Keen for some extra firepower when scaling their hill farm near Llangedwyn, the Edwards family traded their steady diesel Kawasaki Mule for a 50hp petrol Can-Am Traxter.

The boost in performance was considerable, allowing them to cruise around their 245ha of ground, some of which is a 10-mile drive away, at speeds of 40mph or more.

Even with a weighty snacker in tow for feeding their 1,450 Welsh Mule and purebred Welsh ewes, it was gutsy enough to maintain good progress on steep hills.

And it proved suitably nippy for rounding up their 40-head suckler herd (about 120 with young/fat stock included) – a job that the old Mule was far too sluggish for.

See also: UTV buyer’s guide 2023-24

But the payoff for all this zip was the 779cc V-Twin’s voracious thirst for octane.

So much so, that when it was working hard, Ken Edwards, his son-in law Kevin Williams and stepdaughter Johanne would be feeding it a 20-litre jerry can or more most days.

From left: Ken Edwards, James, Johanna and Katrin Williams © James Andrews

“It covers about 3,500 miles a year and we worked out that it was costing us roughly £3,000 in petrol,” says Ken.

“It’s also about six miles to the nearest petrol station, which wasn’t very convenient for the regular top-ups either.”

When they realised that their local dealer, Mike Pryce Machinery, was offering LPG conversions, it seemed like a good opportunity to reduce running costs.

The process involves fitting a tank at the base of the seat and running a pipe to the vehicle’s injectors.

A separate ECU is also spliced into the wiring loom, which controls the original fuel system and the new LPG setup.

This is an important part of the process, as the vehicle needs to start and warm up on petrol, before automatically switching over to LPG.

The install also includes a simple LED gauge to show which fuel the vehicle is running on at a given time and how much juice is left in the tank.

The final part of the process is plugging the new ECU into a laptop and adjusting the map so that the vehicle runs sweetly on the alternative fuel.

Installation costs

Having the system fitted to the farm’s HD8 Traxter cost about £1,200 in 2021 and they had to factor in the cost of having a Calor gas tank installed.

This came with an upfront fee of £400, plus £26 a quarter in rent, and there was the time and expense of putting in a concrete base for it to sit on.

They did keep costs down by opting for a hand rather than electric filling pump though, which requires about 50 cranks of the handle to fill the Traxter’s 30-litre tank from empty.

For the fuel itself, they signed up for a three-year fixed price deal linked to the Retail Price Index, which currently sits at 42p.

This makes it a fraction of the cost of petrol, while offering similar levels of performance and fuel consumption.

Although the vehicle still starts and warms up on conventional fuel, the cost of this is negligible as a full tank will last for weeks.

Quad bike conversion

When the time came to replace one of their ATVs later that year, the Traxter’s performance gave them the confidence to fit it with an LPG conversion from the outset.

The process for the Outlander 570 was the same as the UTV, but with no obvious voids to install the tank, this was fitted in a chequer plate box mounted on the front rack.

Some installers opt to place the tank low down at the front of the vehicle, but this is more susceptible to getting knocked on rough terrain.

© James Andrews

Fuel capacity is lower at 20 litres, but because the bike is more economical than the UTV, it will run for a similar amount of time before needing to refill.

Again, performance hasn’t been unduly affected by the conversion. However, the front-mounted box does hamper visibility slightly and reduces the carrying capacity.

Due to the extra box required to house the tank and the fact that some of the components had gone up in price, the cost was slightly higher at about £1,400.

Running costs

Because the ATV does more work than the UTV, annual fuel use is about the same.

This means that when both of the farm’s primary vehicles were running on petrol, they were using roughly £6,000 worth of petrol a year.

Switching both to LPG, has slashed the cost of running them to about £1,400 a year – more than covering the conversion costs in the first year.

Both systems have proved reliable so far, with the only problem being a ruptured pipe on the ATV conversion, possibly caused by the fact that the lines are packed tightly into the front box.

However, after fitting a new section, they haven’t had any problems.

Can-Am comfort

As for the vehicles themselves, the family says their power and comfort set them apart from other brands they’ve owned.

“The bikes in particular are pretty luxurious compared to Japanese models we’ve had,” says Kevin. “The suspension is better, they’re more comfortable and they tend to have a lot more power.”

However, they do require more TLC, with wishbone pivots that need greasing to avoid premature wear and more regular replacement of the transmission belt.

The family has also had problems with the hydraulic handbrake on Outlanders they’ve owned, so they make sure the transmission is left in park when leaving the vehicle on a slope.

But they reckon the heavier maintenance burden is worth it.

“We’ve got a Suzuki King Quad 500 which is almost indestructible, but it’s basic in comparison to the Outlander, doesn’t go as fast and doesn’t grip quite as well – so the Outlander is the one we use the most,” says Kevin.

Another plus for the Can-Am is the V-Twin Rotax engine, which stands up well to the amount of hard work they give them.

“We’ve got an old 570 V-Twin that has done well over 10,000 miles, still purrs along and doesn’t use a drop of oil.”

It’s a similar story with the Traxter, which is considerably gutsier than their old Kawasaki Mule, much faster and more pleasant to ride in. But the payoff is a slightly higher maintenance bill when it goes in for a service.