Hello everyone,
We are just coming back from our first trip with our 13QBB. We loved it! We did put 2000km on it in a month of travel in the Maritimes Provinces and on the Gaspesie Peninsula. I was wondering if the aluminium tongue of the 13QBB is strong enough to hold two 20lbs propane tanks? Right now we have only one but having a spare one would be great. Our TV could handle the additional weight no problem.
Thanks
We did a trip like that in 2017 and laughed out loud at the steep grades on the Gaspesie Peninsula. Some of those felt like straight up and straight down!
Dual propane tanks with an auto switchover valve were available as a factory option on the 13QBB as part of the XL Living Package. You're good to go.
Another option is to split the difference and go with a single 30 gal tank. That's what I did.
Quote from: Merlin on September 29, 2019, 10:05:22 PM
We did a trip like that in 2017 and laughed out loud at the steep grades on the Gaspesie Peninsula. Some of those felt like straight up and straight down!
Dual propane tanks with an auto switchover valve were available as a factory option on the 13QBB as part of the XL Living Package. You're good to go.
That's very true! The hills on the Gaspesie Peninsula are very impressive! The views that we get on the top of those hills/mountains is equally impressive!!
Thanks for the information about the dual tanks. I'm thinking about adding a second batterie too. I wonder if this is going to be too much for the aluminium tongue?
Quote from: MitchB on September 29, 2019, 11:14:57 PM
Another option is to split the difference and go with a single 30 gal tank. That's what I did.
Yes, that's another good option. I believe we have to fully empty the tank before the refill, is that true? If so, what do you do if you run out of propane at night? You are left without furnace and hot water?
Thanks
You don't have to have an empty propane cylinder to have it refilled. Most stations charge per gallon. Unless you hit a station that just has a flat full charge, you could have a third left in your tank and they will charge you as if it was empty.
You are correct, empty propane tank, no furnace or hot water. If you are connected to power and have an electric option on your hot water tank then your ok there.
You could consider installing a Camco Wave 3 heater? Some are ok with this unit while others are not, being a catalytic system. Advantage is no power and extremely low propane consumption. But, following all safety instructions is paramount.
I want to see that 30 gal tank ;D I think he meant 30lb. ;)
Only downside to the 30's is in a pinch they can't be just swapped out like a 20. Finding someone to actually refill is a lot harder than finding a swap it place which in many places is just about any convenience store, home center etc.
That said I almost never swap- costs a lot more.
In my area Costco is always the least money to refill. A lot of them don't do LP though.
Oops, yah, 30 lb not 30 gal. What you don't want a couple hundred pounds of highly flammable compressed gas on the tongue of your trailer?
Ok,
thanks for your input everyone. I really thought your tank had to be empty to be refilled! Now that I know it can be refilled at anytime, I may keep it as it is now and save some weight and space to add a second batterie instead. My idea behind having dual tanks was to have a spare when the first one is empty, not to carry more propane.
Quote from: Sylvain on September 30, 2019, 01:25:21 PM
Quote from: Merlin on September 29, 2019, 10:05:22 PM
We did a trip like that in 2017 and laughed out loud at the steep grades on the Gaspesie Peninsula. Some of those felt like straight up and straight down!
Dual propane tanks with an auto switchover valve were available as a factory option on the 13QBB as part of the XL Living Package. You're good to go.
That's very true! The hills on the Gaspesie Peninsula are very impressive! The views that we get on the top of those hills/mountains is equally impressive!!
Thanks for the information about the dual tanks. I'm thinking about adding a second batterie too. I wonder if this is going to be too much for the aluminium tongue?
Have you considered upgrading to a lithium battery. Very light, small, powerful, expensive. Do some reading on this thread:
https://aluminumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=849.0
Or, keep the one battery you have and add a flexible solar panel?
Thanks for the link Merlin. Lithium batteries are great but I'm not sure they would fit well in our budget!! It's part of our plan to add a second solar panel to our current setup. Right now we have 185W of solar from one panel. Adding a second panel (100w) would bring us to 285W which I think should be enough for our needs. The thing is that my charge controller is limited to 280W. I wonder if that extra 5W would be problematic?
I am little surprised that 185 watts doesn't cover your 12V power requirements. A 185 amp solar panel system on a sunny day will supply 60 amp hours and throwing in some cloudy ones into the mix probably still gives you 40 Ahs/day.
I use 10 Ahs a day on my 16TBS, but I don't have a fridge with a frame heater which will more than double that figure.
But if you want to go to 285 watts a 280 watt controller will probably be ok. I bet it will never see more than 250 watts.
David
Thanks for the information David. 185W is enough most of the time. It's just that I run the fridge on DC when on the road when the sun is out. It's probably safer than running it on propane. Having an additional 100W should give me around 15A of charge around noon. This might be close to the actual current draw of the fridge on DC.........I believe. I noticed there is no fuse in the fuse box of our TV in the charging circuit. Maybe it has been removed for some reason by the previous owner. Anyway I didn't add a fuse to the circuit since I was afraid that it would be harder on the alternator of the TV. I may be wrong though. What do you think?
I think that there is nothing wrong with running the fridge on propane whether you are moving down the road or at a campground. But if you are going to run on 12V while driving then by all means put the fuse in place.
Yes the fridge draws 10-15 amps on DC or 120 to 180 watts. But modern autos have alternators that can put out many hundreds of watts with no problem.
FWIW due to voltage drop in the wiring from the TV's alternator, you rarely see more than 20 amps in the TV's trailer charging circuit.
David
That's a lot of great info, thanks again David. I will put the fuse in place. I was just afraid it would kill the alternator faster! I ran the fridge on proprane a few times while driving. It did work really good. I was just wondering if it was against the law (in Canada and US) to run appliance on propane while on the road?
AFAIK, it is not against the law. And why would it be? It is safe and propane fridges are built with safety systems such as those that shut the gas off if the pilot is out.
David
An article in the current issue of Trailer Life magazine says it's legal in the U.S. and Canada to operate a propane appliance while underway. There are some tunnels that restrict use and it's common sense to shut off while refueling, but otherwise propane use is ok. It works FAR better than DC to keep the fridge cool. In fact, 3-way operation refrigerators are becoming rare.
Yes, propane works much better than DC or even AC. About shutting down while refueling:
The propane burner is an open flame and theoretically could ignite spilled gasoline. But when I gas up, the back of the trailer where the fridge burner is located is about 20' away from the pump, so I think it is ok. If someone backed up to your trailer and started fueling up 5' away then I might be concerned.
David
I agree. I should have written it's common sense to shut off the propane in some situations when refueling. I, in fact, don't usually do so for reasons DavidM mentioned.
Thank you so much guys! This forum is so great, I learned a lot of stuff in that thread!
Great discussion as usual.
About adding another battery. Added another Trojan on our 14 DB, frame size is the same as the 13, and all is well. Here is a link to the attachment structure I made. https://aluminumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=868.msg7709#msg7709
Given that I look at my LL as a generational purchase, I'm looking forward to lithium as my next battery purchase, preferably well into the future. (Maybe I should start saving up now!) I may even make my own. Will Prowse seems to be the YouTube guru on all matters lithium. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj6RxIAQq8kmJme-5dnN0Q GK
Thanks for the links GK. So you have dual propane tanks and dual batteries on the same tongue/frame as our 13QBB, that's great news! I was not sure how I was going to make a larger batterie rack for our new battery. I thought it was not recommended to screw aluminium angle directly into the frame but I see that's exactly what you did so I'll do the same. Much easier than having it welded.
The original single battery holder was screwed on, I saw no reason not to do the same. For good measure (and to avoid screws becoming loose from vibration), I add my favorite glue, PL Premium, to the joint. Lately, however, I'm finding clear silicone is also an excellent 'glue'.
On another topic, I just returned from the Eastern Townships of Quebec, near your home, I believe. About the only words I can use to describe the collective beauty of that area is c'est magnifique. (Magnifique in french sounds more majestic than the english version :) ) GK
Yes the colors are just amazing around here at this time of the year. Next time plan a trip all around the Gaspesie peninsula at the same time of the year. The colors are fantastic in the surrounding mountains and the views on the Gulf of St-Lawrence are amazing!