20# propane tank

I carry a 20lb tank for my generator. I have a front storage on my 5th wheel, I put it in there or in the bed of the truck. Haven't had any problems. I do tie it down when in the truck.

This thread reminds me of a 'Red Green' skit years ago where he loosely bolted down an empty 20lb propane tank on the rear roof of his class C so it would wobble and bounce around just to keep people from tailgating him :) Red Green was the purveyor of back-woods Canadian logic, kind of like a northern hillbilly...

I believe propane tanks have a " pop out" that releases pressure . Many years ago I went around the State of Florida visiting fire depts , I taught courses in " Propane ". We traveled with a very large propane tank on a trailer . We would assemble a crowd of firefighters from several fire depts . We would place a large propane burner under the tank and light her off . The crowd would gasp and back up , waiting for the explosion ! After several minutes the pop off would blow and was usually ignited by the lower flame . The pop off flame lasted a second or two and then all was well again . As far as a twenty pound tank blowing and being thrown many feet away , well the propane may not have any thing to do with it . As said above any sealed container will blow in a fire . As any firefighter who works where there are a lot of boat fires will tell you , one of the scariest things with a yacht fire is all of the **** fire extinguishers blow up and flying thru the air !

Years ago we had a popup trailer that was stored in my Son-in-laws barn. His barn cat tipped over a propane heater that caught the barn on fire and it burned to the ground along with our popup. The propane tank on the front of the trailer was burnt and bent but it never ruptured or exploded.

I posted a picture of the trailer after the fire several times on the forum way back in 2004 but they were lost when Photobucket changed their hosting policy.
Barney

Better the rear bumper than inside the cabin. Possibly an exterior compartment would be best.

Michelle.S wrote:
Well they can explode. Couple years ago just South of Sebring Florida at a Propane Tank Storage Facility they had a fire and some tanks we found 1/2 a mile away after they exploded.

Put a sealed canister of anything in a hot enough fire and it can explode. Sure, a propane cylinder will have a more exciting explosion than a sealed cylinder of water, but build up enough pressure, and the sealed cylinder of water will go. That is a lot different than a propane cylinder that is compressed in an accident with no flame to ignite it. I am not saying it can't happen, but your example does not apply to this scenario. Mythbusters did a show trying to get 20# propane cylinders to explode in flames. The only way they ever managed to do it was to shoot it with incendiary ammunition. Even then, they had to shoot it twice. The first shot ruptured the cylinder and it started spewing propane gas. The second shot, the incendiary round ignited the gas. The first incendiary round went completely through the cylinder, leaving holes on both sides, without igniting the propane. Non-incendiary ammunition would not ignite the propane, no matter how many times they shot the cylinder.

Michelle.S wrote:
Well they can explode. Couple years ago just South of Sebring Florida at a Propane Tank Storage Facility they had a fire and some tanks we found 1/2 a mile away after they exploded.

I am not singling you or your post out, I am just posting some facts.

Propane is not explosive. Neither is gasoline. They are flammable. The vapors of both are heavier than air, which can aid in their burning.

Source: I hauled it for over 17 years, and have had training in both.

Well they can explode. Couple years ago just South of Sebring Florida at a Propane Tank Storage Facility they had a fire and some tanks we found 1/2 a mile away after they exploded.

Would I, no. Is it super dangerous, probably not. Here is a picture of a 1965 Ford B that was owned by a friend when it was rear ended by a semi in 1974. I ended up buying it and had a body shop put the body back together for our first real RV that isn't just tarps over a pickup truck. I did not put the tank back on the back. The inside was all ripped loose in the crash so I made the inside the way we wanted. The LP tank and tire took a lot of the impact. The LP tank was still sitting in the corner of my Dad's shop when we sold the place in January 2020 and was still holding propane.

gwtriker wrote:
Saw a small C parked at Wally World with tank and other stuffed lashed down. Worse part, carrier looked to be modified or home made.

That explains a bunch. Was it a legit camping rig or a motorhomeless?

Just because you see it, don't mean it's right!
That said, the paranoia, rumors and wives tales about propane on this forum would lead one to believe it may essplode if even dropped.
Truthfully, they are very hard to get to essplode.
Or think about it this way, how many 20lb propane bottles are there in use today, jsut in the US? I have no idea, but theres 44 million single family homes and 8 million RVs in the Yew Ess of Eh.
I'll call that a round number of about 100 million propane bottles in service + all that are used in commercial/work settings.
Whatever the number is, it's uuge.
How many have exploded that you know of? (Personally, no internet allowed)
And of them (likely zero anyways), how many actually exploded in a fire ball and didn't just BLEVE or rupture and dump gas?

Is it the best idea? I'll go ahead and give a hard NO. Is it "that" risky? No, not really.