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Topic ClosedPropane tank transportation safety?
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Propane tank transportation safety?
    Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 5:42am
Summary of NFPA 58 requirements for propane transport in vehicles (excluding RVs) for private use:

Cylinders shall be determined to be leak free before being loaded. 
Not more than 420 pounds in an open truck or in an enclosed vehicle with separate passenger, cargo, and engine compartments (this would include in a pickup cap I think)
Not more and 90 lbs and not more than 2 cylinders in an enclosed vehicle like a passenger car or SUV
Must be in DOT cylinders
Must be placed on a horizontal surface or on racks
Shall be fastened in position to minimize the possibility of movement, tipping, and physical damage. 
Cylinders less than 45 lbs propane can be in any position for transportation (but for storage have to be upright if > 1lb)
Cylinders above 45 lbs must be upright.
Nothing mentioned about locking or unlocking the vehicle

So if the state/county/city has adopted the NFPA 58 standard (NC has) then they can cite you for not meeting any of the above, but not for other things like just having the propane back there. 

Looks like CA has its own standards for propane in addition to NFPA 58. I didn't read through the CA standard since I no longer live in the PRC (Peoples' Republic of CA, don't worry, just a little gentle humor for the great state that brought Prop 65 warnings to all the rest of us Tongue). Here it is if anyone in the Golden State wants some light bedtime reading. 

https://up.codes/viewer/california/ca-fire-code-2016/chapter/61/liquefied-petroleum-gases#61
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OldNeumanntapr View Drop Down
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Posts: 204 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 9:00pm
Originally posted by Shane

You can be ticketed for not securing flammable material ( Any Hazardous Material ) in a vehicle even if it's not a commercial vehicle.

Good point!!! I always bungee my gear to keep it from becoming ambulatory while in transit, but a lot of people do not.
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Posts: 98 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 5:50pm
I use a 20# tank holder, it keeps the tank upright, and make sure you secure it in the back of the vehicle so it does not move around. You can be ticketed for not securing flammable material ( Any Hazardous Material ) in a vehicle even if its not a commercial vehicle.
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 10:32am
Getting back to the OP, I would think that the typical pickup shell is porous enough that a closed LP tank is not going to pose much of a hazard. I do haul LP tanks in the back of our (open bed) truck all the time, but I guess that's not really relevant. That said, our 2nd truck has a shell, and I would not have any great consternation over carrying a tank or two in the back of that.
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Posts: 163 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 10:11am
Greetings
I carry 2 full 20 bottles in the back of my pickup with a flat cover on it.  I also carry a Honda gen, and a 5 gal safety gas can.  The bottles are in milk crates.  I have twin tanks on my 179 and stay out for 2 weeks or more at a time here in MN.  I usually  empty at least 1 bottle.  I've never had any problems with the tanks or the gas.  With the design of the LP valve, even if you open it to open air, nothing will come out.  It has a built in check valve that prevent discharge to air.  Any fuel has some danger to it, but I feel the risk is very small even in a accident.  

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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Nov 2018 at 2:34pm
With the exception of the GW and Verrazano Narrows bridges in NYC it looks like its only underwater downward sloping tunnels that have prohibitions or inspections for RV propane. Nothing west of the Houston ship channel tunnels. 
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Nov 2018 at 2:15pm
Yes, it makes more sense to charge to enter San Francisco; same with the Bay Bridge.  In fact, all toll bridges in CA are in one direction.  I guess they figure what goes up, must come down.  

And a number of tunnels have flammable tanker restrictions or prohibitions, but I'm not aware of any restrictions on RV propane tanks, whether turned off or on.
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Nov 2018 at 12:18pm
Originally posted by lostagain

I think I'll have to try the Golden Gate Bridge and see if they make me turn off the propane tank.  
We've been across the GGB a few times, and were not even slowed down (tolls are 100% automated now; no humans, no slowing down). The toll for our 3-axle configuration is $22 southbound, free northbound.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Nov 2018 at 12:04pm
This is interesting:

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Tunnels that go down hill have restrictions to stop and make sure propane is turned off. Tunnels that rise slightly have no restrictions.

Virginia tunnels go down under the water. Propane is heavier than air and in theory could pool in the very bottom of the tunnels. So you need to stop and tell an inspector they are turned off.

Most tunnels that go thru mountains have a slight rise to the middle. That's why you don't have to stop for most of those tunnels.

LP-GAS PROHIBITED:

Maryland/Baltimore:

Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry (I-95) tunnels. Alternate route for RVs with propane over the Francis Scott Key Bridge is I-695.

Massachusetts/Boston Harbor:

All tunnels.

New York/East River:

Between Manhattan and Brooklyn: Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

Between Manhattan and Queens: Queens Midtown Tunnel.

New York and New Jersey/Hudson River:

Between Manhattan and Jersey City: Holland Tunnel.

Between Manhattan and Fort Lee: Lower level George Washington Bridge (I-95 South) and George Washington Bridge Expressway. Lower level Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Between Manhattan and Weehawken: Lincoln Tunnel.

LP-GAS RESTRICTIONS:

Virginia/Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel: RVs equipped with ICC-approved compressed cooking tanks not exceeding two 45-pound capacity tanks (or two permanently mounted containers with maximum total capacity of 200 pounds) may cross the facility provided that, in the opinion of the toll collector or police sergeant after inspection, the tanks are completely shut off and securely attached.

Texas/Houston Ship Channel: Washburn Tunnel between Pasadena and Galena Park: Maximum of two 7½-gallon containers (30 pounds gas each) or one 10-gallon container (40 pounds gas) of DOT (ICC)-approved type, with shutoff valve at discharge opening. Valve must be closed when in tunnel. LP-gas as vehicle fuel prohibited. 7½-gallon containers (30 pounds gas each) or one 10-gallon container (40 pounds gas) of DOT (ICC)-approved type, with shutoff valve at discharge opening. Valve must be closed when in tunnel. LP-gas as vehicle fuel prohibited.
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Nov 2018 at 11:30am
Nope, the Navy pulled out of SF.  The harbor was too defensible.
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Fred & Maria Kearney
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