Update 19.03.2022
Following a tip from a reader that HVO and XTL are indeed approved, we contacted Truma again today.
There we were told the following:
Truma diesel heaters are approved for operation with:
- fossil diesel fuel according to EN 590 or for diesel mixtures with the B7 label (admixture maximum 7% biodiesel/RME/FAME)
- HVO, XtL according to EN 15940 in pure form as well as their mixtures with pure fossil diesel fuel and B7.
Not approved for operation of the Truma Combi D:
- a fuel mixture with more than 7% biodiesel (e.g. B10, B20, B30, pure biodiesel)
Why the statement was made in 2022 that XTL cannot be used could not be answered. Presumably the technician had assumed it was biodiesel, which, as mentioned above, must not be refueled.
Are you traveling on 01.04. to the filling station and finds new diesel types such as HVO, XTL or B10, it is not an April Fool’s joke. The alternative diesel fuels have now received approval in Germany and will be available in the next two weeks.
We already reported on this topic in May 2022, because the Crafter can be refueled with XTL without any problems. But ATTENTION, if you have a Truma diesel heater installed in your Grand California, the new fuels are ALL taboo. Diesel B10 is not approved!
You can find our original article here:
XTL Diesel in Grand California, attention with Truma 6D
On our last trip I noticed the imprint XTL on the gas cap of the Grand California, until then I only knew B7, i.e. normal diesel.
XTL is fully synthetic diesel, so this fuel contains no petroleum. We are surprised that the Crafter seems to be able to handle this without any problems. This fuel is not found in Germany, it has no approval. Germany is not complying with an EU requirement that XTL fuels must be approved as an alternative.
In Sweden, XTL diesel, which is called HVO100 there, is available at many service stations as an alternative to conventional diesel. The special or rather the big difference to BIO Diesel is that both fuels can be mixed without hesitation, it does not matter how much XTL or B7 is still in the tank. You won’t notice any difference when driving. Vehicles that are operated with XTL are promised better starting behavior.
However, we could not check that, because there is a big BUT! Before we fill up XTL, we wanted to know if the Truma heater can also run on the XTL diesel. To do this, we contacted Truma and were told by a friendly technician that XTL has a different temperature range than conventional diesel. This can cause deposits to build up in the heater if used continuously, rendering it unusable.
We find the circumstance then but somewhat strange and dangerous from Volkswagen, because it is nowhere written that XTL may not be used with the Truma 6D. Not even on the Truma homepage or in the manual. Fortunately, in this case we listened to our gut feeling and first sought contact with Truma, because normally you should assume that VW only lists fuels on the tank cap that the complete system can tolerate.
If you use a gas heater, you can use the XTL fuel without hesitation and even improve your environmental balance, because CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 20 percent.
