Can I tow my trailer with Propane on ?

wing_zealot wrote:

bigdaddy37 wrote:
My research indicates in Canada there are laws requiring pilot lights to be out and tank valves to be closed.


http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-part5-300.htm#sec51

That's amazing, cause I searched your referenced Transportation of Dangerous Goods, Part 5 for the terms "pilot" light, "off", "closed", "tank", "propane", and "valve" and found no such law. Maybe I need some remedial "reading between the lines" lessons.

Wouldn't matter anyway as very few fridges have pilot lights anymore.

And I think we all know the part about valves having to be closed is at best, inaccurate. We know this because fleets of company and utility vehicles run on either CNG or propane. And that would be hard to do with the tank valves closed.

OK, sounds good. Now I will turn it off at gas stations, but do you pull into the gas station, then turn it off first thing, or actually stop a block away, turn it off, then pull into a gas station ?

I think for all practical purposes, it will be ok to pull into a gas station with it on, and turn it off as soon as I get out of the truck ?

Thanks for the help everyone!

The TT system is designed by the manufacturer to be used that way.

bigdaddy37 wrote:
My research indicates in Canada there are laws requiring pilot lights to be out and tank valves to be closed.


http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-part5-300.htm#sec51

That's amazing, cause I searched your referenced Transportation of Dangerous Goods, Part 5 for the terms "pilot" light, "off", "closed", "tank", "propane", and "valve" and found no such law. Maybe I need some remedial "reading between the lines" lessons.

My research indicates in Canada there are laws requiring pilot lights to be out and tank valves to be closed.


http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-part5-300.htm#sec51

My propane is always on while on the road. Use it for refridge and the water heater. Oh, and since I'm a toy hauler I've got my own little gas station built into the trailer with two gas tanks. But since I run diesel in the truck I'm not worried about a little propane flame as diesel is dang near impossible to ignite that way.

Leave it on, that's what it's designed for and contrary to what some claim, it warms up rather quickly when it's off. They run 50% or more of the time for a reason.

We leave propane on, turn refriig off while fueling.

I think the majority of us travel with the fridge on. And, although some turn them off when refueling, I think the majority of us leave them on.

I leave mine on in my 5er. If I had a gas MH or a truck camper where the fuel filler cap was be near the fridge, then I would turn it off. But on a 5er or TT where the fridge is a long distance from the fuel nozzle, then I would not worry about it. Gas fumes are heavier than air and tend to sink to the ground. To cause a fire, the fumes would have to travel at the height of the fridge for however many feet away it was, enter thru the fridge vents, while maintaining a fuel concentration above the LEL (lower explosion limit) necessary for combustion. How many documented cases of that happening have you ever heard of? And if you are at a diesel only island, then forget about it. Diesel fumes are not explosive like gas fumes are. Likewise if your trailer is sticking well back away from the pumps, don't worry about it.

I leave it on all the time for the frig.
When fueling, the gas filler door is about 20 feet behind the frig, and the frig is about 5 feet off the ground. Gas fumes are heavier than air. If the fume level is that deep, when I start the engine, the sparks from the cranking motor commutator/brushes will ignite them, and there will be a huge fireball.
I have never heard of that happening.
Yes, there was (is?) a video making the rounds showing a Class B going up in flames when the owner was beginning to fuel it, because (supposedly) the frig was operating on propane. There are two things to notice about that video:
1. The frig was about a foot above the fuel filler.
2. The gas nozzle was locked OPEN, and the owner sprayed fuel directly into the frig!
That was a one-time freak occurrence, yet it has become the "poster child" for the "We're all gonna DIE if you don't fuel up properly!" folks.
Fuel station explosions are really VERY rare!