Propane...winterize full or empty

Technicial answer: Does not matter, propane is a sealed system so it can NOT draw moisture for there is no moisture laden air in the tank.. Gasoline (And Diesel) fuel tanks are NOT sealed however and should be full to prevent condensation, But Propane, no such problem.

Practical answer: FULL, Reason: Well.. The following is a true story....

Came home from Chruch one Sunday morning to find Frosty the Air Blown inflatable snowman sleeping on the job.. If you guessed that Detroit Edison had fallen down on the job and the neighborhood was without power.. You guessed good.

It was New Years Eve. So you know it was a bit chilly out,, and in by the time I got home from Church (Long story but Church was 4 Hours for me starting with a pre-church Breakfast with the Music Director and lead Tenor, nd then two services (I was part of the Music Ministery, ie: Choir) then home.

Now in this case, Since I modified the Motor home slightly (added an outlet for this job and a couple of breakers (30 amp) and the house (had a proper generator transfer switch professionally installed) the motor home powered the furnace (Freezer, Fridge, TV's Computer, Microwave and selected Outelets and lights, But not one KEY light) so I did not need to move to the RV to keep warm.

But in your case. Full Propane tanks means you can keep you warm and food cold by moving to the RV when, not if, that happens to you as it did again to me last weekend. I never fully lost power (Since I'm in a Class A) many did. (Thousands).

Oh the Frosty story:
Click: Lights
Click: Furnace
Click, Click, Click and so on: all the other stuff I powered.
Click No light in hall (The key light)
All this hardware: expensive
Warm wife: Priceless.

Why the key light did not come on... It was not wired through the transfer switch, only to the main breaker panel and mains power.. When it came back on.

Click click click back to mains power and go out and shut off the generator.

Today, in the Class A. I have a small fan that works... The same way.

We fill ours when it is empty but we have never winterized our trailer.

Most places around here charge by the tank instead of by the gallon. The same price if the tank is empty or half full.

We fill ours now, one less thing to worry about later

korbe wrote:
I would fill it in the spring. No need to spend the money now. But I would make sure the cylinder is turned off for storage.

How do you know that the price many not spike before spring and it will cost more to fill ?

The price is low now, there is little chance it will go down by much before spring. But, it could easily go up.

fill it, then leave it. just in case.
also depending on the quality of your gas. you should close the tank valve(s). disconnect the fitting at the end of the hose that connects to the black steel pipe that leads to the underside of your r.v.
lower the front of your trailer to drain any oil residue from the pipe. drain the oil residue from the hose(s) as well.
if you happen to have more than a film of oil you may have issues of not having good gas flow during low temperatures.

*** this doesn't address the tanks freezing up during cold weather.

on my last r.v. i installed a 'T' flare fitting between the gas tank hose and the metal gas pipe. i used a flare cap on the 'T'. then in the fall, i would close the propane tank(s) valve and remove the flare cap, drain the lines. (i was full timing).

Yup!!! Leave it _______. That is what I would do.

I would fill it in the spring. No need to spend the money now. But I would make sure the cylinder is turned off for storage.

Keep our filled as we use the camper in the winter, even at home. When one tank gets empty, I get it filled it as fast as I can. Sometimes we have power outages at home. Although we have a generator, I prefer to run the generator and run a wire to the television, the refrigerator and freezer,the internet modem, and a light. (we have a fire place for heat in the house).

But we are in the country, so we are on a well, and the entire house is electric. It's kind of nice knowing there is always propane for the camper. We can always fix meals on the gas stove or oven if we need to. Also we can heat water on the trailer stove if the power is out long enough. It's just nice having that propane source.

Longest we've been out of power at the house was about 24 hours. We switched wires all over the house from the generator to run various appliances. But it was sweet using the camper to fix meals.

Filled or not... won't matter over the winter months.

As everyone else said, the RV doesn't care one way or the other. The reason diesel and gasoline tanks should be filled is to limit the air space in the tanks and so limit the amount of water that can condense out of the air. Since the propane tank is not vented and gets no moist air in it, there cannot be any condensation inside it.

You might care should you wish to use some propane for whatever reason and have none left.

I generally fill the propane tank before putting her to bed for the winter so its ready to go in the early spring. as far as winterizing goes, propane won't freeze so it's a moot point.