoline is no longer going to the carb the float will have no effect. While running on wood gas the only purpose of the carb is to throttle the wood gas going to the motor…
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Killing the gas flow is no problem since it uses an electric fuel pump, and thanks for confirming a suspicion. Now I just need to get your book so I can figure out what size fire tube I need for that size engine.
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It has been awhile, but I have finally ordered your book Wayne. I am looking forward to it’s arrival, and it first project is a gasifier for my power generator as the power co has really piised me off.