Patrick on May 12, 2014
Rendezvous Lodge - Pano Cam
Cody Bowl
Tram Station Cam
Base of Bridger Gondola
Sweetwater Gondola, Teewinot Base
Mountain View
Apres Vous
Patrick on May 12, 2014
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has invested a great deal of time, resources and money into being as green as possible and our veggie oil trucks are one of the coolest displays of that commitment. We caught up with Vehicle Maintenance Manager Steve Parker to learn a little bit more about the Veggie Oil trucks.
There are currently 3 veggie oil trucks in our fleet, including the oldest truck which has gone over 25,000 miles on veggie oil alone. 25,000 miles of driving represents a significant amount of fuel savings, and according to Steve it drives like a dream.
The oil comes from food & beverage locations at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and the use is not limited to just the veggie oil conversion vehicles. “It all comes from the restaurants, all of it. We also put veggie oil in our on-road fuel (mixed with diesel). We have quite a few diesel trucks that run on the mountain and around town and we put about a 10-15% mix of veggie oil into the on-road fuel. We’ve been doing it for years, so all of our trucks run on a percentage of veggie oil and diesel. We used to pay to get rid of that veggie oil and now we’re using it to our advantage.”
“It’s cheap fuel and it runs really clean. You can definitely smell it. It smells like french fries. People laugh, but it does, because that’s what the oil was. If you walk into my room you can smell it. Around lunchtime it gets you all hungry! It’s french fry gas”
The newest addition to the fleet was just wrapped this week and is looking sharp. This is our courier box truck and it does 2-3 trips per day between Teton Village and the Town of Jackson, so the fuel savings will be significant at an estimated 10,000 miles saved per year.
Our cold climate can be a challenge for veggie oil conversions, but new technology on this truck is improving the process. “It’s automatic, you flip the switch on and as soon as the engine temperature gets warm enough it automatically switches to veggie oil. When you turn it off it will idle for 90 seconds to purge the system of the veggie oil because you want it to start on diesel. It’s pretty slick.”
