Underbody Propane ideas needed

[dhally]

The valves on the motorhome tanks are installed at the wrong height and angle to work with the SMB access door. Best bet is to buy both the tank and door from SMB - nobody else seems to have a tank that will work with the door. SMB must have them made special. The 12" diameter will be a very tight fit, if it will fit.

[Herbie]

Originally Posted by 1der

For a propane tank under mount, I thought this was a really neat solution I had not heard of before:

Nashfuel Propane Remote Fill Kit With Mounting Bracket: Industrial Hardware: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

This would allow a nice size tank to be mounted laterally behind the rear axle and have the fill bracket mounted elsewhere. Not cheap but seems like a very nice solution.

Now there's an product that opens up some new possibilities. Will need to look into that for my build. Looks like they also make a version with a mounting recepticle as well.

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by 1der

For a propane tank under mount, I thought this was a really neat solution I had not heard of before:

http://www.amazon.com/Nashfuel-Propa.../dp/B00EP1T4J8

This would allow a nice size tank to be mounted laterally behind the rear axle and have the fill bracket mounted elsewhere. Not cheap but seems like a very nice solution.

Yeah-buddy, there's something I hadn't considered!

I'm going to have to think about this some more... I've been looking around craigslist, it indeed looks like other tanks do pop up from time to time. The 12" diameter tank I bought might be more trouble to mount than it's worth.

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by dhally

The valves on the motorhome tanks are installed at the wrong height and angle to work with the SMB access door. Best bet is to buy both the tank and door from SMB - nobody else seems to have a tank that will work with the door. SMB must have them made special. The 12" diameter will be a very tight fit, if it will fit.

I think that's true for the CL 12" dia tank I have, the valve is very low, would most likely reside under the pinch weld body seam.

Does SMB cut thru both inner and out body panels, and weld in a 'filler panel' to fill the gap between the two?

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

The 12" diameter tank I bought might be more trouble to mount than it's worth.

My 8" diameter tank is a snug fit........

[Waterski02]

I bought a 10" tank from PPL. Even though it's made for a van, the valves were a bit of a paint to make work with the access door. Given what else I've read here, I'd say buy it all from SMB.

[dhally]

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

I think that's true for the CL 12" dia tank I have, the valve is very low, would most likely reside under the pinch weld body seam.

Does SMB cut thru both inner and out body panels, and weld in a 'filler panel' to fill the gap between the two?

Mine is a wood filler caulked in place. Not done by smb

[carringb]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

"Overfill prevention isn't absolutely necessary on a fixed cylinder",

I had a bad experience on my old van once that an overfill prevention device would have prevented. The local propane supplier overfilled my tank, but aparently there is a check valve in the line that prevents liquid propane from reaching the heater or stove. Neither would light, there was no pressure at either. I was on the road and ended up replacing the regulator, then the hose before figuring out there was a check valve. I had to vent out a lot of propane to get it to flow again. Now when I'm getting the tank filled I pay close attention to the gauge.

Oh yeah, definitely room for error without an OPD. What I meant is legally you can get your fixed tank filled, but portable tanks legally cannot be without the OPD. Sucks you had to go through that

[ScotFree]

Can you just tell me the brand and model number of the SMB tank, so I can buy one? Any pics would be appreciated too. Thanks.

[TomsBeast]

I procrastinated installing that 12" diameter propane tank for so long, that I came across a Manchester p/n 6814 10" diameter x 32" long, 8 gallon tank removed from a Sportsmobile. I cleaned up the surface rust and re-painted it.



I designed and made the brackets yesterday, did a trial fit up.



I had to modify the parking brake cable bracket, that was in the way. Other than that, it fits pretty well outside the frame rail, under the floor behind the driver. I chose to mount it to the Ford body strengthening ribs, instead of to the frame rail, mostly because SMB did the e-series conversions similarly.



I cut into the body for access, and need to 'fill the gap' between inner and outer body panels with 18ga sheetmetal, which I'll likely weld into place and seam seal, then come up with a door of some sort. The old links to the SMB site come up empty, now.


pics to come