Two propane tanks on 13QBB??

Sylvain · September 29, 2019, 08:55:52 PM

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

Merlin · 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.

MitchB · 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.

Sylvain · 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?

Sylvain · September 30, 2019, 01:28:38 PM

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

Powder Hounds · September 30, 2019, 02:08:04 PM

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.

ADR · September 30, 2019, 02:11:14 PM

I want to see that 30 gal tank

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.

MitchB · September 30, 2019, 06:26:24 PM

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?

Sylvain · September 30, 2019, 09:06:05 PM

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.

Merlin · September 30, 2019, 11:49:12 PM

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?

Sylvain · October 01, 2019, 01:30:22 PM

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?

DavidM · October 01, 2019, 01:58:12 PM

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

Sylvain · October 01, 2019, 07:37:20 PM

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?

DavidM · October 01, 2019, 08:43:05 PM

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

Sylvain · October 01, 2019, 09:54:32 PM

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?