Tinker AFB Buys 8 New CNG Trucks
Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma’s largest single-site employer, is doing its part for the environment and has purchased eight new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pickup trucks according to The Journal Record. CNG is a fuel that is cheaper and burns cleaner than gasoline and is plentiful here in Oklahoma, which ranks fourth among all U.S. natural-gas producing states.
All eight trucks, with dual fuel systems for both gasoline and compressed natural gas, have already been delivered to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex for use by the 76th Maintenance Support Group. The trucks lose some pickup bed space with about half of it being occupied by two CNG fuel tanks, but that’s a small sacrifice for the fuel cost savings and environmental benefits that CNG offers. Each vehicle will be able to carry 8 gallons of gasoline and 8.5 gallons of CNG. Tinker, of course, has its own CNG fueling station near the motor pool.
Tinker had previously tried a significant number of CNG-powered vehicles, but they were retrofit versions of gasoline engines that ended up to not be dependable. These new vehicles have CNG equipment installed by the original equipment manufacturer and are expected to be more dependable and a better fit for Tinker’s needs. You can read the full article here.