It can be a problem for the truck camper set: Just seems like in some cases there’s never enough room for propane. We had a smaller truck camper years back that had but a single LP cylinder and once it ran dry, well, we were up the creek. Others find that they have two, but they’re usually 5-gallon (20-pound) cylinders, and if you run in cool country you can use up 10 gallons of LP in a big hurry.
Where can we carry an extra cylinder or two of LP? Truck campers have come up with a variety of innovative places. In looking at some of them, this old saying comes to mind: “Some of the brightest people own truck campers, but on the other hand….”
The first rule of where to carry an extra “bottle of LP” is where it’s safe. It’s surprising to see how many folks say they carry that extra LP in the “back seat of my extended cab pickup.”
What’s wrong with that picture? First, LP cylinders can and sometimes do leak. Mixing LP with oxygen and applying a little heat can lead to disaster. A few years back in Washington state the local newspaper published a photo of a local who stuck an LP cylinder in the back of their car. There wasn’t much left to see, and fortunately the owner wasn’t killed when the whole thing went up in smoke.
In some jurisdictions it’s illegal to transport an LP container in the passenger compartment of any vehicle. In sunny conditions the inside of a vehicle can easily hit 140 degrees. Got a fairly full LP container and the gas inside will expand, possibly enough to blow open the safety expansion valve, releasing LP into the enclosed space.
Even if the cylinder doesn’t release gas, having an LP cylinder in your vehicle is like having the proverbial loose cannon. Say you’re rolling down the freeway at 60 miles an hour and suddenly have to panic stop. That cylinder will continue in forward momentum at 60 miles an hour until something stops it. Imagine your spine, or head, being the “backstop” for that heavy, unforgiving cylinder.
Other camper folks find that the truck bumper is a great place to put a spare cylinder. Fine, but what are bumpers for? To absorb the impact of an accident. If your bumper runs into something in an impact situation, something’s got to give. If it’s a propane cylinder that’s impacted, fire or explosion could be the end result.
Putting it up high on the roof access ladder might be a smarter solution – at least it’s not as likely to be impacted in a “rear-ender.” Others put their spare tanks securely in a container like a “milk crate” firmly secured in the roof storage rack. Yeah, it’s really hard to get at that way but, hey, unless you hit the old “low bridge” scenario, it’s a whole lot less likely to go kaboom.
Stay safe out there!
##RVDT1380
Disappointing article. You have told us all the places NOT to carry an extra propane tank, but none of the ‘variety of innovative places’ TO carry one…
Probably because there aren’t any safe or innovative places to carry one
What’s the recommendation for a class C RV? Where do you transport and store an extra cylinder?
We carried two 20-lb. propane tanks on our Jeep roof rack for years. Works fine, but keep that increased height in mind!
I’m driving a cargo van converted to a camper, with a single propane cooker and a buddy heater. Where do you recommend I carry the quart-sized propane bottles?
If you’re going to carry a propane tank outside on the roof, be certain it is placed and secured in a vertical position. Laying on its side keeps any gas expansion from the sun’s heat to be trapped without access to the escape valve which can cause an explosion.
The reason for the vertical position is simple but not always understood. There is a pressure relief valve built into the on/off/fill valve and it is only designed to vent Gas NOT Liquid, therefore vertical is the only postition for storage. The potential for issues are basically twofold: first is the obvious of FIRE if the gas escapes and the correct percentage of flammable gas connects with a ignition scorse then boom we have a fire that WILL destroy the camper or motor-home. Second more heinous is if you have a bottle in a storage compartment and it leaks it can migrate into a living space displace the oxygen and suffocate you and or your pets. I was going to put locks on the storage doors of my 5th wheel many years ago to prevent theft and quickly realized they need to be accessible so that they can be immediately shut off in the event of fire to stop the fuel (probably too late at that point get out and away from your coach it can be replaced!)
The article basically confirms that there is NO safe place to carry extra propane containers. The roof of a truck camper is an absurd suggestion: lugging a 20-lb bottle up that ladder is unsafe; there’s no place up there to secure it; and in the event of ‘sudden stops’ that location makes an excellent launching platform for a propane missile. Our ancient TC has a two-bottle compartment, sheet-metal lined with wing-nut & bolt clamps for the bottles. There is no other safe place, so that’s the limit. The appropriate title for the article should have been, “No Safe Place for Spare Propane.”
We have 30# bottles that fit in the plastic milk carriers. There is enough bottom surface area from the square bottom of the crate to keep it from falling over. Then you can tie it to one of the steel loops on the side of the pickup bed to keep it from moving around.
Sounds like the answer is NONE. Or ask the state police in whatever area you are in when they pull you over to give you a ticket.