propane storage/hook-up
Has anyone made a easier place to store & use propane bottles other than the area in the original placement on the side of the camper. It is difficlt for me to lift the bottle into the given storage compartment.
Forum Discussion
- My wife usually asks the attendant to fill as well. I don't think she's been turned down. I take them out my self. I do have a sliding tray that makes getting them in/out easier. I also have two bottles and fill up at most once a year.
- I'm not supposed to lift more than 20 pounds per medical advice but I've never been refused when I ask the propane attendant to lift the tanks back into the compartment.
- I would want the option of leaving them connected while driving. I do not think you need steel mesh jacketed hose, if routed correctly.
Wayne - We are going to have the propane tanks external to our flatbed camper, residing in a storage locker underneath the flatbed. We will have a hose connecting to the propane as you describe. I haven't decided if it should be a quick connect type that we just attached when we park for the night or if it could be some sort of steel mesh jacketed hose that we leave connected even while driving, with a limiter/solenoid attached to the propane tanks under the trailer to keep them off.
- Double cylinders last an enternity in my camper, (a full season). I have the camper off the truck enough that taking them out when the camper is at ground level is always doable.
- I saw a pic of a home-made TC with a propane cylinder strapped to the back of the camper.
If I had a physical/ medical need to move the propane to someplace more accessible, I'd look into plumbing the lines down to a hitch-hauler tray and build something to house the bottles there... even if that was just a ratcheting tie-down strap.
To avoid having to do fancy plumbing mods, you could just get an extension hose and leave it coiled up in the original compartment. When setting up camp, pull the end out and hook it up to the tank on the hitch-hauler. A pain, no doubt, and precludes propane fridge use while driving, but very cheap and easy to implement.
HTH - I have not moved my propane cyls from the side. On a couple of occasions, I have ask that they be filled in place. This required pulling the outside cyl, filling the inside cyl, re-install the outside cyl then fill the outside cyl. Each time, the propane attendant removed the cyls, filled them and put them back in place.
Wayne
