RV Repair: Holiday Rambler 1984 Imperial 24 Ford 350 gas/propane motor, propane gas, power curve

Question
Greetings Bill,

Having had family in Alaska from the 50's till the 90's and having been to Anchorage twice, I thought it was cool to ask you a question.
We are looking to purchase the subject motorhome and have realized this thing can run on propane and gas. Wicked good timing. What is the deal with this motor/RV? Little info is available, a very forward idea for the time and timely now. How/where can I get this repaired/parts as I am told there is a "lifter plate" needed in the carb to allow the engine to run on propane.
Since we are buying this for family reasons to drive from Maine-New Jersey-Tenessee-Texas-Oklahoma and back to Maine it might save a few (bajillion) dollars to propane our way but, it would be a bummer to breakdown without repair resources available.

Regards, Andy, Sue and Russell

Answer
Hi guys and gal:
There are lots of engines that run on propane and engines are engines after all no matter what they are in. I have not seen many Motor Homes converted to propane but there is no reason why you can't. A couple of things. One, there is always the safety issue. In a Motor Home you are already hauling a little propane but after the conversion you'll be hauling three to four times as much, you need to think about the location of the tank and all that goes with that. In case of a tank rupture propane gas is much more dangerous than fuel. Both will ignite but the propane gas spreads much faster and penetrates further to potentially find ignition. Next, the power curve of the engine is different with propane. The engine on propane developes less power at low speeds than on fuel. In a motor home that is important because it is so heavy. If you are still set on doing the conversion you need to buy a kit for your engine, the tank, lines and a regulator and then install it all. It is not complicated but takes some time. I would get on the internet and find a dealer near you that has all the material you need. All in all I think it is worthwhile and you will save some money. Once you are done it is as dependable as fuel about the only thing that can fail is the regulator and any good hardware store will have one or you could just take a spare with you. Good luck.
Bill