lzcamper
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Joined: 10/28/2003
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bananadanna,
My propane tank is bolted to the underside of the floor of the van just behind the sliding door. An opening was cut into the double side wall of the van to provide access to the fill fittings. The tank is about 24" long and 12" in diameter, so it hangs down a couple of inches.
Rick
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bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
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Joined: 11/30/2005
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lzcamper wrote:bananadanna,
My propane tank is bolted to the underside of the floor of the van just behind the sliding door. An opening was cut into the double side wall of the van to provide access to the fill fittings. The tank is about 24" long and 12" in diameter, so it hangs down a couple of inches.
Rick
Sounds like the right set up. I do go off pavement a fair bit and wanted all the clearance I could get.
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
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Tress
Virginia
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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bananadanna wrote:Tress & lzcamper,
Did you guys cut access doors for the fill tube on your tanks? My used, minimally converted Sprinter came with a Manchester tank hung just low enough to access the fill fitting. It was a PITA because of the poor clearance. It also meant the propane tank cut my ground clearance by a couple of inches. It had a guard bar with a ding in it. The first time I touched that guard bar I decided to rip out that tank. It definitely would have been better and safer to have the tank tucked higher and an access door cut for it.
The outcome in my case was to use a Espar diesel heater and enough batteries to run the much better Engel ac/dc fridge and a microwave and induction burner. I do have a vented, gasketed propane cabinet inside for a 20 lb bbq tank since we prefer to cook and bbq outside as weather permits. Absolutely no regrets about skipping the propane plumbing.
Actually yes there is an access door but its through the inside of the van (just in front of the rear doors, the plan was to simply take the tanks out every time they needed to be filled, there are (2) 20 gal horizontal tanks in the rear just under the van, still above the just a few inches below the rear bumper but above the trailer hitch, there are also some doors that cover the bottom just in case any serious rocks or derbis get kicked up. Either way, had not realized we would need to run copper, sounds like it would be wise to go to an LPG guy, but we'll look into it a little bit more, thanks!!
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Tress
Virginia
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vikx wrote:Most newer rigs use black iron 1/2" pipe underneath and tee off with 3/8" brass flare fittings and copper up to each appliance. Your water heater is low pressure, stove as well. Most camping grills (BBQ grills) are high pressure, tho some will run on regulated low pressure.
Rubber hoses underneath are not legal in most states. They are too vulnerable to damage from road debris. Also, they are not used to go into the coach to appliances.
I agree with the above. Be careful, have your work inspected and pay for what you are not totally sure you can do safely. It's not worth the risk. VK
Ideally i would like to do the work myself and then bring it to a inspection place to make sure its safe, but just so im clear is there anything besides the regulator, copper lines, splitting tees and switches that a typical system needs. Does Home Depot carry most of this stuff or is this something i would have to get at a more specialized company?
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Atlee
Mechanicsville, VA
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Joined: 05/28/2002
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Tress wrote:... there are (2) 20 gal horizontal tanks in the rear just under the van, ...
I assume you meant (2) 20 pound horizonal tanks. A 20 gal tank would be somewhat heavy to have to lift out and lift back in.
Erroll, Mary, Duffy the Wonder Doxie & "Ollie"
1996 RoadTrek 210 Popular, on 1995 Chevy Chassis
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Tress
Virginia
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Atlee wrote:I assume you meant (2) 20 pound horizonal tanks. A 20 gal tank would be somewhat heavy to have to lift out and lift back in.
OH my bad, it's (2) 20lb Horizontal tanks, just like a normal grill size. But before i go to far with this i definitely have to run copper for the propane right? It seems like it would actually be safer to use rubber, i figure with the copper secured to the body of the van any twisting and bouncing is going to move the copper sometimes which i would assume is going to crack the seals and create leaks. Where as if i use rubber and cover them in conduit up to van entry there is no way anything could happen to them, aside from tearing open, but whatever tears them im sure is going to break a copper pipe too. Am i wrong here? Either way thanks for the info and if anyone could tell me if its 100% definitely illegal to use rubber than that would be helpful, take care!
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Tress
Virginia
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Atlee wrote:I assume you meant (2) 20 pound horizonal tanks. A 20 gal tank would be somewhat heavy to have to lift out and lift back in.
Just noticed your in VA, know of anywhere i might be able to have copper installed if that is necessary? I think you are further south but either way it might help, thanks!
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vikx
Washington State
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Joined: 08/03/2006
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In Washington State, rubber lines are illegal to the appliances inside. You can use them from the regulator (on the tongue of a pull trailer) to the black iron and from the tank(s)to the regulator. I'm not sure if this is the same on all RVs or not. Many motorhomes have rubber connections at the tank which then go to black iron underneath or copper into the rig.
Copper tubing is available at most home and hardware stores as are the fittings. You'll need to flare the tubing for connections. A cut off valve at each appliance is not required, tho is safer for a Cat heater. Some cooktops have the valves.
Copper is usually not mounted tightly to the walls but is clamped (with protection) at entry areas and then run to the appliance in somewhat of a loose manner. In other words, it has space around it and able to "move" with the rig.
I would do more research on legality. An RV shop should be able to tell you what can and can not be done. Get more than one opinion. Your conduit idea and rubber hose sounds OK to me, but again, more information will help make your decisions. VK
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K-mann
Lex, KY
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Joined: 05/23/2008
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Good info here. I'm starting a van conversion and just got a new Manchester horizontal mount tank that I need to mount. My plan is to mount the tank to the floor of the van between the frame rail and the body. Unless I cut an access hole in the side wall of the the van, I'm going to have to 'suspend' the tank off the bottom of the van floor in order to access the fittings. Question is what is the best why to do this? I was planning on using long bolts or threaded rod running through the floor to hang the tank in the desired spot.
Dumb question: Can the tank be rotated so that I can mount it up higher, closer to the bottom of the floor, so that I can access the fittings without having to cut an access hole in the side of the van? In other words the little stamp on the tank that says top would not be facing out. I'm guessing this wouldn't work due to the opd.
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vikx
Washington State
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I doubt the tank can be rotated, the valve wouldn't work properly. When you say "access the fittings" do you mean fill the tank? Keep in mind that many propane sellers will not crawl under/make extra effort to fill an awkwardly placed tank. So you want to make it as accessible as possible for filling. VK
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