Removing battery and propane tank

[Burroman]

Just curious how many 13’ trailer owners have removed battery and/or propane tank from trailer tongue.
We light almost exclusively with solar charged lights- rarely use installed lights.
We do use the stove sometimes. but a portable stove would suffice.
We heat with a little buddy, so carry quite a few refillable bottles. 5 gallon tank could go into the tow vehicle as we do use it for portable fire pit- sometimes.
Getting the weight off the tongue would male hitching and moving trailer easier.
What are your thoughts or modifications?
Thanks

[Bill in Pittsburgh]

I think the inconvenience would be off set little by removing this weight from the tongue. How hard is it to move trailer and hitch unless you lift the trailer tongue by hand and set it on the ball rather than driving under it and then lowering the tongue with the crank.
A fiberglass propane tank eliminates some weight. Another advantage of a fiberglass propane tank is your ability to shine a light on it and see exactly how much propane is in the tank.

[Jon in AZ]

Too little tongue weight can cause dangerous sway. You need at least 10% of your gross trailer weight on the tongue. Take your fully loaded trailer to a scale to get a starting point. Rough guess based on your stated 1100# UVW, you probably need at least 130-150# tongue weight.

Putting a 20# propane tank inside an enclosed vehicle is a bad idea from a safety standpoint, and it does nothing for weight distribution, as it’s still riding on the rear suspension of the tow vehicle. The tongue is truly the best place for it.

My thought is to remove the battery and substitute a smaller 2.5 gal. (11#) propane tank on the tongue. That should be plenty of fuel for a weekend (or a week), and it will help keep your tongue weight within the safe range.

[ShelbyM]

Switching to a Li battery and a smaller propane tank might help some and keep systems functional. I gather from other threads that you are hoping to tow with an inadequate vehicle. Easy to waste a lot of time and energy.

[Radar1]

If you have trailer brakes, remember that your breakaway switch requires an on-trailer battery to activate the brakes in case of a breakaway. This can be handled by a small battery designed just for the brake activation in case you remove the standard battery.

[mary and bob]

We removed the propane tank from the tongue of our Uhaul CT13, which is similar to a Burro. Downsized the rear mounted battery as we camped where there were hookups most of the time. Never had a sway problem, even with two bikes on the rear. However I would not recommend doing this as I'm surprised there wasn't a sway problem, probably the axle was back far enough to keep enough weight on the tongue.

[Green Frog]

When I got my 13’ Burro, there was no propane tank in place, and the fridge, furnace and stove had all been removed. Likewise, there was no battery in place on the tongue. I now have a tongue weight I can handle myself. Just keep in mind that overall balance is the key to good towing. What’s inside the trailer needs to be distributed correctly, not just what’s on the tongue.
Froggie

[ROBERT ONEILL]

Originally Posted by Burroman

Just curious how many 13’ trailer owners have removed battery and/or propane tank from trailer tongue.
We light almost exclusively with solar charged lights- rarely use installed lights.
We do use the stove sometimes. but a portable stove would suffice.
We heat with a little buddy, so carry quite a few refillable bottles. 5 gallon tank could go into the tow vehicle as we do use it for portable fire pit- sometimes.
Getting the weight off the tongue would male hitching and moving trailer easier.
What are your thoughts or modifications?
Thanks

The little green propane tanks will be illegal to use in California Beginning January 1, 2028, only refillable propane canisters and cylinders will be offered for sale within the California market.
They will have border inspection stations to stop illegal green cylinders from entering from the southern border and send them back to the country that they came from.
https://www.npga.org/news-resources/...ane-cylinders/

[Green Frog]

I saw some refillable little tanks, specifically made to be refilled out of the big ones. It seems silly to go through all that to avoid disposables, but whatever it takes! I guess they are also outlawing the skinny blue or yellow bottles for propane torches(?)

Of course if you were an illegal alien you could enter Kalifornia via the Mexican border and it would be all good.

Froggie

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Burroman

Just curious how many 13’ trailer owners have removed battery and/or propane tank from trailer tongue.
We light almost exclusively with solar charged lights- rarely use installed lights.
We do use the stove sometimes. but a portable stove would suffice.
We heat with a little buddy, so carry quite a few refillable bottles. 5 gallon tank could go into the tow vehicle as we do use it for portable fire pit- sometimes.
Getting the weight off the tongue would male hitching and moving trailer easier.
What are your thoughts or modifications?
Thanks

So you use refillable little bottles and a 5 gallon tank. First off you should not put a tank inside the trailer or inside the tow vehicle. The refillable bottles are probably just as heavy as a small tongue mounted tank. Having a bunch of little bottles that could fly around in an accident is an explosion waiting to happen. When you need lights how will you use them without a battery. You said you use solar lights but it isn't always sunny. Tongue weight is important. Get a vehicle that will tow your trailer safely if that is why you don't want anything in it.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by ROBERT ONEILL

The little green propane tanks will be illegal to use in California Beginning January 1, 2028, only refillable propane canisters and cylinders will be offered for sale within the California market.
They will have border inspection stations to stop illegal green cylinders from entering from the southern border and send them back to the country that they came from.
https://www.npga.org/news-resources/...ane-cylinders/

As I read the article, the law merely bans the sale of single use propane cylinders within CA. There was nothing to indicate it will be illegal to use or transport them, not was there any mention of border inspections and seizures. Do you have a source for that information?

They do make (legally) refillable 1# canisters along with the equipment to refill them from a bulk tank at home. I’m not particularly thrilled about the whole idea. We usually run our outdoor kitchen off the bulk tank from the trailer, but I always carry a couple of disposables as back-up for one-night stands. Hmmm…

I’m now wondering about single use butane canisters. They’re used pretty widely in the food service industry, as well as RVs and backpacking, and AFAIK there’s no refillable alternative. Are they covered by this law, too?

2028 is a ways off. We’ll see how this plays out. The cost of disposables, which has increased 150% over the last decade, is already a natural disincentive.