My first camper! So exciting!

[Ford Prefect]

Propane...

You can buy an after-market gauge that will read out how much is in the tank. Just place it inline. My wife got one for me, pretty cool, and I love it. Makes it easy to know how soon you will need more and FAR beats carrying around a spare tank.

Nice looking camper you have there.

 

[tombodad]

Cool, thanks! Any ideas where she picked that up? I've been doing some reading, and it looks like propane lasts quite a while in these guys, used conservatively (and not air conditioner).

Adding taillights and wiring to truck this afternoon. Wish me luck!

 

[redthies]

Don't drive with the propane on EVER. It is illegal in most states/provinces and also highly dangerous. If your fridge is cold when you take off,it will be cold when you stop driving for the day. Plug the camper in to shore power when you are at home to pre cool it. Propane will cool it off much faster than electric when you need it cold quick, (as you noted earlier).

Nice lookin camper, enjoy it!

 

[Photomike]

Don't drive with the propane on EVER. It is illegal in most states/provinces and also highly dangerous. If your fridge is cold when you take off,it will be cold when you stop driving for the day. Plug the camper in to shore power when you are at home to pre cool it. Propane will cool it off much faster than electric when you need it cold quick, (as you noted earlier).

Nice lookin camper, enjoy it!

Can you advise where you got this information as far as I know neither is true - I drive with propane on all the time for the fridge and heater, know many others that do as well and never have had or heard of a problem. Also the only time that I know of it being illegal to have propane on is on ferries and parking garages.

Would really like to know if I am breaking a law as I have looked into it and have not found anything.

Thanks.

 

[redthies]

I did a google search for "propane on in rv while traveling law" (long winded, but it covers all the bases). It took 7/10ths of a second to come up with the answer. Under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, it states that all propane tank valves must be closed while the RV is in motion. That is from the BC "Drive Smart" (Gov't road safety) website q&a section. I think you will find most jurisdictions have similar laws. You wouldn't want to be in a wreck, or pull up to the pumps with valves open and pilot lit. Some areas might not make it a law, but the law of common sense should apply.

 

[Photomike]

I don't want to get this thread off topic but after doing research on this for years there is no law on the books in any province or state that requires that propane in an RV needs to be turned off - a lot of assumptions and some scare tactics used on web sites - but no laws. Many manufacturers advise the use of propane when traveling so this would be going against the law if it were so. The only laws on the books are in effect in some jurisdictions with the operation of propane in tunnels (this is being revised or reviewed in a lot of areas with more and more propane & NG vehicles coming into operation as well as better venting of tunnels), propane on ferries (not allowed and will be checked and tanks tagged in the off position), Parking garages (most RV's do not fit so not an issue) and in refueling (this is listed at the pumps when you are getting fuel but to be truthful there is not one documented case of a propane appliance causing a fire at a gas station (again a lot of "I heard ....." but nothing that was ever proven to be from an RV appliance that I have seen)).

Propane in an RV is a completely different set of rules than propane in the back of a car or truck (many of the listings on Google quote carrying propane tanks in a car or truck as being the same rules as an RV - not so). A propane tank attached to a barbeque in the back of a truck must be shut off as this is not a permanent or a registered use for such an appliance.

Likewise supposed comments of "this accident was made so much worse because the propane tanks were open" are again false. I have been to a number of accidents that involved RV's and it is just part of the procedure to check the tanks and if on shut off. Just like disconnecting the battery and stopping fuel leaks. I have never seen or heard an actual report about propane making an accident scene worse.

As far as common sense I always hate when this is tossed out as it is a general assumption that what one person thinks everyone should follow and if you don't follow it then you must be stupid. Common sense to some is never leaving the house as accidents happen, to others it means something completely different.

With all the above I am not saying that there has never been a problem with propane. I am sure that there are problems, have been problems and will be problems in the future. But if used correctly there is nothing more to fear from propane than any other item in the RV - and this includes using it when in motion for keeping the fridge cold.

 

[tombodad]

Interesting thoughts on propane and driving. I wouldn't have a problem with it, personally, but would probably shut it off at fuel stations...

Regardless, my fridge doesn't stay very cold on 12v only, anyone else have this problem? Is that common? Even when driving, and having my camper wired to charge off of my truck, the fridge is only cool when arriving (but nice and cold on 110)

This weekend's maiden voyage! Potholes State Park, WA

from the dike on the way in

Nice and clean, well maintained, friendly staff

My Dad and I. Haven't been camping together in 8 years!

As you can see, we didn't eat well. :chef:

Everything went well. Only issue with the aforementioned fridge deal.

Still to address:
Bathroom light and fan don't work
Running lights don't work (related to bathroom?)
---- there is a small section of "soft" roof (rot that doesn't leak through yet) at the top of the ladder, above the bath. Maybe the wires run through here and are shorted somewhere?

Great to have a refridgerator. Even makes ice cubes!
Great to have hot water.
Draining black/grey tanks is easy.

Next mission: Dry camping! How long can we go with out plugging in? Tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel!!

 

[redthies]

Enjoy your camper however you like, but in BC, it IS illegal to drive with propane on. Personally, I don't want an open propane tank in my rig (or on any rig) if I am in an accident.:campfire:

Check Transport Canada "TDG section 5.1 (3)". It clearly (is any gov't document clear?) states containers must be closed.

 

[tombodad]

Now, now, boys. My mother always said, if you're having gas problems, take it outside :sombrero:

 

[tombodad]

Tonight I will be installing my set of Torklift tiedowns that I purchased used from a gentleman in NC. (craigslist is awesome!!)
Looking into tie-downs...
First dry-camping (boondocking) trip this weekend!

 

[tombodad]

Trip Reports:

Have now been on three camper outings, the most recent our first boondock/dry camp, tuesday night.

Harris Park, NE Oregon, with some friends (jealous of his Bigfoot!)
[if you look close, you can see how close the camper got to the roof of the cab when I leveled with jacks only. Needless to say, the next trip I brought wood for under the tires!

Our friends are into Dutch Oven cooking... rolls from scratch! Delicous!

Near the summit of the Blue Mountains (5000 feet ish), near Elgin, OR

Breakfast in bed. They're a bit spoiled.

Updates:

Everything is working great. Furnace was a bit reluctant to fire up a few times, but seems to be working now.

Still no electrical in bathroom, haven't really had a chance to look at it yet. I wish the wires in the walls were a little easier to access.
Still no clearance lights either. Looking into that tonight.

Got the rear Torklifts installed. One side needed a bit of hacksaw-ing to clear [nothing structural] Fronts still to come, with the drilling and whatnot, required more time.

Picked up a hitch platform from a buddy for $50. Trying to find an extension locally, may resort to welding one. Should work great for extra storage and a step/patio.

Need to build some shelves in the wardrobe compartment - suggestions? The walls are super thins and not supported, I may frame them in first, or at least use those adjustable shelving brackets with screws and glue to spread the load.

Doing a few little storage mods here and there. Anyone seen any good threads on people's typical camper "loadout"? Would be interesting to see other people
s solutions.



Our determination so far? WE LOVE IT!! :victory: