Truma Gas to Diesel conversion?

[OwenIg19894654654]

Hi all,

I hope everyones GC's are staying warm in the winter!

We have a GC600 that we purchased second hand and imported from Germany (2022) model, but sadly it came with gas as standard and not diesel heating.

I have considered refillable LPG, but by the time I spend £1200 on that system I'm not a million miles away from the price of a new Truma Combi D6E at £1895.

We love off grid1 old weather camping in Europe (-10C+) so I would prefer a diesel Truma.

Has anyone converted a Gas Truma to a diesel?

The models physically don't seem to differ on layout and size, connections, just need to drop the gas tank to add the fuel line.

Kind regards

Owen

 

[chockswahay]

why not use refillables? For example.......

Gaslow 11kg & 6kg Cylinder Kit with Exterior Black Filler

This kit includes the following parts to enable a twin cylinder fitment. Gaslow Refillable Cylinders: 1 x 11kg number 1 & 1 x 6kg number 2 cylinder Filler Kit Type: Black 70mm filler body with brass bayonet fitting and 1500mm stainless steel filler hose. Cylinder to Cylinder Filler Connection...

www.gaslowdirect.com

I have done this twice now on previous vans, very easy to do and by shopping around can be done for even less .........

And you won't run out of battery power so quickly either........

 

[OwenIg19894654654]

why not use refillables? For example.......

Gaslow 11kg & 6kg Cylinder Kit with Exterior Black Filler

This kit includes the following parts to enable a twin cylinder fitment. Gaslow Refillable Cylinders: 1 x 11kg number 1 & 1 x 6kg number 2 cylinder Filler Kit Type: Black 70mm filler body with brass bayonet fitting and 1500mm stainless steel filler hose. Cylinder to Cylinder Filler Connection...

www.gaslowdirect.com

I have done this twice now on previous vans, very easy to do and by shopping around can be done for even less .........

And you won't run out of battery power so quickly either........

I have researched refillables and it would be an option if I can't convert to diesel, but I have the following issues:

- No LPG stations near me (they are being less and less common)
- No LPG refills in Finland (must go if you havent been)
- If we are very remote and run out of gas we are in trouble, always have diesel in the van
- When it is -10-25C the heating need to be on 24/7 to stop the frost protect kicking in
- Battery isn't an issue as I have a Delta 2 max and additonal battery hooked up into the van

But would be option 2 and like you said very easy to install.

 

[GordonH]

Hi Owen, I think there is likely more to the diesel retro than meets the eye. When its factory installed its not just the Truma that is diesel instead of gas but other diesel heater bits are fitted - fast engine heater or remote cab heater. One or other of those has to be specified along with the diesel heating. No idea why but may mean the cost ends up higher than you are factoring in If those secondary parts are also required in any retro. Good luck in your search, hopefully some folks on this forum have already researched. If no joy try the German FB group VW Grand California Bastelecke&Upgrades as thats full of folks who have done extensive mods.

 

[OwenIg19894654654]

Hi Owen, I think there is likely more to the diesel retro than meets the eye. When its factory installed its not just the Truma that is diesel instead of gas but other diesel heater bits are fitted - fast engine heater or remote cab heater. One or other of those has to be specified along with the diesel heating. No idea why but may mean the cost ends up higher than you are factoring in If those secondary parts are also required in any retro. Good luck in your search, hopefully some folks on this forum have already researched. If no joy try the German FB group VW Grand California Bastelecke&Upgrades as thats full of folks who have done extensive mods.

Thank you Gordan.

Very interesting about the options. Would be interesting to know if techincally the other options are 'required' or maybe it is VW 'upselling' the options as I sure Diesel heating is a popular option.


I have also message Truma HQ in Derby, I heard through another campervan forum that they have also done this conversion in the past.

 

[GordonH]

Just remembered one of the admins (Jim) on the VW Grand California UK FB group has had diesel heating fitted to complement the gas rather than instead of it. I believe it just does the heating rather than heating & hot water but worth joining that group (if not already a member) and reaching out to Jim to see what’s involved and if that approach would work for you.

 

[mr pg]

Before buying our 680 last week I enquired with Truma Derby for converting to diesel and was quoted £2400. Didn't mention about aux heater, etc, but did say it was a straight forward swap. I do wonder though about things like the van display which shows gas, the outside vent which differ. Need to go back to them for more detail.

 

[Calimili]

Hi, I have no experience on the GC specifically, but the actual gas Truma is easy to swap with a diesel because it hase the samee size and same anchoring points. Unfortunately there is a lot more to change, not only the fuel line to be added, and the existing gas line to be removed and its end be sealed to avoid any potential leakage. The 6D requires thicker electric cables , due to the ignition of the 6D. It is a lot more an involved job that one can imagine. Especially in a panel van motorhome , it is very time consuming to pass lines through, both diesel and electric ones, than it is on a Motorhome. A garage will end up charging 2000 pounds just for the installation on top of the cost of the Truma Diesel..
You could instead consider adding a Diesel heather, because it would cost a lot less. An Eberspächer 2KW, which is the size recommended, or an Autoterm , which would cost the half at 600€. Way easier to install than swapping the Truma. You will still be need the Truma gas for hot water, and for a better distribution of the heath as the Eberspächer will only have 1, max 2 air outlets. But 90% of the heat would be coming from the Eberspächer running on Diesel , and your gas will last a lot longer. And you will have redundancy should one of the two system have an issue.

 

[Calimili]

Airtronic S2 D2 12v Heater Kit EasyStart Pro | 292112000064

Diesel Fired 12v Air Heater with 2.2 kW Heating Power A compact and quiet vehicle heating solution. Genuine Eberspacher UK Warranted Airtronic S2 D2L 12v Motorhome heater kit. With the latest generation brushless motor and almost silent fuel pump, you can enjoy 2.2kW of seamless heat output in...

www.butlertechnik.com

 

[soulstyledevon]

When I enquired for my Hymer last year. The consensus was to add an additional diesel heater and leave the gas in situ.
You might want to double check, but I was recommended 4kw for a bigger van.

Thankfully my new van on order has the Truma 6DE. A lot of the newer vans seem to be heading down the same route.