Propane tank, replace with portable tank setup in a class A. Any comments?

[mlhrad]

My present tank is 14 yrs. old and rusting.

[wackymac]

Originally Posted by mlhrad

My present tank is 14 yrs. old and rusting.

I pulled mine from the coach about 4 years ago, sanded most of the rust off of it, repainted and reinstalled it.

How bad is yours? We need more info and a picture.

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by wackymac

I pulled mine from the coach about 4 years ago, sanded most of the rust off of it, repainted and reinstalled it.

How bad is yours? We need more info and a picture.

I did the same thing to the tank on my coach a few years ago.

To answer the question, it is possible to use smaller tanks and connect them to the RV. Lots of people use Camco sels a Extended Stay propane valves and hoses.

[Unplanned Tourist]

I would also just pull it off, sand it and repaint.
Those tanks are meant to last the life of the rig.
Happy Glamping.

[twinboat]

Will you have room to stand them up ? They are not to be stored or used on their side, unless they are designed like that.

Each 20lb BBQ tank is 4.7 gallons, you will need 3 to replace a 12 gallon chassis mount tank.

[dix39]

Our last TC had two 6 gal horizontal tanks. The Flair MH has a 13 gal built in tank. The one in the Flair isn't rusted, but there have been times when I would have preferred removable tanks simply because of the convenience of being able to remove one and have it filled while the other one is still partly full, without moving the MH.

I think the Monaco tank is about 45 gal and I don't believe I will have the same problem with it.

Steve

[Bahamaniac]

Propane tanks are extra thick for safety. Your main tank probably has surface rust. It's fairly easy to remove the tank, sand, and repaint.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Just sand (or wire brush) and re-paint it. Use a rust converter product if you like, e.g. Eastwood or Corroseal.

[Old-Biscuit]

Wire brush .repaint using a rattle can or two
'
MH propane TANKS...ASME ---NO Recertification required


Portable Propane Cylinders....DOT---MUST be Recertifed 10 yrs after MFG Date then every 5 years
Horizontal Cylinders can be purchased ----bolted in place so you have to unbolt to remove and they are more expensive


Wire Brush.....rattle cans (WHITE)

[HappyCampr4]

Ditto on the sand and repaint. And save your money for a spare regulator. You'll probably need one of those before that tank ever gives you any trouble.

[Hikerdogs]

I removed and painted the propane tank on both our 2001 Winnebago Adventurer and our 2013 Adventurer. I sanded them and used POR 15 for the base coat, and Rustoleum machinery grey for the top coat.

We had the 2001 another 6 years after the paint job and there were no signs of rust returning. The 2013 was painted 3 years ago and it looks like it was painted yesterday.

[PbdBlue]

Originally Posted by mlhrad

My present tank is 14 yrs. old and rusting.

Technically it's illegal to mount a portable tank in your rv as it is not ASME certified and not rated for over the road travel. You can legally transport a portable cylinder and place it externally once you reach your destination. Options are refurbish the old tank if it is safe condition to do so or replace with an ASME certified tank. Going cheap on this is not worth your life.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by PbdBlue

Technically it's illegal to mount a portable tank in your rv as it is not ASME certified and not rated for over the road travel. You can legally transport a portable cylinder and place it externally once you reach your destination. Options are refurbish the old tank if it is safe condition to do so or replace with an ASME certified tank. Going cheap on this is not worth your life.

Wow, don't tell the travel trailer and 5th wheel owners that.

[Smitty77]

Possibly other reason for the question. When our coach was first sold, it had a Norcold 1200, and stove top range, being fed from the several hundred pound 19.4 gallon horizontal LP tank. We have Extended Stay and have also tapped in to feed LP to a BBQ, or other external patio LP demand. When we removed out 1200 and put in the Samsung RF18, we had the fridge LP line extended and stubbed out in the toe board with a quick disconnect, to feed a Heat Buddy from time to time.

We last topped off the LP tank about 2 years ago, and idiot light gauges still show we're above 3/4 tanks. (It's been 2 years since we've used the Heat Buddy, and we usually use our portable LP tank for both the BBQ and Amazing Campfire in a Can.) So our current traveling technique is to not use too much LP per year from this large tank.

I've sketched out a plan to drop the tank, add a slide out drawer, put in a single 20 Pound LP tank on the back of the slide out tray, stubbed into the coach feed to the LP demands. On the front of the tray, I'll permanently mount our Water Softener, and plumb it over from/to the water bay for coach water demands. And still have more storage available. I'd remove the large tanks auto shut off valve, and plumb it and the extended stay, into the 20 Pound LP. (And we'll still carry our 20 pound LP tank for portable usage, and back up.

I told my DW, that I'd be surprised with our current usage, if we needed to bother feeling up the smaller LP tank more then once a year...

Less weight, more usage of storage... And suppose we're lucky, as our current tank has a bit of dirt on it between the yearly semi washing - but no signs of rust!

Other reasons to remove large LP tanks. (Heck, I'd planned to put in Convection Stove Top - before the wife heard me, and said - I like cooking with gas! But we do have a portable convection burner we use outside when hot, or occasionally for larger cooking efforts!

Best to the OP, and all,
Smitty