505live wrote: I am curious, as I am in the process of a DIY minimalist B build. Is there any reason not to use a rear hitch cargo carrier to transport a propane bottle and have a line/quick connect like I see for natural gas (like the way I have my BBQ hooked up to city gas at home)? (other than potentially doing a Ford Pinto if you get rear-ended hard enough...) Then just unplug it and remove when not using the vehicle for camping. Are there special rules for the type of propane bottles on travel trailers?
I looked hard at this question for my DIY. The gist is that a propane canister needs to be protected by a frame member when stored on the outside of the vehicle. Hence trailers have them mounted on the A frame. Storing on the roof is generally illegal and storing at the rear of the vehicle requires some crash-strengthening, like a welded guard.
So most vans mount them on the undersides, between the floor beams.
I used an alternate solution which was to store my bbq tank inside the van. That required a gasketed propane locker with both floor and side wall vents. I could have built one in the spirit of a sailboat fuel locker but chose instead a commercial plumber's cabinet. It doubles as a laptop-camera-valuables locker since it is a reasonable strong metal cabinet with enough room. Good solution for me---the bbq tank readily moves to the picnic area for meals.
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
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