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In my extensive exploration of biodiesel, I had the opportunity to speak with Don Scott, an engineer who has been involved in the field since its inception. During our phone call, he revealed an intriguing detail: he oversees the world’s first truck powered by biodiesel. This truck is a 1991 Dodge Ram 250 featuring a 12-valve Cummins engine and has a remarkable history.
Scott was a student at the University of Missouri in the early ’90s when researchers began their initial experiments using biodiesel derived from soybean oil. The full story can be found in my biodiesel overview, but a key point is that farmers required a testing vehicle. Scott explains it this way:
“In 1991, the farmers funding the university’s research were uncertain. They said, ‘We’ll finance the research, but we can’t purchase a truck or engine.’ Leon Schumacher, who spearheaded the project at the university, struck a deal with the Foundation Seed—essentially a farm affiliated with the university. They proposed, ‘Since this farm needs trucks, if you buy a diesel pickup, we can use it for the research.’”
“That was the gold Dodge.”
To their delight, the team’s efforts paid off, resulting in the creation of the first pickup truck powered by biodiesel. Eager to showcase their accomplishment, the researchers faced a hurdle, as Scott recalls: “The university farm said, ‘Well, you can’t. That’s our work truck. We need that truck for our operations.’”
Consequently, they purchased a second truck, a silver-and-white Dodge, which briefly became a symbol of biodiesel. Following this, the Missouri Soybean Association acquired a Ford equipped with a 7.3-liter Power Stroke engine to promote biofuels on a national level in Washington, DC, while the gold Dodge continued to fulfill its duties at Mizzou.
The farm kept using the truck until 2006, when its transmission failed. After being parked for 13 years, Scott was approached by Leon Schumacher, who invited him to give a sustainability presentation at the university in 2019. While discussing Cummins’ R2.8 crate engine, Scott mentioned the old 12-valve truck.
“The truck is still available, and the university farm plans to remove the engine to put it in a larger vehicle,” Scott recalled Schumacher saying.
“Historically, that would be a disgrace. I’d prefer to say that the first biodiesel truck is still thriving,” Scott added, to which Schumacher concurred.
The university farm designated the truck as surplus and sold it to Scott, who promptly donated it to the National Biodiesel Board. They rehabilitated it by installing a Tremec TR-4050 five-speed manual transmission, another first since no other B-Series Cummins had been paired with that transmission. After over a decade, the truck was back on the road, and the biodiesel team had ambitious plans for its future.
In 2019, Scott and his team drove the first-generation truck to Cummins’ centennial celebration. It played a crucial role in the National Biodiesel Board’s proposal to establish biodiesel as the official fuel for the company’s next century. Although the proposal was well-positioned, Cummins ultimately showed little enthusiasm, having recently invested heavily in developing engines that can operate on a variety of fuels, including biodiesel and potentially hydrogen in the future.
“When the project concluded, I bought the truck again, so I essentially purchased it twice,” Scott reflected. “It’s just a simple pickup truck, yet it has had a significant impact on the world.”
Rest assured, the truck is still functioning as intended. Whether it’s hauling an enclosed trailer or assisting with other biodiesel-powered Cummins pickups, this iconic gold truck remains active and vibrant.
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