Bigfoot propane compartment

I bet it's coming from above the lip seal on the door and running down to the bottom and in. I had that issue on my Palomino on the side lower compartment door and I had to replace the bulb seal with a larger one. The door had resistance closing but the seal at the bottom wasn't contacting the frame tight enough.

I didn't get a lot but I got a little and it was coming from above, running down the filon, over the door flange and down, into the compartment. I actually thought about adding drain holes in the aluminum floor but the bulb seal cured the issue. I keep my coleman lantern and levelling blocks in there along with my Rotapax fuel containers.

from the BF owners archive wrote:
Hi Kenny
I hope you are getting better every day. Our propane tank compartment does get some water in it after a hard rain but it has never leaked in to the camper. I have been involved with discussions not only with Bigfoot factory reps but also other RV manufacture reps. Many have seen problems with water collecting in propane tank compartments. Many of them wish they could place a drain in there but this is where the problem come in. All RV Safety Certification organization will not allow it. Lawyers and liability insurance companies will not allow it either. The reason for this is also the reason I decided not to install a drain in ours but made sure that the compartment is sealed so that water will not leak into the camper. This reason is that propane is heavier than air. Any propane leakage will collect in the bottom of the compartment and most likely escape away from the camper when the door is open. If a drain is installed in this compartment the propane will go thru this drain and collect under the camper or even in the bed of the truck hauling it. This collection of propane can have a very explosive potential. The reasoning behind this make good sense to me so sealing this compartment makes better sense than installing a drain.
Charlie
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2001 F350 Diesel 4 X 4 and 25C10.6 Bigfoot Camper  
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do a search for orger's post on this subject , here on this forum .I tried but site search function was down right now


 

Had the same problem with mine. Tried a couple things but what worked best was cementing a piece of aluminum to make a lip. I also put a rubber mat in the tank compartment so there's little space behind the lip for propane to collect. Unfortunately, it also makes it a tighter fit when removing or installing a tank.

Hey thanks all. At least I'm not alone with this issue.
I'll experiment with sealing the door better.

The hacksawing on the door frame lip is Bigfoot factory equipment - mine has it too. Leaky propane is supposed to exit at the bottom of the door. Water need not come in through the louvers although I'm sure that is possible. When you use propane the tank gets very cold and condenses quite a lot of water unless the humidity is high-desert type low. This forms a puddle with no where to go.

Since leaking propane would exit the bottom of the door and continue to sink outside the truck box, I'd have no problem putting a drain near the door and outside of the truck box rail. In either case there would be the possibility of just the right wind conditions blowing the propane into the box, but then about 500 people a year are stuck by lightening in the US too so you are never completely safe.

GoinThisAway wrote:
Had the same problem with mine. Tried a couple things but what worked best was cementing a piece of aluminum to make a lip. I also put a rubber mat in the tank compartment so there's little space behind the lip for propane to collect. Unfortunately, it also makes it a tighter fit when removing or installing a tank.

This is exactly what I did. I never get water in my propane compartment now. I used some extra pieces of Dry Dek tiles on the bottom ofthe compartment just in case.

Same with ours. Tank bottoms were rusting. We installed Dri-Dek tiles on the compartment floor and aluminum and weather stripping to fill the gap and make a seal for the bottom of the door. Still get some water but not as bad as before. Check caulking inside compartment door and plastic liner.

Bob

Thanks everybody.
54suds or anyone...how do I search for "BIGFOOT OWNERS ARCHIVES"?

I'll be looking for some angle aluminum and weatherstripping.

Same thing here. Glad you asked TxGearhead. As a first-year owner of mine I was having the same head scratching about how the water was getting in there.

NGaMountains wrote:
Same thing here. Glad you asked TxGearhead. As a first-year owner of mine I was having the same head scratching about how the water was getting in there.

One would think Bigfoot would have addressed this in the last 20 years.
...one would think...