Planning my Camper Design - Propane Compartment Placement

[JoeChiOhki]

Few months have passed, and we're now nearing the time of the year in Oregon when its possible to build something outside without getting rained on.

I'm still doing some decision making, but I have a couple thoughts to bounce off folks that may be in the know.

1.) Can anyone see a good reason to not locate the propane tank compartment underneath the fridge? I'm still trying to settle on a home for it, and its bounced around from being original underneath the wardrobe cabinet, to being down near the bathroom to my current contemplation of it being beneath the fridge.

I've seen it done this way before, seaeagle's old Kamp King had this exact configuration, just on the opposite side as where I wish to put it.



2.) Does anyone see any issue of putting the furnace under the wardrobe cabinet (which would allow me to reuse part of the existing wardrobe cabinet in the new one). I would likely end up having to run the gas line along the underside of the floor, but I've seen that done on many RVs, so not a big concern.

I've also debated modifying the design to add a basement for the tanks, similar to the mid-to-late 70s KITs had, but doing some would require major changes to the wall plans to make the inside tall enough to allow for a good basement plus the 2x3 timbered floor that I already planned.

The snap N Nap is still out there, but I'm more hoping against hope on finding a donor rig to get that off of if I find one by some chance rather than engineering one from scratch.

At this point the camper is likely going to be sided in two materials, somewhat in the fashion of an Amerigo that had aluminum style siding in the middle and fiberglass front and rear, I'll be fiberglass (filon) on the rear and aluminum on the rest to cut down the aluminum costs (I'd go with all new aluminum, but at the current ridiculous prices for aluminum siding, that's not going to happen).

Just for a reminder, here's a the rough layout that I am following for the floor plan:

Interior - Floor plan

[JoeChiOhki]

kohldad wrote:
Sure hope not for number 1 as that is the way my Lance 815. Standard 20# bottle standing up below my fridge. Since propane is heavier than air, it will sink away from the fridge.

For number 2, my furnace is located under my wardrobe cabinet. Just make sure the bottom of the cabinet is sealed so nothing can fall down onto the furnace. There is also a minimal space requirement around the furnace so you need to make sure you have the required space.

Biggest concern with adding the basement is raising the COG which could have a large impact on handling, especially if you travel off the beaten path.

Thanks Kohldad, I was wondering if any new builders had still used it or not, as I've seen it used on several campers from the era mine was in, including Amerigo, that had that configuration.

I have dual 20lb horizontals, my original plan was considering putting them under the wardrobe cabinet, but to make that work I would have to add 1-2 feet to the camper's over all length (Making the floor plan a 12-13' *eek!*), so I started looking at other campers to see if it was feasible.

My furnace is a non-ducted narrow job that is currently directly beneath our ward drobe cabinet. My hope in reusing that layout is I can reuse more of the original with less work.

[kohldad]

Sure hope not for number 1 as that is the way my Lance 815. Standard 20# bottle standing up below my fridge. Since propane is heavier than air, it will sink away from the fridge.

For number 2, my furnace is located under my wardrobe cabinet. Just make sure the bottom of the cabinet is sealed so nothing can fall down onto the furnace. There is also a minimal space requirement around the furnace so you need to make sure you have the required space.

Biggest concern with adding the basement is raising the COG which could have a large impact on handling, especially if you travel off the beaten path.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

My tanks are under the kitchen sink which is where your fridge is. My fridge goes nearly from floor to ceiling so tanks won't fit under it. My water heater is on the left lower corner of the rear wall fitting nicely under the bath sink counter top. It's a trick making it all fit ain't it. This should be old stuff for you. You'll get her done before long.

[ticki2]

Not sure I would like an open flame from the fridge right above the propane compartment . The chimney affect of the fridge vent would draw any fumes right in .

[JoeChiOhki]

jimh425 wrote:
The propane tank has to be vented to the outside and if a normal tank has to stand up as well. I think that eliminates both of your choices.

I would look into where you can box a compartment and put the tank there wherever "there" is. After that, you can run the propane hose to your appliances.

I have an exterior facing compartment that is being reused, that is vented to the outside, my question was placing that said vented compartment directly beneath the vented compartment on the back of the fridge.

In my current setup, the water heater sits under the fridge and the propane tanks are on the passenger side far rear end of the camper. My hope is to move it up to the front near the drivers door on the new model, and the open space available would be beneath the fridge to help shift weight forward as the water heater would be near the rear by the shower (This is actually where the blue prints have it placed).

I've seen several campers from the same generation that have the propane compartment underneath (we're working with horizontal tanks) the fridge

[jimh406]

The propane tank has to be vented to the outside and if a normal tank has to stand up as well. I think that eliminates both of your choices.

I would look into where you can box a compartment and put the tank there wherever "there" is. After that, you can run the propane hose to your appliances.

[2oldman]

yikes