World’s first biodiesel-powered pickup truck has a backstory worthy of its legend
- This golden 1991 Dodge Ram 250 was the first biodiesel truck
- Made at the University of Missouri in the early ’90s
- It was used for farm work for more than a decade
Published on Sep 29, 2024 at 8:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Sep 26, 2024 at 10:11 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The world’s first biodiesel-powered pickup truck has quite an interesting story behind it that spans decades.
Our story starts at the University of Missouri in the early ’90s.
At that time, researchers began experimenting with biodiesel made from soybean oil.
Interestingly, the farmers paid the university to research the fuel, and that’s how the world’s first biodiesel-powered pickup truck was created.
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World’s first biodiesel-powered pickup truck
Don Scott, who currently owns the vehicle attended the university in the early ’90s.
According to Scott, the university farm also needed a diesel pickup truck so they got a gold 1991 Dodge Ram 250.
The golden Dodge Ram eventually became an experimental mule for the project.
In the end, the researchers created the world’s first pickup truck to run on biodiesel.
This little project paved the way for many new biodiesel-powered cars like the one owned by Jay Leno.
But what happened to the original biodiesel-powered pickup truck?
Farming chores
The researchers wanted to take the pickup truck on tour but the university farm needed it for work.
So they bought a silver-and-white Dodge to take on the tour while the golden Dodge was doing chores back in Missouri.
The farm used it for work until the transmission went out in 2006, after which it was abandoned for 13 years.
Fortunately, Scott managed to buy the truck from the university before it was decommissioned and donated it to the National Biodiesel Board.
They restored the pickup truck by installing a Tremec TR-4050 five-speed manual transmission.
After that Scott and the biodiesel board drove the truck to Cummins’ centennial anniversary event 2019.
It was part of the board’s pitch to become the official fuel for the manufacturer.
“When the project wrapped up, I bought it back again, so I bought that truck twice,” Scott said.
Even now the world’s first biodiesel-powered pickup truck is still in good condition and working as intended.
Nalin Rawat
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
