Is propane NEEDED?

[monB]

IF, I will not use the stove, heater, or fridge on propane, would I need propane AT ALL? Thinking I wouldn't miss that bottle, at all....

Mon

[Cam A]

It wouldn't hurt anything to remove the tank; to me, though, propane is the key to independence. It frees you from reliance on paid electrical sites, and lets you have all the conveniences wherever you happen to end up.

[Steve Hammel]

I like it for the stove but you could get by with a portable bbq/grill and use throw away bottles. In my opinion 12v high efficiency compressor fridges are the only way to go. If you are hooked up, or have solar, their cooling capability is far superior and they don't need to be leveled. Gas absorption fridges on 12v are worthless as are those cheap little thermoelectric coolers.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Steve Hammel

I like it for the stove but you could get by with a portable bbq/grill and use throw away bottles.

"Throw away" sounds like a care-free way to go, until you find yourself buried in garbage.

[Steve Hammel]

You're right, perhaps a smaller refillable container.

[Dennis Clinton]

I don't have a frig or heater(gas) in my trailer. I use a campstove to cook on with either throw away cannisters or I put a 20# tank in for the trip.

[Eddie Longest]

Mon
With a 2008 you should have a bulkhead propane connector on the shell. If you choose to go without propane I would disconnect the propane hose and cap the trailer connector at this point. Then store your regulator and hose for future use, if you choose to add it back later or when you sell the trailer.
Eddie

[Francesca Knowles]

Unless you have no use at all for propane and/or want to substantially lighten your trailer tongue, I see no benefit to leaving the bottle home.

If you use any propane at all, the trailer tongue is the safest place to carry it, and bulk is MUCH cheaper than throwaways. I use a connection permanently mounted on my trailer tank to feed my outside bbq, too.

It's very handy!

Francesca

[Jim Bennett]

If you knew you would be hooked to the grid at all times, and used an electric hot plate for cooking, you could get away with it.

Like many, boondocking is my primary for of camping, and we rely on propane for everything but lighting, so for me, the more propane, the better.

[steve dunham]

Being able to cook , heat water and refrigerate food without electricity is a major advantage in my view. We have been camping in areas when there were major storms which caused the loss of electricity and being able to run our appliances on propane was a blessing

[Darwin Maring]

If you remove the propane bottles, CAP off the connection on the camper so Moisture, Mud dobber and other stuff can get in there. This is MOST important should U or someone else ever want to reconnect the tank(s).

[Mike Magee]

Personally I find propane highly useful while camping and would not want to be without it.

It's the 'natural gas' I could do without...

[Raz]

One mans trash is another mans treasure. Despite my electrical roots I really like my gas fridge for my style of camping. It's very true, it will not quickly cool your six pack or even come close to performing like your home fridge. You need the compressor version for that. But with no moving parts, long life and minimal maintenance it keeps my milk, and other supplies cold and runs for a very long time on very little propane. I find the simplicity appealing. I have owned two trailers. Both had propane fridges and neither worked well. In both cases the manufacturers installation instructions were ignored. . I bet that happens all the time. Once corrected they worked good enough for my needs, though if I lived in the south I might not be quite so enthusiastic.

Since I like to cook inside my trailer on occasion and the overhead for an electric cook top is a little much, a gas cook top is the obvious choice. Thus, I have the gas already...... Raz

p.s. This was the exhaust vent on one of my trailers

[monB]

Thanks for the replies, some things to think about! I was/am considering just going solar. Not concerned with cost as much as "do-ability".

A few years ago, husband and I spent a week in my brother's 32 foot travel trailer, parked on the Harley Hotel parking lot in Dallas, TX (for a dog show). We had battery and propane, no electric or water hookups.

We used those little Dollar Store push lights when we wanted light and cooked outside (warmed water, really!) when we needed. We were busy enough that we really didn't need much, and spent most all of our time outside.

Soooo, my thoughts were it's just me, I don't need/want much, don't intend to always use hook-ups, maybe solar would work well for me.

If YOU have solar, what has worked well...or NOT...for you?

Mon

[Steve Hammel]

Don't get me wrong I love propane and couldn't do without it. I just happened to accidentally come across a highly efficient 12v fridge and was overwhelmed. A mid sized solar system will run one and you never need propane not to mention having to level it.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

It's the 'natural gas' I could do without...

Back of the beer and chili then, silly.....
*I assume you were referring to your own source of NG, that that of 'others'*

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Steve Hammel

Don't get me wrong I love propane and couldn't do without it. I just happened to accidentally come across a highly efficient 12v fridge and was overwhelmed. A mid sized solar system will run one and you never need propane not to mention having to level it.

If I lived where you are I would probably do the same thing. Propane fridges start to struggle, even with fans, at ambient temperatures above 90*. Here we get lots of cloudy days and nowhere near the heat during the camping season, so the propane fridge is a good choice. For those adventurous souls that camp out of season, nature keeps the beer cold Raz

[Joy A]

To answer your question specifically...NO!!!

You know solar only keeps the house battery charged so you'll just be using things that it can keep up with. You can't use high capacity a/c appliances. Solar in a large RV might do it as they are likely to have a lot more or larger solar panels than most of our little trailers can handle.

Propane comes in handy when simply stopping at a rest area and cook lunch. It's also good if you are boondocking for a one night stay somewhere. If your trailer is already setup with propane why not keep it, you might find out you like having it. If it's the tongue weight simply get rid of the 20 lb tank and get a smaller one.

[Tim D.]

Our Bigfoot has a panel-friendly roof with 320 watts that produce 18 amps at noon on a sunny summer day in central California. They produce 3-6 amps at noon on a cloudy summer day in coastal Alaska. Sometimes less. And those cloudy Alaska days can number more than 10 in a row. I'd love to get rid of the propane fridge in favor of a compressor fridge, but that would leave me no options during cloudy periods.

[Steve Hammel]

Highly efficient 12v fridges use less than 3 amps while running. At 75-80 degree Fahrenheit it will run approx 30% of the time to stay ice cold. The equivalent of 1 amp for 24 hrs. With dual 6v golf cart batteries you can go several days without any sun. I had a single worn out deep cycle with no solar and went 2 days often.