Propane Tank underneath trailer

[bigpapaporsche]

I wonder what the Pro/Cons of mounting a "Horizontal LPG Tank with Remote Fill, under the trailer, between the Frame Rails, either in Front/Back of the Axle would be, you know similar to a Class B Van. By mounting it near the Axle, Ground Clearance problems would be minimized. Maybe around 10 lbs cap.

A picture is worth a 1000 words, here it is. I don't know the Capacity or Dimension yet, but this will work. The fordt pics shows the Tank inside a Class B Van, the second pic shows the Tank mounted underneath the Van.
One of the "Main Objectives is to keep the Tongue Weight around 350 LBs to satisfy my TV's Spec, i.e. 2024 Honda Odyssey.

[Casita Greg]

Silliest place I can think of to mount it. Good luck with your "rolling bomb" experiment.

Just please don't drive near me if you do this.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Silliest place I can think of to mount it. Good luck with your "rolling bomb" experiment.

Just please don't drive near me if you do this.

Doubt this person is talking about an all-molded towable. Sure wish the moderators would move these people along....

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Silliest place I can think of to mount it. Good luck with your "rolling bomb" experiment.

Just please don't drive near me if you do this.

Ok, I am open minded and willing to learn! Please explain your point of view

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by bigpapaporsche

Ok, I am open minded and willing to learn! Please explain your point of view

How about if you tell us specifically what trailer/RV you want to make this modification to? Just saying "under the trailer, between the Frame Rails" is meaningless. And there's no information in your profile....

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

How about if you tell us specifically what trailer/RV you want to make this modification to? Just saying "under the trailer, between the Frame Rails" is meaningless. And there's no information in your profile....

Good comments, thanks for pointing this out! Profile has been updated.
Our trailer is a 2024 Casita SD, that I am modifying somewhat to match our tastes and camping style. Tow Vehicle is a 2024 Honda Odyssey. I use a Cpap Machine and the addition of a Honda 2000I Generator would make life easier during transit and while fishing on beaches etc.
The main reason for relocating the LPG Tanks is to reduce the Tongue Weight, which I hope top keep around 350 LBS. By relocating one LPG Tank to underneath the trailer, near the Axle, I'll not only reduce the TW but also improve the trailer's Weight Distribution.

[Raspy]

What do you mean by "remote fill"?. How would that work? You still need access to the tank vent while filling. Are you willing to climb under to turn the main tank valve on and off as needed? Can you convince the station to fill it without removing it? Who is going to climb under and remove the regulator to fill, and open the vent while filling? How will you protect the regulator from all of the constant flying water and grime under the trailer? Will it have enough ground clearance to always avoid damage? How much weight are you really going to save with only a ten lb capacity? The whole thing sounds like a pretty disappointing project with no real benefit. And very, very impractical.

[Gerry]

I have to agree with Raspy ... While working at a campground and having the job of filling tanks with the propane station, it was a pain to fill these tanks in normal applications in camper vans and such. I don't think any filling station would fill this tank if mounted under the trailer.

[Steve Hague]

Instead of moving the existing propane tank, why not consider moving something heavy to the rear bunk area? Maybe just ballast until you achieve your desired tongue weight.

[Casita Greg]

I down-sized my propane tanks from the 20 Lb'ers that it came with to two 11 Lb'ers. I filled them several years ago when I bought them, and they're still both full on the initial filling. We cook outside with a stand-alone propane tank/stove that we bring just for that purpose. And we use campsites with hook-ups, at least power and water, so we don't use propane in the trailer, but wanted to keep the option to use it if the need arose.

[Donna D.]

Have you used any kind of mock up of the tank, crawled under the trailer and tried to see if this would even work? Frankly, I don't think there's sufficient ground clearance to do this safely. You certainly wouldn't want to scrape a tank on anything, it may very well puncture.


How about using a rack on the back and putting a spare tank there. Delete one tank on the tongue. You may be able to camp just fine with ONLY one tank unless you plan to boondock for days on end.

[Jon in AZ]

Ten pounds or ten gallons? The standard tanks on your trailer are 5 gallons, or 20 pounds, each. That’s LP capacity, not total weight. A 10 pound horizontal tank (if it exists, which I doubt) would only hold about 2.5 gallons of propane. A 10 gallon horizontal tank holds about 40 pounds of propane plus the weight of the tank and filling hardware.

How much propane do you use on your trips? Could you replace the dual tanks with a single fiberglass 20# tank? Fiberglass is much lighter than steel.

Do you have a rear receiver? Not sure if they’re still being made for the Casita, but it would make sense to carry the generator on the back.

What does your fully loaded Casita weigh? What is your current tongue weight? Are you using a weight distributing hitch?

On the whole, this seems like a doubtful project. The dry hitch weight is 365# if I recall correctly, so you’re trying to get the fully loaded tongue weight below the factory dry weight. The basic geometry of this trailer was designed for higher tongue weights, and there’s a practical limit to how much you can change that with loading.

On the vehicle side, the 3500/350# rating assumes nothing in the van behind the front two seats, no additional passengers or gear. Your owner’s manual probably has something to say about vehicle load and trailer/tongue weight.

Hate to say it with a brand new vehicle, but it just doesn’t seem like a good match for your trailer.

[Nick G]

I was thinking the same thing as Jon, perhaps you put the cart before the horse. Judging by the specs for this trailer, once you fill the water tank and load the trailer with your gear you could be close to your max towing capacity and likely maxing the tongue weight. Add people, a generator and other gear to the odyssey and you likely exceed the vehicles payload capacity as well.

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Raspy

What do you mean by "remote fill"?. How would that work? You still need access to the tank vent while filling. Are you willing to climb under to turn the main tank valve on and off as needed? Can you convince the station to fill it without removing it? Who is going to climb under and remove the regulator to fill, and open the vent while filling? How will you protect the regulator from all of the constant flying water and grime under the trailer? Will it have enough ground clearance to always avoid damage? How much weight are you really going to save with only a ten lb capacity? The whole thing sounds like a pretty disappointing project with no real benefit. And very, very impractical.

Thanks for you comments, they are well thought out!
1. My suggested installation on our 2024 Casita Trailer is 100% the same as Class B Vans, in fact it will use all the components found on those Rvs. Regarding your Remote Refill questions, again the same as Class B Vans. Although the Tank is under the trailer, there is a Remote Refill Console attached to the side of the frame, which has hoses connected to the tank, both Fill and Bleed Off. The Propane is Turned On/Off using a Solenoid, which is switched. The Tank is protected by Skid Plates. It is expected that the ground Clearance will not be negatively impacted! Note, the Weight of one fully filled 20 Lb Tank is 37 Lbs, that 74 Lbs for both Tanks. That 74 lbs off the Tongue, plus the 46 Lbs of Honda Generator, that a net saving of 28 lbs, that almost 10% of the actual TW.

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Steve Hague

Instead of moving the existing propane tank, why not consider moving something heavy to the rear bunk area? Maybe just ballast until you achieve your desired tongue weight.

This is a common misconception. There are several really good YouTube Videos that illustrate why this doesn't work. I wish I had them at my figure tips to attach them. There is simply no Band-Aid to put over poor Weight Distribution.

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Nick G

I was thinking the same thing as Jon, perhaps you put the cart before the horse. Judging by the specs for this trailer, once you fill the water tank and load the trailer with your gear you could be close to your max towing capacity and likely maxing the tongue weight. Add people, a generator and other gear to the odyssey and you likely exceed the vehicles payload capacity as well.

I've doubled checked all of this. I've made several adjustments to provide a Safety Margin and improve MPG/Security. Since it is only the two of us, we don't need the Rear Captain Seats, saved 100 Lbs and gained valuable space for our two Ebikes and other stuff. On our maiden voyage we got 18 MPG at 60-65 MPH. My actual measurement of all important Weights indicates I am well within Specs.

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Ten pounds or ten gallons? The standard tanks on your trailer are 5 gallons, or 20 pounds, each. That’s LP capacity, not total weight. A 10 pound horizontal tank (if it exists, which I doubt) would only hold about 2.5 gallons of propane. A 10 gallon horizontal tank holds about 40 pounds of propane plus the weight of the tank and filling hardware.

How much propane do you use on your trips? Could you replace the dual tanks with a single fiberglass 20# tank? Fiberglass is much lighter than steel.

Do you have a rear receiver? Not sure if they’re still being made for the Casita, but it would make sense to carry the generator on the back.

What does your fully loaded Casita weigh? What is your current tongue weight? Are you using a weight distributing hitch?

On the whole, this seems like a doubtful project. The dry hitch weight is 365# if I recall correctly, so you’re trying to get the fully loaded tongue weight below the factory dry weight. The basic geometry of this trailer was designed for higher tongue weights, and there’s a practical limit to how much you can change that with loading.

On the vehicle side, the 3500/350# rating assumes nothing in the van behind the front two seats, no additional passengers or gear. Your owner’s manual probably has something to say about vehicle load and trailer/tongue weight.

Hate to say it with a brand new vehicle, but it just doesn’t seem like a good match for your trailer.

Thanks for your comments.
1. The actual TW, using a TW Scale is 340 Lbs with one full Tank.
2. By removing both tanks I'll save 74 Lbs, but add another 46 Lbs for the Generator. That a 28 lb saving, close to 10%, that big in my book.
3. We do have the Rear Receiver Hitch and I have considered putting the generator there, but thought it would be louder than on the Tongue and I would fell more vibration. I guess I need to Mock Up the Rear Installation to know for sure.
4. We do use a WDH, wouldn't be without one.
5. At this "Stag," i am weighing the Pro/Cons. All input is valuable!

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Gerry

I have to agree with Raspy ... While working at a campground and having the job of filling tanks with the propane station, it was a pain to fill these tanks in normal applications in camper vans and such. I don't think any filling station would fill this tank if mounted under the trailer.

I don't know why not, it is exactly the same as Class B Vans as well as other RV Vans and Motor Homes!

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

I down-sized my propane tanks from the 20 Lb'ers that it came with to two 11 Lb'ers. I filled them several years ago when I bought them, and they're still both full on the initial filling. We cook outside with a stand-alone propane tank/stove that we bring just for that purpose. And we use campsites with hook-ups, at least power and water, so we don't use propane in the trailer, but wanted to keep the option to use it if the need arose.

We are on the Same Page!
It makes more sense to me to have a Tongue Mounted Generator and less LPG Tank Capacity, based on our EV application.

[bigpapaporsche]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Silliest place I can think of to mount it. Good luck with your "rolling bomb" experiment.

Just please don't drive near me if you do this.

You've made some serious accusations about my planned modifications and I've asked for your "Point of View." but no reply!
As you can see, I've received several "Constructive Responses." including from you.