Old propane tanks on new RVs

K Charles wrote:
It not the factory, they come without tanks. The dealer did that to you.

Any new trailer we've purchased, be it a popup, hybrid, or travel trailer, has always arrived at the dealership with empty propane tanks that the dealer would then purge & fill before delivery to me.

mobeewan wrote:

JRscooby wrote:

mobeewan wrote:


It's not trivial if the dealer is ripping people off whether intentionally or unintentionally. If he wants to hold the dealer accountable he has every right to do it. He's just going to have a hard time proving it. No reason to call him a d bag whether you meant dirt or douche.

Nobody said it was trivial for the person buying the RV. But for the dealer? The cost difference between the cost of new, and the cost of used that would not glare at buyer would not amount to a pinch of snot. If the OP had gone straight to fill the tank, and found them nearly out of date he might convince the dealer to look into maybe a employee wanted to make pocket money. But a year later? To many chances for something to happen after it left the dealer.
And I don't think I called anybody names...

Grit dog wrote:


Haha, that's what I was thinking!

To the OP, big deal, find another place to fill them....or get re-cert for like $10/ea, exchange for about $15/ea.
Whatever you do, don't be the d bag that expects the dealer to warranty something that trivial.
He!!, you been getting them filled for 2 years now and didn't even know. 1st world problems

He dismissed the matter as a trivial. Not only that but he made a disparaging remark towards the OP when he told him to not be a d bag. Is that a douchebag or a dirtbag, you fill in the d.

As I said it is not a trivial matter if the dealer is ripping somebody off whether intentional or not. They are still getting ripped off.

Mobeewan is correct on both points.

falconbrother wrote:
I just found a mom-n-pop place and had them filled. I'll get the re-certified as suggested and not bother with hassles. It just crawled on me when I couldn't get what I considered to be new-ish tanks filled. Ethics are a thing of the long lost past.

Just out of curiosity, have those tanks ever been taken off the trailer? I'm wondering if you ever took them for refilling and left them for pickup. Or have you noticed that your neighbor's BBQ never seemed to run out of propane?

JRscooby wrote:

mobeewan wrote:


It's not trivial if the dealer is ripping people off whether intentionally or unintentionally. If he wants to hold the dealer accountable he has every right to do it. He's just going to have a hard time proving it. No reason to call him a d bag whether you meant dirt or douche.

Nobody said it was trivial for the person buying the RV. But for the dealer? The cost difference between the cost of new, and the cost of used that would not glare at buyer would not amount to a pinch of snot. If the OP had gone straight to fill the tank, and found them nearly out of date he might convince the dealer to look into maybe a employee wanted to make pocket money. But a year later? To many chances for something to happen after it left the dealer.
And I don't think I called anybody names...

Grit dog wrote:


Haha, that's what I was thinking!

To the OP, big deal, find another place to fill them....or get re-cert for like $10/ea, exchange for about $15/ea.
Whatever you do, don't be the d bag that expects the dealer to warranty something that trivial.
He!!, you been getting them filled for 2 years now and didn't even know. 1st world problems

He dismissed the matter as a trivial. Not only that but he made a disparaging remark towards the OP when he told him to not be a d bag. Is that a douchebag or a dirtbag, you fill in the d.

As I said it is not a trivial matter if the dealer is ripping somebody off whether intentional or not. They are still getting ripped off.

While I feel for you, I don't think ethics has really changed that much. There always has been and always will be people (business owners) doing questionable things. All we can do is find them and avoid them.

As far as your mom & pop, that's the kind of stores I like to visit. Sure I'll shop at Walmart and Costco. But the mom & pop liquor store with propane fill in my neighborhood gets my business as well. I'll pay a bit more per gallon to fill the tanks there because I like to support the little guy as well.

I just found a mom-n-pop place and had them filled. I'll get the re-certified as suggested and not bother with hassles. It just crawled on me when I couldn't get what I considered to be new-ish tanks filled. Ethics are a thing of the long lost past.

If they are 20# bottles, exchange them. If they are 30#, go to a propane supplier, who will recert them for ten bucks. Problem solved.

I would not ask or expect the dealer to do anything, it was two years ago. I might give them a call just to see if they had any idea how that could happen.

opnspaces wrote:

I doubt most people even think to look at the expiration date on their cylinders when getting them filled. and I know personally I have never had the guy tell me that I only had a yer or so left before expiration.

What i have found most often when refilling tanks is if the tank is clean and not rusty the guy never even looks the the date and just fills it.

I have never had anybody look at the date when exchanging tanks, but never had them fill a tank without checking the date. Of course, if somebody did not check I would worry about what other safety measures where missed.

JRscooby wrote:

If the OP had gone straight to fill the tank, and found them nearly out of date he might convince the dealer to look into maybe a employee wanted to make pocket money.

I doubt most people even think to look at the expiration date on their cylinders when getting them filled. and I know personally I have never had the guy tell me that I only had a yer or so left before expiration.

What i have found most often when refilling tanks is if the tank is clean and not rusty the guy never even looks the the date and just fills it.

I would bet at some point the OP swapped out his original tanks at some big box store, and was handed older replacements.

I highly doubt the dealer (In this case Camping World, who are the exclusive distributor for Coleman branded TT's made by Dutchmen Mfg.)sent a crew down to Ferrellgas or somewhere to search out the old tanks with the intent of saving two cents per bottle.