Proper carrying of propane tanks |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595 |
Topic: Proper carrying of propane tanks Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 9:39am |
I'm going to ask a dumb question, though far from the first in my life. When you start adding steel racks, extra propane tanks, and other cool stuff on the tongue of your trailer, aren't you adding an awful lot of tongue weight that can affect your weight/balance? Propane is pretty easy to find most of the time and one tank lasts adequately for most camping.
If you really need more propane, then you can get a 30# or a 40# tank. They'll just be a little taller in the existing rack with no need to change anything, except, perhaps, for a little longer propane hose.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 9:46am |
StephenH can afford to add more propane because he removed his lead acid batteries from the tongue, and if I was planning a trip to Alaska I'd want to carry plenty of propane too. But for the rest of us, yes, your question is not dumb at all.
I wouldn't want a 30 lb tank personally because that would eliminate the option of swapping tanks out at a convenience store. The other solution is just to carry an additional 20lb tank in your tow vehicle.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Olddawgsrule
Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 9:51am |
The Beauty of a truck... My spare tank is in the bed!
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 11:12am |
I carry a spare tank too, sometimes even 2 spares, but they're in the truck bed not on the tongue. And if I really want to be explosive, I can lug along our 10 gal. tank along with the others, at least in theory. But in our rural part of the world, propane is pretty ubiquitous so there is no real need to carry a lot.
The only time I bought exchange tank propane was when I had a tank that was getting a little old and I wanted a newer tank. I exchanged the old one for one that had a very recent date on it. That exchange tank propane is pretty pricey, when you can to the local farm supply or rural gas station and get it for much less. Too bad Gas Buddy doesn't list propane in its app.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 11:44am |
Its perfectly legal to transport propane cylinders in an enclosed vehicle. You just can't carry more than 90 lbs propane inside, and the cylinders can't be bigger than 45 lbs. The cylinders have to be secured properly on a flat surface, regardless of whether you carry them in an open truck or inside. If the cylinders are in an open truck and less than 45 lbs they can be on their side, in an enclosed vehicle they have to be upright unless smaller than 4.2 lbs. This is per NFPA 58 for transport of propane (as opposed to mounting propane tanks in or on an RV).
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Olddawgsrule
Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 1:25pm |
As I travel, off the beaten path, I find less and less areas to re-fill. It's getting to the point of swap-out happens more often. I do carry my tank upright and have a spot in the bed (under the tonneau) sectioned for it, no chance of moving. I like having the spare (never know where or when you'll run out) and the time to re-fill as we travel through areas. A tank will last us 1-2 months of use depending on heater use. Meaning, I do run out somewhere on the road. Maybe it's an insurance thing, I don't know, but it's just harder to re-fill the tanks as we travel. Seems they've gone to swap-out...
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 2:54pm |
When we traveled in the winter, I was having to fill a tank every two or three days because it was so cold out. I do carry a spare now in the bed of the truck. Changing to a dual-mount means that I can have the auto-switchover which means that I won't run out in the middle of the night and have to run out and change it if we were to do cold weather camping again. Otherwise, it is purely for convenience as I can better utilize the tongue space to carry the dual tanks plus a 5 gallon gas container outside. I had one gasoline container leak and it ruined part of the truck bed lining which did not make me happy at all. It was one of those gas cans that had the spout attached at the bottom that swiveled down and then a push button was used to activate the spout to dispense the gasoline. It worked well for filling the generator, but the pressure vapor pressure generated when it was closed and the temperature went up overcame the seal, causing the leak. Unfortunately, it was outside the warranty period. I definitely gave that product a one (only because I couldn't give it a zero) star review!
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 5:52pm |
Consider converting your genny to propane if you carry more than one cylinder. I did that with my Honda and its great. No smell or mess, oil plugs and carb stay nice and clean too. The kits have a selector so you can always go back to gas if you want to. I never will.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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tcj
Senior Member Joined: 05 Jul 2018 Location: Central WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 141 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 6:22pm |
Don't transport a propane tank in the horizontal position. If the valve gets broken off it will become a rocket. I used to lay one of those 30 gallon tanks down in the bed of a pickup to transport up to a fire lookout. The propane guy warned me to be very careful doing that. He said he saw one go through a cement block wall.
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2018 R-pod 180 Hood River Edition
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Posted: 08 Feb 2020 at 6:43pm |
I would like to do that but I did not see a conversion kit for a Generac iX2000. I'll have to look harder.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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