Two Guys Find Out How Much Wood a Wood Truck Trucks

Posted by Mike Levine | May 27, 2009

The Termite

While many were content to celebrate Memorial Day weekend barbecuing over an open fire, George and Ford Reiche used a grill of a different type to power their newly bought truck cross-country, from Alabama to Maine. Dubbed "Termite," the Reiches' 1991 Dodge Dakota uses a wood-burning reactor to create wood gas that's fed into the engine's intake for combustion instead of gasoline, though a gasoline fuel system is still used as a backup. The Termite burns about one pound of wood for each mile driven, which gives it about a 5,000-mile range on a cord of wood.

For the full story of their journey branching out into a new type of fuel system, check out their "Migration of the Termite" blog.

Comments

RE: "The Termite burns about one pound of wood for each mile driven, which gives it about a 5,000-mile range on a cord of wood", this truck doesn't have a very large load capacity. Plus with all the wood in the back, there's no room for other cargo.

Posted by: Wayne | May 27, 2009 5:18:54 PM

This is nothing new.WW2 VWs were fitted with wood burning reactors to power their stock rear mounted air cooled engines due to fuel shortages.60+ years later its finally making a reappearance?

Posted by: Paul | May 28, 2009 9:20:12 PM

VW's nothing..
wood gasifiers were popular in the rural NorthEast through Upper Midwest from the onset of the Depression through WWII..

but I can see the tree-huggin hippies having conniption fits over this screaming GREENHOUSE! GREENHOUSE! GREENHOUSE! and running to Washington to get Jesus Obama to ban them...

Posted by: JL | May 30, 2009 6:12:45 AM

I wouldn't want this because it seems unpractical

Posted by: DK | Jun 2, 2009 8:44:37 AM